Hi everyone, I'm back with a little side-work. I promise I'll give a serious look to that "daughters and lovers chap 8" half-done-work I have on my desktop, so don't despair.

Meanwhile, hope you like this ^_^ I'm in your kind care!

Thanks as usual to Angel0wonder/Smexmuffinpeddler for quality checking.

And if there still are some mistakes then it's all my fault, 'cause I'm used to add and change things up to the very last moment :P

Mei had seemed really sorry for not being able to free herself for the Christmas-eve celebrations. Her lowered eyes and strangely uncool tone of voice, had taken away all of Yuzu's good will of convincing her to reconsider. The brunette seemed really displeased by it, and that made Yuzu both sad and a little happy. Thinking thatshe must have at least tried. So in the end the blonde had sighed heavily and nodded with a pat on Mei's shoulder. Just an instant before the younger sister could start with the usual 'it's a busy time of year, the student council has a lot to do, etcetera..'

Yuzu smiled widely at Mei and wished her good work.

The Christmas-eve's evening, though, passed a lot slower than Yuzu had wished. And, even if she was happy to celebrate Christmas with her mother, she realized her thoughts and glances, ran towards the brunette's usual chair, to her giant plushie or to her spot on the sofa.

Her mother, who had witnessed all of Yuzu's efforts to bake a dozen cakes and decorate the room, waited for dinner to be finished to ask her daughter the reason for all her sighing.

The woman had started cutting off the best looking slice of every half baked cake Yuzu had made.

"Why so downhearted honey? It's so not like you... "

"Oh, nothing really serious, mom... I'm just sorry we're not all together to celebrate."

Her mother smiled knowingly, glad to have anticipated the thoughts of her daughter. She composed the different slices in a container, making a very colorful and unique cake of them.

She looked at Yuzu, handing her the mosaic cake in a bag.

"There's still a lot of time 'till midnight. Why don't you go and share this with the student council members...?"

Yuzu smiled widely to her mother and hugged her, before running to her room to take her purse and then back to grab the cake.

She left home in a rush with her mother still smiling at her back.

The snow had fallen heavily the night before. While the streets had been cleaned, at the sides the snowdrifts were knee height. Yuzu walked happily towards the school through the city center, where the roads were really a sight to behold. Trees surrounded by strings of lights up to their branches, buildings lightened up in bright red, blue, and white bulbs, while a soft music could be heard all over. Couples and passerby were strolling in the chilly night with gleaming smiles on their faces. Yuzu strode quicker, imagining the expression of embarrassed surprise on Mei's face. Then chuckled to herself, foreseeing the angry reproach of Momokino-san to the intruder who had dared to interrupt the work of the council.

All the more reason to quicken her pace, she thought.

She strode and dodged arms and bodies through the crowd, but an image struckher in between a step. Less than a glimpse in the corner of her eye, more of a sensation really.

On the other side of the street, dark hair reflecting the blue light of a tree. It couldn't be, could it?

Yuzu mouthed lowly, in a cloud of vaporized breath. "Mei?"

Her feet unconsciously followed that figure. Getting closer, bumping on a girl, to whom she hurriedly apologized to, she finally recognized her step sister's profile. She was about to call out to her, when, with a gasp of chilly air in her lungs, she realized Mei's arm was in a man's hold.

Yuzu crossed the street, finally reaching and following the path of the couple a little farther from her.

The cake box in her right hand had became a heavy weight. She tied it around her wrist so she wouldn'thave to hold it in her cold hands.

Who's that guy, some of her grandfather's lackeys who's takingher away again? Why is he holding her arm then?

She looked at Mei's attitude, strolling in a slow pace but with her head held high. A little rigid it seemed to her.

She's on edge.

Mei and the taller man beside her walked along the pavement. The man doing all the talking, as it seemed. Mei barely nodding from time to time, not even turning to look at her chaperon.

While the man continued to look at her and chat, pointing at things or people to talk, Yuzu looked at the nape of Mei's head.Motionless. She's stiff, nervous.

The man pulled the brunette a little towards a cafeteria.

