Chapter 56: Next Step

Harumi was snuggled up in the cuddle chair surrounded by blankets and pillows as she scrolled through social media, her girlfriend sitting opposite her playing video games on her PlayStation with her headphones on; a rule when Harumi was over and in the living room. Harumi didn't mind it all that much if Matsuri played her video games when she was over, so long as she had her headphone on and tried to keep the cursing to a minimum.

Glancing up from her game, Matsuri looked at her girlfriend who was snug as a bug wrapped up in her blankets. She certainly seems relaxed. Now was as good a time as any to ask her question.

"Babe?" Matsuri said, placing the controller on the coffee table as she turned to her girlfriend who gave an 'Mhmn' in response to being called, her eyes not leaving her phone as she waited for the younger to continue.

"Hey, don't ignore me I'm trying to talk to you." Her voice was sweet as she tried to coax Harumi away from her Instagram feed for a moment. And as the younger hoped, the eyes were peeled away from the screen after a moment longer, giving her an expectant stare as she waited to see what was so important that she wasn't allowed to multitask.

"Thanks, I was thinking that since we're both free-" Matsuri started, clearly oblivious to the grin she was wearing, but was stopped by Harumi who raised her hand with a sigh.

"We just did it last night, I'm really not in the mood right now," Turing her girlfriend down, Harumi snuck her hand back beneath the covers preparing to go back to her phone.

"What? No, that's not what I was getting at. I wanted to talk to you about something important, so will you just put your phone down for one second!?" Losing her sweet tone when Harumi had already brushed off her attempt at a conversation without letting her talk, Matsuri grumbled a 'thank you' when Harumi dropped her phone on her lap and looked at her expectantly.

"Okay then, what is it?" Giving short sigh, Harumi angled herself better on the mountain of blankets Matsuri had surrounded her with earlier to better face her girlfriend.

"As I was saying; since we are both free over the next couple of days and you are staying over for the weekend that we could maybe talk about maybe moving in together?" Matsuri asked, and unlike her normal character, Harumi could hear the nervousness in her voice. It was given, the last time the topic was approached it didn't exactly end well.

"This again? Why do we have to talk about this, can't you just be happy with us going back and forth between each other's places?" Harumi groaned when she heard the words, she had been waiting for her girlfriend to drop the question again, she had once again been pushing lately to be the 'perfect' girlfriend and was spending a lot more time with her this past two weeks.

"Hey! Chill out, I just think we are ready for it, I mean we are practically living together now; I stay over at your flat for a couple of days, then we are apart for like one day and you come over to mines, wouldn't it be easier and more convenient if you moved in with me?" Matsuri said, the retort quick on her tongue as though it was planned. The apprehensive edge to her voice not leaving as she tried to decide if the defensive look she could see on Harumi's face was a good sign.

"I'm not gonna move in with you just because it would be more convenient for you Matsuri. I still don't get why this is so important to you, we are working just fine the way we are." Though slightly bitter with her first remark, Harumi whined somewhat as she tried to brush the conversation to the side.

"I don't want to just be 'fine'. I want you to move in with me because I like being with you and think we are ready for that. Is that so hard to believe? Why are you so against this, do you really hate the idea of living with me so badly?" The shorter girl was clearly getting upset as her hand gestures seemed to point in every direction of the living room.

"Why are you trying to start an argument, you know this is just going to start one? I should just go home if the only reason you invited me over for the weekend was to talk about this." Harumi argued as she raised herself from the blankets, now sitting upright on the chair as she watched Matsuri.

"No of course not! Stop twisting what I'm saying, I want you to stay over because you're my girlfriend. Is it so hard to believe that I want you to move in because I love you and what to take the next step together!?" There was no real bite to the girl's tone as her voice raised several levels, it was pure frustration. Harumi knew this, the young pinkette may have been just below shouting, but she knew it was a defensive mechanism, a way for her to get her point across.

"Why does there have to be a next step, things are just fine the way they are. We don't need to change anything." Harumi wished she had taken up the opportunity to just have sex, it would have been sooo much better than this conversation.

