WARNING: It's a little odd. And you've been warned.

Summary: Girlfriends can drive you a bit crazy. Can Yumi enjoy the ride with Sei behind the wheel? Yuri.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Maria-sama ga Miteru or any of its characters.

Rating: M for adult content, crude language, sexual content and very suggestive themes.

Limits by The Denominator.

Settling in.

It was becoming the norm.

The third month mark

Fukuzawa Yuuki eyed his sister curiously as she continued packing her small duffel.

"Don't let her trick you into doing anything stupid, okay?" he said.

She turned and faced him, smiling.

"Yuuki," Yumi said, "I'm only going for the night. I'll be back home in like twelve hours. Give or take."

"Sei doesn't even need that much time to wreak havoc," Yuuki groaned, rubbing his temples. "Give her five minutes and some dental floss and I'm sure she could cause a blackout from start of Shinjuku to the end of Shibuya."

Yumi laughed. He frowned.

It's not funny.

"Stop exaggerating," she told him while zipping the duffel shut. "Sei wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Have I sustained any injuries for the past three months? Am I lying in a hospital bed in a coma? You're still treating her like a natural disaster."

That's by Buddha's will you're still standing, he resisted the urge to voice.

"You're right," he said eventually. "Sei's good to you, I guess."

"She is, Yuuki," Yumi said, biting her lip to hold back a smile he knew she wanted to show, "she's a really good girlfriend."

It's okay. Yumi's right. Sei's good to her. And she loves Yumi. At least that much I know.

"I'll take your word for it," Yuuki said finally.

She looked at him sympathetically, and opened her mouth to say something when they heard a car horn blaring from outside.

"Oh, she's here," Yumi said, grabbing her bag, "I'm off."

"And hey, don't drink anything weird she gives you, okay?" he warned. "Taste your juice or sodas before you drink it down."

"Yuuki. She's not going to spike my drinks. Not unless she wants to deal with vomit for the rest of the evening."

"Just be careful, okay? I mean, it's Sei…anything could happen."

"I will, I will," Yumi assured, "besides, it's not like I'm going to get pregnant, Yuuki. Stop worrying so much."

He watched as she bolted out of her room. Yuuki listened to her footsteps bounding down the staircase, Yumi's distant, muffled, but clearly excited wishing of a good night to their parents, and the front door slamming. He made his way over to the window and looked out. He saw, with aid from the streetlights, Yumi make her way down the walk and towards a parked yellow Beetle.

It's okay. It really is okay. She'll be fine. If Sei was a guy, I'd be freaking out the same way. At least Yumi's got a point; she can't get preg—wait a minute…

He stopped for a moment to consider his train of thought. It occurred to him that for a woman to bear a child, she must engage in baby-making activities with the male of the species. Then it also came to his mind that Sei was female. And when it hit him that Yumi had just inadvertently told him that she and Satou Sei had been engaging in said activities without the resultant baby, Yuuki pounded a closed fist hard against his head, and resisted the urge to run down the stairs and smash his foot through Beetle's windscreen. It was his misfortune—Or is it good fortune?—that Sei was indeed a woman, and that he could not and did not want to harm her. Hurting her car would have satisfied him, anyway. It was a death trap for Yumi as far as he knew.

She's fooling around with my sister…

Yuuki watched as Yumi got into the car and saw—from where he stood and the way the car was parked; it was quite visible—Sei lean closer to Yumi. He tried not to frown, but failed, and so tried not to frown too deeply.

Can't you wait until you leave our driveway?

He moved away from the window, trying to scour from his mind the image of Satou Sei kissing his sister on the mouth.

The fourth month mark

Satou Sei was dreaming.

Sei walked down the street, leaving the mini-mart, arm holding a bag, and trying to find where it was exactly she had parked her car, when she noticed something odd. She looked down at her shadow and saw that it was much larger than usual. She looked up to the sky to see if the sun had got bigger, but instead saw a large white bird circling overhead.

'What's that?' Sei asked herself.

Deciding to ignore it, Sei continued walking down the sidewalk, looking for her car. She walked and walked and walked, looking out for yellow. She noticed that the shadow circling overhead was still there, but did not bother to look up at the sky again. It was a waste of searching time anyway, for there was no way her Beetle would be parked in the sky. Eventually, she wound up in front of her apartment.

So much for finding the car. I guess I saved on gas then.

Sei fixed the brown paper bag in her hands comfortably—it was slipping a little—as she made her way into the building. She climbed up several flights of stairs until she got to her apartment. She pulled out her key and opened the door.

'Yumi, it's me,' Sei said.

'Sei?'

Sei went to the kitchen and put the bag on the counter. She went over to Yumi and gave her quick kiss.

'Hey, I'm back.'

'Welcome home,' Yumi said, inspecting the contents of the bag. 'Oh you got dinner.'

Yumi pulled out a six-pack of beer from the paper bag.

'Yeah,' Sei said, going to the cupboards to get some glasses. 'Oh, that's mine. There's non-alcoholic there for you. Hey, Yumi? There was this big white bird following me around all day. Why do you think it's doing that?'

'Sei, if you shoot at the pigeons, of course the Mother Bird is going to come after you,' Yumi said in a matter-of-factly tone.

'Hey,' Sei said sternly, 'those air-rats take a dump on my car, I am in all rights to throw things at them. It's called "retaliation"—it's The American Way. Besides, a good stoning never killed anybody.'

'Well, you're right about one thing, I guess.'

'But really this bird didn't look too much like a pigeon…'

'Maybe it's the stork.'

Sei gawked.

'The what?'

Yumi laughed.

'The stork.'

Sei chortled loudly and nervously, 'Ah ha, ha, ha! Yeah, Yumi, right! Oh, the STORK. You almost got me. There's no way the stork would visit US.'

Yumi made a face. Sei swallowed.

'Right?' Sei asked.

'Well…I took the pill last night…so it's okay, right?'

'Yeah. It's okay,' Sei said, grinning guiltily.

We ran out of it ages ago…

'Uh, I'm going to take a shower, first. And then I'll come for dinner.'

Sei went to the bedroom, making a beeline to the dressing table. She picked up the pink container Yumi kept her pills in. Sei opened it and blanched when she saw it was half-empty.

Damn, I knew I shouldn't have been keeping Tic-Tacs in here…

There was a tapping on the window. Sei looked out. She gasped. It was the bird, pecking its beak against the glass, holding up a sign saying "Special Delivery."

'Oh shit.'

'Sei?' came Yumi's voice.

Sei dived over the bed, rolled across the floor and clicked the bedroom door shut.

'I'm naked, don't come in!' Sei shouted, slapping herself in the forehead.

What kind of stupid…

'Sei, is everything okay?' Yumi called.

'I'm…having a quiet moment of self-reflection, Yumi. Give me two more minutes.'

