Yumi climbed up the stairs of the Rose mansion with her satchel over her shoulder while dragging her overnight bag. She'd woken up early to pack her things. She hadn't been able to sleep much last night. Her thoughts had been preoccupied with anticipation over her weekend at Sachiko's and memories of the intimacy she'd shared with her girlfriend. She couldn't help but wonder what the weekend had in store for them.

She'd left for school early so she could hide her bag at the mansion before the Yamayurikai meeting. She didn't feel like explaining the need for it to the other members. If they found out about her plans for the weekend, she was sure at least Yoshino would tease her about it.

Her friend was very supportive, but she could be so intrusive sometimes. Since finding out about the nature of her realtionship with Sachiko, Yoshino was forever prodding her for personal information. It was almost as if the girl was trying to live vicariously through her and Yumi found it a little odd how Yoshino kept comparing her own relationship with Rei to hers and Sachiko's.

If she didn't know better, she'd swear that Yoshino felt more than just sisterly love for her cousin. But that was foolish. Wasn't it? Yoshino wasn't in love with Rei...

Yumi shrugged the thought out of her mind. She was probably just projecting her own feelings. Just because she and her Onee-sama were now girlfriends, it didn't mean that every seour relationship had that potential.

With new resolve, Yumi stepped through the door of the general meeting room and froze.

"Sachiko?!" She dropped her bag and satchel onto the ground in surprise. "Good morning. What are you doing here?"

"Good morning Yumi," Sachiko smiled at her from where she sat at the table reading over some papers. "I was just running through the agenda for today's meeting. You're here early?"

Yumi walked over to Sachiko with a smile. "I wanted to hide my bag here before the meeting," she explained.

"I see," Sachiko spoke softly as she reached for her hands. "Come here Yumi, let me kiss you."

Yumi blushed and was a little surprised when Sachiko pulled her down onto her lap. She didn't resist however and wrapped her arms around Sachiko's neck as the girl's hands reached around her waist and captured her lips.

Yumi closed her eyes and jutted out her bottom lip so that Sachiko could run her tongue over it. Yumi loved it when Sachiko did that and she knew Sachiko enjoyed it as well. Sachiko could read her perfectly and before long, Yumi found herself moaning softly as their kiss deepened.

She quickly became so absorbed with Sachiko's lips against hers that she failed to hear the door open. All she could focus on was Sachiko. Nothing and no one existed outside her girlfriend's lips.

Noriko and Touko entered the room and paused. They looked at each other and giggled softly in amusement.

Touko lifted a finger to her lips, indicating to Noriko to keep quiet.

Norriko held back a chuckle and shook her head. "We should let them know we're here," she whispered into Touko's ear.

"Why?" Touko smirked and whispered back softly. "They look like they're enjoying themselves."

"Should we leave?"

Touko shook her head as a devious look came into her eye.

"We came here to make tea for everyone, right? Lets see how long it takes for them to notice us," Touko suggested, speaking the words in a hushed tone against Noriko's ear.

"But won't they be embarrassed?"

Touko lifted a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. "That's the whole point."

"You're so bad Touko-san," Noriko smothered a giggle of her own. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Come on," Touko insisted. "It'll be fun."

"I don't know..." Noriko protested half-heartedly, unable to hide the sparkle in her eyes.

Touko grinned. She pressed a finger to her lips and grasped Noriko's hand.

"Come on," she repeated. "Lets make some tea."

Shaking her head in amusement, Noriko gave in and followed Touko to the sink.

A few minutes later, the girls were carefully pouring the tea into cups, doing their best to make as little noise as possible. They crept around the kissing couple and placed their drinks gently onto the table, wanting to get their serve out of the way first.

They looked at one another and covered their mouths in a quiet giggle, amused to have gotten away with their plot so far.

They were placing the last of the tea onto the table when the rest of the Yamayurikai members stepped through the door.

Touko headed for the doorway instantly and placed her finger against her lips.

Yoshino looked over at Sachiko and Yumi with amusement and covered her mouth to smother her chuckle.

Rei glanced over at the pair briefly before giving Touko a questioning look.

Shimako lifted an eyebrow and met Noriko's gaze quizically as her petite seour reached her side.

"What's going on?" Rei whispered, doing her best to hide her amusement without success. "How long have the two of you been here?"

