The Love Letter Lovelies

by Glee-chan

25.

Yui's surgery apparently went without any complications. Maria only found out on Sunday night, as Yui's parents had only now got around to notifying everyone. Maria had tried to go to the hospital over the weekend but she never saw Yui's parents and the doctors and nurses weren't any help at all. So the first chance Maria had to see Yui was Monday after school. She asked Kaede if it was okay if she skipped Kendo Club.

Now that Yui was out of surgery she was in a normal hospital room which meant Maria could actually see her. When she entered the room, Yui's mom was asleep in a chair by the bed, but Maria barely noticed her. Yui herself was also asleep. She had a breathing mask over her mouth, whose tubes were connected to an oxygen machine. Her eyes were both were dark. It looked like someone had punched her in the face, but Maria knew she had blackeyes because of the doctor having to rebreak Yui's nose in order to fix it. Her nose had rods in it and was bandaged up as well. Surprisingly she wasn't as pale as she had been. Though it seemed like a struggle, her chest was moving up and down on at an even rate. Maria was by her side, lightly petting the sleeping girl's arm.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Maria whispered. Yui didn't respond, but Maria didn't expect her to.

"She'll have to stay in the hospital for over two weeks." Yui's mother spoke in a groggy voice. She must of woke up when she heard Maria enter the room. "It'll take that long for her lungs to recover. The doctors don't want to take her away from the machine until she relearns how to breathe."

Maria let go of Yui's hand and traveled over to her mother. "I'm here now, go get some rest."

"If Yui wakes up and is in pain, push this button. It's some kind of pain killer. The nurses button is over here…" Yui's mother gave a heavy blink of the eyes and stood up. "Call me if something… something happens."

"I got it." Maria took Yui's mother's seat as the woman herself stumbled out the room.

The mother looked like she hadn't slept in ages. Maria could relate. Emiko had been helping keep her mind off things but Maria still found it hard to sleep. Maria watched Yui's chest move up and down again, almost cheering her on with every breath, then looked at Yui's every feature. She wanted to hold her, to tell her everything was okay, but she felt if she did so she might break her in half.

"Hmmm." Yui's eyes tightened, then opened. She glanced over to the chair and saw Maria there. Even with most of her face covered she could see excitement in her eyes. "Mhmmm!"

"Shh, shhh. Calm down!" Maria giggled at her. "Take it easy, Yui-chan."

Yui gestured at her mask, indicating that she wanted it off.

"Is it okay?"

Yui nodded gesturing again like she was trying to explain something, but Maria had no clue what. She leaned over and pulled the mask off, still wondering if it was okay. But Yui had a big smile on her face. She pulled herself up and gave Maria a kiss on the cheek. One of Yui's nose rods stuck her also in the face, but Maria didn't care.

"I'm not supposed to have that on all the time…" Yui said breathlessly. "Just when…. when I have difficulties and when I sleep."

"Okay, I got it." Maria laughed at her. "You have more energy than I thought you would."

"I'm really tired, but I'm happy you came to see me." Yui told her.

"I was really scared Yui-chan." Maria admitted. "Your Mom is hopeless with a phone, she wouldn't tell me anything."

"Sorry." Yui smiled weakly. "I was… was out of the … emergency room that night." Yui spoke softly now. "I can't remember… a lot of it… The pain killers… make me groggy."

"Are you on them now?" Maria wondered.

Yui shook her head. "I'm supposed to… push the button when… I hurt…. so … I'm okay right now."

Maria sat closer and ran her fingers through Yui's hair. She closed her swollen eyes and allowed Maria to pet her. "When this is all over I'm going to take you shopping." Maria said, wanting to cheer Yui up.

"Maria…" Yui pouted slightly with her eyes still closed. "Is Kaede-chan… mad at me?"

"What? No! Why would you think that?"

"I ruined her… Kendo Club." Yui said.

"She's still going through with it. We all agreed that you'd want her to keep it going if she could. Some of the new members actually decided to give it another shot." Maria saw that Yui looked relieved. "Honestly you're worried about that?"

"It's her dream…" Yui said smoothly.

"Well, my dream is for you to get better." Maria teased and lightly bopped her on the forehead. "Think you can make that come true?"

"I'll do … my best." Yui smiled.

Maria resumed petting her. Yui seemed to like it. She didn't have a lot to say. She didn't want to burden Yui with silly issues or make her upset that the stress everyone was going through worring about her. She just wanted Yui to relax and get better.

"Maria… can you…" Yui opened her eyes. "My lungs…"

"Do you want the mask?"

"Not that…" Yui looked embarrassed. "Pain killers."

"Don't look ashamed of that. They had to pump fluids out of it after all." Maria scolded her and press the button for Yui. Yui breathed in rapidly, her eyes fighting off the pain she was feeling. But within moments she looked relaxed. Her smile returned.

"I don't… like feeling all loopy." Yui told Maria.

"I know, but it it's better than being in pain, right?"

"I guess… so." Yui breathed in sharply. "I got sticks in my nose."

"I know you do."

"I must look like a … like a…. Elephwalrus…"

Maria smirked. "Yeah you do. But a cute one."

"I'm not cute." Yui shook her head. "I wish I was, but I'll never be cute."

"Don't say that."

"I wish I… looked like Mako-chan." Yui gave a worried expression. "I want…to look like…her. She's so cute."

Maria wondered where this was coming from. "I told you I'll take you shopping after you get better. We can get some good clothes for you."

"But I'm… not Mako-chan… I'm not cute."

Maria wasn't sure what Yui wanted to hear. "How about this. When you get better we'll do a make over. We'll play to your strengths and try a completely new look for you. I bet we can find something that will really be cute."

"Will we?"

"I'm sure of it. Let's play to your tom-boy features and pick some cute clothes that way."

