Chapter 26.5: Suspicions

Mei sat patiently on the bench for the blonde, she wasn't mad that she was late she was only slightly annoyed that Yuzu had called her during her lesson. Not only was it embarrassing for Mei to have to pick up her phone in that situation but she thought it was very rude to have to excuse herself for no reason at all. It was now ten past four, Mei expected the blonde to be pulling up in front of her anytime soon but time slowly trickled past her and then it was quarter past.

I could have walked home by now, god where is she?

Mei sighed as she took her phone out to call the blonde, but stopped when she saw a small notification on her screen from six minutes ago. She had been tagged in a post but Mei wasn't sure by who, the name didn't give a clue to who had tagged her. Curiosity winning, Mei slid open the notification to see the post but what she saw infuriated her. A picture of a stunning dark haired girl and a vibrant blonde covered Mei's screen, the two were practically brushing cheeks as they posed for the photo. Mei noticed the arm wrapped tightly around the blonde's small shoulders. Eventually looking down to the caption where her name was Mei scowled, 'My girl rushing away to AiharaMei. Miss her already x'

Six minutes ago this was posted, meaning the blonde had blown her off to spend time with the girl Mei extremely disliked. Mei immediately got up from the bench and started walking home, she wasn't going to wait any longer for the blonde to pick her up when she was purposely making herself late by talking to this girl.

'My girl' who does she think she is? Publically claiming Yuzu like that, god the fucking audacity. Mei continued her fast pace as she thought to herself, she might not have spent a large amount of time on social media but she knew that the caption Jasmin had used was just a tactic of tagging her in the post. Guaranteeing that she would see it. Rubbing in her relationship with the blonde. Subtle hints that only Mei would take notice to. Make Mei know she was present in the blondes life whether she liked it or not.

Her tutor's house was about a fifteen-minute walk depending on how fast you walked, and Mei was making quick work of the journey. Mei's phone rang, and she looked down to see the blondes number. Quickly declining the call Mei opened her messages, not wanting to hear her voice at the moment.

'What?" The text even without any audible content was bitter as ever. A single word, no kiss and no explanation. Yuzu surely would get the message that she was mad.

'I'm outside your tutor's house but I don't see you, where are you? Also, why didn't you pick up the phone? xx' Mei got an instant reply from the blonde, who didn't quite seem interested in the fact that she was twenty minutes late and had spent her day with Jasmin.

'I started to walk home.' Again Mei gave the blunt reply as she seemed to speed up her walking, the blonde's casual tone fueling her current anger. She can't just pick me up late because she wanted to ignore me for Jasmin then act like everything is alright.

'I'm sorry I'm late I lost track of time. Where are you now, I'll come and pick you up wherever you are? xx' Yuzu once again replied swiftly, hoping Mei would answer her properly. She hadn't failed to notice the lack of emotion in the girl's text messages.

Sighing Mei looked at her surroundings, she would be home herself in less than five minutes. 'No, I'm almost home myself it doesn't matter.'

'Oh okay, I guess I'll see you in a couple of minutes, I'll start driving home now. xx' Mei received the text as swiftly as the others, only this time there was a follow-up message. One Mei didn't know how to respond to and therefore didn't.

'I love you xxx' After staring at the message for several seconds, Mei turned her phone off and continued her march home.

Putting her phone down after almost two minutes of no reply, Yuzu frowned as she started up the engine and started to drive home. She didn't think her being late would have made Mei this mad, maybe she was still upset about whatever had bothered her this morning?

...

Stepping out of the car Yuzu walked towards their flat, and when she got to the door it was already open meaning Mei had beat her home. Walking in, Yuzu took her shoes off as she spoke cautiously into the house.

"Mei, I'm home." Peering into the house as she removed her outdoor clothes, Yuzu got no response from the silent apartment. Feeling a bit of uneasiness grow in her stomach, Yuzu slowly walked into the sitting room, but there was no sign of her girlfriend in either the kitchen or the living room.

Walking down the hall to their room, Yuzu opened the bedroom door and was finally graced with the presence of Mei. She had her back turned to the blonde, her head down as she was writing something at their desk. She didn't move an inch as Yuzu entered the room, her focus on the papers in front of her seemed to intensify as the blonde started talking.

"Mei, I'm home... Sorry for not picking you up when I promised I would, and for making you wait for so long outside. It won't happen again so you don't need to be mad at me anymore." Walking a few steps closer to the unmoved girl, Yuzu placed a hand on her shoulder hoping she would at least look at her. Mei, however, instantly shook the blonde's hand from her shoulder not wanting to talk to her or hear her excuses. Yuzu clearly wasn't expecting that reaction from the younger girl as she let a small gasp escape her lips. After taking several moments to value the situation, Yuzu spoke again.

"Mei are you okay? I said I was sorry what else do you want me to say?" Still, with no words from the younger girl, Yuzu was becoming more concerned. "Mei this isn't about me being late to pick you up is it, why are you so upset?" Not touching the girl this time, Yuzu gently took the pen from Mei's grasp and layed it down on the desk.