Sei looked back to the window. It was open, and the stork was inside the room, a squirming bundle being held between its beaks.

'Hey, take your things and go. I ain't buying what you're selling, buddy,' Sei said.

The bird looked past her and at the door. It pointed with an outstretched wing.

"No way! You're not getting Yumi.'

Sei took off her sock, rolled it into a ball and threw it, and then ran out the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

'Sei? What's wrong with you?' Yumi asked.

'Yumi, there's a crazy bird trying to giving us a baby! We have to get out of here,' Sei said, blocking the door from Yumi with her body. 'I can hold it off, but you run for your life! Run, Forrest! Run!'

Yumi didn't budge.

'Sei?'

'Yeah?'

'What's wrong with that, then?'

'Huh?' Sei asked unsurely.

'What's wrong if we got a baby?'

'It's a BABY, Yumi. We're not ready for that yet.'

I'M not ready for that yet.

'If we had a baby,' Sei reasoned, 'we'd have to slow our pace down. Do you want that burden Yumi?'

'Don't you want to settle down?' Yumi asked.

The question struck Sei. She did not look at it that way.

Do I? Of course I do…right?

Sei looked at Yumi; a gentle smile was on the younger woman's features. She ignored the banging on the other side of the door for a moment to admire how lovely her girlfriend was—and it turned out—in more ways than one. How could she not want to settle down with this girl?

Well, her cooking's awful…and she hogs the blankets…and her brother wants to throw me to the dogs…and she can get really hyper over nothing…and she's way too short…and she's completely flat-chested…

Could Sei possibly want to live with that? She thought about it, weighed it, and made a firm decision.

'Of course I do,' Sei said.

"Of course I do…"

"Sei?"

Sei blinked and shook her head. It was semi-dark—the lamp was on—and she was in her dorm room, she realised, and on her bed.

"Sei?"

Sei turned to her left and saw Yumi looking at her curiously.

"Are you all right?" Yumi asked, reaching out and brushing the hair away from Sei's sweaty forehead. "You were talking in your sleep just now."

"Yeah," Sei said groggily. "I just had…a weird dream."

Sei reached out and signalled to Yumi to come closer to her. She shifted so that the girl fit snugly in her arm, and held her close. She breathed in Yumi's scent—it was a comforting thing, and Sei thought she could really do with some comfort—and sighed deeply.

It was a dream. Just a dream.

She did not have an apartment, she was not living with Yumi and she definitely was not being chased by a big white bird. But Sei supposed she ­should lay off the beer-dinners, and she kept in mind that mints and medicines should not ever be kept next to one another.

It's all right.

She was only in her dorm room—roommate gone again until morning; Sei sometimes wondered why the girl even bothered to pay fees for a room she hardly slept in—with Yumi in her arms. It had been a good evening. She had taken Yumi out for dinner, they had come back to Sei's room, they had sex, and they had fallen asleep. And then Sei had that dream.

"Was it scary?" asked Yumi after a few minutes of quiet. "Your dream, I mean."

"A little," Sei answered quietly. "Just a little."

The fourth month mark

Yumi closed her text book and sighed.

I hate cramps…

She could not handle it for much longer. But she was glad that she was at her own home rather than a dormitory where she was sure she would be miserable. Her university was within a reasonable travelling distance from her home, and she did not need to take up room in a strange building with strange people.

Okay, I can't take this anymore.

She went to the bathroom and got out some painkillers from the medicine cabinet and took them. It would take a while before the effect kicked in. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had her hair out and she tucked some loose strands behind her ears. Her skin was a bit washed-out, which she blamed primarily on the cramps and a little on the fact that she had been stuck on the same part of one equation for the last ten minutes.

I look like I should live in a cave…

University had been taking its toll on her. She was surprised that even her rapidly-replenishing energy had a draining point. She opened the tap and filled some water in her cupped hands, and then splashed it on her face.

Okay. Liven up.

Yumi was heading back to her room when she bumped into Yuuki in the hallway as soon as she exited the bathroom.

"Oh sorry," she said.

He looked down at her, scratching his head.

"You're still home?" he asked.

Yumi raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…yeah, I am," she answered confusedly, "why wouldn't I be?"

He frowned before saying, "It's a Saturday night. Aren't you usually out with Sei?"

"Sei and I don't have to see each other every weekend Yuuki," Yumi said, finding his cold attitude strange. "Sometimes I have things to do and sometimes she has things to do. And you make it sound like I'm never home. Is it that weird to see me?"

"I'd sooner believe you were a ghost haunting the hallway than actually think you were really standing in it," he said, crossing his arms.

"Yuuki," Yumi said, smiling at him until he eventually gave in and smiled back.

"Okay, okay, I take it back. It's just that, since you started…" he paused for a moment before speaking the word, "…dating Sei, you've hardly spent any time at home."

"Yuuki?"

"Yeah?"

"I think when you start noticing that, it's a sign that you're spending way too much time at home."

He was about to say something when the truth of her words hit him. He grinned sheepishly.

"Oh. I think you might be right," Yuuki said, uncrossing his arms.

"Why don't you go out with your friends, Yuuki?"

"Ah, I should," he said dismissively, "Okay. Goodnight Yumi."

"Goodnight Yuuki," she said, continuing along the hall.

Yumi shut the door behind her when she got to her room. She went back to her desk and sat down, pulling her books close to her once more to get some work done.

Ow…

Yumi was not sure when she fell asleep over her books, but the sound of her phone ringing awoke her. She wildly reached around the desk with her hand trying to get it, and when she finally felt it in her grasp, she opened her eyes to see who it was that was calling. The ID read 'Sei'. Yumi answered.

"Sei," she said.

"Ah, you sound like someone just dragged you through the town tied to the back of a horse," Sei said.

"I was sleeping," Yumi explained.

"Asleep? At this hour? It's only eleven."

"Yeah," Yumi answered, shaking her head at how lame her response seemed, "you just called to say 'goodnight'?"

"No. Look outside."

Yumi's eyebrows furrowed for a moment until she realised what was going on. She sighed, got up and headed to her window. She opened it and looked out.

"Who are you trying to be?" Yumi asked into her phone. "Romeo?"

Sei waved to her from the ground level. She was leaning against her car that was parked in the driveway.

"Why I am, dearest Juliet."

"Isn't it 'Odin' now or something…?" Yumi wandered off.

"Just come and get the front door. I look like I'm trying to burglarise your house. Or worse; what if your neighbours think I'm a psycho stalker?"

"They'd be right on the mark," Yumi said, smiling.

Sei apparently saw the grin and smirked in return.

"Bring your skinny butt down here!" Sei said.

Yumi hung up the phone and went downstairs as quietly as she could. Everyone was in bed except for Yuuki who she saw in the kitchen foraging for food in the fridge. She changed out of her slippers, opened the front door and saw Sei already waiting for her on the front porch.

