Chapter 23: A Fun Game

The week had passed without a hitch, Yuzu for reasons Mei could only guess, had been extra considerate towards her: Making her a full breakfast every morning and extravagant dinner in the evening, a warm bubble bath at night, doing her chores and what Mei was enjoying the most was she had been pampering her with massages, kisses and cuddles before bed. Mei guessed this was Yuzu's way of apologising for the stress she had put her girlfriend through last Thursday, but Mei thought it was very unnecessary.

She very much appreciated the gesture and she couldn't deny that her back felt amazing thanks to the blonde's work, but Yuzu was spoiling her and she didn't like it. In Mei's eyes, it wasn't fair, Yuzu hadn't let her do anything since Friday morning. She would cook, clean, wash the dishes and laundry, the only thing she had let Mei assist with was the weekly shop, asking Mei to pick out her favourite things or tell Yuzu what she wanted her to make so she could get the right ingredients.

It was now Friday afternoon, Yuzu was in the shower and Mei was sat at the dining room table going over some material. Mei, however much she loved her special treatment planned on putting a stop to it today, she wanted to make dinner by herself and Yuzu for once, was going to do absolutely nothing. It was a little past four, giving Mei approximately two hours to make something. Standing from her chair, Mei briskly walked down the hall to the bathroom where she knocked once before cracking open the door.

"Yuzu, just to let you know that you can take your time and have a relaxing bath or something. I am studying in the living room and I don't want to be disturbed, so when your done would you mind spending an hour or so in the bedroom?" The little white lie slipped from Mei's mouth before she even had time to consider what she was going to say, but it didn't bother her all that much; she was going to be studying, just not all the time. Seconds after Mei had started talking, a dripping mess of blonde curls peeked around the glass door, a perplexed look on her face.

"I don't need a relaxing bath a shower is fine, can't you study in the bedroom? I am going to have to start making dinner soon, if I wait till you are done it will be hours until we sit down to eat." Yuzu said as she wiped water from her pink cheeks. Mei, however, didn't budge.

"No, I already have my stuff set up at the table and I am 'in the zone' right now, and I don't want to be in the bedroom. As for dinner, I don't mind waiting a little later than usual, I'm still full from the lunch you made. So just go to the bedroom, and go for a bath Yuzu it's been days since you actually relaxed." Mei walked past the blonde to the bath where she plugged it and started the water. On her way back she placed a chaste kiss to the bewildered blonde's lips.

"I'll call you through when I'm finished okay?" Mei smiled as she watched Yuzu rethink her argument. Before the girl could muster a reply, Mei had already backed out of the room and closed the door, heading back to the kitchen.

Mei already knew she was making the blonde's favourite: Spicy curry. Washing her hands and getting out Yuzu's personalised cookbook, Mei flicked to the right page and got out all the required ingredients. It was a fairly simple recipe, your standard curry but Yuzu had handwritten in several special ingredients to make it better. Red wine and grated apple alongside maple syrup, Mei, to begin with, couldn't see how any of these belonged in a curry but upon tasting it for the first time she literally fell in love with Yuzu again.

Dicing both vegetables and meat before sauteing them in a pan and adding water, wine, spices and curry roux. All that was left for the raven-haired girl to do was let it simmer and reduce down, and put some rice on. She would make some other vegetables closer to serving time, but for now, she planned to wash up and go back to her studying.

Fortey minutes later a chime emanated from the slow cooker, letting Mei know it was done. She was quick to put her pen down and check on their meal. It was now after half five, Mei had taken almost thirty minutes to prepare and start cooking the food, much longer than Yuzu would have but Mei was in the kitchen less than half the time Yuzu was.

Yuzu had done as Mei instructed, and went straight from the bathroom to their room. Mei wasn't exactly sure when as she hadn't been paying attention, but she was just happy that the blonde hadn't gone against her. She wanted this to be a surprise, if Yuzu had found out then she would have insisted on helping -doing it all herself-.

After preparing some vegetables and turning off the rice, Mei got out two dishes and cleared the dinner table; moving all her books to the living room. After several moments of internal debating, Mei decided she would try and make it a somewhat romantic setting. Only somewhat.

Fishing out some smelly candles and setting them alight around the table, with a red one sitting at the centre. Mei plated up their meal, carefully situating them on the table before pouring two fresh glasses of red wine. Yuzu, as a rule, was more of a beer person much like her mother, but she on occasion matured and enjoyed a glass of wine. But most of the wine in the house was consumed slowly by Mei.

Quickly washing the pots and utensils she had used so the blonde wouldn't be able to wash them after dinner, Mei placed them on the drying rack before heading down the hall to retrieve her girlfriend.

"Yuzu I'm finished, you can come through now," Mei said cheerily as she stepped into the bedroom, eyes falling on Yuzu who was sprawled out on their bed flicking through a magazine.

The blonde shut her magazine instantly and jumped from the bed. "You took ages, Mei, it's almost six. You realise now we aren't going to be having dinner till at least seven." Yuzu said as she walked past Mei, not sharing her girlfriend's light mood.

Mei, not being affected by the blonde's tone, smiled and followed behind her as they walked towards the dining area.

"Mmmm, what's that smell?" Yuzu immediately smelt food as she treaded into the hall, the scent only getting stronger as she neared the kitchen. She was confused to say the least. Mei, however, smiled in acknowledgement at herself; Officially completing her goal.

"I made dinner," Mei's smile grew slightly when she saw Yuzu's jaw drop at the sight of the dining table. A large sheepish grin spread over Yuzu's face as she turned back to Mei. "Mei... this looks stunning but why did you do all this? I thought I was making dinner," Yuzu questioned as she slowly took in the sight of her dinner, beautifully presented by candlelight. Mei, although most people would think otherwise, could be very romantic and thoughtful when she wanted to be. It didn't exactly come naturally to the younger girl, but Yuzu knew Mei loved lovey-dovey settings, whether it was herself or Mei that created it.