"I'm fine. Please leave me alone, I am trying to study." Mei reached for her pen going back to her work after she spoke. She didn't really want to express her jealousy to the blonde, sitting down doing school work seemed much more appealing.

Plonking herself down on the side of the desk Yuzu spoke again, still concerned for the way the younger girl was acting.

"No Mei, you just got in the house you are not studying you are avoiding me and I don't know why. You just got home from your lesson and you always like to sit down with a cup of tea and relax or something, not throw yourself into work. Meaning you are either super busy which can't be considering school only just started up, which just leave one thing; You are upset about something and are trying to take your mind off it, and your attitude towards me only points to me as the culprit for your mood. So, are you going to tell me what is bothering you so much that you won't even look at me?" Yuzu spoke confidently feeling as though she had made a good analysis of her girlfriend's actions, but even if she knew she was the cause she didn't actually know what she had done.

After a few moments, Mei put her pen down and turned to the blonde, meeting her gaze with narrowed eyes. "Where were you today?" Crossing her arms over her chest, Mei didn't try and keep the iciness from her tone.

"I already told you where I was today, I was with Harumin." Yuzu shuffled uncomfortably as Mei watched her with a cold gaze.

"You said just this morning that you were meeting up with Catty, what happened to that?" Mei didn't like being lied to, she knew the blonde was lying as she had seen Jasmin's post.

"Well you know I went to Harumi's this morning, and I kinda just wanted to stay and hang out with her. So I ended up not meeting with Catty, I was just running late and lost track of time when I was supposed to pick you up."

"Liar," Was all Mei said, as she turned back to her paperwork. If the blonde wasn't going to tell her the truth about who she had been with she didn't want to talk to her at all.

It had occurred to Mei that she was only acting this way because of who the blonde had spent her day with. If it was anybody else she wouldn't have cared, it wasn't uncommon for the blonde to forget about the time and be late for something, Mei was only acting sour about it because it was Jasmin that Yuzu was with.

"What do you mean 'Liar'? I haven't done anything!" Yuzu immediately went into defence mode as she furrowed her brow at Mei. She had spent her entire day with her best friend, Harumi could vouge for her.

"If you aren't going to tell me the truth, then I won't waste my breath arguing with you. I'm studying, please leave me alone." Picking up her pen, Mei gave the blonde a scowl before completely turning away from her.

Yuzu, however, wasn't following Mei at all, and she didn't like being accused of lying. Given she had lied a little but not about what Mei was saying. She couldn't tell Mei where she had been but she had been with Harumi all day.

"What the hell are you talking about Mei? I'm not lying so stop saying I am!" Standing from the desk, Yuzu made a show of stomping her feet as she landed.

Upon hearing Yuzu raise her voice, Mei turned around not appreciating the attitude she was getting.

"If you aren't lying prove it, because my evidence states otherwise." Still, with a cool demeanour, Mei continued to scowl at the older girl who at the moment looked as though she could have had steam coming from her ears. Shoving her hand into her pocket, Yuzu pulled out her phone and after a moment of flicking through her contacts pressed a call button and handed the phone to Mei.

"You want proof, here! Call Harumin and ask her whatever you like. I'm not lying I have been with her all day, so whatever 'evidence' you have that shows I was with someone else isn't true!" Yuzu, who wanted to keep her cool, stepped back from Mei as she held the phone to her ear. This day was supposed to be special for Yuzu, she had planned to come home to a happy Mei and take her out for dinner to try and cheer her up, and yet here she was proving her innocence to the younger girl about who she had spent the day with. Yuzu didn't even know why Mei was making such a big deal about it, she never normally cared about who Yuzu saw. Why today was any different Yuzu didn't know.

After several rings, Yuzu watched as Mei took the phone from her ear and hung up. "What are you doing? Call her back, I'm telling the truth and I can prove it." Yuzu's voice was still ever so slightly raised as she stepped forward to call her friend again, Mei passed the phone back without hesitation. "No Yuzu, don't bother. I believe you so just forget about it." Mei turned back to the desk and started writing straight away. How could Yuzu be telling the truth? She had seen the post that was directed at her, Yuzu had been with Jasmin today so why the blonde thought it was necessary to cover up her tracks was beyond Mei. And yet even though these thoughts went through Mei's mind she couldn't help but feel like Yuzu was telling the truth.

"Ehhh no, I don't think so." Taking the back of the chair in her hands, Yuzu turned it around so Mei was once again facing her. "What was this evidence you were talking about earlier?" Not moving her hands so the younger could just turn away from her again, Yuzu waited for her response. It was obvious that Mei was still upset, and Yuzu wanted answers. Yuzu looked straight into her girlfriend's eyes and when she did her gaze softened, she could see hurt and confusion in the purple orbs. Removing one of her hands from the top of Mei's chair, Yuzu lowered it to Mei's shoulder, "Mei please don't just push me away like this. If you think something is going on talk to me about it don't just ignore me. What was the evidence you spoke about earlier? Just let me see it, it is probably just a mistake that I can explain... please Mei."