"Long enough to make tea," Touko spoke in a hushed tone, a naughty smirk on her lips.

Yoshino was unable to contain a soft giggle as she glanced back at the kissing pair. "You mean they've been like this the whole time?"

Touko nodded at Yoshino, her smirk turning into a devious grin. "I don't think they've come up for air once. They didn't even notice when the water boiled."

"I'm surprised you didn't let them know," Shimako whispered to her little sister.

Noriko shrugged and smiled at her Onee-sama. "It was Touko-san's idea."

"And you just went along with it?" Shimako did her best to put on a stern look, but couldn't hide the bemused smile on her lips.

"It was fun," Noriko admitted softly. "I honestly thought they would've noticed by now."

"The two of you should be ashamed," Rei spoke firmly, the twinkle in her eyes belying her words.

"Rei-chan, you gotta admit, it is funny though," Yoshino grinned. "I mean, look at them," she pointed in the direction of the oblivious couple. "They're completely out of it. An earthquake could hit and they'd probably still be at it."

Rei looked at Yoshino and smirked. She shared a warm look with her cousin before steeling her eyes in resolve.

"Okay, that's enough," she spoke with determination. "We have to let them know we're here." She turned around and took a step towards Yumi and Sachiko.

"Sachiko! Yumi!"

"Hmmm?" Yumi pulled away from Sachiko in a daze, her eyes still closed. Did she just hear someone call her name? It didn't matter. She missed the taste of Sachiko's lips too much to worry about that. She went to move back in only to find that Sachiko had beaten her to it. With a soft moan she opened her lips to allow Sachiko's tongue entry into her mouth.

Yoshino laughed out loud, not bothering to curb her reaction. "Oh my God!" She looked at her Onee-sama with a grin. "This is priceless."

Rei chuckled, as did the rest of the Yamayurikai. "Maybe we should pour some cold water over them," she joked in a hushed tone.

"Lets throw something at them," Touko suggested with a chuckle.

Yoshino laughed. "That's actually a good idea."

She reached into her satchel and searched around for a notebook. She began sliding out some blank pages and handed them to each of her friends silently. She rolled a couple of pages into tight balls in demonstration.

Touko and Noriko instantly followed Yoshino's lead.

Shimako and Rei were a little more reluctant. They shared a dissaproving look, but after a few seconds they couldn't help but laugh and decided to follow suit.

"On the count of three," Yoshino held up her ammunition and grinned eagerly.

"One!" Touko spoke to confirm her ready-ness

"Two!" Noriko copied with a giggle.

"Three!" Yoshino finished up and pegged first one then the other ball of paper at her two friends.

Yumi pulled back as she felt something light yet raspy hit her shoulder, then her neck and back.

"Huh!? Ehhh!?" She blinked her eyes and lost balance. A moment later she ended up on the floor looking up at the sight of her friends laughing.

"Onee-sama!" Touko rushed to her side in a fit of giggles. "Are you okay?" She asked in between spurts of laughter. "Here," she held out her hand and helped Yumi up off the floor.

"I'm fine Touko-chan," she spoke with a blush as she rubbed her backside briefly before taking a seat next to Sachiko. "What's going on?"

"How long have you been here?" Sachiko questioned curtly as everyone moved to take a seat.

Touko laughed and sat down next to Yumi. "A little while now," she motioned at the tea in front of her. "Noriko and I made tea."

"What?!!!" Yumi glanced at her petite seour in shock, a deep blush marring her cheeks. She looked down in disbelief at the tea in front of her. "There's tea...?"

She met Sachiko's gaze and shared an embarrassed look with her girlfriend. She couldn't believe this...

"Why didn't you let us know you were here?" Sachiko demanded of her cousin. "And Rei, I expected more from you." She looked at her friend crossly.

Rei chuckled in response. "Hey, don't blame me. We only just got here."

"That's right, " Yoshino grinned mischevously. "Onee-sama called out your names...and nothing. You're lucky she didn't pour water over you," Yoshino chuckled. "It was my idea to throw paper instead."

"W-water?" Yumi's eyes widened.

Everyone bar Sachiko and Yumi laughed.