Mei followed with a brief nod, totally lacking enthusiasm.

Yuzu stopped on the pavement, deciding on what to do.

What's with this situation, uh? He seems in his twenties, what if he's her new 'assigned' fiancée? Or is this... A-a real christmas-eve date?

She surely is not the type to show expectation or excitement maybe... But totally stiff like that on a date...?

And did he drag her away from school or she lied to me all the way and she didn't have to work? She seemed a little too flustered when she told me she couldn't come home. She was totally lying and I trusted her.

Yuzu gritted her teeth and repressed that surge of anger.

No, she must have done it for a reason.

She stepped a few times in place to warm herself and looked sadly at the cake in her hand.What a waste.

After some minutes the couple left the cafeteria but the mood seemed to have changed for the worst. The man held the door open for Mei with a serious expression.

The brunette walked out past him, without deigning him of a look and he reached for her, grabbing her arm and guiding her on another direction from before.

Yuzu, who had kept hidden in the shadow of the cafeteria, now watched, more worried than before, the two leaving the flow of people on the main street.

Yuzu didn't think twice and followed them from the nearbyalley.

The pace was quicker, like now there was a purpose, a direction.

Yuzu's breath stumbled onto her teeth when she saw them taking a turn.

The red lights and the neon signs on the buildings gave chills up her spine, while she recognized the love hotel district.

The man was now literally dragging a silent and passive Mei behind him.

Yuzu turned the corner and stopped abruptly behind a parked car.

She hadn't realized she was following them so closely. Luckily the snow on that less walked path hadn't been cleaned at all and had muffled her steps.

Now she could hear what the man was saying.

"I was trying to make it a good Christmas date. The flower, the stroll, the cake... But you had to ruin everything with that cool act of yours. Now just stay put and let's get it over with."

Yuzu watched them walk towards a building and grasped at the car's roof, gritting her teeth.

Mei wasn't protesting but her act definitely was not that of a consenting one.

No, Mei doesn't seem to have agreed to that.

The man entered the hall of a hotel and pushed Mei onto a wall. Yuzu hadn't the time to react and, while the door was closing behind them, the man pushed Mei in a forced kiss.

Yuzu sprang up from behind the car and strode towards them with a warning scream that went unnoticed.

In the faint light of the entrance the man was now keeping Mei still, while sliding a 5000¥ note in the machine.

Yuzu dashed in, hearing the spare change fall out in the box, and slamming the door open. "Take your hands off her!"

Mei tried to get free from the man's hold, while going wide eyed and stuttering her name. "Yu-Yuzu!?"

The man turned to look at the blonde with sufficiency while not letting go of Mei's arm and pressing the button on the reservation machine.

"And who would this be...?" he asked in a tranquil tone with a little smirk turned to Mei. Yuzu didn't know what to do, now that she had moved so rashly. She looked for understanding to Mei, but she had a guilty expression and didn't look at her at all.

Yuzu stuttered, while firmly holding the cake box in a menacing way. "Me-Mei... Get... Out of here."

The brunette remained still and the man slowly let her arm go.

Yuzu turned her face to him and the man moved towards her.

Strange which details get printed in someone's mind in those moments.

Yuzu was sure she could smell the man's perfume, she saw the salmon color of his tie and the pattern of his jacket while his arm swung towards her face.

The slap hit her hard and strong, knuckles-side.

She heard the voice of the man speaking calmly, while she was falling on the floor.

"I've no time for this..."

Mei screamed her name and everything went black.

Mei couldn't have swore if someone had asked. At that moment she wasn't really capable of recalling precisely her actions. She could just feel something warm under hernails and her ankle still ached a bit, from the kick she gave the man right where it hurt the most.

When she dragged Yuzu inside the room, she could still hear the broken panting of the man, crawling on the floor.

When the door locked behind them Yuzu was barely conscious and was hanging by an arm on Mei's shoulder.

"The cakes... I brought cakes." She muttered, confused, while Mei held her and accompanied her to the bed.

Mei rested her down and helped her remain seated.

Yuzu was wobbling behind a little. Mei held her face up and searched her eyes with hers.