Standing still beside Yuzu Mei's cheeks reddened slightly as shy explained Why'd she had prepared dinner.

"I wanted to do this for you. You have been doing everything all week, it isn't fair. I know you are trying to make up for what happened last week but I think you have made up with interest." Leading the blonde to the table and sitting her down in her seat before Mei took her own. "So from now on, no more doing everything yourself." Mei smiled again to Yuzu who still seemed to be having trouble taking in Mei's words.

Was I really that obvious?

"Okay... -A mischevious grin crept to her lips- Are you sure you want all your privileges taken away? -Mei nodded surely- Well I guess that means no more nightly massages," Yuzu teased and laughed when she saw regret overtake Mei's confident expression. It was safe to say that Mei's massages were significantly more intimate than your average body massages. This pleased both participants; Yuzu, the pleasure of hearing Mei moan for hours, while Mei felt ecstatic throughout it all and in the end, her body was like jelly; Relaxed and unstressed.

"Well-Well maybe not them all..." With her cheeks now a slightly darker shade of pink, Mei reached for her utensil and busied herself by starting to eat. Yuzu soon followed suit as she too took a spoon full of the dish Mei had prepared.

"Mei this tastes amazing!" Yuzu practically squealed in delight as she stuffed her face. Mei smiled in adoration as her beautiful girlfriend ungracefully ate the dinner she had prepared, "You're welcome,"

After several minutes of casual chatter, Yuzu piped up with a grin as a thought popped into her mind; A way for her to get the information she had been looking for discreetly.

"Mei, can we play a game while we eat?" Yuzu's smile made Mei eye her sceptically. "What sort of game?" The younger girl asked as she momentarily stopped eating to hear the blonde out.

"20 Questions. Where we take turns asking each other questions, it can be about absolutely anything and you have to answer honestly." Yuzu continued to grin as she waited for Mei to reply.

"Anything? What if yourself or I don't want to answer or don't feel comfortable answering said question?" Mei raised her eyebrow as she asked, this game intrigued her but she wouldn't put herself in a situation she couldn't get out of.

"Hmmm, well if you really don't want to answer you can just pass it. This game is supposed to be fun, a way to get to know each other better." Yuzu looked to Mei hopefully, who in turn smiled and gave a brief nod of her head. After taking a sip of her wine Mei spoke, "Can I go first? -"Sure"- Okay. Why did you want to play this game? I already know you and vice versa." With a raised brow Mei leaned back into her chair as she watched Yuzu's disappointed expression.

"Mei you're supposed to ask personal or general questions like, 'what's your favourite city or favourite holiday. Or first kiss/crush'. But because I have to answer, I wanted to get to know you even more, to find things out about you that I otherwise wouldn't know. Or to ask you things that wouldn't normally come up in casual conversation." Mei smiled in response, also noting the instructions of the game.

"Okay, my turn!" Clasping her hands together Yuzu thought for a moment before looking straight at Mei. "Okay Mei would you prefer to live on the beach or in the mountains?" The blonde eagerly awaited her response, but it came a little too swiftly as if Mei didn't even have to think about it.

"The beach. Living in the mountains would be too problematic to get food or get into town, and I like the sea." Mei said in a nonchalant tone as she continued to eat her dinner, not paying much attention to the question. Yuzu nodded at her response and awaited her question.

"Yuzu can I use my phone to look up questions?" Mei asked nervously. She didn't want to seem like she wasn't interested in the game and couldn't be bothered to think of her own questions, but she genuinely couldn't think of anything.

"If you want to," After several seconds of scrolling Mei looked back to the waiting blonde.

"Emm... How do you prefer to spend your weekends, staying home or going out?" Mei looked at Yuzu as she spoke, she didn't think the blonde preferred one to the other but maybe she did. Maybe this game could be useful.

"Well, it depends what mood I'm in. Sometimes I like staying in cuddling up on the couch with you, other times I just want to go out and dance. If I absolutely had to choose one, I would say going out, its fun and chill." Yuzu smiled, happy with her answer. "So you're saying that you would prefer to go out when we stay in most nights?" That wasn't what Mei was expecting her answer to be, but Yuzu quickly stopped Mei.

"No Mei, I love staying in and hanging out with you, I just said that but sometimes it's fun to go out and do things. This is supposed to be fun, don't take things too seriously okay?" Yuzu gave a weary grin to Mei who once again nodded but didn't say anything this time. Just sat and waited for her question.

"Okay Mei, what would you do if you won like a million yen?" Yuzu's eyes glistened at the thought, god what she would do with money like that. Mei, however, didn't respond with the same enthusiasm.

"Not much, if I wanted that sort of money I would just go to the bank and withdraw it. If I had to spend it... I would probably put a deposit down on a new car or something like that, I have been meaning to talk to you about that actually." Mei looked at Yuzu slightly confused as she took another drink of her wine. Yuzu's jaw was hanging agape at Mei's sentence. "Ehh!" Was all Yuzu managed to splutter out, totally overlooking the last part of her girlfriend's statement.

"God be careful Yuzu, you are going to spill something. You asked what I would do and I told you," Yuzu slowly closed her mouth. After several moments of letting the information sink in, Yuzu found the will to speak.

"How the hell do you have millions of yen just sitting in your bank?" Yuzu was aware that Mei's grandfather was loaded, but she didn't think that Mei would have a shit ton of cash just waiting for her to spend. She assumed the wealth and profits would be passed on when Mei inherited the academy, and up until that point, Mei was the same as her: Taking out a student loan. After all, the two acted as if money was shared, one would buy that the other this. It was an equal relationship, give and take. Mei never acted as though she had millions of yen to spend however she pleased, so like anyone Yuzu believed she was in the same boat as herself. They shared money but Yuzu had never thought to ask to see Mei's bank account, that was an invasion of privacy she didn't really feel like crossing.

