A/N: Alright, sequel time. I've been sitting on this for about half-a-year trying to figure out a title, but I finally managed to put everything together. It's quite a different tone from the original one, but I'm still very proud of it. It's Natsuki-centric, and I think it does a good enough job explaining things to work without reading Waiting, but I still recommend it, 'cause I'm really proud of that story, too.

There's a little language warning at some points, but for the most part it's a weak-T rating, with no real serious warnings to give. Don't think there's anything else to explain. Because of that, there'll probably not be a whole lot of notes the rest of the way.

As with Waiting, this story is complete with 11 chapters. Plan is to post one chapter a week, which means the final chapter should be posted May 19th. So mark your calendars…or don't. Up to you!

Lastly, I want to give a quick shoutout to NoseBridgePinch for beta-ing for me again. Wouldn't be half-as-good as it is without you, and it might not even have a title yet, lol!

So, let's go.

Italics are for emphasis and thoughts.

Better With You

(Sequel to Waiting)

By: Leafsdude

Chapter 1: Gathering Ingredients

"The trees are so pretty," Sayori says, the scenery flying by quickly from her passenger seat of the car.

John, her boyfriend, smiles softly at the comment, eyes remaining on the road as he drives.

"They're just a green blur," Natsuki pipes up from the backseat, her tone strong but playful. "Might as well be looking at snot." Catching John's look from the rear view mirror, she frowns as she crosses her arms. "What?"

"It's more than just the colour," Sayori chimes back in happily, trying to explain herself more than anything. "I like how they're all shaped and stuff." Looking back at the pink-haired woman sitting behind her, she smiles softly. "Does that make sense?"

Natsuki gives a light shrug, but doesn't respond as she looks out the window herself. She can still feel the gaze of the faded-haired woman and tries to ignore it.

Eventually, Sayori turns back around to glance out her own window, a sad smile reflecting back. The silence lasts a few minutes as they stop at some traffic lights, waiting for them to change to green before continuing on their way.

John glances at a sign at the side of the road as he comes up to another intersection and grins. "I think it's a left turn here, and…"

He trails off, and the click of the turn signal fills the air around them for a few moments. The traffic from the other direction clears and he completes the turn.

"Yes, see," he says excitedly as he points at the city sign on the road side. "We're almost there!"

"Finally," Natsuki says, stretching her legs that feel like they weigh a ton from her time spent sitting still. As she does so, she hears a quiet noise come from the pet carrier next to her, signaling the awakening of Poki, John's cat. She can't help but be impressed by the relaxed behaviour from the essentially caged animal.

"Just a quick right…" Sayori's voice breaks Natsuki out of her thoughts just in time to watch her best friend look down at the phone in her lap. Looking back up, she points at the upcoming lights. "Here. Then just a couple intersections and we should see it."

Following the instructions, John turns onto the residential street. The vehicle continues on at a slower pace than before as silence fills the air again. This time, though, there's an excited energy as they all squint down the road, trying to catch the first glimpse of their new home.

"I see it!" Sayori suddenly exclaims, pointing excitedly towards a single-level house just past the approaching lights. Turning on his left turn signal once more, John slowly applies the brakes, a touch of nervousness in his movements.

"It's gonna be fun, just the three of us again," Natsuki notes from the backseat, her excitement more subdued compared to her companions, though it's not completely without effort.

"Yeah, if my parents ever decide to leave us alone," John grumbles under his breath, stealing a glance through the rear view mirror at the moving truck a few vehicles behind them.

Though their college classes don't start for a few more weeks, they had all agreed that it would be smarter for them to move to the new city without immediately worrying about what was sure to be stressful classes from the get-go. Especially with Natsuki's apartment requiring a month's notice in advance, it made sense to get settled in at the beginning of the month.

So, with the threat of rain on an early August morning making the air heavy, John finally turns into the driveway of what will be their home for at least the next few months. With a purpose, he shifts the vehicle into park and turns the ignition to silence the motor before looking at his two passengers with a hard sigh.

"We made it," he notes more out of relief than anything.

