So, now to have some fun with Airi and her moms and we're going to see a few Citrus ladies show up. MWAHAHAHAHA! But that's the next chapter. This one is getting long, and I have an idea for how I want this/these, character(s) to be introduced.

Also if you guys EVER want to know what Mei's body looks like in my head during these stories, look up Penelope Alvarez/Justina Machado and that's the body type I have in mind for Mei, particularly in the "Quinces" episode, one of my faves next to "Hello, Penelope," and "What happened". Yuzu, on the other hand, a bit more weight and taller but still similar to the manga if just much more developed and with some gray hairs and wrinkles XD.

Chapter 8

The air in the tent was heavy and Mei felt shivered as beads of sweat poured down her neck. Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her body ached all over due to sore muscles and the bites Yuzu had left all over her body, the most recent being one she'd placed just below Meis collarbone.

"Mei," whispered Yuzu as Mei felt her tightening around her fingers. "Don't...don't stop."

"Never," replied Mei kissing the side of Yuzu's temple as she felt her wife's hips begin moving and her hand dampening.

Yuzu started to say something but stopped halfway through whatever it was and Mei watched as her eyes screwed shut, her mouth partially open and her lower lip quivering as another orgasm coursed through her before Mei applied her lips, prolonging Yuzu's moan.

"Beautiful," whispered Mei, propping herself up on her elbow and stroking Yuzu's hair and kissing her along her neck and the top of her chest. "You're beautiful, Yuzu."

"Stop," whispered Yuzu, her voice coming back to her and her arms encircling Mei's head. "You're just being nice."

Looking up, Mei could see the embarrassment in her wife's smile and knowing it was a little mean; Mei decided to have a little fun.

"Since when have you ever known me to be nice," said Mei before leaving a carefully placed bite on Yuzu's wrist making her hiss and whimper.

Sitting up, Mei kissed Yuzu, sucking in her lower lip while she began removing her fingers from her wife's warmth, causing Yuzu to gasp and break the kiss.

"Please don't," panted Yuzu as Mei removed her fingers from inside her. "Just a little more, Mei. Please?"

Mei stared down at Yuzu's flushed face, her green eyes barely visibile through the early morning light. Mei could see the hunger in them and wished she could spend the next several ours fulfilling every desire Yuzu had, but it would have to wait. They'd been up for almost two hours and what had begun as their normal good morning kiss quickly turned into a repeat of the previous nights events after they'd put Airi to bed in the other tent and as much as they both wanted to continue, they knew it couldn't last no matter how much Yuzu begged.

"We can't," whispered Mei with a delicate kiss to the bite marks she'd left on Yuzu's chest. "You know we can't Yuzu. I'm sorry."

"I know." Yuzu smiled contentedly as she cradled Mei's warm, body against hers while peppering her head with soft kisses as they caressed each other in their afterglow. "But maybe we'll get an encore later tonight? Maybe I can do a better job of paying attention to you?"

"You did plenty." Mei pushed herself up and placed a kiss on Yuzu's nose before brushing some hair out of her wife's face before cleaning her fingers of Yuzu's juices. "You don't hear me complaining do you?"

"No." Yuzu propped herself up, ignoring the small twinge in her back as she leaned in for another kiss, careful to avoid biting too hard down on Mei's lip. "It just felt like you were doing most of the work and you know I don't like disappointing you."

"I'm not disappointed, Yuzu." Mei sighed and carefully lowered herself onto Yuzu's lap and took her wife's face in her hands. "Believe me when I say that I have never been disappointed, especially after last night."

Mei took a moment to show off the hickeys Yuzu had left along her abdomen and thighs before returning to her original position and kissed her wife. "Even when we get interrupted, you've never disappointed me. I may have occasionally been left a little unsatisfied, but..."

"Okay," laughed Yuzu, wrapping her arms around Mei's waist before kissing the ring that was dangling from her wife's neck. "Okay, you win. Again."

"Of course I do." Mei gave Yuzu one final kiss before removing her hands and headed over to her suitcase and began choosing her clothes for the day. "What time is it?"

"A little before seven," said Yuzu crawling over to Mei, risking a few kisses to the back of her wife's neck as while her hands massaged Mei's hips and stomach, her fingers lingering on the faded scar. "So we got a little time before she wakes up."