"What's with the late-night visit?" Yumi asked, crossing her arms.

"Sex," Sei said nonchalantly, shrugging.

But the glint in Sei's eyes did not get away from Yumi's notice.

Oh, she's playing around.

"Well, I wish you all the best in your endeavours," Yumi said, turning to go back inside when she felt something tug her arm.

She looked at the something—Sei's hand—and then turned to the someone to whom the something belonged—Sei, who wore a sneaky grin that meant trouble as Yumi had come to learn—and spoke.

"Is there a problem?" Yumi asked cheekily.

"No," Sei said, "I'm endeavouring."

"Sorry. Not tonight. I give you an 'A' for effort, though."

"Oh? Why not? Is Fukuzawa Brother up and waiting until I get caught in the bear traps?" Sei asked.

"He is up," Yumi said, "but that never really stopped you before, has it?"

Sei grinned.

"No. It hasn't. So why aren't we up in your room and naked?"

"I can't tonight, Sei."

"Studying?"

"Trying and failing. But it isn't that."

Sei looked a little disappointed.

"Is something wrong, Yumi?"

"Nothing's wrong, Sei."

"Well, it's been going on a week now…and we haven't," Sei began, "we haven't done anything with each other as yet."

"But you had those workshops to go to."

"Okay, so Monday and Tuesday were off the table anyway. And yeah, I remember Wednesday was your mother's birthday, right?"

Yumi nodded.

"And the dates we've actually managed to go on, all we ended up doing was eating or hanging around and then coming back home. Well, you coming back home, me going back to my dorms since you didn't invite me up to your room. Don't you…don't you want to do anything with me, Yumi?"

"I told you—not today."

"Why not?"

"I can't."

"What reason?"

"I don't want to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Oh, Sei. Just leave it."

"No, I want you to tell me."

"I have my period, okay?" Yumi said quickly.

Sei's face went blank. Then, much to Yumi's irritation, she started to grin.

"Really? That's what it is?" Sei asked, looking amused.

Yumi scowled.

"Uh, yeah really."

"Oh, look at you blush," Sei teased.

"Shut up."

"You're acting like it isn't normal! I'd be worried if you didn't get it."

Yumi sighed.

"Sei? Would you like to come in and have some tea with me, then?"

Sei looked as though she were deliberating for a minute, and then declined.

"I don't think I'd even be able to swallow a gulp with Yuuki around. You have to think about it this way: would you fault him for saying 'Hell no' if you asked him to let a boy come into your house this late for tea?"

Yumi thought about it. Sei was right.

"I should leave you then," Sei said. "You have any cramps?"

"The worst," Yumi responded.

"You take anything for it? You want me to go buy something for you?"

"It's okay. I have medicine for it."

"You want me to go buy anything else for you? Ice-cream or something?" Sei asked sounding concerned, and Yumi held back the smile that was just itching to cross her face.

"Well, before you go, I just want one thing."

"What is it?" Sei asked.

Yumi went up to her, stood on tiptoe—Sei was much taller than her, and even as the years had passed, it did not seem that Yumi was going to grow any more—and kissed Sei lightly on her lips. Sei made to deepen the touch, but Yumi pulled away.

"Goodnight, Sei."

"I'll be coming here as soon as it's over," Sei said, pinching Yumi softly on the cheek.

"Don't you always get yours a few days after mine?" Yumi asked, trying to recollect.

Sei scowled.

"You're right!" she said in realisation. "It's a conspiracy!"

"I'll see you in a week, Sei," Yumi joked.

Sei ran a hand through her hair. It stuck up a little. Yumi reached out and smoothened it out.

"Effing bloody monthlies."

"You really should keep a comb on you," Yumi said, sighing as she added, "don't curse."

"Okay, fine. But you know if I had a comb, you won't have a reason to touch me since there'd be nothing to fix. And you know you can't keep yourself off of me," Sei countered.

"You're right," Yumi said sarcastically, "I'd simply suffer if I don't get to touch Satou Sei's head."

"You mean you don't?!"

Yumi shook her head and Sei pretended to look offended. Yumi watched the older woman until the look changed, this time to one of meditation.

"Hear what: I'll come get you tomorrow," Sei said, suddenly becoming serious, "we'll go to my dorms and we'll get some of your homework done, okay? You say you're having a hard time with it, right? My roommate does the same courses as you. She can help. If she's not suffering a hangover…"

Yumi nodded.

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow, definitely."

Shooting it down.

This might be a predicament.

The eight month mark

"What are you doing?" Yumi asked, raising her head off the pillow to look at Sei.

She had felt the tip of Sei's tongue tracing lightly on her nipple, and she wondered why Sei would continue torturing her even after they were both spent. For the moment, anyway. Sei slowly answered her.

"I am…"

Sei licked upwards.

"…writing…"

Sei licked across.

"…my name…"

Sei licked downwards.

"…on you."

Her tongue continued slashing around the tight skin, and Yumi closed her eyes trying to imagine the kanji of Sei's name and link it to her tongue's movements. Had she not been so tired, she would have been aroused once more with the way Sei so artfully touched her.

"Tongue calligraphy?" asked Yumi.

"As used by Picasso," she stopped temporarily to answer.

Oh, she just finished with 'Sei.'

"Your handwriting's terrible," Yumi said grinning, trying not to squirm.

She knew it might have been a bad idea to chide Sei, and suffered the consequence of a tiny bite. But it was a favourable consequence. A very favourable one.

"You were screaming my praises a few minutes ago," Sei said, sidling up the bed and closer to her.

"I wasn't screaming," Yumi said, "that was you."

"You think your parents might have heard us?"

Yumi made a face. She would not be very pleased if her parents heard them. How would she begin to explain it?

Mum, dad, I've been going out with Satou Sei. And we have a very physical relationship. Yes, mum and dad, I'm a lesbian. But it's okay. Even Yuuki says it's okay.

"Don't even joke about that," Yumi said wearily. "I thank Maria-sama that they get sleepy easily."

"Otherwise they'd hear us going at it and you know you always—"

"I don't! Whatever it is you were going to say, I don't and you know it. Stop teasing me so much."

"But really. I should tape you," Sei said, smiling at her. "Let everyone know that you're a big, freaky, pervert in bed."

"I am not!"

"Are you denying that you're a wild sex fiend, Fukuzawa Yumi?"

"I am!"

"No need to get your missing panties in a bunch. I know, I know," Sei said, wistfully. "Just my luck, too."

Huh?

Yumi stopped to think about what Sei had said.

'Just my luck'? Does Sei…

With that one statement, Yumi wondered if Sei was not satisfied with their copulating. She got a strange little feeling in her stomach and she turned away from Sei, lying on her side, for she felt her eyebrows knitting together and Sei would have definitely noticed it too if she looked at her.

