WARNING! This chapter contains M-rated content! There is a strong lesbian theme throughout, and there are depictions of lesbian sex at various points in the narrative. Read at your own risk.

DISCLAIMER! I do not own any part of the K-On! franchise. Ownership belongs to Kakifly, Hōbunsha, and Kyōtō Animation. I do, however, own all original characters appearing in this fiction, and they may not be used elsewhere without my express written consent.

NOTE ON FORMATTING: Even though this story is written in English, the characters' default language is understood to be Japanese. [Bracketed text like this denotes that the words are either spoken or thought in English.] Internal monologue, written/electronic communications, flashbacks, and song lyrics are italicized.

PREFACE: This is an extra chapter that fits between Chapters 9 and 10 of the main narrative. Beyond establishing that HTT has gone to one of the Kotobuki villas to work on their new album, there's no plot advancement. The chapter only exists because I felt like writing M-rated YuiAzu fluff as a birthday present for Musician74, and because I thought this story had gone without an update for long enough. If M-rated content isn't your bag, you can feel free to skip this chapter – you won't miss any plot points.

Extra Chapter #1: Homecoming

6/11/2016, 2:49 pm
Second Floor Staff Room, Sakuragaoka Girls' Senior High School, Katakuramachi 553, Hachiōji

"But…but …you have to come down to the villa on weekends, Azunyan!" Yui's eyes were pleading. "How am I supposed to write lyrics in Kushimoto when my muse is here in Hachiōji?"

"We already talked about this, Yui. It's seven hours each way, and that's if I take a bullet train part of the way. Besides, my weekends aren't exactly open, remember? I have so little free time that I'd practically have to turn right around and go back to Tōkyō as soon as I got to Kushimoto. I'm sorry."

The brunette looked suddenly grief-stricken, and her pouting tone morphed into a full-fledged whine.

"But I can't go for a month without my Azunyan! I'll shrivel up and die before the end. Yeah, I can see the headlines now: 'Rock Star Dies from Loneliness'."

It was woman-child Yui at her most dramatic, but unfortunately for her, Azusa was immune to that sad, puppy-dog look. Well, that wasn't strictly true, but she was pretty good at making it look that way.

"You're not going to die, Yui. We were separated for two weeks during the domestic leg of your last tour, and you made it through just fine."

"I wasn't 'fine.' The tour sucked, because you weren't with me." Yui's usually genial face darkened into a glower, and the tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Don't say that. Those were some of your best performances ever. At least that's what the critics said."

"It was because we'd just gotten together," Yui sniffled. She tried to wipe her eyes with her fingers, but only succeeded in smearing her eyeliner. "All I could think about was you, and I was riding high. Besides, that was only two weeks. This is for a month. A whole month, Azunyan! Maybe you can handle us being apart for that long, but I can't."

"Geez. And you call me a crybaby." With a frustrated shake of her head, Azusa reached out to smooth a few stray hairs out of Yui's eyes. "You make it sound like I won't miss you, but I will, terribly, and you know it. Sure, it's going to be hard, but I'll call you every day, and we'll video chat as often as we can, I promise."

After a moment, the disconsolate brunette pulled Azusa into a tight hug.

"You're right, of course," she mumbled. "You always are. But that fact doesn't make this any easier to take."

There was something off about the embrace. Usually, to be in Yui's arms meant to be enveloped in soothing tranquility, but that feeling was largely absent, replaced by an undercurrent of grief and desperation that was out of character for the happy-go-lucky brunette. Recognizing that this was one of those times that Yui was looking for reassurance from her – usually, it was the other way around – Azusa slipped into the role of surrogate mother without even thinking. If Yui needed her to be strong for the both of them, then she would be the rock her lover could cling to.

"No, it doesn't make it easier," she agreed. "But I love you, Yui, and you love me. Use that as inspiration, and you'll be so busy writing lyrics that the month will go by in no time. You'll see."

Yui didn't answer, and after a moment, Azusa felt a sudden wetness on her neck. But she refused to join in the tears; it wasn't acceptable. Rocks weren't supposed to cry, after all.

"Nakano-sensei?"