"Good," answered Mei, barely fighting off the urge to follow Yuzu back beneath the blankets and instead pressed a bra and a long-sleeved t-shirt into Yuzu's hands and pointing at the entrance to their tent, "then you can go and get cleaned up first while I figure out what we're going to do after breakfast."

"First we gotta catch breakfast, remember," teased Yuzu after fastening her bra and slipping the faded t-shirt with a teddy bear on the front over her head. "We promised Airi to take her fishing down at the small pond they have set up."

"I know, I know," grumbled Mei as she finished pulling on a fresh pair of underwear and jeans. "I was hoping you'd forgotten as I fail to see the appeal in it."

"Because it's fun," chuckled Yuzu sliding on a pair of long shorts and grabbing her phone and a towel. "Also it's relaxing, and the kids have fun and..."

Yuzu leaned back and somehow managed to land her head in Mei's lap and smiling said, "It reminds me of our first trip together. It was our first time fishing, well I fished you watched, remember?"

"I remember." Mei smiled sadly down at Yuzu, her finger tracing the lines of her wife's face, amazed at how after almost twenty years she'd barely seemed to age. "I remember a lot of things about that trip. Not all of them good."

"I know." Yuzu took Mei's hand and pressed it against her lips hoping to alleviate some of her pain. "It wasn't our best trip, but it had its high points. You, in your weird way, finally told me how you felt, and we had some fun. So I'd say it was mildly successful given how things ended up. Besides, we still got these in the end."

Yuzu kissed the rings on Mei's finger and nuzzled her hand. "Silver linings, Mei. We gotta have some bad things happen to us or else we can't appreciate the good things, and I'm thankful for the good things in our lives."

"You're right." Mei nodded, a real smile spreading across her lips as she remembered all the good things she had in her life despite all the hardships they'd gone through. "We do have a lot to be thankful for, and I'm grateful that I got to experience them with you Yuzu."

Yuzu's face turned a bright red at hearing her wife's words, and after kissing her hand again, Yuzu managed a quiet, "Thanks, Mei," before being interrupted by the sound of a hand lazily slapping against the front of their tent.

"Mommy? Mama? Are you guys up?"

Both Mei and Yuzu chuckled when they heard their daughter's voice, and while Mei busied herself with finding a shirt and putting on a bra, Yuzu said, "We'll be there in a second Airi."

"O...okay," yawned Airi and a vision of her daughter dressed in her pajamas clutching her stuffed owl flashed across Yuzu's mind making her smile.

"I'm ready," said Mei as she fixed her hair after adjusting the long sleeves on her tee-shirt, this one with a faded picture of Yuzubochi. "Go ahead and open it."

Sitting up, Yuzu sat up and crawled toward the flap and unzipped it, revealing Airi holding her stuffed owl and wearing one of the tee-shirts Hideki hadn't so much as lent to her but given to her before leaving on his trip; smiling at how it hung off one of her shoulders.

"Good morning, Sweetheart. Did you sleep well?"

"Uh huh," answered Airi smiling as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "I gotta go potty though."

"Okay," said Yuzu pointing at Airi's tent, where she saw the stuffed animals Mei and Yuzu had put her to sleep with were spread out across the tent and Airi's blankets were nothing more than a pile in the middle of the futon they'd brought. "Let's go get your pants and shoes on, maybe change your shirt, get washed up, and then we'll go fishing for breakfast, sound fun?"

Airi nodded and let out another loud yawn and after nearly falling off the platform that held her mother's tents; followed Yuzu across the grass and beneath the large canopy they'd set up between the tents. With Yuzu's help, they found her a pair of shorts and a clean tee-shirt and headed off toward the nearby bathroom and cleaning stations.

It was quiet as they crossed the field, as there were only a small number of people up at that hour. The sun was barely making itself known through the cracks in the mountains, making the grass and river sparkle while a few birds sang softly making their walk much more enjoyable. As they made their way to the bathrooms, a few people greeted them warmly and a couple of kids shouted excitedly at Airi and asked if she wanted to play later. Instead of answering, Airi waved back shyly before running to catch up to Yuzu and attached herself to her mother's shorts.