"No, it doesn't matter, I am just being ridiculous." Mei's voice was almost a whisper as she looked away from Yuzu to the floor, she could honestly say she felt a little bit foolish at the moment. The blonde's voice was full of sincerity as she spoke, not a hint of impurity and yet Mei still had this doubt in her chest from the picture she had seen not twenty minutes ago. After several seconds her chin was lightly grasped and tilted to meet Yuzu's eye level.

God those damn eyes, so beautiful... she's not lying.

Mei held Yuzu's gaze for nearly a minute before she looked away, knowing her girlfriend wasn't going to do anything except wait for her to say something. Slowly looking back to Yuzu, Mei spoke quietly, suddenly the evidence she had seemed so insignificant in contrast to Yuzu's pure eyes. "I saw a photo of you with Jasmin..." Trailing off into an almost inaudible whisper, Mei couldn't find the courage to keep looking Yuzu in the eye.

Seconds after looking at the floor Mei's head shot up at the sound of her girlfriend's laughter. She didn't say anything as she sat in her chair, only scowled at the girl who was now several feet away from her. "Mei I did spend my day with Harumi, but when I was in the parking lot on my way to get you I saw Jasmin. We spoke for literally less than a minute, she asked if she could take a photo for her Instagram and I said yes, that was it. After that, I drove straight to your tutor's house." Yuzu smiled to Mei, and when she saw realisation hit the younger girl Yuzu couldn't help a small chuckle escape her lips.

"Really?" Mei was so quiet and nervous when she spoke it almost hurt the blonde. Taking Mei's hands in her own, Yuzu crouched down to Mei's level and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Really. I wasn't lying earlier, I didn't spend my day with Jasmin I saw her for less than a minute before we went our separate ways." Yuzu gave an honest smile as she watched Mei melt into her palm on her cheek.

"Okay?" Yuzu waited again, Mei after placing her hand over the one on her cheek spoke. "Okay... I'm sorry."

Furrowing her brow, Yuzu ran her thumb soothingly along Mei's cheek hoping the action would take some of the stress from her partners face. "Why are you apologising? You don't need to, I get it you thought I was lying and it's completely understandable. So let's just leave it at that okay? No more apologising." Smiling softly Yuzu pecked the tip of Mei's now red nose in a playful manner before waiting for a reply.

She got a nod of the head before Mei pulled her in for a hug, she action was as much a surprise to Mei as Yuzu. Mei, even though she hadn't planned on it, held the blonde tightly in her arms. While her head was in the joint of Yuzu's neck, Mei couldn't help but feel guilty. Her voice lower than a whisper, she spoke again "I'm so sorry Yuzu." When she spoke she felt Yuzu grip her tighter, her hand rubbing her back slowly.

After several minutes Yuzu pulled back to look at Mei, her hand once again rested on the youngers cheek. "I'm still taking you out to dinner so I'm going to go and shower. I'll be twenty minutes, just relax and chill out okay." Yuzu's eyes were soft as ever as she leaned in to kiss the soft lips in front of her. Moments passed and soon the blissful moment was over. Standing, Yuzu grabbed some clothes and walked out of the room leaving Mei with a caring smile.

Yuzu walked back into their bedroom as she dried her hair, her earlier feeling of fulfilment and happiness once again resided in her. Striding into the bedroom, Yuzu scanned the room for Mei but to her surprise and slight disappointment, the younger girl was not there. Turning, Yuzu ventured down the hall to the lounge where she assumed her girlfriend would be relaxing on the couch as she instructed.

"Mei, where are you?" Her voice was cheery as ever, and as she peered over the couch she was once again disappointed to find that Mei was once again not there. Her head instantly flicked towards the kitchen where she was finally met with Mei pouring herself a cup of tea. Smiling brightly, Yuzu started walking towards the younger girl.

"I'm right here, if you looked before you spoke you would know that." Mei gave the somewhat bitter remark as she took her tea and leaned against the countertop, after a few seconds of watching Yuzu's bewildered expression Mei smiled.

"I know I said to chill, but it's almost five are you sure you are going to have time to drink that and still get ready? I don't want us having dinner too late." Yuzu after figuring out that Mei was playing with her, leaned against the countertop adjacent to Mei.

"I don't want to go out." Mei stood with her cup in her hand as she casually declined the blonde. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the gesture, but it had been a long day for her and with all the crap with Jasmin and her feeling being pulled about like a ragdoll, all Mei wanted was to sit down and not have a care in the world. Yuzu's brow instantly creased, her arms folding across her chest as she looked at Mei.

"What why not? I told you earlier not to make any plans." Mei, however, didn't even flinch at her pouting girlfriend.

"I don't have plans I just don't want to leave the house. It's been a really long day and I just want to sit in my pyjamas and relax, not care about looking presentable for other people. I understand that you wanted to take me out to dinner even if I'm not sure of your motives, but I really don't think I have the energy for it." Mei spoke calmly as she sipped on her tea and watched Yuzu's mock hurt expression soften. Nodding to Mei, Yuzu wrapped the towel around her neck as she walked over to the cupboards, and after looking for a moment turned to Mei.