"So what are you saying? You don't want us to be anything more than what we are at the moment?" For the first time since starting the conversation, Matsuri showed anger in her words. All she was asking was that Harumi at least considered the possibility of them moving in together, and she didn't think it was that big of an ask.

They were both paying rent for their apartments; broadband; food; all for two different places when each house was only occupied for about half the month each. They spent a great deal of time together staying over at the others house, it just seemed right that they finally moved in together. Matsuri's place was bigger than Harumi's small one-bedroom flat, so she proposed the idea that the auburn-haired girl move in with her.

Matsuri was sure she was supposed to be the immature child of the relationship, she was struggling to be the mature one for so long. Harumi needed to throw her a bone, say something that gave the idea she would possibly entertain the idea, not continue to shut her offer down without a moments thought.

"I'm not saying that at all, but just why so soon? Why does it matter if we live together or have our own places, it's not like it proves or will change anything!" Harumi was trying to defuse the situation, but truth be told she really didn't like being put in compromising positions, she was never good at making stuff up on the spot. She was saying anything to try and end the conversation.

"You know what, if it really doesn't mean anything to you; us taking a step forward together, then you can just leave and go back to your place. Might as well take your stuff back with you too, I wouldn't want you to miss any of it while you're at yours. Forget I mentioned anything at all about us trying to be a proper couple!" Matsuri was shouting at this point, she couldn't cap her anger, she was furious at her girlfriend.

Not waiting for a reply, the young girl left the room storming down the hall leaving a line of curses as she went and slamming the door to her bedroom. Meanwhile Harumi collapsed back into the pile of softness, she hated that Matsuri had to be so sensitive with some things. Was it really such a big deal that she didn't want to move in?

Apparently so, as after nearly an hour of sitting in the living room, she made her way down the hall knocking hard on the bedroom door.

"Matsuri, you can either come out now or I really will just go home. I don't want to argue, but I'm not over here to be ignored because of a small argument... Matsuri," Harumi said from her side of the door after she finished rattling her knuckles over the door. Though she didn't get a response and after saying the girl's name a second time, loud music sounded from the room. A clear sign that not only could Matsuri hear her, but she was not going to be speaking to her.

After that, Harumi got her purse and left to go home. She wasn't going to get anything done at her girlfriend's, she was over for a relaxing weekend that was meant to be spent with Matsuri, she hadn't even brought her laptop to do any work, now if they weren't going to be doing that she didn't see a point in staying.

She could stay in her sour girlfriend's house being ignored with nothing to do, or she could go back to her place, do some work and let her little gremlin work through her anger and get back to her tomorrow when she would accept her answer or therefore lack of one.

Though tomorrow came and she hadn't heard anything from her girlfriend, it was past noon already and although there was the possibility that she was still sleeping, Harumi had expected some form of contact from her by now. She hated having arguments, it wasn't exactly fun to sit and know what she had said hurt her girlfriend, and even though they did cross on nearly everything she still loved her.

13:23 - Listen, I'm sorry if I said something yesterday but I just don't want to talk about that. How about you come over to mine and we can have a movie night or something? x

Harumi briefly read the text before sending it, she knew it was something she had said but everything she had said though she wasn't about to admit that. She waited and sure enough within a minute the message was read but she received no reply. She was Harumi Taniguchi, she was never left on read.

13:29 - Hey, don't ignore me I know you are getting my messages. Why are you being complicated about this?

Second message sent, but still, she got no reply.

13:32 - Fine, ignore me. Message me when you want to talk.

She was in too sour a mood now for pleasantries or sweetness in her messages, she was damn right annoyed. She would wait for the girl's message, she could never go long without some sort of contact. Harumi expected an apology message in the morning if she was lucky it would be that night.

Time ticked by and she got significantly less work done that she thought she would, every five minutes she was checking her phone for a message from Matsuri, you know, on the unlikely chance she had missed the chime to indicate a new message.

Come the next again evening Harumi's productivity eleven was zero, she got no work done, she was too preoccupied. Her mind was too busy at the moment to think about anything else.