"You're both still a little red," Rei teased and stood up to continue her joke. "You look a bit warm. I might grab some water after all to cool you off. Do you think they need it?" She turned to her cousin and winked.

"Oh definitely," Yoshino smirked. "Look, they're getting even redder."

"Cut that out Rei," Sachiko glared at her friend threateningly. She picked up the papers in front of her and tapped their edge against the desk. "We don't have all morning. Lets get the meeting started. We've got business to attend to."

Rei laughed and sat back down. "You sure you can focus on work? If you like, we can postpone the meeting if you want to spend some more time alone with Yumi."

Yumi blushed and met her girlfriend's gaze for comfort as their friends laughed.

"I said that's enough Rei," Sachiko grasped Yumi's hand in reassurance before flashing a death-glance Rei.

Rei grinned as her laughter died down. "You're very scary Sachiko," she teased. "But you're right, lets get down to business."

"Before we do," Yoshino interrupted with a smirk. "I've got a question," she pointed over at Yumi's bag. "Is that yours Yumi? You going away for the weekend?"

"That's two questions," Yumi blushed and squeezed Sachiko's hand, allowing her girlfriend's touch to steady her nerves.

Yoshino laughed. "Okay then, I'll ask one question. Where are you going this weekend?"

Yumi's blush deepened and she stared at the tea cup in front of her. She lifted the cup to her lips and took a long sip before answering.

"I'm staying with Sachiko," she spoke in a soft voice, unable to meet anyone's gaze.

"Oooooooh!" Yoshino grinned as a devious look appeared in her eye.

Sachiko tightened her hold on Yumi's hand protectively. "Let it go Yoshino," she glared threateningly. "Now's not the time."

She glanced around the room with a menacing expression, daring anyone else to speak otherwise.

Yumi smiled gratefuly at her girlfriend and felt her heart skip a beat when Sachiko met her gaze. There was both love and reassurance in her eyes and Yumi felt all her embarrassement start to fade.

What did it matter if everyone had seen them kissing? It wasn't the first time. She was happily in love. And if she needed it, Sachiko would protect her from anything. She could clearly see that in her girlfriend's eyes.

She continued to look at Sachiko until she felt a poke at her shoulder. She startled out of her daze and glanced over at Touko with surprise.

Touko laughed. "Sachiko-sama," she glanced over Yumi's shoulder and smirked at her cousin. "If you're so eager to start the meeting, you might want to stop staring at my Onee-sama."

Yumi's blush deepend and she saw Sachiko's face turn a matching red. She was so embarrassed. She looked at her girlfriend reufully, realising they weren't helping matters by not looking away from one another.

After a moment, they both burst out laughing, their friends joining in right behind them. Pretty soon the whole room was filled with laughter.

Sachiko looked over at Touko with a smile, her shoulders still shaking with mirth.

Touko merely smiled back and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Okay then," Sachiko turned back to look at the papers in front of her. "Now that we've all had our fun, lets get down to business."

xxx

Once the meeting had wrapped up, Touko and Noriko made quick work of washing the tea cups before saying their goodbyes. Shimako left with them while Rei and Sachiko were busy finalising some last minute paperwork.

While their Onee-samas finished up, Yumi decided to help Yoshino pick up the balls of paper that were strewn around the room.

"You don't have to help Yumi," Yoshino insisted with a smile.

"It's okay," Yumi smiled shyly, her gaze moving breifly to where Sachiko sat putting away some papers into her bag. "It's kind of our fault anyway..."

Yoshino chuckled. "You two looked so cute," she whispered.

Yumi's blush deepened and she looked away from her friend.

"Awww," Yoshino laughed and picked up the last of the paper before dropping it into the nearby bin. "You're so fun to tease. But don't feel shy," she grasped Yumi's arm and squeezed it gently. "It's sweet. I'm a little jealous actually," she confided in a hushed tone so that only Yumi could hear. "Kissing your Onee-sama looks like fun."

Yumi gave her friend a questioning look. "You want to do that with Rei-sama?" Yumi cupped her hands around Yoshino's ear as she whispered the words.

Yoshino pulled back and shrugged, a slight blush marring her cheeks. She walked over to the table and picked up her school bag. "You coming to class Yumi?"

"Sure," Yumi walked over to her own bag.

"Wait a minute Yumi," Sachiko interjected. "Can I talk to you for a minute first?"