"Okay, that's totally okay. What do you want me to make you for dinner then, we have pasta, noodles, rice, lots of veggies oh I could make you-" Yuzu's rambling was quickly put a stop to as Mei cut her off, the interruption that Yuzu got surprising her enough that she had to take a moment to go over in her mind that she had heard right.

"No, don't worry about cooking I order a bunch of takeout for dinner. I wasn't quite sure what you would want and I didn't know how hungry you were, not that it is ever 'not that hungry', so I ordered your favourite from the Japanese, the Chinese and Dominos. I got myself something as well. I ordered them all for six, so they should be here at roughly the same time... I hope you don't mind." Mei although was quite confident that Yuzu wouldn't mind the trade, couldn't hide the nervousness in her voice.

"Really?! You bought a takeaway?" Yuzu couldn't help the astonishment in her voice and on her face, Mei was against getting takeaway eighty per cent of the time, and now she was saying she had ordered takeout from three different places all in one night. Yuzu could have died happy.

"Of course that's okay Mei, I am super hungry so this is perfect!" Yuzu made her way across to Mei a mixture of skipping and jumping. When she reached the younger girl, Yuzu placed both hands on her cheeks and lightly pulled Mei's face towards her own giving her a mushy kiss on the lips. When she pulled back Yuzu made a 'Mwah' sound and grinned at Mei who had a pink tinge on her cheeks.

"Was that necessary Yuzu?" Mei in a bland tone wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Secretly hoping to wipe the blush from her face at the same time.

Yuzu didn't respond to Mei's reply, she leaned back against the countertop and smiled to the dark-haired girl.

"What made you want to order food instead of making something? I mean I'm really glad you did, but why?"

After staying silent for several seconds, Mei took several sips of her tea as she tried to prolong the silence. Though it didn't last long as the blonde's gaze still lingered on Mei even after two minutes of deafening silence.

"Well... I was tired and I didn't want to cook, and I didn't think it was fair to make you cook dinner when you were the one that wanted to go out." As she finished, Mei brought her tea to her lips and watched the floor when she eventually looked back she saw Yuzu still looking at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "... and I felt bad about jumping down your throat earlier, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything but I just thought that the picture meant that you had spent your entire day with her. And the caption she put on it was clearly a dig at me so I would react." Realising she was diverting, Mei stopped short before Yuzu started asking questions.

"Anyways, it is just my way of apologising." As she said this, Mei started walking towards the living room where she placed her tea on the coffee table before making her way towards their bedroom. Returning later with a book in her hand and a neutral expression, she sat on the couch and picked her cup back up. Yuzu was still standing in the kitchen, watching how Mei tried to escape the conversation.

If Mei has ordered all this food and just wants to stay in we could have a proper movie night, but what would she want to watch oooh and we need ice cream. Maybe she would watch Harry Potter there are loads of those movies if we started watching them now we might be able to get through most of them before we fall asleep.

Walking over to where Mei was sitting, Yuzu reached out and plucked the book from Mei's hand. Smiling down to the piercing glare she received. "Give me my book back Yuzu, that was uncalled for." The huge lack of emotion in the youngers voice almost put Yuzu on edge, she was now significantly less sure Mei would agree to this. Gently closing the book Yuzu placed it down beside Mei on the couch.

"Actually I wanted to ask if you wanted to have a real movie night tonight. I mean you have ordered a ton of food, you said yourself that you just want to laze about and I can run to the shop and get some ice cream and cookies just so it's official... and it means we can cuddle a little on the couch." Yuzu gave a nervous smile to the raven-haired girl as she shuffled on her feet. She watched for several seconds as she waited for Mei to say something and eventually she did.

"I suppose that doesn't sound that bad, but what do you mean a real movie night is that not the same as any other night we watch a movie?" Mei now losing interest in her book, gave her full attention to the now beaming blonde. She might not have completely understood what the older girl had meant by 'real movie' night, but after her feelings having been pulled a little too much today Mei was secretly craving the blonde's company. She wanted to hear the constant laughter and the subtle flirts not that she would say that to Yuzu. Things were cleared up between the two and yet Mei still felt a little tight in her chest when she thought about a certain person, who no matter how hard she tried kept popping into her head. Now all she wanted was to make herself feel better by spending time with her girlfriend.

"Well it's a little different cuz were gonna have a movie marathon. We pick a series and binge watch them all, I didn't know what you would want to watch and the only thing that really came to mind was Harry Potter but I'm not quite sure if you would want to watch that." Yuzu said happily as she watched the younger girl looking at her contently from the couch. The answer the blonde got surprised the blonde but at the same time, she should have suspected it.

Mei gave Yuzu a nod, "I am familiar with that series, I have read all of the books. If you want to watch the movies tonight I don't mind, I kind of liked the books so I might like it." Mei, after she had finished, smiled to Yuzu and gestured for her to sit down and start watching the movies, however, she only got a laugh and a shake of her head in response.

"Mei we can't just sit down and watch it like this, we have to prepare. So to begin with I am going to the shop to buy some stuff, I'll be back in say twenty minutes. Until then you can continue reading your book or something." Yuzu smiled to Mei as she was making a list of all the food she was about to buy, knowing that Mei probably wouldn't want to eat it late at night but she was going to buy it anyway.