She caved when the clock struck eleven.

11:03 - Matsuri why won't you reply to my texts? I thought I was in a relationship with a mature woman, not a child. Can you just message me so we can sort this out? It's been days, surely you've had enough time to be mad at me? xx

11:17- I said I was sorry!

11:24 - I swear to god if you don't reply we are finished.

11:24 - I didn't mean that. I just want you to reply to my message. Please.

Read 11:25

11:25 - Matsuri!

Read 11:26

11:28 - Fine forget it, have a nice night.

11:33 - I hope you don't expect me to forget this when you do finally message me. This is stupid!

Matsuri missed your call 11:34, call again?

11:35 - Whatever, I don't care. Night.

There was a feeling of stupidity at being ignored, Harumi didn't quite know what it was only that she found it infuriating, to say the least. After her call was ignored she switched her phone off, tossing it on the nightstand before plunging the room into darkness as she tried to go to sleep. If Matsuri wanted to play this game she would too.

"I think Willow said her and Ashton might be going back to Scotland soon, they've already been here several months longer than they had planned," Yuzu said as she watched Mei from across the table. Yuzu was quite aware Mei knew this piece of information, but they hadn't spoken about the girl's departure, rather Mei seemed to make a point of not discussing it.

"I'm aware, it may take some getting used to; her not being here, but I'm sure we'll manage," Mei said in a rather low voice as she focused on her omelette. Since Willow arrived, Mei had really been warming up to the girl, they would spend evenings together, with Ash and Yuzu of course, and a lot of weekends Harumi and Matsuri would join them. Yuzu was sure Mei actually thought of the girl as family, and surely Mei felt some of the sorrow at the thought of the young couple leaving to go back home.

"Aren't you upset that she is going home, I mean you guys have become really close lately?" Sitting back in her chair as she tried to analyse her girlfriend's mind, Yuzu gave a nervous smile when she got a sceptical glare from Mei before looking away.

"If this is your way of trying to get me to talk about my feelings it isn't going to happen. We both knew that she and Ashton would be leaving at some point, I am sure I will miss her presence but it's not as if we are never going to see her again so you should stop being so dramatic about it all." Replying along with a sigh, the youngest removed herself from the table along with her dishes marking the conversation as finished.

When Yuzu had found out of the girl departure she was devastated, to say the least, she loved spending time with the blonde and loved that Mei enjoyed it too. She hadn't given a set date, but both her and Mei knew both of the Scots were missing both family and friends from back home and expected the departure to be within the next month or so.

"I'm not being dramatic Mei, it's just we haven't spoken about it and I thought maybe you would want to, is that so bad?" Yuzu said as she followed Mei into the kitchen with her own dishes, lightly nudging the girl's arm with her elbow.

"Yes." Placing her dishes in the sink and walking away, Mei made a beeline for the bedroom to get changed trying to escape the blonde and her games.

...

"See you later," Yuzu shouted from her position on the couch to Mei who was picking up her bag ready to leave for her class. Without more than a nod for her goodbye, Mei left the apartment leaving the blonde slouched over the sofa, the symbol of relaxation.

When the door clicked shut Yuzu jumped from the couch as if it were on fire, running through to the bedroom where she pulled her notebook from the desk and after quickly rummaging around her books pulled a small velvet box out, placing both on the bed Yuzu slowly sat down in front of the two items. She felt it only proper that she open the box and have another look at the ring, she was doing it every time Mei left the apartment.

Once again her attention was taken hold as she watched the ring in the tiny box. It was strange how such a small object held such a big question behind it, so much meaning, gruelling hard work sweat and tears Yuzu had pored into getting this tiny glimmering item. The very piece of jewellery that would decide her future.

Now all she had to do was plan how she would ask Mei. And she had to do it soon, her fantasies of proposing to Mei spontaneously had to stop, she had almost blurted it out when they woke up that morning. She had to get a plan together. And fast.

And so drawing her eyes away from the box, Yuzu picked up her pen and began writing, all the different ways she could propose to Mei. There were so many different things to chose from, so many things she could include or too many she would have to exclude, after all, there could only be one proposal.