"My father and Grandfather put money into my account every month till I turned eighteen. Grandfather said he put extra in for birthdays and Christmas', I haven't spent a lot of it so interest has just added to the total. And grandfather still occasionally puts money into it." Mei gave her an answer as if it was an everyday occurrence. Yuzu's jaw once again dropped. One thing that rattled her brain was that Mei didn't correct her when she pluralised 'million'.

"Millions plural! Why do you need that type of money, we have a baby apartment and live pretty simple lives." Mei sighed.

"It's not that big of a deal Yuzu, it's not like I'm a billionaire with overflowing amounts in my bank. I don't spend money very often so it just builds up over time... If you want a number, last time I checked it was something around seventy million yen, however, I have paid some stuff so it might be slightly lower. Can we move onto the next question now?" Yuzu who had been filling her mouth with rice when Mei spoke, choked upon hearing her words. Eyes widening as she looked at Mei, who wore a concerned expression.

"Why does this bother you so much Yuzu? If you want or need money I'll go out tomorrow and get some for you, just tell me how much." Mei said this so nonchalantly it almost annoyed the blonde. Money wasn't just something you could throw around willy nilly, in her life she and her mother, had worked for every penny. She didn't want or need Mei's money, she wasn't a charity.

"No, I don't want your money Mei, and it doesn't bother me that you have money. I just... sorry for acting like this, but this is a big shock. I didn't think you had money like that just sitting in your account. I mean it makes sense considering Gramps but wow... Sorry, go ahead, ask your question." Yuzu stated, but she was still amazed that Mei had millions and didn't even consider it worth mentioning at any point. Not that Yuzu cared for the younger's wealth, but how do you not mention something like that?

Seeing the blonde's continued bewilderment, Mei thought it best to try and steer the conversation in literally any other direction. "Yuzu, do you sing in the shower?" Mei already knew the answer to this and smiled when the blonde looked at her playfully.

"Of course!" Yuzu grinned triumphantly, who didn't sing in the shower? The previous subject forgone, Yuzu smirked at Mei, her cheeks reddening. Seeming to have left the subject of Mei's wealth in her subconscious.

"Okay Mei, where do you like being kissed the most, apart from your lips?" She watched in anticipation as both Mei's cheeks and ears reddened at the question. After nearly thirty seconds of silence, Mei spoke.

"Emm, I... It... My-my neck." Mei stuttered out her answer, "Wh-What about you? I am asking you the same question." Mei tried to push the embarrassment from herself onto the blonde, but it backfired spectacularly as the girl's response only made Mei's cheeks pinker.

"I think you know where I like you kissing me most." Her voice took on a temporarily seductive tone as she winked at the blushing raven-haired girl.

"Okay Mei, next question. Do you like gold or silver more?" Yuzu asked as she waited for Mei's cheeks to return to their normal colour.

"Emm I'm not sure. I don't really have a preference. But I think silver would go better with my skin, what do you think?" Looking to the gold ring that was on her finger, Mei imagined what it would look like silver; She had to admit she did think it would look nice.

"I think anything would look good on you Mei. C'mon it's your turn," Completely avoiding the question Yuzu smiled brightly to Mei, truthfully believing the girl would look beautiful in anything.

Moving on to her next question, Mei once again scrolled through her phone looking for something she would like to know. A small smile rested on her face, she glanced back to Yuzu who was watching her intently.

"Would you say you have a 'type' if so, do I fit into what you thought you were looking for?" Mei was actually quite interested to hear the answer to this one.

"Well, I thought I had a type until I met you. Tall, handsome, dark-haired, broad shoulders, I mean a guy with broad shoulders is just to die for." Yuzu took a moment to appreciate what she was commenting on, her cheeks going darker when she realised what exactly she was doing.

When Yuzu looked up she was met with the annoyed face of the younger girl, who was not ashamed enough to hide the jealousy on her face. Not wanting to give the wrong impression, Yuzu smiled and continued.

"You fit into some of those I mean you are shockingly beautiful, taller than me and you have dark hair but obviously, you aren't a guy and you have tiny shoulders. But I wouldn't have anyone else besides you!" Yuzu gave a wholehearted smile as she stared into Mei's sparkling eyes.

"Is that so? I guess I know what type of guys to look out for when we go out then. I appreciate your honesty." Mei nodded before going back to her meal.

Yuzu gave an awkward chuckle before speaking again.

"Okay my turn again, Mei what do you like doing more: Hugging or kissing?" Yuzu smiled like a child as she awaited her answer.

"I don't prefer one to the other, I can't honestly pick one. I like kissing you while hugging you. Both..." Taking a few seconds to mull over her answer, Mei responded confidentiality. How could she pick one of these? What could beat a good cuddle on the couch? Not much, but at the same time what was better than a heartwarming kiss after a long day? Very little, so her answer: Kissing while hugging. The perfect combination.

"Yuzu, as much as this game is entertaining can I stop playing? I don't want to ask you any more questions, but if you want to you can still ask me." Mei gave an apologetic smile as she looked to the slightly disappointed blonde.

"Awe really Mei? How about you ask me one more question and then I'll ask you one more then we can be done. I mean we are pretty much-finished dinner anyways, so one more question each then we can stop kay?" Looking to Mei with hope-filled eyes, Yuzu hoped Mei would meet her compromise.

"Okay, that's fair. Emm, your final question is: What is something you think is true about me, or something that I do that you think is true, but have never asked to confirm?" After reading her final question Mei placed her phone back on the table, relieved to be looking away from the electronic.