"Hmm," she heard Sei say, "I should put my name here too, just in case."

Yumi felt Sei press a finger lightly into the soft flesh of a shoulder blade. She took a deep, silent breath and collected herself.

I shouldn't worry about it.

Yumi turned so that she lay on her stomach. She felt Sei moving over her, and then she felt two hands gently rubbing her back.

"Am I one of your textbooks?" Yumi asked, trying to get her mind off of what Sei had said earlier.

She felt something wet on her skin of her shoulder telling her that Sei had gone to work. Sei's fingers made to please her, ghosting past her ribs slowly: up, and down, and up again.

"They always say you should put your name on all of your belongings," Sei said eventually.

"I belong to you?" Yumi asked, suppressing a groan as Sei placed kisses lower and lower down her body.

"You're mine. Didn't you know? Yumi, you need to start watching the news more—you are sorely misinformed if you think otherwise."

"It made the news, huh?"

"Primetime, too. Everyone knows you're mine."

"Am I some sort of pet?"

"Maybe…" Sei said slowly.

"Maybe?"

"I should call you Tanuki-chan from now on."

"What?! Don't you dare call me that."

"Tanuki-chan."

"Shut up."

"Hey, Yumi?" Sei said, suddenly ceasing her kisses and sounding quite serious.

"Is something wrong, Sei?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?" Yumi asked, becoming concerned.

"You've got, like, no ass, you know that?"

"Thanks, you sure know how to woo a girl," Yumi said, frowning.

"No. It's totally non-existent. How do you look so good in jeans? You stuff it with toilet paper or something?"

Yumi grumbled as she heard Sei start to snicker.

"Why is it only me who has to put up with this side of you?" Yumi asked to nobody in particular.

There was a silence that sounded contemplative.

"Because," Sei said, after a couple of minutes, "you love me."

Yumi sighed.

At least you're right about one thing.

The tenth month mark

Sei watched as Yumi unloaded a few shopping bags onto the surface of the bed. Sei got off her seat on Yumi's desk chair and headed over to Yumi.

"I went to the mall with Yoshino about last week," Yumi said, emptying one bag, "and I bought these clothes for the New Year's party. I wanted to dress up and show you. Get your opinion on them."

"Hmm, striptease you say? I like," Sei asked, resisting the urge to laugh out loud when Yumi scowled at her.

It's cute when you're mad…

She wanted to take a picture of Yumi's irritation sometimes. Of course, it would not be a good thing that Yumi was peeved, but the girl's face flushed such a pretty pink colour and her ears followed suit and turned the same shade. And Sei loved the frown Yumi wore—it moved in time with the furrowing of her eyebrows. Yumi's face was a theatre, and there was always a different show on. But Sei had her favourite looks, and that was one of them. Though she knew if she tried to take a photo of it herself, she would not get it right.

Maybe I should get Camera-chan to do it for me…

Sei looked at the clothes that were scattered on the bed. A couple of skirts, some tops, but most of it was winter wear. She held up one of the sweaters.

"Oh? Hey, this is nice. But isn't this a bit big for you? And it's not really the style you usually wear…"

"Huh?" Yumi asked, looking over to Sei's hands, "oh, that's yours. I thought it would look good on you so I bought it."

"Yeah?" Sei asked smiling, inspecting the sweater.

It really was something she would wear. She rubbed the material a little with her fingers. It felt comfortable, and she liked that. It was a soft bluish-grey colour, the same shade as her favourite sleep shirt was.

"And I got you a scarf to go with it," Yumi said, digging around in another bag.

"I'm trying it on," Sei said, taking off her jersey.

Sei put her clothing on Yumi's bed—away from the pile of new clothes—and then pulled the sweater on over her head, smoothening it out when she was done. She went over to Yumi's mirror and looked.

"Well, don't I look good," Sei complimented herself, nodding her head in approval.

She turned and faced Yumi.

"You look nice, Sei."

Sei felt something tickling her arm, and she dug around inside the sweater and pulled out the bill from the sleeve. She looked at the figures.

"Jesus effing Christ, Yumi, for a sweater?" Sei asked, watching the price.

Yumi came to her and took the bill from her hands, putting it inside an empty gift bag.

"Don't curse," she said. "And I wanted to get you something nice. You do a lot of things for me too. You don't ever let me pay for dinner when we go out, which I think is completely backwards, by the way."

Sei shook her head.

"I can't have you pay for dinner. I'm older. It would be…wrong or something."

"You're saying that the world would stop turning if I fork up some yen for burgers even just once?" Yumi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sei grinned before answering, "Just let me live with my illusion of gallantry for a few more years, all right?"

"If you insist."

"Hmm, well thank you very much for the clothes. I like it. And I know you like showing me off. Now you are dressing me up. Am I your plaything, Yumi?" Sei asked, winking. "I would like to reciprocate. I've had my eye on a pair of panties that I think would suit you quite nicely."

Yumi rolled her eyes, moved over to another bag on her bed, dug around in it and then went back to Sei with the aforementioned scarf. The shorter woman started wrapping it around Sei's neck as best as she could. Sei was amused by her efforts but did not smirk as she had wanted to.

"I'll wear this on New Year's Day, all right?" Sei said, bending a little lower so Yumi could reach her properly.

"I was hoping you would," Yumi said gladly.

"What about you? What are you wearing?"

"I was thinking that dress I have hanging up over there," Yumi answered, nodding to her wardrobe.

"I was thinking 'nothing'," Sei said, sighing. "You'd be the life of the party if that was the case."

"You forget that I'm not like you, Sei," Yumi said, letting go of the scarf and standing back to admire her work.

"But have you ever thought about that? A naked party. Imagine something like that! The Yamayurikai: full frontal."

"I think Shimako and onee-sama would have conniption fits at the indecency of it all," Yumi said, sighing.

"I bet I can get Yoshino to join…"

Sei laughed as she saw Yumi's face darken.

"Don't mention something like that around Yoshino. She'll definitely want to go along with it. Thank Maria-sama for Rei…"

Yes, Sei figured they should thank a deity that Shimazu Yoshino had the overprotective Hasekura Rei as her older cousin, next-door neighbour and former grande soeur.

Sei took a look at herself one last time in the mirror—Looking good. Even I'D date me!—before going back and changing into the clothes she had on previously. Yumi took the sweater and scarf and put them in a separate bag, in the gift bag from before.

"Make sure to take it when you leave. The bill's in the bag too."

"Okay Miss Fukuzawa," Sei said, pulling up her sleeves to her elbows, "let's get to work. Strip."

Yumi went ahead to start trying on some of the clothes. Sei went back to her seat at the desk and watched, making comments every now and again as Yumi tried on a new outfit.

"What do you think?" Yumi asked.

"Looks nice."