"Airi," Yuzu as they came to a stop outside the bathrooms, "what's the matter sweetheart? Did those kids do something mean?"

"No." Airi shook her head and edged toward the bathroom door. "They just waved at me and asked if I wanted to play."

"I see." Yuzu moved them off to the side of the entrance and crouched down to her daughter's height and pointed behind them while Mei headed to one of the external cleaning stations and began cleaning up. "Do you want to play with them?"

"No." Airi shook her head and stepped closer to her mother, clutched her shirt and pressed her face into her Yuzu's chest. "I wanna go fishing with you and Mommy."

"That's fine," said Yuzu encouragingly before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Knowing how to fish is a handy thing to know how to do. Especially if you ever get lost in the woods so today, we'll spend the morning fishing, and afterward, maybe we can take a hike and go exploring. How's that sound?"

"That sounds fun," said Airi excited at the prospect of being able to explore a new place with her moms. "Teacher said we had to do some outdoor stuff for summer homework so can I bring my workbook and can you and Mommy help me?"

"That sounds fun." Yuzu kissed her daughter's nose before asking, "Want to know what else we can do when we go out on our hike?"

"What?" Airi's eyes grew wide at the prospect of making their adventure even more fun. "What are we going to do Mama?"

"Well," Yuzu held a finger to her mouth before continuing, "you have to promise to keep this a secret from Mommy, but we have some thermoses and a lot of snacks and stuff or sandwiches so after cleaning up breakfast, pack up our backpacks with those things and we hold a surprise picnic for Mommy. How's that sound?"

"That sounds amazing," shouted Airi, forgetting any pretense of secrecy and catching the attention of Mei and making the few people who'd joined them to laugh at her excitement and make her blush.

"Is everything all right," asked Mei after drying her face and hands. "Yuzu, what'd you do to get Airi so excited?"

"Nothing," squeaked Airi, turning on her heel and pointing at the bathroom door. "I'm gonna pee now."

"All right," said Mei confused but also humored by her daughter's attempt to keep the secret. "Make sure you wash your hands when you're done."

"She's got a lot of energy for being up so early," said an older woman with white hair woman and pale skin who was in the process of cleaning up a squalling baby.

"That's her fault." Mei pointed at Yuzu who was struggling to find her towel to dry her face so she could see. "I don't know how, but she always seems to end up having an abundance of energy no matter how little sleep she's gotten."

"Must be nice," said the woman as she patted the baby on the back. "I'm practically useless without nine hours of sleep. Are you two babysitting her or is she a family member?"

"Family," said both Mei and Yuzu in unison, causing both of them to blush when they realized what they'd done.

"I see," said the woman smirking as she noticed the redness of their faces and the matching rings they wore. After putting the baby in its stroller, she politely asked, "I hope you don't find it rude, but would you mind if I asked which one of you carried her?"

"Me," said Yuzu raising her hand meekly and making the woman chuckle. "She has an older brother, but he's away for the summer."

"I see." The woman turned on the faucet and gave her hands a quick wash before drying them off. "How old is he?"

"He just turned eighteen," said Mei quietly. "He's in America right now in hopes of earning a scholarship for college."

"America?" The woman's eyebrow raised in shock. "That's quite a long ways to go for an education. What does he plan on studying?"

"It's a dance school," said Mei, straightening up and sticking out her chest when she saw the look of skepticism appear on the woman's face. "He's been studying since he was six and he's received several awards from competitions. It's one of the most celebrated institutions for someone looking of his caliber."

"That's wonderful," replied the woman genuinely after hearing Mei's pride in her son's achievements and catching her off-guard. "I'll make an offering at the shrine later for his success, and if your daughter is any indication, I'm sure he'll make you both proud. I hate to be rude; I have to get back to our campsite, my son and daughter-in-law are preparing breakfast. If you happen to see us, please stop by. I'm sure my granddaughter would enjoy the company."

"We will consider it." Mei bowed in thanks just as Airi collided with the back of her legs, nearly knocking her to the ground.

"I'm done, Mommy!" Airi smiled at Mei and then turned to see the old woman smiling at her and gasped before moving behind Yuzu's legs and peeked out from behind them. "Hi."

"Hello." The woman bowed politely in greeting. "Might I ask your name, little one?"