Instantly, Azusa's daydream evaporated, and she found herself back in the reality of the second-floor staff room. It was after classes on a Saturday afternoon, so the place was a tomb-like expanse of empty desks. Nearly all of the other faculty members, including Tori, had already fled the school for the weekend. The two exceptions were Azusa and one of the history teachers, a friendly woman in her late 40s whose voice had interrupted her reverie.

"Oh, sorry." Azusa rubbed her eyes, trying to regain her focus. "I was spacing out."

The woman smiled sympathetically.

"I shouldn't wonder. It's been a long week for all of us." She went on to ask Azusa about something related to that morning's faculty meeting. After getting the answer she was looking for, the woman's tone turned apologetic. "I don't mean to intrude, but…well, I know you're really busy between teaching and playing in a band on the side, and…um, is everything okay? For the past couple weeks, you've seemed really, I don't know, downhearted. A lot of us are worried, because this isn't like you."

Azusa desperately wanted to say that everything was not okay. She wished she could tell the woman that with Yui out of town, it felt as though she was missing a piece, and that even though it had only been 11 days since HTT had left for Kushimoto to work on their new album, she missed Yui so fiercely that it hurt. But of course, she couldn't say any of these things – one simply didn't bare one's soul to a co-worker like that, especially when it concerned a lesbian lover – so she opted for a plausible excuse.

"I'm really sorry to have troubled everyone. I've just been really tired lately."

"I'm glad it's not serious." The older woman seemed genuinely relieved. "Get some rest today and tomorrow, okay?"

Azusa nodded, and the conversation ended as the other teacher resumed her preparations to leave for the day. Within a few minutes, she was gone, leaving Azusa alone in the staff room with her thoughts.

Her administrative work was all caught up, and neither the Chorus nor Light Music Club met on Saturdays, so there wasn't any reason for her to be around, yet she wasn't in any particular hurry to leave. With Yui in Kushimoto and her other friends all unavailable, there was no other option but to go home to Muttan and practice until Yui could break away to video chat.

At the thought of Yui, the hollow, lonely feeling returned with a vengeance. Why had she not agreed to travel to Kushimoto on the weekends? In hindsight, a 14-hour round trip by train seemed a small price to pay for even a few minutes in her lover's arms.

That's it, she decided. I won't make it through the month if I don't see her. She'll tease me to death for caving in like this, but I can't help it.

She opened the JapanRail app on her phone and began searching for the next available train out of Hachiōji. To her satisfaction, there was one leaving in a couple hours that would have her in Kushimoto before midnight. She did the math in her head: if she skipped Sunday's band practice and didn't bother to sleep – not that Yui would allow her to – she'd have about 18 hours to work with before she had to return to Hachiōji. That was 18 more hours with Yui than she'd had over the previous week and a half. It was an easy choice: the girls in the band could live without her for one rehearsal. Not that they'd mind, because she'd been driving them crazy with her grouchy attitude since the day HTT left town. She chuckled humorlessly, imagining them all celebrating practice being canceled.

I can hear Tori now. 'Thank God. Maybe when she gets laid, she won't be such a bitch.' Jun will probably say something even ruder. Well, I guess Yui and I will have to prove them right.

Just as she was about to push the "confirm" button to lock in the reservation, the school secretary's voice boomed from the public address system.

"Attention, please. Nakano-sensei, you have a delivery at the front office. Nakano-sensei, you have a delivery…"

With a bemused look at the overhead speaker, Azusa snapped her phone closed and tossed it into the valise propped against the side of her desk. The train reservations would have to wait.

As she hurried down the stairs to the main floor, instinctively running her fingers over the bronze rabbits and turtles on the banister, Azusa tried to remember if she'd ordered anything recently, but kept coming up empty. Her two clubs hadn't made any purchases for over a month, and the last thing she remembered buying with school funds was cleaning supplies for the music rooms. By the time she reached the front office, she was consumed with curiosity over what she'd received, and why it was important enough to warrant the added expense of a Saturday delivery.

Standing at the counter was a young woman wearing the distinctive brown uniform and baseball cap of a well-known international delivery firm. There was a familiar air about her, but between the cap's visor, which was pulled low, and the pair of black wrap-around sunglasses that covered her eyes, Azusa couldn't get a good enough look at her face to place her. She couldn't even tell what color hair the woman had; it was all stuffed up into her hat.