"You said that about the last one."

"But it does! You want me to lie? I don't know how else to elaborate; it all looks good on you."

Eventually, Yumi ran through all her new clothing and was left in her underwear, looking around for the clothes she was wearing before she started her 'modelling'. Sei bit her lip and got off her seat, heading straight to Yumi, who she wrapped in a tight embrace from behind.

"It looks very nice on you," Sei whispered into Yumi's ear.

She turned the girl around so she could look at her.

"Uh huh, very nice."

"I'm hardly wearing anything," Yumi said, pressing her hand into Sei's front for support as Sei pulled her closer.

"That's exactly it."

Sei bent down and kissed Yumi hard.

"Wait…Sei…" Yumi mumbled, pulling away.

Sei moved her kiss to Yumi's neck, biting the skin and tugging at it with her teeth.

It's winter. She can wear a scarf. No one will see it.

"Mmm, Sei, hold on."

Sei sighed and stopped.

"What's wrong, Yumi?"

"I have to finish packing up first."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

"Okay then," Sei said, trying not to grumble.

"And after, let's go downstairs and watch some TV, yeah?" Yumi suggested, letting go of Sei.

Huh? What the hell?

"Yeah. TV," Sei said, trying not to seem upset.

Yumi went ahead to put her clothes back on, and then proceeded to pack away the recently-bought clothing into their bags. Sei reached out and held open the shopping bags—Yumi thanked her with a smile—as the younger woman put away her belongings. Sei wanted to know why Yumi suddenly seemed so tense with her. They finished packing in silence.

It's like she doesn't want me to touch her…

"Come on, Sei. Let's go downstairs," Yumi said, taking Sei's hand.

"Hey, Yumi?"

"Yeah, Sei?"

We did it the other day and she was fine then. What's going on?

"Sei?" Yumi asked again.

Sei shook her head.

"Ah, nothing. How about some cocoa too, huh?"

Shaking things up.

Trying something new.

The eleventh month mark

Sei looked around the common room and found Katou Kei sitting near a window on a comfortable armchair. She toted the pile of books over the other woman—Kei seemed absorbed in a newsletter she was reading and did not notice Sei—and stopped right in front her. Sei cleared her throat loudly.

"Ahem, delivery for Miss Katou Kei, I need you to sign," Sei said, looking down at her from where she stood.

"Oh. Sei," Kei said, not seeming surprised in the slightest.

"You shouldn't sound so thrilled to see me, Kei. What will people think?" Sei said sardonically. "And these are for you."

Kei ignored Sei's comments and got up from her seat to take the books.

"The only person who would think anything about you is Yumi," Kei said, putting the newsletter down on a nearby coffee table, "and she would think that you were an idiot. How is Yumi though?"

Should I tell her? I have to tell someone. If I don't, it'll eat at me, and eat at me, and eat at me…

"Yumi…Yumi's been…" Sei said, handing the books to Kei, "Yumi's been acting…weird these days."

"Really?" Kei asked, accepting the novels. "Are these any good?"

"I guess. You shouldn't really ask me that—my answers will be sub par. I used to read a lot, so it all seems done before. Those books, I mean. But maybe you haven't read things like that…that's what I was working with, anyway…" Sei drifted off saying, shrugging a little.

Kei took her seat again, depositing the novels on her lap. Sei went to the window and looked out. Seeing nothing interesting, she crossed her arms and leaned against the sill, not feeling like sitting for the moment.

"So Fukuzawa's been weird? How?" Kei asked, and Sei watched as she leafed through a few pages of the thickest book in the lot she had just handed Kei. "What did you do to her, Sei?"

"I didn't do anything!" Sei said quickly. "I just…lately whenever we're together, she seems really tense. Like she doesn't want to touch me or something like that."

"You ever think you might be asking too much from her? After all, how long have you two been dating?"

"It'll be a year in a fortnight."

"And how old was she when you two started going out?"

"She was halfway done with eighteen," Sei answered.

"And did she ever have a girlfriend before you?" Kei continued asking.

"No. Well, maybe, but it doesn't really count."

"Oh? Who?"

"Ogasawara Sachiko," Sei said offhandedly, "but she's…so like I said: it doesn't count."

"Okay. So I'm correct in assuming that you were Yumi's first?" Kei asked.

Kei put the large book she was browsing through on the coffee table and started on another. Sei coughed, but nodded and answered.

"Yeah. I was."

"You ever stop to think that maybe she wants some time with you when you're not…hmm…'together' that way?" Kei asked.

"We do that. We go on dates and all of that."

"But if you think about it, Sei, she's still a kid."

"She's nearly twenty!"

"Which means she's still nineteen, still a teenager and therefore, still a kid."

"You're making me feel like a pervert. Well, a bigger pervert," Sei added with a smirk that did not seem to amuse Kei.

She can be so serious sometimes…

"It's not that," Kei said. "You have more than two years advantage over her, in both emotional and sexual maturity."

"I'm not mature!"

Kei still did not look amused.

"You were saying?" Sei asked, looking around the room.

"Look at it from her standpoint. You're older and, I suppose, more experienced than she is. Don't you think this might have had an effect on her?"

"You think…you think maybe I'm making her think she needs to sleep with me a lot?" Sei asked warily. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"I think," Kei said succinctly, "you should talk to her about it."

"I don't know…what if she's tired of me, Kei?"

"Hey, don't do your little A.D.D. thing and go off with that."

"What do you mean?" Sei asked.

"You're going to focus on that and not on what I'm telling you."

"And you're telling me…"

"To talk to her."

"She seems busy these days. I don't think I should bother her."

Kei had finished leafing through the other book, and started working on a fairly new, leather-bound book on theology Sei had purchased back when she was in high school.

"Then make a date on a day where you're both free. And make sure the time isn't the night."

"Why not?" Sei asked.

"She'll think you want—"

"Oh, right, right," said Sei, before grinning and adding, "hey, time of day never stopped us before."

Kei raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you really saying that in front of me?"

Sei's grin faded and she gave an apologetic smile.

"Oh, sorry, Kei. Go on."

"You invite her somewhere and at a time where sex is not part of the agenda. You do whatever normal stuff you do with her. And then try to talk about it."

"Will it work?"

"You two work better when you're communicating, as far as I have seen. Don't try to change it. Don't mess it up, Sei. I like Yumi. She's nice. Too good for you, actually, and not really your type, but she's a great kid. She's much more interesting to talk to, anyway. My conversations with her are much more substantial."

"It's nice to know you have so much fondness in your heart for me."

"No problem. And I think I've read this one already," Kei said, holding up Sei's rather beaten-looking copy of Spuutniko no Koibito, "this is about the schoolteacher trying to find that unrequited love of his who went missing somewhere near Greece, right? Or was it Italy? The protagonist is unnamed, right?"