Nearly an hour later Yuzu was looking at a long list of options for her future plans, they all seemed like they would make a great proposal she just couldn't choose just one.

"You want to what?!" Harumi asked, a perplexed look on her face as she scratched her head looking at the blonde's mindmap.

"I want to propose to Mei with a scavenger hunt," Yuzu smiled nervously to her friend who was trying to make sense of her jumbled handwriting. The idea had come to her out of nowhere, she tried to write it down as fast as possible fearing the thoughts would disappear.

"Do you wanna give this a little more context, a scavengers hunt doesn't really seem like the Prez's thing?" Although trying not to be a downer on her friend's mood, Harumi just couldn't see how super strict student council president went with a fun childhood game. The two should never have appeared in the same sentence.

"Well, I couldn't pick just one of the ideas to propose to Mei, so I thought what if they all linked together. You know, she does one thing then she gets a clue that leads her to the next one and it'll end with me asking her the big question. I know it's a lot, but just think how amazing it would be!" Yuzu squeaked as she threw her hands in the air out of excitement, this was definitely the best way to propose to Mei; combine all her ideas into one!

"You really are crazy Yuzzuchi," Harumi said with a smile and shake of her head, when did Yuzu never not go over the top for Mei.

"Yup! But she's worth it!" Yuzu gave a wide grin as she noted something down in her notepad before glancing back to her friend who was busy typing on her phone; an annoyed look on her face as her brows pinched together.

"What's up?" Yuzu asked as she shuffled forwards, curiosity building as Harumi let out a frustrated grunt and tossed her phone onto the bed. Out of sight out of mind.

"What do you think? Me and Matsuri had another argument and now she's ignoring me. She hasn't replied to any of my messages in two days, I went around to her's to talk but she won't even let me in her apartment. I hate when she's like this, she can be so childish." Harumi grumbled, her annoyance clear as she cast a glare to her phone.

"Was it a big argument or is she actually being childish?" Yuzu asked hesitantly, she knew the pair were prone to having arguments, it was normally just bickering but they definitely had their moments. Yuzu didn't know how they did it. If she and Mei argued half as much, she was sure she would die of the stress. She was never good at arguing and would prefer to bow down than fight her girlfriend on the topic. Though it seemed neither Harumi nor Matsuri liked doing that.

"It was about us moving in together again. She said it's been months since she asked me last and given it was back in September (Currently May), but I still haven't made up my mind on it. When I didn't give her an answer it just made her upset, at least that's what I think, but I wouldn't know because once I said that she left." The frustration was building up in her chest again, just the thought of the heated argument made her blood boil. She hadn't texted the girl since her failed attempt last night, and sure enough, Matsuri hadn't messaged her either.

"Oh,"

"Sorry for bringing down the mood, I know you are all hyped up and excited for Mei and all, but I guess I'm just worried out her. Silly I know," Harumi mumbled the apology, obviously genuine in her words, Yuzu couldn't bear to hear her friend apologizing for being worried about her girlfriend.

"Hey you don't need to apologize, I can't be happy unless you're happy! So let's make a plan to get you and Matsuri back together!" Smacking her notebook shut, Yuzu's proposal was put on the back burner as she focused on helping her friend who only looked mildly shocked at her offer.

Harumi gave a dry laugh at the blonde's words, even though there was nothing funny about the situation.

"No plan needed, I'm pretty sure she won't talk to me unless I make a decision and I don't think she wants it to be 'no'." It wasn't funny in the slightest. The young Taniguchi felt a great weight behind the question, Matsuri had clearly been thinking about it for months and was dedicated to the topic, but for Harumi, it wasn't that simple. It meant committing herself to something, just now they were dating, they still had separate lives, if she agreed to them moving in together that all changed. That sounded like a long term commitment and one that resulted in them being one rather than a pair.

"Do you?"

"If I knew the answer to that we wouldn't be having this argument, would we?" The smart retort resulted in the two laughing for a moment then they were left in a short silence as Harumi thought about her answer.