"Ohh that's kinda easy. One thing I'm sure you do is, whenever you park the car you always reverse it in, so if I'm the next one to use it I don't have to reverse out. And I'm pretty sure you do that every time even if you are tired, because you know I really hate reversing. Something else that I think is true about you, is that you secretly love doing nothing. Sitting around just relaxing, watching tv or reading or literally just sitting, I've noticed that you always seem keen to do stuff like that." Yuzu cheesed at Mei who wore a shocked expression, obviously, she wasn't expecting much of an answer from the blonde. She didn't know the elder girl was so observant.

After taking a little time to think over her girlfriends answer Mei's cheeks once again gained a pink tinge to them, something that seemed to be happening a lot tonight.

"I do like relaxing, and you are correct about the car as well. I know you hate trying to reverse out of the drive, so I always back it in just encase you are going to use it next. It's not a big deal, it's just something that always seems to make you a little happier." While speaking, Mei retook her wine in her hand and went to take a sip, hoping the glass would cover her stained cheeks.

"Awe Mei don't be embarrassed, I think it's really cute that you do it!" Smiling brightly Yuzu took a sip of her own drink before readying to ask her final question.

"Okay, Mei I have your final question. What is your favourite diamond or crystal?" Yuzu spoke casually as she took one of the final bites of her meal, making the question seem insignificant.

"Well I'm not much of a jewellery person, but I don't really like square diamonds you see in rings, I think they look really out of place if you know what I mean? I think round ones are nicer, and for my favourite crystal, I would say it's amethyst, I like that shade of purple but I also like emeralds... they are just like your eyes..." Mei dwindled off as she came to a finish, not wanting to sound too sappy.

"Ahh, that totally makes sense. Well I guess that's game over then, we didn't do twenty questions but it was still fun. And thanks a bunch for making dinner it was really sweet of you, and it tasted amazing!" Yuzu grinned at Mei before having the last sip of her wine and taking her plate to the kitchen. Leaving a loving kiss to Mei's still flushed cheek as she went.

After placing her plate in the sink, Yuzu returned to the table to collect Mei's. She had been robbed of her job to make dinner, she would most definitely be washing up. It was literally two plates and utensils, nothing Mei would be able to stop her from doing.

Seeing that the younger girl was already finished, Yuzu stretched her arm over Mei's shoulder to grab the plate. Before her hand could make contact with the white glass, she felt the firm grasp of slender fingers wrapped around her forearm.

"No Yuzu I'm washing up, you've been doing it all yourself now it's my turn. I'm washing, you can sit and have another glass of wine or something, but I'm washing the dishes." Her voice was strong as she stood from her chair, dish in hand. Yuzu refusing to let an argument arise, stepped to the side to let Mei into the kitchen.

"Why are you so set in stone on not being spoiled? I should be allowed to fuss over you all I want." Yuzu somewhat pouted as she watched the younger girl start washing up.

Not even turning to the blonde Mei replied, "Yes you can 'fuss' over me, but it's a two-way street. If you do it to me I should be doing it back to you, and I can't do that if you won't let me do anything... I just think it was really unfair, you shouldn't have to do everything in the house even if you did do something wrong. We worked everything out, and you being your usual happy self is all the repayment I need. I don't want you working yourself to the bone just so I don't have to lift a finger. So, just let me wash the damn dishes," At the end of her speal, Mei turned and gave Yuzu a playful smirk. Letting the blonde know that she wasn't upset, which Yuzu would have assumed at her rare use of a curse.

Hopping onto the kitchen countertop, Yuzu quietly swung her legs as she replayed the events of the game in her mind. Mei had definitely been more cooperative than Yuzu thought she would have been. She shuffled through her answers in her mind, she knew she had initially missed something the raven-haired girl had said, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It finally clicked.

"Hey Mei, why do you want a new car, what's wrong with the one we have? I mean I know it's kinda old but there is nothing wrong with it, so what's the point in buying a new one?" Yuzu sat and waited for her response, she could see no reason as to why they needed a new car.

At current they shared a 2013 Mercedes-Benz, Yuzu could admit she would have liked a flashier car but who didn't? The car ran perfectly, and Yuzu saw no need for an upgrade. Over the years, due to lack of money, Yuzu had gotten used to things staying the same. Yuzu nor her mother had the luxury of changing things whenever they felt like it, so to Yuzu that six-year-old car outside was fine and would be for years to come.

Mei was finishing the last dish when she turned around to Yuzu who was still innocently swinging her legs and watching her feet, totally oblivious to her confused expression.

"Well, the car we have is six years old, I thought it was about time we upgraded to something made in the last couple of years. Plus, I don't really like the grey colour of the one we have at the moment." Mei herself leaned against the cabinets, looking at the blonde who now wore a slightly shocked expression.

Raising her sight to Mei, Yuzu continued to question the younger.

"Mei a car made in the last couple years could cost up to four and a half million yen, I don't have that sort of cash just to spend on an upgrade. I mean it's not like there is anything wrong with the one we have."

Mei continued to observe the blonde who was now starting to tap her fingers on her legs, the rhythm slightly too fast for Mei's liking.

"I didn't ask you to pay for it, I have always had things that are up to date, and I don't really like our current car," Mei spoke cautiously as her eyes were glued to Yuzu's still dancing fingers.

"When did you start thinking you wanted a new one?" Yuzu raised her brow to Mei, curious to know how long Mei had been planning on getting rid of their car.

"Do you remember at the start of the summer when you drove me down to grandfathers, and you went to mothers?" Yuzu nodded and gestured for Mei to continue.

"Well, when I was there he asked why I had such an old car, he thought that maybe I had spent all my money and couldn't afford a proper one. I assured him that I was financially stable, but he insisted that I should have a more updated car. In the end, he insisted that he was going to buy me a newer one if I didn't myself, and knowing that he already pays the rent for this place, I didn't want to burden him anymore." Mei although started confident, Yuzu heard her voice weaken as she was probably once again feeling guilty for her grandfather expenses.