"Aihara Airi." Airi stepped out from behind Yuzu's legs, bowed in greeting before moving back behind them. "Who're you? Are you a friend of my mommy and mama's?"

"That remains to be seen," answered the woman with a smile. "But my name is Kaiyo Miu. It's been nice meeting you all and I wish you a lovely day. and hope you come by and visit us soon."

With that, the women left and Airi, Yuzu looked down at Airi and smiled, picked her up and said, "That was an excellent greeting Airi. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mama." Airi reached for the small bottled soap her mothers had brought and washed her hands and face before asking. "Who was that?"

"Someone camping with her family," replied Mei, handing Airi a towel. "She offered to let you play with her granddaughter later if you'd like."

"Okay." Airi dried her face and stuffed the towel under her arm. "Ummm does that mean the baby or another kid?"

"We're not sure." Mei took Airi's hand and began walking back to the tent. "But if we see her and you want to visit their campsite and we will."

Airi nodded, and they made their way back to the campsite and retrieved a few things before making their way down the pathway toward the mostly empty fishing pond and grabbed a few of the complementary poles and a bucket that along with some bait from the attendant.

"Okay Airi," said Yuzu grabbing one of the small chairs that they kept, pointing at the small child sized bamboo pole Airi was holding. "Do you remember how to bait the hook?"

"I think so." Airi grabbed some of the bait and began rolling it in her fingers and laughed. "It feels weird."

"It does," said Yuzu as she watched Mei fumble with trying to undo the knot that she had somehow formed halfway up the line. "But show me how to put the hook on and when you're done I'm going to help Mommy."

"I don't need your help," huffed Mei as she pulled the hook out of her jeans only to prick her finger on the end of the hook. "Ow."

"Give me a minute," said Yuzu to Airi before standing up and walking over to Mei and began inspecting the line, chuckling as she started to help her wife. "How'd you manage to do this? We haven't even started."

"I don't know." Yuzu relinquished the pole to Yuzu and watched Airi who was still playing with the small ball of bait and giggling as it stretched between her fingers. "You know I've never been good at things like this, so I would appreciate it if you didn't laugh at me."

"I'm not." Yuzu finally managed to fix the snag and carefully worked the line back into a functional form, set it down, and pointed at Mei's hand. "Let me see."

"Yuzu it's..."

"Mei," said Yuzu in an uncharacteristically stern voice, catching both her wife and daughter by surprise, "these hooks have been inside fishes mouths and we all know how clean those are. So let me look at it, please?"

"Fine." Mei held out her right forefinger, revealing a small smear of blood on the tip of her finger.

"That's going to need a bandage," sighed Yuzu, pointing at the small rental station. "I'll check to see if they have anything. Airi, make sure Mommy doesn't hurt herself."

"Yes, Mama." Airi stood up and moved next to Mei and pointed at her hook and held up her bait. "Umm can you watch me with this before you go?"

"Sure." Yuzu crouched down and watched, slowly guiding Airi with applying the bait and clapping in celebration when she managed to do it without hurting herself. "Good job, sweetheart. I'm going to get some bandages. You sit down and if you want, you and Mommy can cast your line. I'll be back real soon so do your best to keep her safe."

"All right." Airi grabbed her chair and pulled it across the ground and placed it between Mei and Yuzu's seats. "I'll stay here and protect Mommy."

"That's my brave girl."

Yuzu rubbed her head and went for a kiss from Mei only to have her wife dodge her and shooing her away with a wave of her hand

"Go and do what you need to do. We'll be here when you get back."

Yuzu nodded and off toward the attendant and began speaking to the woman while Airi pulled on Mei's pant leg and pointed at the pond.

"Mommy, can I try fishing now?"

"Of course, Airi." Mei shifted her chair and moved closer to Airi. "Do you remember how?"

"Yeah." Airi raised her rod, and with a gentle flick of her wrist cast, the line and Mei watched as the hook disappeared into the water. "See?! It's easy."

"I suppose it is." Mei smiled and watched as Airi kicked her legs and hummed quietly to herself.

"Airi," asked Mei after a few minutes of quiet, "did you sleep all right without sharing the tent with Mama and me?"

"Yeah." Airi nodded and yawned loudly. "I watched a movie on the tablet, and you and Mama left the walkie talkie in there, and you were close like at home. But it was a little scary because I saw a lot of shadows and I missed you guys."