"Nakano Azusa-sama?" The woman's voice was hoarse, almost gruff, as if she was suffering from laryngitis. "Sign here, please." After Azusa scribbled her name on the proffered delivery slip, the girl gestured toward a large, rectangular parcel on the counter and bowed respectfully. "Your delivery."

Before Azusa could retrieve the box, the driver slid between her and the counter, positioning herself so the school secretary couldn't see her face. With a flick of her fingers, she tipped the brim of her hat upward, releasing a cascade of dyed-brunette bangs, then pulled her sunglasses down just enough to reveal an all-too-familiar flash of chocolate brown.

"Thanks for your business, ma'am," she murmured so that only Azusa could hear. Her voice, now higher-pitched and much less throaty, was instantly recognizable. With a wink, the woman quickly readjusted her hat and glasses, and was out the office door before the flabbergasted Azusa could react.

Oh, my God, that was Yui! What is she doing in Hachiōji? And why the hell are you standing here gaping like an idiot, Nakano? Go after her!

She only made it a couple steps before the secretary called after her.

"Nakano-sensei, you forgot your package!"

Cursing inwardly, she doubled back to recover the box, but by the time she made it back to the hallway, there was no trace of the brunette. She had seemingly vanished into thin air. After a moment, it dawned on Azusa that the easiest way to find her would be to call her, so she raced back upstairs to retrieve her cell phone. To her surprise, the alert light on the device was blinking.

Hey, hey, Azunyan, the email read. Hope you liked your present… Azusa glanced at the package, which she'd tossed unceremoniously on her desk when she'd gotten back to the staff room. In all the excitement, she'd completely forgotten to open it. She decided it was probably a good idea to do that before reading any further.

The moment she got the carton open, Azusa's jaw dropped. Inside was a dozen of the most beautiful long-stemmed red roses she could ever remember receiving. Their heady fragrance filled the staff room, obliterating the lingering scents of printer toner and dry-erase marker. In the box with the flowers was a small, hand-written note:

For my Azunyan

I know how much you love roses, so I thought these might give you a moment of happiness. But even the most beautiful and perfect flowers could never be more than a cheap counterfeit of my feelings for you.

From Yui

With trembling hands, Azusa folded the piece of paper and put it in her valise for safe-keeping. If her girlfriend had intended to melt her from the inside out, she'd succeeded spectacularly, because between the roses and the note, her need was growing more and more savage by the minute. She had to find Yui, and fast. She reached for her phone again, only to remember that she hadn't yet finished reading Yui's email.

…How about a late lunch back at the Carriage House? I have a special dessert planned (see attached pic). Your ride is waiting at the service entrance. Look for the brown panel van with the cute driver.

Azusa's thumb hovered over the "view image" button. "Dessert," huh? Eh…it's probably safe enough. She sends me random pictures of food all the time. With a deep breath, she clicked through to the attachment, and nearly dropped the phone.

It was a picture of Yui, taken in front of a bathroom mirror, probably at Mugi's Kushimoto villa. She was wearing nothing but a smug grin and a thick smear of chocolate syrup that ran from the top of her breasts to just above her mound. One hand held her cell phone, while the other flashed a chocolate-covered victory sign.

There was a time when Azusa would have quickly clicked out of the picture, then called Yui to scold her for her lurid behavior, but those days were long gone. Now, she clutched the phone in a death grip, drinking in the image of the body she knew so intimately, and fantasizing about how it would taste to lick clean every square centimeter of that chocolate-covered skin.

Have I really stooped this low? Has she turned me into this much of a pervert? She took another longing look, not even making an effort to hide her lust. There was no one to see her, anyway. Yes…yes, she has. Oh, God, I want her so badly!

It took every ounce of self-control Azusa could muster, but she somehow managed to get down the stairs again and out the school's rear entrance without breaking into a dead run. Instead, she maintained the dignified pace expected of a teacher, politely exchanging good-byes with the few people she encountered, and pretending not to hear the questions about why she was so flushed. It was one of the longest walks of her life, as her craving for Yui's touch escalated with each succeeding step.

Sure enough, the van was waiting on the street outside the back gate. Yui was clearly visible through the rolled-down driver's-side window, ball cap, sunglasses and all. When she caught sight of Azusa, she saluted jauntily, and smiled one of those special smiles reserved only for her lover.