When the two first moved away from home, Mei had said that she would pay the rent on the property and that bills could be split equally. Yuzu being Yuzu completely denied that proposal, claiming that things were going to be equal between them, that everything would be shared between the two.

After a heated discussion, Mei finally gave in after Ume spoke to her, saying that in a relationship nobody wants to feel as though they are contributing less. However, that argument was apparently completely pointless as, as soon as Mei's Grandfather found out that the two girls planned on moving, he was adamant that he was going to pay for their living expenses; even if he was mainly doing it for Mei. He claimed that he would not let his grandchild waste her money on paying for an apartment.

Mei and Yuzu immediately declined, not wanting to put any financial strain on their grandfather, but he was stubborn like Mei and refused to give in. After weeks of debates, Mei finally got him to compromise, stating that she would allow him to pay the rent but no more. Yuzu and herself would pay for bills such as electricity, gas and food. And Yuzu, although still grumpy that she was having her expenses being paid for by someone else, reluctantly agreed to Mei's terms.

And like that the agreement was settled, this took a lot of financial pressure off the girls, (Mainly Yuzu as she was planning on living off her student loan,) it still had them riddled with guilt. So Mei not wanting to spend any more of her grandfather's money, said that she would be buying herself a new car and was just taking her time deciding.

After taking a few moments to think, Yuzu looked back over to Mei who was still looking at Yuzu's hands.

"I get that you don't want to spend his money, trust me I really don't like it either. But it sounds like you are being pressured into buying a new one Mei, why go out and spend that sort of money just because he asked you to. It's ridiculous." Yuzu said the first part bitterly as she still disliked the idea of him paying their bills for them.

"I'm not being pressured Yuzu, I already said I don't really like the car very much anyways. Grandfather was just telling me what he thought I should do, and I took on his advise and thought it would be nice to get an upgrade." Yuzu eyed Mei sceptically, still believing that her girlfriend was doing this for her Grandfather and not for herself.

"I didn't think you would mind if I'm honest, you love being fashionable and up to date. I assumed you would jump at the idea of getting rid of the old one. Think of me buying a new car as you buying a new pair of earrings or something. Just an upgrade from the pair you grew out of last month." Mei tried to appeal to Yuzu by putting things into fashion, but she didn't quite know if she was getting the right message across.

"A new pair of earrings cost two thousand yen Mei, your 'earrings' are nearly two and a quarter thousand times that! It's most definitely not the same thing." Yuzu's voice had raised a little, but she quickly brought it back down after realising what she had done. Mei was just impressed with Yuzu's quick mental math.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best example. Listen, can we just go for a look tomorrow, I booked an appointment for us? I don't have to buy anything straight away, but I am buying us a new car Yuzu. If you want to keep the other one instead of trading it in, that's fine I don't mind. But I am going to be buying it so you don't even need to worry about money, it shouldn't be a problem whatever car we choose as I will have enough to cover it." Mei kept her voice neutral as she spoke, she really didn't see what the big deal here was. Why wasn't she allowed to buy a new car? It's not like it was going to be extremely taxing on her wallet, as a few million yen wasn't much in the grand scheme of things; For Mei. She didn't spend her money on luxury items often, so she wasn't having to count her pennies to make the next bill. This should have been a fairly simple conversation, but she seemed to have had too high an expectation as she could literally see the distaste on the blondes face.

"Yeah cuz you can just do whatever the hell you want," Yuzu muttered to herself, or so she thought. Not quite understanding what Yuzu was implying, Mei couldn't help the shocked, confused look on her face. She obviously wasn't supposed to hear that, but she most certainly did.

Sliding down from the counter, Yuzu looked back to Mei, a forced smile on her lips.

"You can do whatever you want." With that, she turned the corner of the kitchen and made her way down the hall.

I don't do wherever I want, I literally just spoke to you about it. Why is she walking away? That's not going to help.

"Yuzu please come back, we need to talk about this. Yuzu?" Mei spoke calmly, not wanting to show her annoyance at the blonde's words. But when the older of the two kept walking, completely ignoring Mei she lost a chunk of her patients.

"Yuzu!" Mei raised her voice as she waited for the blonde to turn around, but once again she kept walking.

The walk down the hall was feeling especially long, with Mei watching her and saying her name it made it feel neverending. Finally, she was graced with the presence of their bedroom door, quickly turning the knob Yuzu rushed inside, desperate to be away from the piercing stare that was following her.

Yuzu was not even five steps in the room when Mei came in the door, surprisingly trying to keep her anger in check.

"Yuzu, please don't ignore me." Although the sentence itself was relatively kind, Mei was gritting her teeth together trying to keep unwanted words at bae.

When no reply came, Mei again tried to get Yuzu to talk. However, she couldn't help but notice that the blonde was doing just as she had asked her not to.

"Yuzu please look at me, we need to talk about this. Why are you so against getting a new car, what's the problem?"

After a few more moments Yuzu finally turned around so she was facing Mei, her eyes now red and her hands practically shaking they were tapping that fast.

"What's wrong Mei, is that you are treating this like it's going out for the weekly fucking shop! Unlike you, I don't have a happy little bank account to fall into if I think I want something! I don't want your money and I damn well don't want to be your charity case!" Her chest now heaving, Yuzu went to walk around Mei and leave the room again.

Still not fully understanding the blonde, Mei knew that she couldn't let this go without a proper conversation. Already being at the door, she stood strong and refused to let the enraged blonde pass.

"Yuzu, take a deep breath and calm down. I don't understand what you mean, please just stop for a moment and sit down." Mei now having lost her irritated tone, was looking into Yuzu's fire-lit eyes caringly, begging her to take a moment to collect herself. Yuzu having been avoiding Mei's eyes for this very reason, slumped her shoulders and sat down on the bed. She couldn't look into those beautiful warm eyes and be mad, they were gentle and loving as they looked at her, making it impossible for the blonde to deny her.