"Oh, you remember that much? He didn't really have a name, but was sometimes called 'K'. You'd think that you would have remembered his name at least, seeing as it's synonymous to your own," Sei said, reaching out and taking the book from Kei. "Well, at least you did manage to give me a summary. Everyone else I know who's read it kept saying 'Oh yeah, that's the one where the guy jerks off while thinking about his lesbian best friend!' But I should have known better than to talk to them. They're the kind who'd watch the music video for All Is Full of Love and go 'Shit! Lesbian robots making out!' And if I try to go on and talk about K himself, they always say things like 'He settled on having an affair with his student's mother and just let his real love get away.' It seems they all remember K's faults rather than his strengths. I liked his resolve. No one ever seems to say 'Oh, there's someone who accepts things as they are, even when he has no control over anything.' Ah. So much for great modern-day literary works, eh?"

Kei sighed audibly in agreement. Sei looked at the back cover of the book.

Kei's good to talk to.

"Hey Kei?"

"Hmm?"

"How'd you get to be such a motherly-advice-giving type?"

"Well, my mother died when I was young, right? I had to grow up fast because of that," Kei said indifferently, thumbing through another one of the books Sei lent her.

"Oh," Sei said flatly, wondering if she had touched on a sensitive subject.

"But a good thing came from it. If I hadn't, then I wouldn't be able to listen to you objectively. And by the way, when I told Yumi about my past, she had more to say than just 'Oh'. She really does make for better conversation than you."

"I guess," Sei said, smiling a bit, "Hey, I thought of a date."

"When?"

"How about two weeks from now?"

"You mean the anniversary?" Kei asked.

Sei made a face.

"I don't want to call it that."

"Because…?"

"It sounds so…"

"So?"

Sei stopped to think about it. Why did she not want to call it that? After all, what was big deal? It was just a word.

"I…I don't know. I don't know why I don't want to call it that."

I really don't know.

"I think," Kei began, "That you don't want to call it an anniversary, because you're scared."

"Now you've really lost me," Sei said, idly flipping through the paperback in her hands. "Scared you say?"

"Yes, scared."

"Of what?"

"What it means. Of what 'anniversary' means. It means that you've been in a relationship with someone else—a happy relationship with someone else—for a year. I think you're scared to acknowledge that you've been happy for that long. There are people out there like that, you know."

"Like what?"

"People who are afraid to be happy because they don't want the pain of sadness or loss to hurt them worse than it would had they been miserable in the first place. It's like, 'Why be happy so when something bad hits me, I'd just get depressed, when I could just be miserable so when something bad hits me, I'd feel the same.' Like that."

"Where'd you get that one?" Sei laughed.

"Oh, it's no joke. I know a girl like that back from high school," Kei said, "there was this guy she liked for a long time, and coming to the end of our second year, they started dating. But after a while, she broke it off with him. I used to see her crying in the bathroom stalls sometimes."

"Why'd she break up with him?"

"She found out that he was going university abroad."

"Didn't they have a year left; why did she end it so early?"

"I heard that she thought that he'd find some 'baka-gaijin girl' when he went away. So she didn't want to get closer to him. He tried for nearly all of senior year to get her to stay with him and not break it off. But she already got another boyfriend. Someone, I heard, that she didn't really like as much as she did the first. But the new one was kind and reliable."

"And she did this because she's allergic to happiness?"

"Scared," Kei corrected, "she was scared of getting her heart broken after being exposed to something that made her immeasurably happy."

"And I remind you of that girl?"

"You don't remind me of anyone, honestly. I don't think I've met someone quite like you before. But your situation just made me recollect that incident with that girl."

"Think so?" Sei pondered. "Think I'm scared to recognise that I've been with Yumi for a year now?"

"Just a little."

Sei smiled.

"Maybe," she said, "Maybe you're right, Kei."

"But tell me about your plan."

"Oh, yeah. I was thinking on that day, I'll get her to come over to my dorm and—"

"I said nothing that would imply sex," Kei cut her off.

"Let me finish!" Sei said, "I'll just invite her over for a few hours and then we'll hang out."

"Can't you do it earlier?"

"I don't want to make it look like I'm rushing her or forcing her or pushing her. There was one time I tried to force a girl to do something with me…"

"And?"

"Got a hard one, right across the face," Sei said, pointing to her cheek.

"I blame your methods."

"I blame it on the setting. I don't suppose the school's chapel was a good idea."

"In the chapel? This was in Lillian?" Kei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, that's all in the past now. I don't suppose it matters. It's not like she left a permanent scar on me."

"One we could see, anyway," Kei added.

Sei grinned.

"You think you know me, Kei?"

"I know enough of you to know that you're the emotional sort."

"Hey," Sei said, a little firmly and more to herself, "I'll have you know; it doesn't bother me anymore. Several people gave me bandages for that one a long time ago."

"Several?"

"My onee-sama, my petite soeur, this meddlesome girl in the student council who never left my side," Sei listed, "And…"

"Yumi."

It was not even a question.

"She even kissed it and made it better," Sei added, grinning.

She noticed that this time, though, Kei had started smiling as well.

"You can't do it, Sei. You can't keep away from that girl for too long."

"I call Yumi almost every night. So it's not like I'm going cold-turkey."

"Hmm, but can you handle it?"

Sei did not answer. She was not sure if she really could.

"Kei?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened to that girl?"

"The one from my high school?"

"Yeah."

"The last I heard, she was engaged to the replacement boyfriend. His family owns a business. He's going to be the manager there when he graduates. And the girl is a student-teacher right now."

"Is she happy?"

"I wouldn't think so. She really loved her first boyfriend," Kei said pensively, "but then, I hear that they're both doing great. Maybe she got over it."

Sei had a feeling that Kei was right the first time.

I wouldn't think so either.

The eleventh month mark

"I can't go to any clubs with you Yoshino," Yumi said, sighing into her phone, "and that's final. I'm finishing up this project I've been doing for the last month tonight. So no can do."

"You are really no fun at all," Shimazu Yoshino commented from her end.

"It's great to hear that."

"Ah, I really thought I could get you and Sei to come with me. That way Rei would let us go alone…"

"Um, I don't think Rei would let you go to any club with Sei as the supervisor in the first place. And anyway, Sei's been busy these days too."

"Yeah? Oh. I haven't seen her in a while. How are you and her doing? Relationship-wise, I mean. Your anniversary is coming up soon, right?"

"In four days, yeah," Yumi confirmed.

"What are you two doing?"

"Well, we were thinking about going to Hawaii and—Yoshino, it's not a real 'anniversary' if we're not married."

"Hey, I know people who celebrate anniversaries every month. Like that's some sort of accomplishment…"

"You shouldn't belittle anyone's choices. Who knows, it could be hard for them to commit, you know?"