"No wait, I'll come with you." Mei quickly got from the couch and started walking to their bedroom to get changed, she was quickly followed by the blonde who didn't make any sounds of rejection at the girls offer.

After the pair changed into outfits that were slightly more presentable, they left the apartment and started their journey to the store. To Yuzu's surprise, Mei held a tight grasp on her hand the entire way there. When they entered the store she still failed to release her grip, and although Yuzu liked holding her girlfriend's hand she could feel Mei's grip tighten every time they passed by someone who was attractive. Yuzu knew that Mei wasn't intentionally gripping her hand tighter every time this happened and that fact alone made the blonde wary.

She has a sad look on her face whenever we walk past fit people, it's the same look she had earlier when we were talking when she was about to cry... Does this have something to do with Jasmin? Yuzu wondered as she observed her girlfriend's expressions and actions on their trip to the store.

"Okay Mei, what flavour of ice cream do you want? I'm getting this caramel and chocolate one, you?" Yuzu smiled, sounding cheerful as she tried to make her clearly distracted girlfriend happier. After browsing the shelves for several seconds, Mei eyed the thousands of combinations of ice cream before she spoke. "I think I will just get vanilla." Opening the freezer she took out both her vanilla and handed Yuzu her choice, still not releasing the blonde's hand.

"What else do you want to get Yuzu?" Mei looked to the blonde with a slightly bland expression, but that wasn't uncommon for the younger girl. Yuzu lightly swung their hands back and forth and she lead Mei around the store.

"We can buy some cookies so we can eat them with the ice cream, and we can get anything you want as well. Tonight calories don't count!" Yuzu said proudly as the slowly managed to pick up several packets of cookies between her fingers and looked to Mei who was lightly shaking her head at the amount of sugar the blonde had in her hand at the moment.

"No, I don't want anything I believe what you have picked up will be more than enough for us." Mei sighed as she watched the blonde look slightly disappointed for a moment, before piping up with yet another idea.

"Ohh I know we need to get some crisps." Briskly walking around the aisles, Yuzu stopped in front of a large variety of flavoured chips. "I think we should just go classic with salty crips, is that okay for you?" Glancing to Mei Yuzu was already trying to pick up the large back with her pinky finger but was failing miserably.

"Yes, let me get those." Reaching her hand forwards Mei picked up the bag with her fingers while the blonde gave her a grateful smile, "I think we have enough now Yuzu after all we have also got takeout coming as well, I'm sure this is going to be more than sufficient for the two of us to watch a couple of movies." Mei stated as she started to lead the blonde towards the check out before anything else popped into her mind.

The two paying for their items and exiting the shop with Yuzu holding the bag in one hand while Mei held her other. "I think you are really gonna like tonight Mei," Yuzu started a casual conversation as she and Mei walked back towards their apartment, she wanted to get her talking before asking what was bothering the younger girl.

"I have never had a 'real movie night' before so I wouldn't know, however, I like spending time with you so I most likely will like it," Mei spoke calmly as she answered the blonde, honestly not knowing why Yuzu was making such a big deal about.

Yuzu smiled at Mei, there was a cool breeze tonight as they walked home, and Yuzu could feel Mei shivering slightly. Mei claimed that since they were only going to the store she wouldn't need a scarf or anything and was currently just wearing a t-shirt and a long skirt. Stopping, Yuzu let go off Mei's hand for the first time and put the bag on the floor.

"Yuzu what are you doing?" Mei looked at Yuzu confused as to why she stopped, her eyes widening slightly when she saw the blonde take her scarf off and carefully wrap it around her neck. The warm feeling engulfing her neck and made her entire body warm. When she breathed in she could smell Yuzu on the deep blue scarf, the smell that made Mei smile. Yuzu picked up her bag and retook Mei's hand in her own as she started walking again and to her surprise (again) Mei didn't make any complaints or reject her offer.

"... Thank you." A light blush was on Mei's cheek as she held onto the scarf with one hand and watched her feet as she walked.

"No problem, that's what I'm here for!" Yuzu smiled as she leaned over and placed a peck to Mei's reddening cheek.

When the pair entered the apartment again it was nearly half five, the food would be arriving soon and Yuzu wanted to get the living room set up before any of it arrived. When they entered Yuzu asked Mei to put the ice cream in the freezer and to get changed into her jammies while she dealt with the living room.

Slipping her shoes and jacket off, Yuzu made her way to the living room where she completely cleared the coffee table and pulled it closer towards the couch. The now bare wood would soon be covered with all the takeaways Mei had bought along with the food Yuzu just had.

When Mei came through minutes later dressed in shorts and a baggy shirt, she cocked her head slightly to the blonde, asking what she was doing.

"Well Mei, If we are sitting on the couch we are going to need to be able to reach all the food at once, so we are going to put it all on the coffee table and when we're done with that we can get the ice cream and cookies out later, this way we don't have to keep moving about or anything." As Yuzu said this she was walking around the couch to meet the younger girl, when she met her she slipped her hands around the slim waist. Almost waddling the girl towards her, Yuzu grinned when Mei finally brushed against her body.