"I'm very sorry about that." Mei kissed her daughter's head and rubbed her back with the heel of her palm. "Do you think you can do it again tonight or do you want Mama and I to sleep in your tent?"

"I dunno." Airi shrugged as she stared impatiently at her line. "I kinda liked it, but it was weird cuz I kept hearing noises. Did you and Mama sleep okay?"

"We slept very well," said Mei blushing as she remembered how aggressive Yuzu had been the previous night and wished she could caress the carefully placed hickeys that covered her body. "We did stay up later than we wanted because we were worried. We had to check on you a few times before we went to bed, but once we knew you were safe, we had a very nice night."

"Was I brave sleeping by myself?" Airi sat up straight as she thought she saw her line dip only to deflate when she didn't feel a tug.

"You were very brave," said Mei smiling as she saw Yuzu approaching with some first aid supplies, "and if you want to sleep alone again or if you want Mama and me in your tent, feel free to let us know."

Airi only managed a nod as she was focused solely on the possibility of her catching a fish.

"Nothing yet," asked Yuzu, opening the small first aid kit and pointing at Mei's injured finger.

"No," winced Mei as she felt Yuzu begin wiping her finger with an alcohol wipe. "But I can tell how determined she is by the look on her face. She wants to make you proud."

"She doesn't have to worry about that." Yuzu looked over her shoulder at Airi and smiled at how oblivious their daughter was to their conversation. "She's never even had to try at that. I hope she doesn't burn herself out in thinking we want her to."

"Something tells me she'll do that even if we tell her not to." Mei smiled at seeing Airi getting frustrated before pulling her rod back before casting it again. "Just like Hideki. Even though we've told him he doesn't have to, he always pushes himself too hard."

"I think it's the name," chuckled Yuzu as she wrapped a band-aid around her wife's finger. "We always tell them how they have to be careful because of the family name and I think it gets to them."

"I think you're right." Mei sighed and stared down at her injured finger and then at Airi. "Maybe we've been too hard on them."

"I don't think that's true." Yuzu placed her finger under Mei's chin and lifted her wife's eyes to her. "I heard you yesterday telling Hideki he doesn't have to get the scholarship. If were as hard on him as gramps was on you, he'd be sitting at home right now, stressing about his exams and taking over the school. Instead, he's in New York, pursuing something he enjoys doing and if Airi wants to pursue music, then we know she'll kick butt at it, even if it only ends up being a hobby."

"A costly hobby," snorted Mei as Airi cast her line for the third time. "But thank you for telling me that. It means a lot, and you're right that it is probably us reminding them about their family name that is causing them undue stress. Do you think we should talk to them?"

"I think Hideki's fine," said Yuzu as Airi let out a groan of frustration at still not having caught anything. "But I think talking to her wouldn't be a bad idea. Together though, okay."

"Together," confirmed Mei her voice her cheeks burning when Yuzu kissed her fingertip before patting the top of her hand and lifting Airi, removing her line and making her growl at her mother to put her down.

"Watch it," cautioned Yuzu sitting down in the chair and placing Airi in her lap. "I'm just trying to help, so let me see what we did wrong, and we'll go from there."

Airi begrudgingly handed the rod over to Yuzu and Mei felt the impulse to pull out her phone and snap a quick picture of Yuzu observing Airi applying the bait to the hook.

"It looks fine," hummed Yuzu as she inspected the hook and shrugged. "Ah well, let's try this and see what happens. You ready?"

"Yep." Airi took the rod, and Mei managed to snap a few more pictures of them casting the line and sitting there with Yuzu's chin resting on Airi's hair, smiling as their daughter quietly sang a song.

They had to recast a few times as Airi was growing impatient which made Mei chuckle. It wasn't like they needed to catch the fish. Yuzu had packed more than enough food, and with them being so close to town and the campsite offering a meal hall, there was no chance of them starving. But Airi had been looking forward to it and if it made her happy Mei was willing to sit through it, no matter how boring it was. Though it made it all worth it as Airi couldn't resist singing to herself.

"And I think to myself, what a wonderful world."

Airi's voice trailed off and Yuzu let out a quiet cheer before saying, "That was very beautiful Airi. Where'd you hear that song?"