Cautiously Mei sat down on the bed beside her girlfriend, unsure if she was actually going to stop her shouting and explain her thoughts. After several minutes, Mei finally managed to pluck up the courage to break the tense silence they were sitting in, "Yuzu can you explain what you were saying earlier, properly so I can understand what you mean?" Mei didn't move, she was stuck still. Even after years of living with this emotion-filled girl, she still found herself uncomfortable and unsure in these types of situations. She didn't know what to say to comfort the girl, it most definitely wasn't her forte.

"You just don't understand Mei, we come from totally different backgrounds. Even if I were to explain it to you, you wouldn't get it." Yuzu after taking a second had lost her earlier temper and was now sitting on the edge of the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she hugged her legs.

"You don't know that for sure Yuzu, I have a feeling that you are upset about the difference in our banks, but please just try and talk to me. This shouldn't be a fight, there is no need for an argument just a civil discussion. So, you can talk and I won't butt in, I'll listen and talk back... Please?" As much as Mei portrayed herself as a fearless confident woman, right now her nerves were driving her crazy.

"Fine... We've had that car for less than two years, and you just want to get rid of it so you can go buy a better one. If I'm honest Mei, before tonight I didn't even know you had that sort of cash to throw about however you wanted. You never make any extravagant purchases so I always thought that you were just taking out a loan like me. I know it's stupid cuz you have gramps, but I guess I just put you not spending money with you not having money." Yuzu stopped for a moment, thus letting Mei speak.

"You are upset that I have a very small amount of wealth?" Mei raised her brow, she thought caring about or disliking someone because of their wealth was beneath Yuzu. She didn't think that would play a factor in her girlfriend's thoughts.

"What?! No, of course not Mei... You have money, Okay I can accept that, it makes sense. What irritates me is how you are talking so casually about spending such large sums of it. Especially giving it to me, I don't want your money. I would die for a chance to just be able to go buy a new car whenever I felt like it, but I've grown up having to work for everything, so has Mama. If I wanted to go and buy a thirty grand car it would take years of saving, even if I was to take it out and pay monthly I would still have to save for months. You just decide you want to buy a car and think, -Yuzu putting on her impression of Mei- 'Oh I'll just pop down to the garage and buy one up front. Not like it's a lot of money.' It's not a big deal to you but it is for me, you speaking about it so casually is just like rubbing it in that you have fricken millions more than I do." Yuzu stopped to take a breather, giving Mei a chance to say something while she thought about what she was going to say next.

"Okay, first of all, I am not just going to "pop down to the garage". I was going for a look, I wanted you to come as well because it's going to be our car, not mine. Secondly, are you saying that you don't want me to spend money, even if I have it?" Mei sat with her hands clasped together as she watched a still curled up Yuzu, still not completely understanding her way of thinking.

Sighing Yuzu spoke, "Again, no Mei. It's your money spend it however you please, but I am not being reliant on you to buy things for us. You want to go buy a brand new car, by all means, go ahead, but you expect it to be our car not just your's. How is that fair? I don't want to stop you from living the luxurious life you have lead till now, but I don't want you to feel or myself for that matter as if I am just living off you. You will go and spend what, between twenty and thirty grand happily on a car, that's fine for you but what about me? I have to drive it knowing I contributed absolutely nothing towards it. It's bad enough that I am practically living off gramps, and now you are trying to get rid of one of the few things he actually allowed us to buy. It pisses me off so much." Anger was starting to rise again, and not wanting to take it out on her girlfriend, Yuzu went to get up and leave.

"Wait Yuzu!" Standing as fast as the blonde had, Mei placed both hands on the girl's shoulders stopping her from leaving. When the girl still refused to meet Mei's eye, she took the quivering chin in her hand and turned it up so that Yuzu had no choice but to meet her gaze. Green emeralds were laced with pain and hurt when Mei peered into them, and she instantly felt guilt overtake her. How she had been so insensitive to the blonde she didn't know, or why she hadn't noticed that something like this would have caused a problem sooner was beyond her. After getting her feelings together, Mei cleared her now dry throat and released the chin in her grasp.

"Please don't leave Yuzu, I understand what you mean. I know you don't want to feel like you have contributed nothing, but even if you didn't it wouldn't make a difference. You could buy the whole car or pay nothing, It doesn't matter because what's mine is yours. If I buy something it is for both of us, whether it be the ice cream I bought on the weekend or a new sweater it really doesn't matter. I get that you don't want to feel like only I am buying it, but why does it matter who pays for it? We share everything, the money in my account, I don't see it as my money I see it as ours. It's there to buy something for both of us, something that will make both of us happy, not just me." At Mei's words, Yuzu's eyes softened but didn't completely lose their guard.

"I know that Mei, but this is different-" Yuzu was cut off before she could continue.

"No Yuzu, it's not. You bought a pair of purple sweat pants last week right?" Yuzu nodded, not knowing what that had to do with buying a car. "Okay and you bought them, but when you bought them did you think, "These are mine, I'm not going to let Mei wear them"? No, you didn't. You bought them and you haven't even worn them yet, I have. You got them knowing that we would both use them, and so far I have worn them like three times and you haven't had a chance to. Does that bother you, are you mad at me for wearing them?" Mei raised her eyebrow at Yuzu, who scrunched her brow together still confused as to what point Mei was trying to make.

"No Mei, of course I don't care if you wear my clothes. I bought the pants knowing that we would both probably wear them, and if you want to wear them because you like them then I don't mind. I didn't buy them just for myself." Mei smiled at her answer.

"Okay, listen to what I am saying now Yuzu and think about what you said. I am going to buy a car but I don't mind if you drive it. I am buying it knowing we are both going to use it, and if you like driving it more than me you can as much as you like. I'm not buying it just for myself." A small smile appeared over Yuzu's face, Mei had used her words.