Raising one of her hands from the youngers waist to her shoulder, Yuzu moved the oversized material to reveal the snow white shoulder and neck. The sight alone gave Yuzu butterflies. Bringing her lips to the pale skin, Yuzu placed several soft kisses to the clear skin, she heard the younger gasp slightly at the unannounced contact. Her fingers traced the length of Mei's arm as she worked her kisses towards the girl's neck.

"Y-Yuzu what are you doing?" Mei's hands had found their way to the blonde's hips, her breath hitched in her throat as Yuzu gave a light suck to it. However, she took a clear gasp of air as a peachy warm hand slipped under her shirt and caressed Mei's stomach and hip. Deciding it too early to get carried away, Yuzu stopped her sucking on the neck and left a few more warm kisses to Mei's shoulder before pulling her head back to look at a red-faced Mei.

"What are you talking about Mei? I was just saying hello." Yuzu gave a cheeky grin as she watched a small smirk pull at the corner of Mei's mouth. "Okay, you can go and sit down on the couch I'm gonna go and get changed and bring a blanket through for us." Yuzu instructed with a smile before giving the recovering girl a kiss to the lips and heading towards their bedroom to get changed.

Mei watched with wide eyes as Yuzu came back through dressed in a plain tank top and some three-quarter joggers hauling their double quilt down the hall towards the living room. When Yuzu reached the couch and was standing behind where Mei was sitting she dropped the curled up duvet over the young girl and watched as she completely disappeared under the poofy white sheet. Mere seconds later a small head and set of hand popped up above the mass of white and looked straight to Yuzu with amused eyes. Yuzu laughed and looked back at Mei before she leaned over the couch and placed another kiss to the irresistible pink lips in front of her.

"Hello, my love." Yuzu said quietly as she broke the kiss and rose so she could meet Mei's eyes with her own. "Hello Yuzu." Mei gave the reply back as her ears seemed to redden at the nickname. Yuzu held the warm gaze for several seconds before she could no longer contain her giggle and laughed as she walked around the sofa to sit beside Mei, flattening the still fluffy quilt.

"Food should be here in the next ten minutes so I'm going to make our drinks just now, what do you want?" Yuzu asked as she looked at Mei, her eyes warm.

"Just water is fine, thank you. You know I could just get it myself you don't have to do it for me." Mei gave Yuzu a slight smile as she shuffled into a better position still with their duvet on her. Yet despite her protests, Yuzu shook her head and stood from the couch. "Absolutely not, I'll get your water, and you can just sit here and look pretty. I'll bring the cutlery and stuff over as well, what you can do is find the movies on the TV. You are probably going to have to rent them but just put it on my card, the order of the movies is on google so you are going to have to search for that okay." Smiling and laying another peck to Mei's cheek, Yuzu walked away to the kitchen and started to prepare the two drinks.

When she returned Mei had downloaded two of the movies and was waiting for Yuzu, placing both glasses of water down Yuzu grinned at the sound of the doorbell. "Hmm, which one do you think it is? I bet it's the Chinese, you?" Yuzu grinned to Mei who looked back to her with a smirk of her own, "Dominos, what's the wager?" Mei replied fast knowing they had to be quick. "If I win I get to take a selfie kissing you on the cheek, and you have to smile!" Yuzu grinned to Mei who playfully narrowed her eyes, "and if I win you are not allowed on your phone for an entire day." Mei challenged as she watched Yuzu backing towards the door, a confident smile on her face.

When she got their Yuzu heard the bell go again just as she was opening it. The man standing at the door had a tied white plastic bag in his hand.

"Ahahaha Yeess!" Mei sighed as she heard the squeal come from the front door. Her head flopped back onto the cushions as she waited for the boasting blonde to come back inside. She lifted her head at the sound of cheerful skipping coming towards her.

"Haha I won Mei, you owe me one picture." Yuzu grinned as she made her way to the table where she started to unpack the boxes of food onto the table.

"I know you said you order several things for me Mei but this alone is enough to feed us, how much did you order from the other places?" Yuzu turned and looked to Mei who shrugged her shoulders. " I ordered the same amount from the Japanese restaurant: your favourite soup, the spicy ramen thing, veg sides and rice for you. From Dominos I got a pepperoni and vegetable pizza without mushrooms and those chicken strips you like with chips and I made sure to ask for extra ketchup like you always do." Mei said nonchalantly as she recited the memorised list to Yuzu, who's jaw was dropping.

Before long a grin made its way onto the elders face as she moved onto the couch and sat on top of Mei, straddling her thighs. "You know just what makes me happy." Yuzu purred softly into Mei's ear, her arms resting on Mei's shoulders. When she pulled back Mei had a small smile on her lips alongside a subtle blush, Yuzu could see no sign of her earlier sadness, that was what Yuzu had been looking for. Reaching her hand out to cup the blonde's pink-tinged cheek, Mei smiled and kissed her softly. "I would hope I know. Though it says a lot about you that me ordering too much takeaway is all it takes to make you smile or to be happy." Mei said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as she pulled her head back from Yuzu.