"On my tablet." Airi tilted her head up and smiled at her mother while Mei moved her chair closer. "It's a really pretty song and I know two ways to sing it, but I like the one with the guy who plays the trumpet more. The other one is good too and the guy who sings it was huge. Almost as big as a car."

"That's very big," laughed Mei, rubbing Airi's shoulder and pointing at the water. "But also I think your singing was good luck; look."

Airi turned her head down and gasped when she saw the edge of her rod begin to dip beneath the water before feeling a violent tug on the fishing pole.

"I got something, Mama," squealed Airi tugging hard on her fishing pole. "It's heavy!"

"Let me help," said Yuzu extending her hands around her daughter's only to be told off.

"I wanna catch it," grunted Airi trying to mimic the moves she saw Hideki and Yuzu do whenever she watched them ish. "I wanna catch it so I can say I caught it for you and Mommy for breakfast."

"Okay." Yuzu placed one hand on Airi's right arm and motioned for Mei to hold her left and when she did said, "If you need help, Mommy and I will be right here."

"Kay," grunted Airi tugging violently on the fishing pole, her teeth gritted as she fought to bring their breakfast to them. Occasionally she managed to get the above the water enough to the point where they could see the water splashing; eventually, Airi relented and asked her mother for help.

"All right," chuckled Yuzu, winking at Mei. "On the count of three. One, two, three!"

On three they all pulled, not that it mattered since Yuzu was more than enough to pull the fish up, but the excitement on Airi's face when they landed the fish and her clutching the line as she laughed at its wriggling form had her bouncing in Yuzu's lap.

"I did it! I caught a fish!"

"Congratulations," said Mei and Yuzu in unison making Airi blush.

"Thanks," she giggled rubbing the back of her head while she held the fish up towards Mei. "This one's yours Mommy!"

"Thank you, Airi." Mei's face twisted into a strained smile as Airi continued to shove the fish in her face, spraying her with water.

"Aren't you gonna take it?" Airi lifted the fish higher, trying to get it as close to Mei's face as possible.

"Why don't you take it off," suggested Mei barely dodging getting hit in the face by the fish's tail. "You're the one who caught it after all."

"Ummm because Mama said last night I can't do that by myself cuz the fish might wiggle and I'd hurt myself on the hook," explained Airi while Yuzu snickered quietly behind her their daughter's hair. "So you or Mama gotta take it off. But before we do that can we take a picture? I wanna show everyone I caught my first fish!"

"You got it."

Yuzu reached into her pocket and shifted the chairs so that they were all sitting together and tried to get a good picture of the three of them, but between Airi, the fish, and the pole, it was much more difficult than she initially thought. Thankfully one of the people next to them offered to take it. As they situated themselves, Airi insisted that she stood on the chair next to Mei, both of them holding the fish up so that it was in clear view of the lens.

"Okay and..." the woman who was holding the phone made a gesture that looked like she took it but after a moment shook her head. "Sorry, my hand slipped so this one is all blurry. One more. Okay now smile on three, one, two..."

All of them smiled and just after the flash went off, the fish caught them off guard by suddenly flopping around on the line. There was something that sounded like three, loud, wet slaps, a squeal from Airi and a shout of surprise from Mei followed by the pole hitting the ground.

"Mommy's fish!" Airi hopped down off the chair and chased after the bouncing fish while Yuzu grabbed the pole and picked the fish up off the ground, unhooked it, and tossed it into a bucket of water while Mei held her cheek in stunned surprise.

"Here you go," coughed the woman handing Yuzu her phone back and failing to hide the smile that was spreading across her face. "Don't worry the picture turned out good, luckily before it decided to start moving, so you should be fine if you decide to print it."

"Thank you." Yuzu looked down at Mei who was still stunned and the fish that was swimming lazily in its bucket while Airi scowled at it.

"Bad fishy," said Airi pointing at the bucket like Mei and Yuzu occasionally did when they were upset with her. "I'm gonna make sure you're tasty for Mommy."

"It's fine, Airi." Mei lifted her phone to her face and checked her reflection, unfazed by the bright red mark the fish's' tail had left on her cheek. "It was only doing what it thought was necessary to survive or out of reflex. There's no reason to get upset."