"Forgetting them for a moment, what are you and Sei going to do then?" Yoshino asked.

"Well, we just made plans to hang out."

"…Are you serious?"

"Uh, I am?" Yumi asked confusedly, wondering why Yoshino sounded so displeased with the news.

"You're not doing anything special?"

"Sei isn't into that kind of stuff, and I don't really mind—"

"Stop right there. I don't buy that for a second. I know you, Yumi, and I bet you want to celebrate, don't you?"

Yumi sighed.

How does she know?

"Maybe just a little, but Sei really doesn't care for things like that and—"

"Then make her care about it!"

"I can't force her to something she doesn't want to do. If she wants to celebrate, then she'll do it. If she doesn't, then she doesn't. You don't know her like I do, Yoshino."

"Sounds like you're settling."

"You're twisting what I'm saying. Listen properly. I really don't mind, I'm serious. Just being with Sei is enough. I don't need some commercial reminder about the status of our relationship."

"But is that all right? I know Sei's bonkers for you—anyone with half an eye could see that. But she can be a little happy-go-lucky sometimes."

"Yoshino, you're right about one thing. Sei cares for me. And I care for her. That's enough for the both of us."

Is it? She didn't think it was enough a few months ago…

"But…" Yumi said before she could stop herself.

"But?" Yoshino asked quickly.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Oh, there's something. And I'm not letting up until you tell me what that 'but' was about."

Should I tell her?

"I'm…worried," Yumi said, carefully.

"Why?"

"I wonder sometimes if we could make it further than what we're doing now."

"Oh…yikes."

"Huh?"

"This is what we straight girls like to call 'the Wedding Vibes'. It looks like you caught it. And you say you don't care for anniversaries. I scoff at you."

"I swear, it sounds like you're speaking in Japanese but I have no idea what you're really saying."

"Ha, ha," Yoshino said sarcastically. "What I meant, was that you're worrying about your future together as a couple. It's a well-known fact that women everywhere like to worry needlessly over everything."

"And you, being a man apparently, have some kind of outside authority in the matter?"

Yoshino made a faux offended noise from her side.

"I'm being rational and looking at it panoramically!" she went on, "let me finish, Yumi. Like I was saying, you busting your three brain cells over what you did with Sei, what to do with Sei, and what you will be doing with Sei is normal. It's normal. All girls in any sort of relationship think about what you're thinking about. It's okay, honestly. What I'm telling you to do, from a learned standpoint, is not to make a big deal about that. Because then, it's all gonna blow up into some melodramatic shit and end in an argument or tears. If you want to worry over something, worry about presents, chocolates, wine and lingerie. Not the emotional stuff. Listen Yumi, do you trust Sei?"

Yumi nodded vigorously.

"I'm waiting."

"Oh! Yes, yes I do," Yumi answered, remembering that Yoshino could not see her.

"Then trust that she knows what she's doing and trust that everything will work out fine in that area. I still think she needs a general nudge in the 'casual relationship' direction. Really, you don't think she could take you out for a spa or something? Go to hot springs or somewhere nice for the day."

"Thanks for, uh, the first part Yoshino. I feel better now. As for the 'casual' side of our relationship, I think we've got that one under control. But, where'd you learn all that, though?"

Yoshino snickered.

"Can't tell you."

"Oh, come on!"

"You really want to know?"

Yumi nodded, and then replied, "Yes."

"Rei."

"Rei told you?"

"No. She leaves some of her stupid shoujo manga and novels here when she sleeps over. I browsed through a couple."

Yumi raised her eyebrows.

"Your advice came from…shoujo…are you serious? You wouldn't read that stuff!"

"I said I browsed through them, not went out and bought the junk!"

"Right."

"I learned the 'trust in your partner' thing from this one about a mysterious play or something like that. I thought it sounded like a detective novel until I saw the cover. A bunch of bishounen and like one girl. What do you call that again? A reverse harem or something, right? But to my point. Just because the chick from the story won't believe in her boyfriend, they spend the whole series running away from each other, crying and moping and arguing and screaming each other's names out passionately. Really. I don't know how Rei can stomach this junk. I was laughing during all their torrid love scenes; they were so bad, even Maria-sama wouldn't watch!"

Yumi didn't doubt for a second that it humoured the other girl tremendously. Yoshino was cracking up quite badly on the other end just recollecting it. Yumi could almost see the tears of mirth coming out of those impish eyes.

"Yumi…" Yoshino laughed, sounding like she was trying to catch her breath, "the whole thing…was like, stupid. The whole thing! They must have had twenty pages of just name-screaming."

Yumi smiled. Laughter was infectious, anyway.

Yoshino then went on to impersonate the characters, "The stupid girl, she goes 'Tamahome!', and he responds 'Miaka!' Rinse and repeat."

"It's good to know you're happy."

"Okay, okay. I'm getting serious now," Yoshino said in between giggles, and then her voice got steadier, "though really, shoujo novels and manga need to change the direction they're going in. But then, they're not all total trash. I mean, Rei's got Kare Kano, and that wasn't ultimate crap. I mean, someone actually got knocked up! And the Morinaga Milk collection she had was pretty decent. That one's all yuri though…maybe I should get her to lend it to you. The Nana and Hitomi stories were especially okay."

"I'm good," Yumi said. "I read some of those already. And I've been getting tied up with schoolwork; I just don't think I have time these days to be reading anything that isn't a text book."

"Ah, okay. So, Yumi," Yoshino continued, her voice now all seriousness.

"So?"

"You're going to relax?"

"Yeah. I am," Yumi said, nodding.

"Good. Just let nature run its course. And, hey?"

"What?"

"You're one of my best friends, Yumi. If you run into, er, other sort of problems with your relationship, don't hesitate to call me or tell me."

"Other sorts?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean? What sort of problems?" Yumi asked curiously.

Yoshino answered bluntly.

"Those of the sexual nature."

Yumi was glad that Yoshino could not see her face go red.

"Oh…yeah…sure," Yumi said weakly.

"Really? So then, tell me!"

"Uh…about what?"

"It!" Yoshino said excitedly.

"It?"

She heard Yoshino sigh before asking.

"How's the sex?"

"Well, it was feeling under the weather the other day when I called," Yumi began dryly, "but the last I saw it, it was buying groceries for a garden party and—Yoshino, I can't believe you just asked me that!"

"Why not? I can believe it. So, tell me. How is it? And don't even pretend you don't do it; I can tell. Last month, when we went to the mall together—you remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Yumi said slowly.

"Well, you had this 'I got some last night' look on your face," Yoshino finished calmly. "I was going to ask, but I thought I should let you bask in the post-coital euphoria for the rest of the day."

Yumi wished that she was not on a cordless phone. With wires she would then have something to strangle herself with since she had not yet died from the mortification.

"You could tell?!" Yumi grimaced.