"Hey, that's not true. Food makes me happy, but it's you that makes me smile. Now eating food with you makes me the happiest person alive!" Yuzu defended herself as she leaned into Mei and connected their lips once again. She felt Mei lean into the kiss, and release several pleasant moans before Yuzu pulled back. The doorbell once again sounding through the house. A disappointed look appeared on Mei's face at the premature end to the kiss, but she knew they couldn't just let the delivery man wait outside. As Yuzu slipped down from Mei's legs and was walking back to the door she looked to Mei.

"I'm calling Japanese this time. If I win, you have to give me a kiss on the cheek for a photo, is your wager the same?" Yuzu gave a toothy grin to Mei as she waited for her reply, "I'm upping it to two days." Mei gave Yuzu a slightly stern stare as Yuzu made her way towards the door.

This time Mei just heard a hearty laugh come from the door, and she knew she had lost again. She couldn't even be frustrated, Yuzu's wager wasn't something Mei really didn't want to do. When Yuzu came back over she gave a short enthusiastic victory dance after she placed the brown back down on the table.

Several minutes later Yuzu left the living room for the final time, she made her way to the door and opened it to reveal a pizza box and a couple of boxes on top. After thanking the man, Yuzu came back to the lounge after stopping off at the kitchen to pick up two plates.

"Okay, let's set this table up. Then we can fill our plates, dim the lights and start." Yuzu grinned brightly as she started opening and arranging the food on the table. Mei watched contently as her girlfriend happily organise the food, why this scene made Mei so happy she didn't know. Just being with the blonde making happy chatter as they showed small signs of affection to one another filled Mei with seemingly never-ending warmth.

After the table was set Yuzu turned the main light off and put a lamp on, giving the room soft lighting. Yuzu thought it was better to have the lighting like this, not only did it feel better watching a movie in a dimly lit room but she felt it was slightly more romantic than before. She wasn't going out of her way to make tonight romantic but she knew that Mei was or at least had been feeling down today and she only knew one factor, so she wanted to make Mei feel as comfortable and loved as possible tonight.

Sitting down next to Mei under the covers, their crossed legs brushing against each other. Patting down the blanket Yuzu leaned forwards and pulled the table up close to the couch allowing them to grab food without having to move, and after filling her plate up and Mei doing the same they pressed play and began their perfect movie night.

A little more than halfway through the first movie Yuzu was putting her plate down on the table while rubbing her stomach with her hand. Flopping her head back into the headrest, Yuzu let out a groan as she got Mei's attention.

"Ahh, I ate way too much" Yuzu gave a pitiful chuckle as she rubbed her full belly. Mei watched with a small smile, she had stopped eating a while ago and had advised Yuzu not to eat too much.

"I did tell you not to try and eat the pizza after everything else you ate, this is your own fault," Mei said as she watched Yuzu still trying to soothe her stomach. "Hey I didn't want to waste anything and the pizza was so nice, totally worth it." Grinning brightly to Mei, Yuzu reached forward and cleared all the pots and boxes to the back of the coffee table before she sat back. Shuffling up close to Mei, Yuzu stretched out her legs and rested her feet in on the table and motioned for Mei to uncross her legs and do the same. When the younger girl reluctantly complied, Yuzu used the extra space between them to move even closer to Mei and tangled their outstretched legs together.

Still, with their quilt covering them, Yuzu sat as tall as she could at the moment and wrapped one arm around Mei's shoulders and pulled the covers up around her shoulders. Yuzu smiled as she felt Mei wriggle down a little so her head was resting on her chest, under the covers Mei was quick to find her girlfriends spare hand and entwine their fingers.

Mei could feel Yuzu laying several kisses to the top of her head and her thumb ran along the back of her own. At the moment Mei could have said she had never been happier, she was snuggled up in Yuzu's embrace, receiving warm kisses and Yuzu would occasionally whisper something to Mei about her being perfect and beautiful. This felt so much better than going out to a restaurant and having to sit and eat properly, both Yuzu and Mei could agree on that at the moment.

"I love you," Yuzu leaned down to Mei's ear and spoke softly after she layed a kiss to the side of the youngers forehead. Mei, who truly felt loved at the moment, turned her head and smiled up at the beaming blonde, "I love you too, I love you so much Yuzu," Mei said the words without hesitation as she leaned up to Yuzu. Within seconds Yuzu had brought her head down to meet Mei halfway, connecting their lips in a soft meaning full kiss. Yuzu continued to sooth Mei's thumb with her own, while the hand wrapped around her shoulders made light patterns on Mei's bare arm.

The short embrace was broken as the two smiled at each other, Mei being the first one to break contact and look back at the television, her head finding its place on the blonde's chest.