Normally, a smile like that would have melted Azusa to a puddle, but at that particular moment she found it a trifle too smug. Just look at her…she's quite pleased with herself, isn't she? If she thinks a box of flowers and a naked sext are enough to put me on my back, she's got another think coming. Damn her for getting me worked up like this. I need to teach her a lesson.

Pretending to ignore the greeting, Azusa walked as casually as possible around the rear of the van to drop off her valise and the flower box before eventually sliding into the front passenger seat, slamming the door shut for emphasis.

There was dead silence for several seconds, broken finally by Yui's timid, "So…hello?"

Azusa chose not to reply. Instead, she leaned across the gap between the seats and gently removed Yui's hat and sunglasses, placing them on the dashboard. Then, after a quick look around to make sure there were no spectators, she grabbed two fistfuls of Yui's shirt and pulled her into a kiss so ferocious that the startled brunette yelped against her mouth. But she quickly recovered, and soon the two women's lips were crushed together, their tongues wrestling. Yui tasted sweeter than Pocky, and her distinctive scent was as intoxicating as plum wine, but Azusa knew that if she allowed the sensations to flood over her for much longer, she'd lose control completely. Besides, it was dangerous to show affection in public like this. Reluctantly, she broke off the kiss, locking her eyes on the brunette's.

"Shut up and drive, Hirasawa."

It certainly wasn't the greeting Yui expected. She stared back at Azusa uncertainly, clearly trying to figure out if she was in trouble, and if so, how deeply.

"Um…uh…but Azunyan…"

"Don't you 'but Azunyan' me," the younger woman hissed, eyes blazing. "You and your goddamned teasing! Here I am, dying inside from missing you, and you show up unannounced to pull an idiotic stunt that could have outed us in front of everyone at the school. And then you had the nerve to run off afterward. I didn't even get to say 'hello,' much less hold you…and as if those roses weren't enough, you damned near destroyed me with that picture. It's been one tease after another, and it's turned me into a trembling, soaking-wet jumble of hormones. How the hell am I going to make it through a half-hour drive without attacking you?"

"I…"

"Don't say anything!" Yui's mouth snapped closed. "Just get this crate moving."

The bemused brunette didn't dare to reply. With a screech of tires on asphalt, she slammed the van into gear and pulled it out onto the street, heading south toward the Kotobuki estate. Before they had gotten very far, however, Azusa had a sudden flash of inspiration.

"Turn around. We're headed to Koyasumachi instead of the Carriage House. Don't ask questions – just step on it."

6/11/2016, 3:29 pm
Room 601, Hotel Dolphin, Koyasumachi 4-6-5, Hachiōji

A little less than ten minutes later, Azusa literally dragged the astonished Yui across the threshold of the hotel room, pausing only to kick off her shoes before marching her girlfriend over to the bed. After pulling down the sheets, she gestured impatiently toward the mattress.

"Azunyan, what's gotten into you?" Despite the question, the speculative grin on Yui's face showed that she knew very well what Azusa's intentions were. "You're being so assertive. It's…surprisingly hot. Okay, I'll play along. Shall we start with a bath? I'll wash your back…and whatever else you want." She began to unzip the front of her shirt, but was brought up short by the curt response.

"Just get over here and do what I tell you. Now."

One mad scramble later, the two women were kneeling on the bed, facing each other, enveloped in a cloud of sexual tension so thick it was like one of Mount Fuji's legendary winter fogs. A mixture of surprise and uncertainty, combined with the flush of arousal, swept across Yui's features, giving her an air of vulnerability that made Azusa want to possess her completely – body, mind, and spirit. As if drawn by an unseen force, tiny hands reached out to claim ownership, their rough fingertips caressing smooth cheeks and weaving into dyed-auburn hair.

"Oh, God, I missed you so much. It was like I was rotting on the inside."

"Azunyan…" The single, hushed word, weighted with pent-up desire, was all that Yui offered in reply. Then, suddenly, their mouths collided again, even more passionately than before, but although the kiss threatened to consume Azusa, it wasn't enough. She wanted more – needed more. Unable to hold back any longer, she released her lover's lips, then grabbed the zipper tab on the front of her uniform shirt and jerked it downward. Yui let out a surprised "unf," then gasped as Azusa yanked the garment open. Within seconds, the shirt sailed through the air, bouncing off the wall to land in a heap on the floor. Yui's bra, a black, lacy push-up she'd obviously worn for Azusa's benefit, soon followed it.