"Does it hurt?" Yuzu sat down in her chair and began inspecting Mei's cheek. "It doesn't look bad, but it could bruise if we aren't careful."

"I'll survive." Mei did her best to smile as she moved her hair in front of her cheek before kissing Yuzu's hand and glaring at the bucket. "But do make sure you fulfill Airi's promise and make sure that fish is delicious. Seems only right that we give such a strong specimen a proper send off."

"R...right," chuckled nervously at the cold look her wife was giving the bucket. "Airi come here and help me catch the rest of the fish. We only need two or three more then we're going to head back and have breakfast, and if you want, I'll teach you how to clean them and cook them."

"Yes!" Airi ran back and hopped into Yuzu's lap and smiled at Mei who smiled back, before taking the fishing pole and with the help of her mothers caught three more equally impressive fish, though they made sure to keep them clear of Mei's face after catching them.

After their fishing expedition, they returned to the campsite where Yuzu spent a good long while showing Airi how to properly clean the fish while Mei busied herself with a book, unable to watch as Yuzu removed the head and organs from the fish despite the teasing she received.

"Just because I'm used to cooking with them at home, doesn't mean I'm interested in learning how to disembowel them," explained Mei, flipping to the next page of her book. "I was perfectly happy with watching the two of you."

"Well how about instead of cleaning the fish, you at least get the salads ready?" Yuzu dropped a bag of ingredients on the collapsible picnic table they'd brought and winked. "Think you can manage that or do we have to have a private discussion later?"

"I don't think that will be a problem." Mei took the bag and retrieved a filter from the bag of kitchen equipment they'd brought with them before kissing Yuzu's cheek and whispering. "Regardless, I look forward to our having a private conversation later."

"All right then." Yuzu returned the kiss and gave Mei a gentle pat on her butt causing her wife to blush.

"Yuzu, be careful that's.."

"Mama! Mommy! Look!"

Mei and Yuzu turned to see Airi holding up one of the fish heads by the spine and had taken to twirling it around in a circle.

"Yuzu, please..."

"I'm on it." Yuzu gave Mei a quick, playful slap on the rear before heading over to Airi and proceeded to take away the propelling fish head.

"Hey," pouted Airi sticking out her lower lip.

"I know you think that's funny," said Yuzu casting a cautious look over her shoulder to see Mei's retreating heading toward the sinks, "and it kind of is."

Yuzu winked and Airi giggled at hearing her mother agreeing with her.

"But it's not good manners." Yuzu set the fish head into a plastic bag and wiped her hands on a towel before continuing her lesson. "So, do you remember what you learned?"

"That I can't use a knife without you or Mommy," said Airi with a nod and pointing at her fingers. "Cuz if I don't then I could lose a finger and that the fish has to be cleaned really good or we could get sick."

"Or worse," said Yuzu, glad to see that it the information had stuck. "If we were at home, I'd help you with the knife, and I'm glad you remembered the part about cleaning the fish. Now even though you can't help me cut do you want to help me prepare the fish?"

"Yeah!" Airi slid down off the chair she was sitting on and moved in next to Yuzu who gave her a small step stool so she could look see over the table. "We gotta clip its fins, remove the scales, and then take off the head and clean it, then remove the bones before we cooking it."

"Good job." Yuzu pulled out another bag filled with some sauces and ingredients and set them and a piece of paper in front of Airi. "Now take the mirin, soy sauce, and all these other ingredients and measure them out and put them into this bowl and let me know when you're done."

"Got it."

Airi nodded and proceeded to read the directions that Yuzu had written out and in such a slow, methodical, almost surgeon-like precision that Mei had returned by the time she told Yuzu she was ready.

"Good job," said Yuzu handing Airi the whisk while Mei stared at the two of them in amazement.

"You still haven't finished cooking the fish?" Mei set the filter down and began removing the freshly cleaned vegetables and with the spare kitchen knife began preparing the salad.

"Airi was extra careful while helping me with making the glaze," said Yuzu with a shrug. "But she was a huge help with cleaning the rest of the fish."

"I got to pull out the guts," said Airi with a broad smile as she whisked the sauce together with Yuzu's guidance.