"I don't not want to move in with her, but at the same time, there's no going back. We argue a lot and we need our space, what if moving in together pulls us apart rather than closer together? There are so many what-ifs, I just don't know if it's a good thing or not." Her argument was accompanied by slightly erratic hand gestures as she tried to spill her feelings out to her best friend.

Harumi was so put together all the time it was slightly worrying for the blonde to see her scrambled like this.

"But if you think about it, all the things you will get to know about Matsuri if you move in good or bad, they all add up to make Matsuri. I know not having space to storm off can be annoying, trust me I know, but if you guys are serious about your relationship then it's bound to happen sooner or later, and wouldn't you rather get to know her more now than say in a few years?" Yuzu offered her advise, she thought she made quite the debate.

She knew some of the things she did in the house drove Mei crazy, and vice versa, but those things made them who they are, and no matter how much something annoyed her, she wouldn't ask Mei to stop being herself. It was something Harumi would have to accept.

"So what you're saying is lump it or like it? Helpful Yuzucchi, real helpful." Rolling her eyes are she flopped on her side on the bed, Harumi mulled over the blonde's words.

"..." Yuzu stayed silent as she continued to give her friend a suggestive stare, waiting for her to agree.

"Fine, I suppose you are right! Honestly, you are giving me a harder time than Matsuri," Harumi grumbled, laughing as she pushed the blonde's shoulder when she gave her sassy yet smug reply. Giving her own "Oh shut it" when the blonde erupted in laughter.

"What's going on in here?" Mei's raised voice came burrowing through the door as she walked into the bedroom. Her voice laced with annoyance at returning home to fits of giggles and squeals coming from her bedroom.

"Just admit it, and I'll let you go!" Harumi's laughter was the first thing Mei heard, the girl was out of breath that much was evident, why she didn't know.

She walked in to see Harumi pinning her girlfriend to the bed, tickling her ferociously as her fingers worked against Yuzu bare torso. The blonde was kicking her feet as she tried to stop the ache of laughter in her stomach, her face beet red and she screamed in-between wheezes for help.

Both stopped still at the sound of her voice, heads snapping to her the moment she opened her mouth. After a split second of no one moving, both her girlfriend and her busty friend jumped from their positions on the bed, both grabbing the objects that were scattered over the sheets and hiding them before Mei had time to make out what they were.

"Out!" Yuzu gave the panicked shout as she hoped Mei hadn't seen the open ring box that had been sitting out in the open as the two got caught in their games. She grabbed the box instantly, hiding it behind her on the mattress, Harumi had snatched the notebook that had all Yuzu's brainstorming in it. The scene was sketchy.

"Excuse me?" Mei said with an exasperated expression, she was confused, to say the least. This wasn't the first time she had caught the two over each other and she certainly didn't appreciate their positions, pressed up against each other rolling around on her bed, it definitely checked the Piss Mei off box. And after scrambling for a moment to hide whatever they had been doing, shouting at her to leave the room? It all seemed very inappropriate. Mei was definitely salty.

"Out!... Please." Yuzu repeated herself when Mei didn't leave immediately, her heart was hammering in her chest as she watched her girlfriend glare at the two of them. Adding in the please when she saw Mei look as though she was about to begin questioning the pair.

"Taniguchi," Mei said lowly, she gave the blonde another quick glare for good measure before leaving the room. Mei certainly wasn't petty, but she did close the door with a little more force than necessary before making her way down the hall.

Kicked out of her own bedroom, she would certainly be having words with the blonde once her guest had left. Which if Mei had anything to do with it, it would be shortly.

"Crap you don't think she saw it do you, it was lying right in the middle of the bed!" Yuzu's panicked voice took Harumi's attention away from the door the president had just short of slammed shut, looking to the blonde, the laugher and happiness she had seen seconds ago was gone; Yuzu had a slight sweat on her forehead and she could see the dread on the blonde's face.

"Nah I don't think she saw it, I think she was more upset that I was lying on top of you." Harumi laughed as she relaxed on the bed, letting out a small chuckle when she was finished in the hope it would ease Yuzu who was looking even more distressed at her words, the perfect imitation of a dear caught in headlights.