"We did!" Sayori giggles, giving him a short hug after having removed her seatbelt. "I knew it was gonna be easy. First time be damned!"

Looking back at Natsuki, she gives a wink, and the pink-haired woman can't help but grin in response. Though she'd always been happy for the pair, she felt a touch of jealousy at their relationship regardless. Still, being able to see two people act the way they did gives her hope, even if other experiences keep her hesitant.

"Okay, lovebirds," she finally speaks up, her tone annoyed in spite of her momentary smile. Looking back out the window for a second, she watches as the moving truck pulls in alongside the curb at the end of the driveway, eventually coming to a halt in its own parking spot. Clicking off her own seatbelt, Natsuki pops the lock and grabs the door handle. "Let's get going already."

The humidity hits her hard as she exits the car, the light t-shirt and pink skirt she's wearing quickly feeling like too much protection against the warmth of the outdoors today. Shutting the door behind her, she looks around at the neighbourhood, picking out little details for the first time, savouring the newness to them before they have a chance to settle in and go out of style.

A noise in front of her grabs her attention and she watches as John steps out of the vehicle himself, quickly stretching his longer legs before Sayori is able to hurry over and grab his arm in a grippy hug. The nervousness is apparent in her friend, recognising it easily after nearly a year of getting to know the many ways the complex woman expresses her feelings.

Sighing, Natsuki continues to try and take in the scenery around her, mostly excited from the chance at what amounts to a proper fresh start. A touch of dread also fills her, however. Am I really up for this? College?

Expertly tossing the question in her head aside, she plasters a confident grin on her face as she stares into the distance, the slightest outline of a campus noticeable.

"Look out everyone, Natsuki's here!"

"As long as it's in back the shape that it's in today when you leave, I don't care what you do to the place." The landlord says, holding the key to the house in his hand as he looks over the three teenagers in front of him, each of them standing with their own energy: the young male brunette gives a calm single nod and the woman on his arm produces a more excited set of bobs. The other woman, a few steps behind, gives a mischievous grin before quickly hiding it behind her pink hair.

After each of them sign the final document, he reluctantly hands the keys to the boy, sighing lightly before making his way down to the road to get into his black convertible.

Making eye contact one last time, Natsuki catches the pointed glance in her direction before he drives off. She can't help but let out a light giggle as she heads up the walkway to the now opened door, happy to have successfully messed with the middle-aged man who probably has nothing to worry about. Probably, she thinks to herself with another smirk, quickly settling down into one of the couches already laid out in the main room.

It's a few minutes before she's joined by Sayori. A grumpy grimace is on her face as she plops down next to the shorter woman, making eye contact with her best friend.

"What?" Natsuki asks after a moment, the gaze of her friend having never wavered.

"I'm never allowed to help," she grumbles good-naturedly as she pouts. Sayori's eyes finally wander away, turning to watch as John, looking professional in his dress shirt and loose faded jeans, waves the movers towards different sections of the house with a purpose.

Rolling her eyes, Natsuki gives her a once-over. "You help all the time. But we agreed that only one of us should decide where to put everything to start, so that we're not fighting over every little thing for hours."

Sayori sighs in response to the reminder. "I thought you would be on my side," she says with a frown.

"I'll be on your side when it comes to putting that damn stuffed bird thingy in the front lobby," Natsuki's tone remains exasperated even while the words give a window to the playful nature of her reaction.

"But that's, like, a few hours from now," her friend whines, shifting to her best puppy-dog eyes.

Giving her an incredulous look for a couple of seconds, Natsuki finally rolls her eyes again. Suddenly, she spots a mover struggling to walk through the door with a large box in hand. Jumping to her feet, she snaps her fingers to gain his attention.

"Over here with that," she commands gruffly, her attitude getting the desired reaction as he worriedly follows the command quickly. "Right here's fine," she adds as she looks at the floor, her tone more neutral as he stands a few steps in front of her. Carefully placing the box down, he tips his cap nervously at her before turning tail back out the door and to the truck.

A smile crosses her face as she reads the black ink on the box: Natsuki's manga.