Cupping Yuzu's soft cheek in her hand, Mei continued. "Yuzu I know you might not feel like this but I do, anything I have you can have. It could be my jacket, my shoes or my god damn underwear, It really could be anything; if it's mine it's yours. So, that goes for the car that we are going to buy as well. If you feel differently let me know." Mei although having not moved closer to the blonde, felt like she was surrounded in the older's warmth. Mei lightly stroked the peachy cheek with her thumb, she saw the green orbs lose the last of their objection, it was all replaced with love.

"You know anything I have you can use Mei, I just feel like a car is a new level of sharing; Money wise I mean. Forty pounds for a pair of sweats doesn't really sit equally with a car." Yuzu was speaking softly as she looked at Mei's calm face. Nothing about that face seemed fazed by what was being said, it held a caring smile and understanding eyes, eyes that made Yuzu melt.

"It may be a new level but maybe that isn't a bad thing. I don't ever plan on leaving you Yuzu, if it makes you feel better, think of this car as me making a long term agreement to stay with you. What's mine now will be yours for the rest of our lives. That gives you years to buy hundreds of pairs of sweat pants for me to steal. So, I'll ask you again, Yuzu will you please come and look at cars with me tomorrow?" Mei gave a sweet smile as she looked into her lover's eyes. Besides a scratchy giggle, Yuzu couldn't muster a response, the lump in her throat made that impossible. Instead, she nodded her head slowly before finally pulling Mei in for a long, much-needed hug.

Mei's body felt just as warm as her eyes looked, Yuzu couldn't wait to feel this embrace for the rest of her life. The arms around her back clung possessively to her, held her tightly, unwilling to let her go. And at that moment Yuzu never wanted her to.

Minutes later Yuzu pulled away, glancing to Mei's eyes before looking to the ground. "D-Did you m-mean it?" With the lump still occupying her throat, her voice came out squeaky and broken.

Pulling both hands from around Yuzu's back, Mei placed them on either side of the girls face. Looking into the watering eyes, Mei had never sounded as confident as when she next spoke. "Yes I meant it. I love you more than anything, I couldn't imagine my life without you, I don't want to imagine my life without you... You are everything to me, I never want to leave you." Wiping now falling tears with her thumbs, Mei leant in connecting their lips in a passion filled kiss.

One hand remained on her cheek while the other moved lower, resting on the blonde's trembling shoulder. The kiss was slow and sweet, every touch or turn of the blonde's lips sent butterflies shooting through her stomach. Even if she wasn't the one crying at the moment she still needed this kiss, the hands that rested on her hips, pulling her closer. Mei needed that, needed to know that she had effectively consoled the blonde, allowed her to see into her own thoughts. The kiss not becoming heated or lustfull as both wanted to prolong the sweet contact of each other's lips.

After minutes of blissful silence that was only interrupted by muffled moans, the two broke apart, their lungs crying for air. Bumping her forehead against the taller girl's, Yuzu slowly opened her eyes and looked up into the soothing eyes that were already gazing back at her, not a hint of anger or annoyance in sight. A caring smile was spread across her plump lips, her chest rose and fell in time with her own, and Yuzu couldn't help but thank whoever had graced her with such an amazing woman.

"Sorry for ruining the dinner you made, I didn't mean to act out..." Yuzu spoke quietly as she leant back from her lover, putting almost a foot of space between them. Her hands dropped from Mei's waist and started an elevated dance as she held her own forearms, guilt swarming her thoughts.

"You don't have to apologise Yuzu. If you ever feel like this about something then I want you to tell me, I don't ever want you feeling insecure about money... I love you and no matter what that is never going to change, what's important is that everything is okay now."

Hearing these words confirmed Yuzu's earlier thoughts, not that she had any intention of not going through with her plan but now she felt a surge of energy within her. Preparations needed to be put in order, and Yuzu could feel her brain going into overdrive as she started to think about her idea.

A silly grin had unconsciously made its way onto Yuzu's face as she stared off into space, she felt warm and giddy inside. "Yuzu are you okay? Why are you smiling like that, what are you thinking about?" Mei shivered at the menacing smile on the blonde's face, that smile meant trouble usually something that meant breaking rules or causing a ruckus.

Snapping out of her daze, Yuzu brushed Mei off with a wave of her hand. "Nothing, I'm not doing anything. I... eh... how about we watch a movie, we can rent out a new one if you want to?" Effectively changing the topic Yuzu grinned as Mei eagerly eyed their bed, clearly liking the idea of being in it at the moment.

"Great, I'll go put all the candles out in the kitchen and grab a drink. Do you want me to get you anything?" Yuzu was already at the door and was about to leave when Mei spoke.

"No thank you, what do you want to rent?" Mei motioned to the television with her hand, but as she suspected she didn't get a proper answer. Shrugging her shoulders Yuzu smiled, "Anything you want... oooo but maybe pick something with a bit of romance? I'm in romancey kind of mood." Yuzu cheesed before skipping down the hall, leaving Mei to roll her eyes as she grabbed the remote and slipped into her nightwear.

Sitting in bed, Mei could hear Yuzu blowing out the candles each with an exaggerated puff of air and couldn't help but giggle at how childish her girlfriend could be. But her smile faltered somewhat when she heard the girl talking, but who to Mei didn't know.

"Good evening...late... an appointment for... great!... NO don't call!... Yuzupops02 ... thanks bye" Mei could only make out parts of the conversation, but she heard enough to get the gist of what was going on. Who was Yuzu meeting that she didn't want to call her, and who would the blonde so casually give out her email to?

If she doesn't want them calling her is that because she doesn't want me to see whoever is calling, why does she need to hide them from me? And she never just gives out her email to people at least not her personal one, why didn't she just give the one she used for school? Besides that, who the hell is she calling this late at night?