"Oh, God, Azunyan…" The statement was somewhere between a pant and a moan. "We haven't even washed-…" Azusa silenced the objection with her mouth, and began running her hands over Yui's naked upper body, delighting in the familiar softness. Shivering at the gentle caresses, Yui wound her arms around her lover's neck and returned the kiss hungrily. She arched her back, pressing her breasts into the searching palms, and moaning into Azusa's mouth whenever a callused finger scraped over one of her erect nipples.

Her mind suddenly fuzzy around the edges, Azusa lost herself in the sheer bliss of the embrace, letting out a tiny mew of disappointment when Yui eventually broke contact. Normally, the brunette would have cooed over the catlike reaction, but this time, she didn't seem to notice it. Instead, she gazed wordlessly at her lover, eyes hooded with desire, and began to tug at her blazer.

"Let me." Azusa gently removed her hands from the buttons. "It'll be faster."

Despite the distraction of her girlfriend's roving hands, Azusa managed to take off her jacket and blouse, but before she could get to her bra, Yui finished the job for her by practically ripping it from her chest and flinging it aside. With no further preliminaries, she went straight for Azusa's breasts, nibbling and sucking on one while she stroked the other. Azusa's eyes fluttered closed as jolts of sublime electricity coursed from her now-hard nipples straight to her core. Her breathing grew more and more ragged as Yui gently worked from one side to the other and back again. Then, without warning, teeth closed on tender flesh, marking the sensitive underside of one of the small mounds as Yui's personal territory.

The sudden flash of pleasure-pain forced a soft cry from Azusa's throat. As if the stimulus had flipped a switch in her brain, she swiftly counterattacked by pulling Yui's face off of her chest and forcibly reclaiming her lips. Then, with the ruthlessness of a barbarian violating holy ground, she thrust a hand down the front of her lover's pants. A low, guttural moan of surrender burst from Yui's throat when Azusa's fingers reached the scalding wetness between her thighs.

"Azunyan…oh, God, yes…" Azusa's hand slithered back and forth through the slickness in an unrelenting cadence, urged on by Yui in a voice thick with arousal. "Keep going…more…don't stop!" Soon, the trembling brunette was clinging to the smaller woman, gasping and rocking her hips. "Right there…hunh…just like that…unh…" As Yui approached the precipice, Azusa simply moved her hand even faster, all the while showering butterfly kisses over her squirming lover's face, neck and chest. "Oh, God…gonna come…coming…" As Yui began to grunt and growl her way through her release, a surge of liquid heat inundated Azusa's fingers. Even then, she refused to let up, reveling in the sounds her partner was making, and the way her body shivered and twitched.

Finally, Yui grabbed her wrist. "Stop…too much…" Almost reluctantly, Azusa complied, and her spent lover slumped to the mattress with a contented sigh, pulling the younger woman down with her. Still partially clothed, the two lovers lay in a tangle of arms and legs as Yui's aftershocks tapered off.

While waiting for her lover to descend from the heights, Azusa considered her next move. The image of chocolate-covered Yui came floating back into her mind, but as appealing as it seemed, she doubted there was any chocolate syrup in the mini-bar. Vaguely disappointed, she turned her attention to the sex toys in the small vending machine by the desk, wondering if she had the guts to try one out on the unsuspecting brunette. About the time she decided she was too much of a coward, Yui's words derailed her train of thought.

"Okay, it's my turn." Azusa felt a sudden shove; the next thing she knew, she was on her back with Yui lying on top of her, gazing at her with smoldering, almost feral eyes. The brunette's voice contained none of the dreamy quality of afterglow. Instead, she seemed inexplicably energized, despite being only minutes removed from what was surely a shattering, sleep-inducing orgasm. "I've missed you so much…it's got me crazy."

Before Azusa could answer, Yui smothered her lips with a fiery kiss that lasted just long enough to leave no doubt as to who was now in charge. Her head still spinning from the surprise attack, Azusa ceded control without a fight. All she could do was raise her hips to allow the complete liberation of her skirt and panties, which were quickly joined on the floor by the rest of Yui's clothes. With a calculating smirk, the now-naked brunette crawled back onto the bed, bridging herself over Azusa, who stared up at her, unable to move, waiting for the inevitable.