"Yuzu... Yuzu, I'm here. Did you hit your head? Does it hurt?"

Yuzu leaned a bit on her and mumbled, "my nose, that hurts..."

Mei lifted the blonde's head up, watching her bleeding face with an anxious look. "I know that... But can you sit up by yourself? Does your head hurt?"

Yuzu blinked and centered her eyes on Mei. "I don't know... I don't... Think so."

Mei tried letting her go and watched her as she tried to touch her face. She stopped her. "No... Don't touch yourself. I'll be back right away, ok? Just stay seated and keep your head up."

Mei went hurriedly to the bathroom to get a wet towel and went back.

She stood in front of Yuzu and lifted her chin. Her face was a painful spectacle to behold. Mei gritted her teeth hard and held back the tears of shame and rage that were threatening to spill from her eyes.

Yuzu waited for Mei to pad away the blood on her lips to blink again. "I can do that myself," she said, trying to reach Mei's hand.

But the brunette dodged her and kept washing her nose, her swollen cheekbone and lips clean. "You nursed me once, didn't you?"

Yuzu stared at Mei's meticulous gestures and kept quiet.

Her face hurt everywhere, she couldn't tell where the pain stung the most. She could just feel the welcome cold touch of the wet towel on her.

After some instants she tried to start a conversation.

"A man's hand sure is big, uh?"

Mei hushed at her, "Don't talk, or your lip's wound will open again."

Yuzu looked at Mei's worried and sorry expression and tried to talk without moving her lips much. "Do I look that worrisome?"

Mei held lightly the reddened towel on her lips, just hushing.

The brunette's eyes didn't leave hers.

Yuzu hummed questioningly and Mei lifted one of her brows, well?

Then hushed more decisively at Yuzu again. The blonde finally hummed affirmatively, while Mei walked to the bathroom.

The brunette washed the towel, while red and pink water flew down in the sink. She watched her hands clenching the little clothdry, they were trembling. Then she noticed thething under her right hand's nails. She remembered.

Yuzu falling back with a thud on the floor and her throat going dry screaming her name. Her nails digging intothe man's neck, his voice hissing but his grasp tight as steel around her wrist. She didn't even look at him. Her leg sprang up, luckily finding his weak spot.

The man dropping on the floor like an empty sack.

Finally free, Mei had launched herself on the blonde, senseless, her nose bleeding on the floor. The brunette had heard the unsteady breath of the man at their back and realized they were still in danger.

She had shaken Yuzu up until she had been able at least to stand and had called the elevator with an elbow, while holding her in a clumsy hug.

A seemingly heavy bag was hanging tight from Yuzu's wrist but she hadn't had time to untie it. She remembered praying, never so fervently before, for the thing to open. They had reached the room the man had paid for and locked themselves inside.

Mei washed her hands, digging under her nails to erase even the memory of that man. Soap didn't seem enough to wash it away though, and the sensation of being dirty was crawling under her skin.

A too painfully familiar feeling.

Mei remembered the sensation of the man's smoky breath on her face, his bearded lips rough on hers, his tongue inside her mouth. She coughed repeatedly, shaken by retching and reached for the loo to grasp at it. Nothing was on her stomach, so nothing left it. Her throat just grew sore with acid saliva.

A silent, fresh hand, collected her hair on a side of her nape and another rested on her forehead until Mei had calmed down.

Yuzu helped her up at the end and Mei looked at her bruised, worried face reflecting in the mirror, after having washed her mouth.

The brunette turned towards Yuzu. Her voice sounded tremendously cold in the silent room. "You shouldn't have come."

Yuzu frowned and looked at Mei's suddenly grave expression, "what?"

Mei strode past her and stood near the bed.

Her voice still firm but something in her eyes had changed.

"I said you shouldn't have come!" Her voice a little shrieking at the end.

Yuzu got closer, "But if I didn't, then that man would've..."

The brunette interrupted her, on the verge of tears, "then I would've brought it upon myself!"

Yuzu's eyes flashed in anger, while she got closer to Mei.