"Shit, I completely lost track of time I had no idea she was gonna be home. I guess I need to go and speak to her now, you can stay if you want, I'll just be a few minutes to explain what was going on and apologise for shouting, should be... 4 minutes tops!" Yuzu said with a grin, stopping only for a moment as she tried to play the scene in her head of a quick apology to Mei. She and Harumi still had more to discuss about Matsuri, she had a pretty good idea they had covered most of what they could with the blonde input, but she wanted to be there for moral support.

"Na it's fine I guess I'll head, you can make it up to me with coffee later. Think I've got to start packing," After a moments silence Harumi gave a nervous smile, she was really going to go ahead and dive headfirst into a relationship with her devil of a girlfriend. After her short conversation with her bright and insightful bbf, she had come to a decision on the matter.

"I'll cover for you with Mei, trust me she already thinks something happened between us back in high school I can bet she's making up conspiracy theories as we speak." Giving a hearty chuckle, Yuzu bounced from the bed and after hiding her 'special items', edged out the bedroom looking for her raven-haired girlfriend.

"Oh really, that why she gets so pissed when we're together?" Harumi asked out of curiosity, though froze when a cold voice crept up behind them, stoping the pair in the hall.

"No, I just don't like other people touching what's mine." Mei's firm voice that seemed to appear out of nowhere crept into the depth of Harumi's soul, she was sure if she was made of glass she would have shattered at the cold aura forming around Mei.

"Oh hi prez, didn't ehh see you there! I was just heading out!" Giving the briefest wave, Harumi made a dash for the front door. She had enough going on, Mei was Yuzu's problem.

"'Your's hmm?" Spinning around on the pad of her foot, Yuzu gave a grin to Mei who was currently glaring at her, even though she knew it had little to no effect on the girl.

"Why are you always all over each other, and I don't appreciate being shouted at for walking into my own bedroom," Mei said in a dry tone as she crossed her arms and tried to stare down the blonde.

Something about her ability to glare the blonde into submission was different these days. Yuzu didn't get all sweaty and nervous like she used to, no, now she smiled sweetly in response, using her fatal powers of sweetness and innocence to wriggle out of Mei's grasp. Perhaps Mei showing her pussy to the girl and begging to be fucked on more than one occasion really brought down the whole intimidation factor?

Was something she would have to look into. Definitely.

"We're not always all over each other, you just seem to walk in whenever we are, besides, you should have knocked, I could have been doing anything in there," Yuzu smiled defensively, nothing worked better than to switch the focus of the conversation, she couldn't have Mei asking questions now, could she.

"But... sorry for shouting, how about I make it up to you by... Making whatever you want for dinner tonight?" Yuzu asked after realising that Mei may have actually been upset about her shouting.

"How is that making it up to me, you would do that anyway?" Leaning against the wall, Mei watched as Yuzu became slightly flustered, her cheeks red as she saw her flapping for an answer.

"Well, I - I just thought it would be nice. I didn't mean to shout, but I just panicked and didn't know what else to do. Don't be mad," Grinning, Yuzu edged closed as snaked a hand into Mei's hip, tapping her fingers in hopes of defusing the situation completely. She knew Mei wasn't really mad, but she would rather be sweet and put her girlfriend in a good mood rather than her being slightly bitter for the rest of the afternoon.

"I could, but I don't see how that would be productive. You haven't been studying the last few days, I think instead of this," Removing the blonde's had from her side as she spoke, Mei gave her own small smile, "We should do some studying,"

Giving a firm nod and a smile, Yuzu reached up to peck Mei on the cheek before grabbing her books for a short study session.

"So do you wanna help?" Yuzu asked excitedly from across the kitchen table. Just moments ago she had received a text from Harumi telling her she was going ahead with the move and asked if the blonde and even Mei wanted to come round and help her pack her life into boxes.

"I don't see why not, but you do have a class this afternoon, and I this morning, I don't quite see how this will play out." Mei quirked her eyebrow as she wondered how Yuzu planned to work around their 3-hour classes, it certainly seemed a little disruptive.