"Tom-boy…" Yui's looked doubtful.

"Hey, don't complain. There are a lot of cute tom-boys. You can make tom-boys look really cute if you know how." Maria smiled at her. "I bet you'll look super awesome."

"Awesome cute."

"Yeah." Maria tried not to laugh. The drugs were making her saying random things.

"I'm not drooling, am I?" Yui blinked several times. "I can't… feel my face."

"No you're fine." Maria laughed. "So this is what Yui-chan is like when she's high?"

"Don't tease…me." Yui laughed softly, reaching up and held her chest when she did.

"Take it easy." Maria leaned over her again and felt her face.

"Maria… I love you." Yui spoke in a soft voice.

"I know you do. I love you too." Maria said.

"No… I love you." Yui repeated, her eyes looking a bit glazed over. She was about to pass out.

"I know." Maria leaned over and kissed he forehead. "Are you going to fall asleep? Do you need your mask?"

"Maria…" Yui tried to focus her eyes. "you're the… you…" Her head was rolling slightly on her pillow.

"Shh." Maria tried to calm her down. "You need to rest."

"Want… you… to…" Yui muffled, then clothed her eyes. She was asleep.

Maria carefully put the breathing mask back on and turn back on the machine. It was a bit cute that she was so concerned about her feelings, but Maria didn't want Yui to over do it. She already knew that Yui loved her. They grew up together after all. Why was Yui so adamant on telling her so. For a fleeting moment, Maria considered that Yui may have been trying to confess romantic love to her. But on thinking that she threw that notion out the window. She knew better than that. Yui was obsessed with Makoto. Maria knew that for a fact Yui was the one who tried to ask Makoto out first, and that ever since then obsessed over how cute Makoto was. She even did it just now. So the idea of Yui suddenly liking her was just stupid.

"Oh Yui-chan." Maria gave a small sad smile at her. "I wish Mako-chan liked you too."

Yui mumbled something but was still asleep. She watched her and wondered what it would have been like if the two of them took a different path and dated. Despite what Yui thought of herself, she wasn't ugly. She just wasn't type of cute she wanted to be. In her own ways she had great qualities. What if they went out? Yui looked like the boy, but Maria guessed she'd still take the lead. Yui wasn't a leader, she was a follower, even as giant as she was. If they went out it would be mostly the same, other than they'd kiss and do other stuff like that.

Maria stayed a few more hours until Yui's Father took over. While Yui slept, she texted the other Love Letter Lovelies about Yui's condition, and asked Makoto to be extra nice to her when they visited. She even texted Emiko with the update. After all of that, she completed her homework. By the time she finished, Yui's father had arrived, along with Kaede and Makoto. The two girls were still in gym clothes from Kaede's Kendo Club. Maria pressed a finger to her lips and pointed at a sleeping Yui.

"How is she?" Yui's Father asked.

"Tired but okay. She's feeling a bit insecure because of her broken nose." Maria whispered, more to the girls than her father.

"Aw." Makoto's eyebrows went up.
"That's why I asked you to be nicer to her. She looks up to you."

"She doesn't look up to anyone." Makoto joked, but smiled kindly at Yui just the same.

After giving a status report to Yui's Father, he told them he'd be back. He was going to talk to the doctors. In the meantime Maria thought's she'd take her mind off of Yui for a moment and ask the girls about The Kendo Club.

"Everyone came back." Kaede explained briefly. "Morimoto-san was concerned that you weren't there. I wonder if she's taken a liking to you?"

"She's straight." Maria whispered bitterly. She would have loved it if that pretty girl had liked her like that, but Maria was sure that Emiko was straight. Mostly because Emiko herself kept pointing it out as if she was scared Maria might forget. Perhaps Maria was just imagining that though.

"A straight girl spending her free time with a bunch of lesbians." Kaede raised her eyebrow. "I wouldn't be too sure."

"Don't get my hopes up." Maria laughed. "Besides, I have Yui-chan. I don't have time for all of that."

Makoto was petting Yui herself. "Hayashi-sensei pulled me aside as I was leaving today. He said he's going to arrange for a tutor to keep Yui-chan up to date with lessons. Once she's off painkillers that is."

"That's good." Maria sighed a sigh of relief. "I was afraid she'd get left behind and have to repeat a year."

"That would be awful."

"If that happens, I'm going to purposely fail so I can be held back with her." Maria told them. "I don't think she could handle being alone."

"You shouldn't baby her." Kaede said after a moment. "She's not a child."

Maria knew that Kaede was right in the idea of not babying someone. But Yui was different. As much as she said would fail on purpose for Yui, she would do it for herself as well. She didn't want to be away from Yui just as much. She never had been in school without her. She just thought that they would even go to college together. And after that? She didn't know.

"I wonder if she can hear us." Makoto pondered.

"She seemed pretty out of it before she passed out. Those drugs mess with her brain."

Kaede frowned. "I'd rather be in pain."

Maria heard her say that, then wondered something. She hadn't thought of it before, but now that she had realized it she couldn't shake it. "Kaede-chan… Friday… Was that the first time you've been in the same room with Shiho's girlfriend since you broke up?"

Looking a bit surprised at this, she nodded.

"Was that difficult?"

"She couldn't care less." Makoto laughed. "No I'm serious, she was worried about Yui-chan so much she didn't even notice she was there."

"Really?"

"If anything, I was more bothered by it." Makoto went on. "I could tell Sora-san was nervous, but she needed to help Shiho-chan through everything. Shiho's really upset. I guess Yui-chan and her were closer than I thought."

"I didn't realize." Maria looked down at Yui. She thought back to last week and how Shiho was defensive on Maria calling Yui stupid. How she seemed to know something about Yui that Maria didn't. "Since when did you become so close with her?"