Hours had passed as Yuzu continued to show Mei affection, it was nearing eleven and Yuzu saw this night going one of two ways; either she kept up the flirtations and at the right moment took it further, or she asked Mei what had been bothering her. The later of the two in Yuzu's mind would definitely end the atmosphere they had, she thought Mei would get defensive and shut her down, and inevitably end up going to bed on bad terms. Alternatively, Mei might open up to her they might be able to talk about a certain person that Yuzu thought played a role in Mei's troubles, but Yuzu thought it was very unlikely that it would go this way.

Mei nuzzled her head in closer to Yuzu, almost as if she could feel that she was a little tense and wanted to calm her down. Yuzu would have to make her decision soon as they would probably be heading to bed in a couple of hours at the latest, so did she spend those hours having sex with Mei or no doubt having a slight argument. In her mind she knew straight away which one she wanted: sex obviously, but the thought that she would be putting off talking and figuring out what was going on with her girlfriend another day would make her feel guilty. Putting her desires before Mei's problems was not something she thought she could have on her mind and actually be able to enjoy the activity.

Really the decision was already made for her, but how she was going to approach it was a different story. Mei was happily cuddled in, quietly eating her ice cream while she watched the movie. Yuzu could see that Mei was comfortable and content, as soon as she spoke up about this that would be gone.

"Babe?" Yuzu spoke softly as she ran her fingers through Mei's dark hair, momentarily stopping the girl from eating as she replied.

"Yes?" Mei's voice was sweet as ever, a voice that most likely no one other than Yuzu and maybe her mother had heard. Yuzu didn't want to sound nervous, but she didn't want this magical scene to end, which if she said what she was about to say it would. Still combing her fingers through Mei's hair, Yuzu gave a soft warm kiss to her head. "I have something I want to talk to you about and I don't want you to get upset or defensive about it. I really like how things are tonight, so once we are finished talking about it I would really like to go back to doing this, no arguments or storming away. Please?" With her hand still going through the raven locks, Yuzu waited as Mei listened to her shaky voice. She did just want to talk about Mei's problem, sort it out and go back to their peaceful night but once Mei heard what they were going to talk about she didn't think that would happen, even at her request.

Mei didn't move to look at Yuzu, she kept her eyes on the screen and nodded her head. Yuzu took this as a sign that Mei wanted the same thing, as she didn't move out of her grasp instead she snuggled further into the warm sheets.

"Okay... I think something has been bothering you all day, and I think it has something to do with a particular friend of mine. I know you said you were fine this morning but I saw the sad look on your face and again this afternoon, you really lost your cool to the point you looked like you were gonna cry. I'm not saying that it was wrong what you did because I understood where you were coming from, but what I don't get is why you were so upset about it. And I really don't want to you to get mad at me for bringing this up after you said you were okay but I'm worried. Even going to the store whenever we walked past certain people you would hold me tighter, and I need to know that you are okay." Yuzu spoke slowly as she tried to convey her worry and sincerity, she wanted to let Mei know everything she had noticed so she couldn't brush it off.

Mei listened intently, her face losing the small smile that had been there for the past couple of hours. Tonight had made Mei feel like the happiest girl alive; Having Yuzu so close to her and show her how much she really loved her, and Mei wanted this to continue until the early hours of the morning. She didn't want to ruin this moment by telling Yuzu she didn't like her friend because that friend wanted to get in bed with her, but at the same time if she didn't tell Yuzu what had been bothering her they would end up falling out over keeping secrets.

"I appreciate that you are concerned but it really is insignificant, and I apologise for squeezing your hand I didn't know I was doing it." Yuzu frowned at the reply she got. I already knew you didn't know you were doing it, that's what's so concerning about it.

"It doesn't matter how small the issue is Mei, I want to know what it is. If you are worried that I will get mad you don't have to, I'm in a super good mood today and I really want to figure out and fix what bothering you so we can go back to watching the movies, please tell me." Yuzu's hand moved from the younger's hair to her shoulder and lightly rubbed it, tapping light tunes on the covered skin. Using her free hand, Yuzu reached her hand out from the covers and took one of Mei's in hers.

"Yuzu, please don't do this," Mei could feel herself getting upset at the thought of the snidey girl Yuzu was talking about, she couldn't tell Yuzu what she was feeling. She just wanted to go back to what they were doing several minutes ago.

"I'm sorry Mei but I have to. I can't just go about my day or have a friendship with someone when I think it's affecting you. I said I didn't want to argue and I meant it. I just need you to tell me what's going on, you know I'll listen." Yuzu still spoke softly to Mei as she wanted to make Mei feel like everything was okay. After several seconds of no response, Yuzu tried a different tactic hoping this time Mei would comply.

"Does it have something to do with me being late to pick you up?" Yuzu asked calmly, her hand still rubbing the girl's shoulder. Yuzu watched as Mei moved forwards, and at that moment she thought the younger girl was getting up to leave the room but to her relief, Mei placed her ice cream down on the table and leaned back against the blonde, which surprised Yuzu.

"Yes, not that you were late but because of why I thought you were late, and because of what you stopped to do." After Mei settled back down and had surrounded herself in covers, she mumbled the reply. She didn't want to tell Yuzu why she had gotten mad but would she rather tell the girl why she was mad or get mad at her right now, on their perfect evening?