Yumi smiled at her girlfriend and nodded.

"Alone!" Sachiko looked pointedly at Rei then Yoshino as the girls made no move to leave the room.

Rei stood up from the table and grabbed her cousin's hand. "Come on, lets give them some privacy."

Yoshino chuckled and allowed her Onee-sama to guide her towards the door. "Don't forget about class though," she teased. "Or should I just tell our teacher you're caught up in Rose business and might be a little late?"

"Leave 'em be, Yoshino-chan," Rei smirked as she closed the door behind them.

Yumi walked towards Sachiko once they were alone and allowed herself to be pulled down onto her lap. "You wanted to talk to me?"

"I did," Sachiko reached for Yumi's cheeks and guided her downwards. "But first..."

Yumi closed her eyes as Sachiko's lips met hers. She placed her hands against Sachiko's shoulders to steady herself and opened her mouth to deepen the kiss.

"Hey!" Yoshino burst back into the room loudly.

"Yoshino-chan, get back here!" Rei followed after her cousin in exasperation.

Yumi pulled away from Sachiko's kiss reluctantly, but remained seated in Sachiko's lap. She frowned at her friend, a little annoyed by the intrusion.

"I forgot my notebook," Yoshino smiled in apology.  She walked towards the table and pointed towards the item in question. " See!  Don't mind me though," she chuckled as she picked up her book. "Please continue. Pretend I'm not even here."

"Leave them alone Yoshino-chan," Rei caught up to her cousin and grasped her hand. "I apologise for my cousin's rudeness. She got away from me before I could stop her."

"I can apologise for myself," Yoshino grumbled as Rei pulled her towards the door.

"What's with you Yoshino-chan?"

Yoshino chuckled. "They just look so cute. They're having fun Rei-chan. Maybe we should try it some time," she joked.

Yumi saw Rei roll her eyes as she closed the door behind them.

"Poor Yoshino," Yumi chuckled.

"Why do you say that?" Sachiko looked at her quizically.

"I think she might be in love with Rei-sama," Yumi explained.

Sachiko looked at her with surprise. "Yoshino-san told you that?"

"Not in so many words," Yumi shook her head. "But she's kind of implied she'd like to try some, uh...kissing with her Onee-sama."

Sachiko smirked. "I see...our behaviour must've given her some ideas," she joked.

Yumi chuckled. "Yeah, I think so."

"Yumi," Sachiko's eyes narrowed as her gaze turned serious. "You're not thinking of interfering, are you?"

Yumi shrugged evasively and looked away. "Uh...no...not really..."

"You're thinking of setting them up, aren't you?" Sachiko gave her a knowing look. "You want them to feel the same happiness we do. Is that it?"

Yumi gave her girlfriend a reuful look. How did Sachiko know what she was thinking?

"It's best to leave these sort of matters to the parties involved," Sachiko continued gently and ran her thumb tenderly against Yumi's cheek.

"I guess so..."

Sachiko briefly kissed her cheek and then her lips, lingering for only a moment. "Would you have appreciated any interference in our relationship?"

Yumi rested her forehead against Sachiko's and sighed. "No, I guess not. Okay then, I'll leave them alone."

"Good girl!" Sachiko praised lightly and rewarded her with a soft kiss.

Yumi smiled as Sachiko pulled away. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"This afternoon..." Sachiko ventured. "I've asked the driver to meet us at the front gates. That way you don't have to carry your bag onto the bus. I'll meet him at the gates and have him come back here to pick up your bag."

"Thank you Sachiko," Yumi leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. "You're so considerate. But you don't have to get him to do that. I don't mind carrying it back to the gates from here. It'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," Yumi smiled at her girlfriend warmly.

Sachiko smiled back and pulled her back in for another kiss. "I have to look out for my girlfriend, don't I?"

"I love you."

Sachiko looked at Yumi warmly and gave her another kiss. "I love you too, Yumi," she spoke gently against Yumi's lips, deepening the kiss. She pulled back after a moment, her breathing heavy.

"Lets go Yumi. Or Yoshino really will have to cover for you in class."

Yumi chuckled and reluctantly moved off Sachiko's lap. She couldn't wait for the day to be over so she could be alone with her girlfriend.

This weekend was going to be great!