"Are you even listening to the shit you're saying?"

Mei looked at her a little shocked. Yuzu grabbed her face with both hands. "Nobody, nobody brings a man like that upon herself... In any case. That's what is called a rapist, you know?"

Mei looked into Yuzu's firm and direct stare, then nodded in culpable agreement.

Yuzu released her hold and grazed briefly at her pouting, trembling lower lip.

Mei lowered her eyes. "You shouldn't have gotten hurt for my sake..."

Yuzu smiled, stopping right away when her broken lip hurt.

"That's better... And I appreciate the thought, but... Isn't that why big sisters exist?"

Mei smiled between tears. "You look awful.."

Yuzu smiled with the half mouth she could move without hurting that much and hugged her. "Thanks..."

Mei grasped at Yuzu's clothes, without really hugging her, in faint sobs, shaking lightly.

After a while Mei took a deep breath and Yuzu heard a whispered "I'm sorry..." spoke through her clothes. Mei hadn't released her hold on her, so Yuzu held her gently a little more, smelling scent of smoke and masculine cologne on her.

She detached a little and looked at Mei sternly.

"But... why did you tag along that man in the first place?"

Mei stilled, remembering the threat Matsuri made to her, her blackmailing. She couldn't possibly tell it to Yuzu. Not about Matsuri.

"I can't tell..."

"But why..."

Mei removed her hands from Yuzu and started in a louder tone,

"I just can't! And don't go asking further becau..."

Yuzu smiled sadly and she interrupted Mei, ending the phrase for her. "Because that's none of my business, right..?" Then she added. "When will you learn to trust me, Mei?"

The brunette gave back to Yuzu her same sad look.

"I guess we both have a lot to learn, about who we trust..."

Yuzu mulled unsuccessfully on those words for some time. Mei was looking terribly sad and conflicted right now but Yuzu couldn't understand why. She kept staring at the brunette who still was averting her eyes from her, then looked around and blurted, "quite the posh room, uh?"

Mei lifted her eyes and smiled softly at the quite blatant try of the girl to ease the tension between them. She looked at the spacious and luminous bathroom they had.

Yuzu pointed, in the fakest casual way, the huge bathtub.

"Fancy a bath?" She asked with a slight blush on her cheeks.

Mei lifted a brow, then smiled maliciously, pointing at Yuzu's shirt.

"Take that off," she said in the most velvety voice she could master.

Yuzu blushed deep red and obeyed as soon as her brain could process the request. Mei helped her taking it off; while Yuzu could feel her face grow hot; then got closer with a feline look in her eyes. A finger pointed to the middle of Yuzu's chest, a step forward, then another. Then a light push and Yuzu didn't realize she was out of the room until Mei closed the door in front of her.

"Oh, come on!" huffed the blonde, tricked.

Mei smiled behind the door. "This needs washing... Your mother would get a heart attack if she saw this blood stained shirt. You smell nice though, so there's not really need to wash you."

Yuzu smiled at her playful tone of voice and after some seconds she tapped at the door to get again Mei's attention.

"Hm?" said the brunette.

Yuzu cleared her voice then said, "wash him away..."

Mei rested a hand on the door.

When Yuzu thought she wouldn't have a reply she heard a faint, "I will."

Mei left the bathroom almost an hour later. Her hair in a loose ponytail draping one of her shoulders, her skin a little rosy, from the brushing and the really hot water. Wearing just the upper cardigan on her bare skin, Mei watched the blonde girl in the room while she still hadn't noticed her presence. Yuzu waited for her on a little couch at the foot of the bed, remote in hand, zapping at the tv, not really looking.

She turned off the appliance with an 'oh!' when she saw her and climbed back to the bed where she had laid the cake box.

"I brought... These. I know they don't look so appetizing now, but..."

Mei got closer and knelt on the bed. A contrite look on her face,feeling guilty, first for Yuzu, then for her cakes, fallen victim of the commotion. "They look just like you..."

Yuzu guessed, "...bruised outside but sweet inside?"

Mei hid the smallest laugh behind a hand, then quickly recovered. "A hugger mugger... That's the term I was looking for."