Well since we're coming to the end of the year that class is mainly just a study period so I was just gonna skip it and do some notes by myself. People do it all the time, it's no biggie." Yuzu laughed her reply off while focusing on the tv that was playing in the living room, anything to take away from the disapproving look she was receiving from Mei.

"Oh so now I am in a relationship with someone who skips class? I thought you said 'Yuzu Okogi never skips a class'?" Mei said, slightly annoyed as she tried to imitate you saying those words back in highschool.

"Yes, a class not a study session. Completely different." Yuzu puffed up her chest at finding this loophole and gave a sure smile to Mei that only made her grumble and go back to her breakfast.

"You know it sounds really weird, you calling me Yuzu Okogi... I really love being an Aihara because you and Papa obviously, but sometimes I miss it." Playing with her food, Yuzu seemed to be speaking to herself rather than Mei as she thought about her last name.

"If you want you could change your name back to Okogi, you are legally allowed now whether mother agreed or not. It's your decision." Mei said quietly as she continued to eat, noticing the swerve in conversation.

"Oh gosh no, I love you guys too much to change my name back. So anyway, what do you say? After your morning class, you can come over to Harumi's and help us pack up her things!" Yuzu gave a big smile as she waited for Mei to agree.

"Very well, though I don't see where this move came from, I mean it feels like there has been no discussion and Matsuri isn't even aware of it. It doesn't quite seem fair that Harumi is moving in without giving notice." Looking up from her meal, Mei watched to see if there was any sign of extra knowledge there, and sure enough, she saw the blonde contemplating whether to spit it out or not.

"... They had an argument because Matsuri wanted her to move in, and now she hadn't spoken to Harumi in 4 days because she didn't give her an answer. So she's surprising her! It's kids like a big gesture," Defending her friend actions, Yuzu smiled again before she pushed her breakfast aside and began texting her Harumi they would both be ecstatic to help.

And it looked like Mei had no choice but to finish her breakfast quickly and head off to class before joining her girlfriend in her tasks that she seemed to be roped into.

"Thanks, Yuzucchi and Pres for helping me pack this stuff up, but I think I should do this bit alone." Harumi smiled, surrounded in cardboard boxes outside her girlfriend front door.

"Sure thing, don't forget to send me the details later!" You squeaked as she tried to stop herself from jumping up and down. She was so happy that her friends were taking this step forward, it made her feel giddy.

Standing outside her girlfriends front door surrounded by all her belonging Harumi felt slightly nervous as she lifted her first to rattle over the wooden door. She waited for nearly a minute, knocking a second time for extra measure, but still, no one answered the door for her.

15:17 - Matsuri come and open your front door. I know you are at home.

15:18 - Matsuri, please.

Read 15:18

Harumi waited for a moment, hoping the lack of response was her girlfriend walking to the door, but when she heard no sound of movement, irritation tickled her.

15:19 - Matsuri, stop ignoring me and come and open your damn door. Now.

Read 15:19

Knocking hard on the door a final time, Harumi finally heard the lock on the door being undone. Holding her breath she waited for the door to open, after that there was no going back, well that and the fact she had already contacted her landlord and gave her notice of the apartment.

The door opened and a rather scruffy looking Matsuri appeared, a not too happy expression on her face when she emerged from her gamers cave.

The two stood in silence for what must have been thirty seconds before Matsuri took her attention off her girlfriend and to the suitcase at her side and the boxes behind her. Seeming to slowly put two and two together, a shocked look across the girl's face before she tried to compose herself.

"I'm moving in with you. Then you can ignore me from the same apartment." Harumi said surely, she sounded confident, there was no possible way she would be turned away now.

There was another moment of silence before Matsuri jumped on the girl; Lacign her arms around her shoulder and pulling her in for a tight hug, pulling back ever so slightly to kiss her lips in the rushed embrace.

Once Harumi had finally peeled her girlfriend off her, Harumi was slightly surprised to see Matsuri take her suitcase and haul it into the apartment.

They were moving in together.