After the call ended, Mei could hear the blonde humming happily to herself as she found whatever beverage she was looking for. As if she hadn't just had a very conspicuous phone call. After almost a minute more of waiting, Yuzu came back down the hall, a can of juice in her hand. She glanced to the tv before looking back at Mei who was eyeing her sceptically. Placing her drink on the nightstand, she shuffled under the cover beside Mei a confused look on her face.

"Why haven't you picked a movie yet? You've not even gotten onto the right setting." Yuzu raised her eyebrow to Mei who was still yet to take her eyes off the blonde. "...Mei?" Wriggling uncomfortably under Mei's unwavering gaze, Yuzu eventually sighed when she didn't get an answer and took the remote herself to change the channel.

"Fine, I'll choose one." Feeling the tension rise in the room, Yuzu picked one of the first movies that appeared on the screen, no longer deeply concerned about what they watched.

"Who are you keeping a secret from me?" After several more unbearable moments of silence Mei spoke, her tone now cold and accusing.

Seeing the blonde's confused expression, Mei tried again. "Let me rephrase then. Who were you on the phone to?" The question clearly catching Yuzu off guard as she stumbled for a while before speaking.

Shit, I thought she couldn't hear me. Just my luck.

"It was no one important, just someone from school." Yuzu gave a clear 'I'm lying' smile, she never was good at lying on the spot.

"If that's the case, why did you say they weren't allowed to call you? And you gave your personal email address instead of your school one, if it was someone from school surely you would have given them the same email as the rest of our friends." Mei's questioning was making Yuzu hot and flustered, and not in a good way.

"Well, em that's because we are eh... meeting for lunch after one of my classes, I didn't want them to call me in case class ran late or something. So I gave her my email cuz that's the one that's on my phone most of the time." Yuzu fumbled over her words. She was very much aware she could switch between her google accounts with the click of a button, but she hoped to god Mei didn't.

"Really, you expect me to believe that?" Mei gave an offended scoff as she watched Yuzu follow a seeming interesting crack of paint on the ceiling.

"I'm being honest Mei. Next week is the start of the new school year, so I was just making plans with Catty to go over what we learn. You know to try and get back into it after being away for so long." Mei lost some of her scepticism but not it all. And who the hell is 'Catty'

"Catty?" Mei kept her tone neutral, not showing the nip the unfamiliar name made in her chest. Yuzu fluffed up her pillow and sat back, pulling the covers up to her shoulders. She spread one arm over the length of Mei's pillow and raised the quilt, silently asking Mei to move into her grasp. Which she eventually did.

"Yeah she is a girl from my class, I sit next to her in a lot of my lectures. I have told you about her before: super cute blue glasses, huge black afro, likes to dress in weirdly bright sweaters. C'mon how do you not remember her?" When she was finished, Yuzu moved to get her arms positioning right before nuzzling into Mei's silky soft hair.

"I apologise I must have forgotten... You, you aren't lying to me?" Mei, after talking to Yuzu thought maybe she had jumped to conclusions, after all, what reason did the blonde have to lie to her? So, trying to push the untrustful feelings away, Mei gave up and wrapped herself around the blonde. Entangling their arms and legs beneath the covers.

Not having the will power to confirm her lie so bluntly to Mei's face. Yuzu didn't answer, instead just gave a long kiss to the top of the girl's forehead, before pressing play on the movie.

God that was too fucking close, why do I have to talk so damn loud... I'm sorry Mei.

Before the pair realised it, they were tangled up beneath the sheets. The movie had ended and the credits where slowly playing. Mei, although it only being nine at night had already fallen asleep and was nestled in tightly to the blonde's neck; Yuzu, however, was wide awake. She still had one arm wrapped around her sleeping partner, the other was scrolling through her phone. A giant grin was on her face as she continued to scroll, every couple of minutes she would look down just to double check that Mei was still fast asleep.

She had been doing research on this particular topic for several weeks now, and after tonight Yuzu's mind was alert as ever. Scrolling through website after website trying to find the perfect one, but alas she couldn't find one that really got what she was going for.

Several had aspects that she really liked but other parts that she didn't really like it.

Time seemed to escape her as it was now past twelve and she was still going through her phone. Her mind seemingly no longer needing sleep as she dove further and further into this rabbit hole.

Feeling like it would be pointless to even try and go to sleep when she felt like this, she carefully slipped her arm out from beneath Mei. Glancing down to the sleeping beauty, Yuzu's heart fluttered at the innocent face. After studying her for several minutes, Yuzu couldn't help the smile on her face as she gave a peck to the pale forehead.

As quietly as she could manage, Yuzu plucked her sketchbook from her desk along with her pencil case and slipped from the room. Going to the lounge, Yuzu was filled with giggles and excitement, god she didn't think this would make her this happy.

The next few hours were used making lists of potentials and sketching out rough ideas. By three o'clock her wrist was sore and her eyes were drooping. After looking at the pages in her book a final time, Yuzu felt her core grow warm. She had come up with several ideas but she would no doubt change and rechange her mind over the next week.

Packing up her stuff Yuzu walked back to their room, but where she was going to put the book she didn't know. Somewhere Mei wouldn't go, somewhere it didn't look out of place?

Thinking it too risky to just place it in her drawer or on the bookshelf, Yuzu settled for shoving it at the very bottom of her school bag and stuffing all her school books on top. Thinking she was pushing her luck on the amount of noise she was making as Mei was moving a little more in her sleep, Yuzu left her bag at the side of the desk and walked over to their bed.

Gently crawling back under the covers, Yuzu couldn't help smiling as she retook the sleeping girl in her arms. That smile stayed on her lips after she placed several kisses to the slightly pink cheeks. Yuzu could tell she was going to have an amazing sleep tonight.