The early evening skies fill the bungalow with a low light, the storm clouds that had passed an hour ago had given way to the setting sun. The trio, finally alone after spending the day with movers and meddling parents, sit in chairs that have been shifted towards the air conditioning unit. Unlike most of the afternoon, it is running at a more reasonable level instead of at full-blast.

All of them had finally agreed with the placement of the furniture and decorations while rooms had been chosen and settled into. The TV hummed lightly in the distance, though none of them were really paying attention to it as they all relaxed from the work they'd put in all day.

"I'm pooped," Sayori finally breaks the silence, the long sigh she lets out by no means the first of the night. The standard pink t-shirt and blue jeans she's wearing is starting to look worn out after the day's activities. "Remember when I said I wanted to help? Remind me of this moment next time I do, okay?"

"Check," Natsuki grins in response, though even that effort proves to be too much after a moment as she sinks deeper into her seat. The Ace of the Diamond manga that she'd finished reading an hour ago is stuck under her thighs, too wedged for her to pull out in her current state.

"You okay?" John asks his girlfriend, a touch of concern in his voice in response to yet another sigh. He gets a nod in response, strong in effort, even if the result itself is lazy.

"Peachy, Johnny," she says with a tired grin. He nods himself, satisfied with the answer as he turns towards the TV, the program clearly interesting enough to him to get his attention.

There's a few more moments of silence before the same voice speaks up again.

"Mmm, anyone else hungry?" Sayori asks, getting the standard chuckle out of her boyfriend. Sighing, Natsuki finally lifts herself out of her couch.

"Okay, okay, I got the hint," she says, her tone playfully annoyed as she walks into the small kitchen. Quickly opening the cupboards, she pulls out a pan and a couple ingredients.

"I didn't say you had to cook for me," Sayori's pout is clear in her tone even though Natsuki doesn't turn around to look.

"I know that," she snaps back in a bit of a harder tone than she intends. Sayori is one of her best friends, maybe even the best friend she's ever had, but that doesn't mean she can't sometimes get on Natsuki's nerves, and she's not exactly good at controlling her feelings sometimes. Sighing, she looks over with a touch of regret, and sees a forgiving smile directed towards her in response.

Turning back to the stove, she grabs the ingredients and begins mixing. The process of cooking brings a smile back to her face as she enters her element, confidently measuring and stirring before dumping the concoction into the now perfectly heated pan.

"I could use the practice, really, especially after getting this," she says, popping open a box on the island counter behind her with a free hand. Reaching in, she pulls out a stapled grouping of papers covered with black printer ink, tossing it in front of her friends with a proud smile.

There's a moment's pause before an incredulous voice reaches her ears. "What the hell, Natsuki," John's reaction is not entirely unexpected, but Natsuki's still a bit disappointed as she rolls her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sayori's voice is worried and upset, though Natsuki again doesn't look back. "What is that?"

"They're exams," John groans as Natsuki catches him picking the offending item up from the corner of her eye, though he doesn't look at it. "You can get into a lot of trouble if they find you have this."

"Trouble?" Sayori's tone is now fully concerned. Natsuki sighs as she turns around properly, though not before turning the stove down, just in case.

"Relax," she finally cuts in, quickly trying her hand at diplomacy, even though her gut instinct is to turn this into a proper argument, if only to prove a point. "It's a problem if you have the ones for the current term, but these are from last year. I put in a lot of work to find them, so I know what I'm doing."

John sighs, but gives a look of regret towards her, his shoulders sagging lightly. "Sorry," he finally says after a moment. "I trust you, okay?" He adds on, clearly hoping the olive branch gives him a pass.

Nodding, Natsuki turns back to the stove, putting it back to its proper setting without a word. Aware her roommates are sharing a glance, she sighs despite the trouble being averted. She knows they both have her back, but just as well, she knows that they will always have each other's back first.

I'll just have to speak to their stomachs, then, she thinks with a smile as she gets back to work, hopeful that her efforts will perfect her skills before she ever sets foot on campus.