Yuzu pouted and Mei tried to ease the tension by pointing at one slice in particular. "What should this be?"

Yuzu pouted even more. "Cut out thatshould be, missy... Or you won't have a taste of my clearly perfect..." She tried to find words to describe the pastiche she had in front of her eyes.

"Sacher-Crumble-Cheescake!"

Mei laughed again behind her hand and this time something escaped from her fingers. Were they playing? It was new and... refreshing.

They looked at each other while Mei pointed to another slice. "What about... this?"she said, suddenly taking a jab in it and sucking at her finger. Yuzu yelped and took the cake away from her. Mei made to grasp her wrist before she got too far, but Yuzu stuffed her mouth with the whole remaining slice.

Mei looked at her with a weird expression. "Ooh that's disgusting... And you shouldn't eat so much, you're heavy, you know?"
Yuzu gulped down the last mouthful then pointed to Mei. "Oh well, it's not like you're a feather...Miss bones and muscles."

Mei knelt up on the bed, raising an eyebrow. "I'm just fit!"

Yuzu licked the last of chocolate from her finger, then smiled, "but I'm softer..."

Mei averted her eyes but a light blush and a smile had crept on her face. Yuzu didn't know where to look, surprised by the vulnerability of her usually cool step sister. She just smiled when Mei looked back again. It was weirdly peaceful between them. It felt new and... warm.

A distant hail of muffled explosions broke in the room.

Yuzu let the box down, then left the bed, grasping Mei's hand for her to follow. She opened the curtains wide and the night sky was full of fireworks.

Midnight had come.

Mei looked at Yuzu staring at the colored lights, reflecting in her bright eyes, a gleaming smile on her face. She took a deep breath.

"Yuzu... Remember that thing about 'seeking somebody's warmth'?"

Yuzu turned to look at her interrogatively, failing to comprehend Mei's words to the fullest, "Yes...?"

Mei leaned on her, leaving a soft kiss on the blonde's lips.

Yuzu went wide eyed and blushed instantly.

Mei remained close, speaking in a whisper. "What if it's just yours..."

Yuzu couldn't believe her ears. She thought she must have surely misunderstood, because of her heartbeat pounding so hard in them.

Could that mean Mei was... reciprocating her feelings? No way... it was impossible, right? But what if...?

The thought was starting to make her panicky, but then she noticedher same confusion, her same conflict was on Mei's face.

Her eyes slightly lowered, her cheeks flushed, hands torturing themselves. She was clearly waiting for some reply, a closure.

Yuzu suddenly realized; whatever the meaning of Mei's words was; if she didn't do something now she would have regretted it for the rest of her life.

Yuzu slowly rested her hand on Mei's cheek, holding back, trembling, until the other girl lifted her face with a long sigh. When their eyes met and Mei grazed at her hand softly, Yuzu couldn't resist further. She guided her face towards hers and met her halfway in a clumsy kiss.

Yuzu didn't move any further, too terrorized to make another step. Some motionless seconds passed, sending cold waves of panic down into the pit of her stomach.

Unitl she felt Mei's lips move on hers, softly, slowly.

The blonde tried to adjust a bit, backing off a little, only to feel Mei follow with a slow nipping. Yuzu could have died happy right there and in that moment. Even if she didn't know exactly what it meant, even if her broken lip was hurting like hell.

The morning came too soon. They woke sleeping close to each other, when the alarm rang at 6 o'clock. They blinked away sleep, both blushing at the night just passed.

They had kissed again, and again. Until Yuzu's lip hurt too much for her to pretend it didn't. Mei had ended up blowing softly on it while they were lying close, until Yuzu had fallen asleep.

When the girls got ready to go, Yuzu realized she was missing a shoe and she went looking for it in the hall of the hotel. Mei had insisted on accompanying her, suspecting the presence of the man back for a revenge. But all Yuzu found was her shoe, tied to the branch of a Christmas tree. She was about to call out to Mei when she noticed something was inside. A post it, written in pencil.

"The pinky bitch's gonna hear about this..."