"I know." Mei grimaced as she remembered how Hideki had the same gleeful look on his face the time he'd cleaned a fish with Yuzu and even after seeing it countless times, Mei still found it to be a rather disgusting ordeal. "I watched you do it and I'm proud of you, but I'd rather not be reminded of it until next time."

"Fine," groaned Airi as she handed the mixing bowl to Yuzu watched as Mei finished making the salad. "Mommy, how'd you learn to cook?"

"Your Mama and Grandma taught me," said Mei rather unenthusiastically.

"They did?" Airi's head popped up in surprise at this and she felt herself salivating as Yuzu began grilling the fish on one of the small portable burners they'd brought.

"Yes." Mei smiled fondly at Airi who was hanging onto her every word. "There were times I asked one of them to show me how they made things because I was curious and I wanted to make sure that if Mama or Grandma didn't have time to cook for us they had a healthy meal waiting for them."

"Oh!" Airi's eyes widened just as Yuzu began cracking the eggs for the rolled omelets. "Mama. Are you gonna teach me to cook soon?"

"Of course." Yuzu smiled and whisked the eggs before pouring them into the pan. "I kind of already am actually. I taught Hideki around your age, and Grandma taught me, so of course, I'm going to teach you. It's a family tradition to learn how to cook, even if Mommy was a bit late in learning."

"Says the woman who'd lie to her friends about all the boys she dat..."

"Okay, okay," laughed Yuzu nervously hoping AIri didn't ask what Mei was talking about. "You made your point. I'm sorry."

"We will find out later just how sorry you are," said Mei with a flirtatious tone that only Yuzu was able to pick up on. "If time allows of course."

"Ye...yeah..."

Yuzu's face turned a bright red at Mei's threat and returned to the food while Airi giggled and barraged Yuzu with questions about how to make the food and even managed to help roll the omelettes and finish cooking the fish. Though the fish did end up slightly burnt and the eggs ended up looking more like lopsided tacos than a neatly rolled cylinder.

"And we're done," sighed Yuzu after cutting the omelettes and divvying up the food and handing out the plates.

"Thank you, Yuzu." Mei smiled, taking her plate while taking a moment to caress her wife's hand and chuckled when she felt Yuzu almost drop the plate.

"What's so funny," asked Airi standing up to feel Yuzu's forehead with the back of her hand. "Are you sick, Mama? Do you need a cold washcloth?"

"Maybe later," coughed Yuzu before taking a bite of her fish and smiled while Mei them some cold barley tea, trying to look coy. "Good job on the fish, Airi."

"'fanks, 'ama," answered Airi through a mouthful of salad.

"Finish swallowing before talking, Airi." Mei pointed at her daughter's chair but smiled as she handed her a cup of tea. "Do you have anything you want to do today or are you going to, as your Mama and Aunt Matsuri occasionally say, wing it?"

"We're gonna go on a hike," announced Airi after taking a particularly large bite of egg. "Wanna come? It's for my summer homework."

"Of course I'll come," said Mei before handing her daughter a napkin, "and not just because of your homework either. I want to spend some time with you and Mama, and I am rather interested in the area around here. When I told a business contact where we were going, we were offered to visit their family home that's up here, and I was wondering if you'd take issue if they joined us."

"As long as it's a personal visit, not a work visit," answered Yuzu while taking a sip of tea before sighing. "Oh who am I kidding, stuff like this always turns into a work visit."

"I promise that I'll do my best to ensure that it doesn't." Mei pushed aside her now empty plate and bowl and extended her foot to massage Yuzu's calf. Unfortunately, Airi had begun kicking her feet and managed to hit Mei in the shin just before her foot reached its destination.

"Sorry, Mommy." Airi shrunk down in her seat and fumbled with her chopsticks to grab the rest of her omelette.

"It's all right Airi." Mei reached down and rubbed her injured leg while Yuzu laughed through her last bite of salad. "It was an accident and sit up. It's rude to slouch."

Airi nodded, straightened herself, and returned to her food while Mei began stacking the dishes when she felt something against her leg. Thinking it was a bug, Mei reached down to swat it away until she felt the edge of Yuzu's toe caressing her leg. Looking up Mei saw Yuzu's hand propped in her hand, her mouth curved in an adoring smile and Mei couldn't resist doing the same.