"Get ready, Azunyan. I don't plan on holding back." Yui giggled, a not-at-all innocent sound that instantly turned Azusa's insides into a seething mass of molten arousal. "But that's really what you want, isn't it? Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so strict with me. You knew I'd return the favor, right?"

Azusa licked her suddenly-arid lips and tried to answer, but she couldn't form any intelligible words before Yui's hand found its way between her legs, sending a white-hot lightning strike of pleasure ripping through her at the moment of contact. "See how wet you are? Your body could never lie to me, Azunyan. You want me to give it my all, don't you?"

"Y-…yes…" It was little more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry? I didn't quite catch that." Yui's eyes glittered with amusement. "Do you need a little help speaking up?" Her fingers found Azusa's core once again, dancing back and forth until the quivering woman could stand it no longer, unleashing her answer in the form of a frustrated wail.

"Yes!"

That was good enough for Yui, who promptly took possession with a single glorious thrust that arched Azusa's back off the bed.

From the look on Yui's face, Azusa had already guessed that there was going to be no gentle build-up, and no easing into a rhythm. Still, she wasn't fully prepared for what followed. Yui could be quite aggressive when she wanted to be, but this time she took things to an entirely new level. Her onslaught was a delicious fury that was almost percussive in its intensity. Normally, Azusa liked to be treated more gently than this, but after being without Yui for so long, the need within her was so consuming that it could only be met through raw domination.

With ruthless efficiency, Yui rocked her hand back and forth, grinding her thumb mercilessly against Azusa's pleasure nexus before driving her fingers home, forcing an audible grunt from the younger woman with each incursion. In the face of such a determined assault, Azusa could only curl her arms around Yui's neck and hold on for dear life. The bed creaked in time with the movement of her hips as she pushed up to meet each stroke. Her mind was blank; nothing existed to her but the jagged spikes of pleasure that pierced her with every movement of Yui's fingers.

"Come for me." The command, issued at the precise moment Azusa arrived on the brink of release, was enough to tip her over the edge. With a strangled cry, she began to shudder uncontrollably. Her insides clamped around Yui like a velvet-steel fist as the climax crashed into her like the shockwave of a nuclear detonation, obliterating her in a single, blinding flash. Her utter destruction complete, Azusa's vision tunneled to a pin-point, and then went dark.

She wasn't sure how long she was out, but it couldn't have been more than few seconds, because when she came to, she still hadn't caught her breath.

"Azunyan?"

As her mind began to clear, she realized she was in Yui's arms, covered in sweat. A pleasant post-orgasmic soreness radiated through her lower body.

"What…what happened?"

"Looks like you fainted. I'm better at this than I thought." The brunette grinned almost insolently.

"Geez, Yui." Azusa's head was still a bit muddled. "I can't even…oh, God. Hold me."

Needing no further encouragement, Yui pulled her close, and the two lay molded against each other in silent communion. Lying in her lover's arms, Azusa felt a mantle of peace settle over her. Their lovemaking had restored order to her universe, and banished the loneliness that had been eating at her soul while Yui was away. As if to put an exclamation point on the thought, she caressed Yui's lips with the gentlest of butterfly kisses.

"I love you."

Yui smiled that smile of hers, the one that always bathed Azusa's soul in warm sunshine, and answered by repeating the words she'd used the day she'd confessed.

"'Forever and ever, I will love you.'"

There wasn't much more to be said than that, so Azusa snuggled close, listening to Yui's heartbeat, as she usually did after they made love.

"I guess you liked the flowers, then." The words cut into the comfortable silence. Although Azusa couldn't see her face, she could hear the grin in her girlfriend's voice. "After the way you reacted, I guess that was a given."

"Thank you…they were beautiful," Azusa murmured. "You knew exactly what to get, as always. I'm curious about something, though." Propping herself up on one elbow, she eyed the naked woman beside her, who responded to her scrutiny with a raised eyebrow. "Should I even ask where you got the uniform and the delivery van? You have no connection to Big Brown, at least as far as I know."

Yui's smile turned enigmatic.

"Saitō-kun knows a guy who knows a guy…"

"…who knows a guy," Azusa finished for her. "Why am I not surprised?" She wondered how Yui convinced the starchy Austrian butler to serve as her accomplice; no doubt Sumire had something to do with it. "Next question. How did you get here? And why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"It all just sort of…happened. I was missing you so much that I couldn't function any longer. The girls got sick of my moping, and so they put me on a chartered plane home this morning. They told me I'm not allowed to go back to Kushimoto until tomorrow night. The rest was pure inspiration. I didn't want to wait for hours for you to get off work, but I couldn't just walk into the high school to see you. It's amazing how creative a girl can get when she's desperate."

"I was one step away from making train reservations when they called me down to the office," Azusa admitted. "So I guess the separation was too much for both of us." Her tone turned penitent. "I'm really sorry, Yui. You were right. There was no way we were going to make it through the entire month. We should have made plans to visit."

Yui waved off the apology.

"Never mind that now. The important thing is that we're together." A suggestive smile played across her lips. "So…what did you think of the picture I sent?"

For the first time since she'd opened Yui's email in the staff room, Azusa blushed. "Um…it has me really wanting dessert."

"Dessert, you say?" The brunette's eyes glinted in a way the younger woman found dangerous, but in a very good way. "We'll have to wait until we get home for that. But that doesn't mean we can't run with the idea while we're here." She nodded toward the mini-bar. "Maybe you'd like to try an aperitif instead? Some wine, perhaps?"

An image of Yui's breasts and stomach scattered with droplets of blood-red Lambrusco drifted through Azusa's mind, and just like that, the fluttery feeling returned to the pit of her stomach.

"God, yes," she replied with an intensity that surprised them both. "Wait…I don't normally drink wine, so why does that sound so good to me?" With a groan, she pressed a palm to her forehead. "What are you doing to me, Yui? You're changing me in ways I never expected."

"That's what love does, right? We can't help but change each other."

Azusa had to grant the point, but before she could say so, Yui was out of the bed and kneeling in front of the mini-bar, rifling through its contents. After a brief search, the brunette grunted in satisfaction, and turned toward the bed, holding up a single-serving bottle of red dessert wine.

"This'll do just fine," she declared, grinning in a way that could only be described as wolfish. "Now…why don't you lie back and we'll get started?"

"Oh, no you don't. It's my turn. Besides, you have a van to drive, so if anyone's going to drink wine, it'll be have to me." Azusa reached out her hand toward the suddenly crestfallen brunette. "Now give me that and lie down."

Pouting, Yui shuffled over to the bed and thrust the bottle at Azusa before dropping to the mattress with a thump, her lower lip in a petulant curl.

"Meanie. Why do you always have to be so responsible?"

"It's a double-edged sword," Azusa shrugged. "Now lie still, if you can. I don't want to waste any of this." She dribbled a thin stream of wine across Yui's chest, prompting the brunette to shiver at the feeling of the cool liquid on her skin.

"It's cold."

"Don't worry. I'll warm you up quickly enough."

Deep-red rivulets trickled down the sides of Yui's breasts, pooling in her cleavage and spattering the sheet underneath with crimson blotches. It was such an erotic sight that Azusa was overcome with the sudden urge to drag her tongue over the wine-soaked mounds, but before she could give in to the impulse, one last thought occurred to her.

"I guess I should offer a toast, huh? Welcome home, Yui. Kanpai."

"Kanp-…ohhh," the brunette sighed, as Azusa's mouth went to work.

A/N:

− Thanks to YuiAzu fangirl Musician74 for beta-reading this chapter. I intended it not only as her 23rd birthday present, but as a thank-you for over 16 months of selfless editorial assistance. Happy birthday, Beta-chan!

− Hotel Dolphin is an actual love hotel in Hachiōji (delfinoinc hotels / dolphin / , remove the spaces – the site is in Japanese, so you'll need to use Google Translate or something similar). There's a picture of Room 601 on the site. Many love hotels, especially the more luxurious ones, have in-room vending machines that sell sex toys.

− The words "Big Brown," along with the brown uniform, hat, and delivery van, are intentional references to a major international shipping company that will remain nameless.

− Lambrusco is a variety of sweet red wine.

Thanks for reading this chapter! Like it? Have constructive criticism? Submit a comment below!