"Oh yeah."

"Why me?" Yumi asked wearily.

"So. It's good then?" Yoshino pressed.

"What is?"

"The sex."

"Um, well that's still a private matter between Sei and I."

"She's been rocking your world, huh?" Yoshino commented sneakily.

"Please, let's not talk about that…you don't see me asking you…questions like that."

"Eh, well I'll tell you if you want to know," Yoshino said offhandedly.

"I don't think I want to—"

"You know, you're really fortunate, Yumi?" Yoshino began suddenly, and Yumi knew she was doomed to listen to something she did not need to hear. "Dead lucky. You're in a relationship and you have a steady supply of sex…Rei starts freaking whenever she even sees me looking at a guy. I think she believes just by talking to them that I'm giving them permission to bury their face between my legs or something."

"Uh, well, you're really like a little sister to her, and—"

"And you know how hard it is to get a guy to approach me when Mr. Lillian is around? It's like 'Hey, my cousin who's surgically attached to my body can kill you with one hand! Come make out with me'. That's not an incentive, Yumi!"

"But to be fair, you never wanted to leave Rei alone while we were in school. So it must be hard for her to be separated from you now, and—"

"And at the rate Rei's going at," Yoshino continued—And she's totally not hearing me, Yumi thought—her rant, "I won't be able to get any more until I'm married. Married, Yumi! It's a little too late for me stay chaste, I know, but come on! It's like 'At least let me get a guy and a couple of gropes in if not sex, Rei!' Jeez."

Yumi was not very sure how to respond to Yoshino's grouses in life. So she sighed.

"Rei's looking out for you, Yoshino. There are some creeps out there."

"I know. You're dating one."

Yumi managed to suppress her laugh.

"In all fairness," Yumi said, biting her lip to keep her grin from spreading too wide, "Sei's not as bad as some of those guys out there."

"Ooh! What does that mean? That all single straight men are flashers and puppy killers? I doubt all of them are total slimes."

"You're right. Yuuki is very nice. And so are his friends. They still call me 'sis' even up to now."

"Hey, hey! Don't think I forgot about the real topic of this discussion."

"Oh, crap. I was hoping you did."

"Come on, Yumi. Damn, you think we're still fifteen or something? If you don't talk about sex, how will you learn anything more? Think of it as a social must."

"You don't have much restraint, do you?"

"So I take that as you won't say a word?"

Yumi sighed.

It won't kill me. And I trust Yoshino. She MIGHT have something enlightening to say on the matter too…

"Fine, fine. I'll talk," Yumi uttered in defeat and she could almost see Yoshino making a fist in the air in victory, "but I don't know where you want me to start. And all I'm going to do is answer questions. So you have to lead."

"Okay. But remember, Yumi, it won't do you any good unless you answer me honestly."

"Right…"

There was silence on Yoshino's end, and Yumi assumed that she was formulating questions in her head.

"Okay," the other girl said eventually.

Oh boy.

"Let's start off with the basics," Yoshino continued, "how often have you two done it?"

"Um…like…this week?"

Yumi had to hold the phone away from her ear as Yoshino shouted 'WHAT'! on the other end. When the noise died down, Yumi put the receiver near to her ear again.

"Uh, something wrong Yoshino?"

"This week?" Yoshino repeated. "I meant the TOTAL since you started dating. Yumi…how much do you two go at it?"

Yumi went red. Obviously she had said something wrong.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore—"

"No way!" argued the other woman. "You said you were gonna talk, so you better! I know where you live, Yumi. I know where you live!"

"Okay, okay. Easy."

"Now talk."

"Well," Yumi said hesitantly, "when we first started seeing each other…it was every weekend. And we'd meet during the weekday sometimes as well. Unless it was, uh, that time of the month for either one of us."

"Go on," Yoshino said weakly.

"But lately it's gone down. I mean, we haven't even seen each other this last fortnight. We've been busy at school and all. And other things…I've been feeling a little uncertain about being with her, like that, these days…"

"Hold on a minute. Let me just check something…"

Yumi was starting to feel odd.

Maybe I should have just kept quiet…

"Yumi?"

"Yeah?"

"I worked it out. Sort of. Give or take a couple of things…and there are a lot of factors that have to be taken into consideration but…"

"What?"

"Well, you've had sex close to a hundred times in the last year. And that's not even deliberating the marathons."

Yumi wondered for a moment if she could do teppan-yaki on her face. Her and Sei's physical intimacy; it had not seemed to be too much in Yumi's eyes, but when Yoshino said it quite like that…it made her realise something.

We've had sex more than we've said 'I love you.' to one another.

"I…" Yumi muttered.

"It's okay Yumi!" Yoshino said quickly. "I wish I were you, in fact. I can still use my fingers and toes to count the number of times I've done it."

"Now I feel worse, Yoshino."

"Hey, it's no problem, Yumi. I was just a bit perturbed to think that you would be so, uh, liberal in the bedroom."

"Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome. And no sweat, there's actually a girl on the kendo team who does it with her boyfriend, like, every other day."

"Are you serious?" Yumi asked.

"Yeah, it helps actually. She told me they do it right before some of her matches, too. In the changing room, when no one's around."

"Uh…why?"

"A woman's oestrogen level falls momentarily post-coitus, didn't you know? So it helps drive her during the match. You know, to have a little more 'rage'. It's why they don't usually allow men to have sex before sports either, because ejaculation makes their testosterone level drop. And that would be no good."

"That's human biology I didn't know…thanks for the lesson," Yumi grumbled.

"Okay Yumi, on to the next question…now that I've found out about your rabbit tendencies…God, you're so damn lucky. Okay. Anyway. What kind of intercourse do you have?"

"There are kinds?"

"Yeah," Yoshino said casually, "there's lovemaking, having sex and, pardon the language, fucking."

Yumi groaned. She wondered if her skin colour would remain permanently red.

"I…I don't even know how to begin to answer that," Yumi said, her head spinning a little. "What's the difference? Aren't they all the same thing?"

Yoshino chuckled.

"No way, Yumi," she answered, "don't be so naïve. Of course there are types. And you said you've been tentative around her lately, right? So by figuring out which type you have the most or least of, we can try to resolve the sexual problems you and Sei have."

"How are you going to do that?"

"By looking at the quality of sex you two have, because obviously, it's not the quantity that's the issue."

"Um. I don't really know how to tell them apart."

Yoshino sighed before she went on. Yumi took a moment to wonder why the other woman sounded so experienced in this field—perhaps she had several discussions of the sort with her college classmates. The girls on her kendo team seemed to be willing enough to dish out their private business.

"Lovemaking," Yoshino began, "people do this when they care about one another. Mostly the aim of this is to bring pleasure to your partner as gently as you can. It's pretty sensual and takes the longest of the three—it can be a bit tantric, I guess. Lots of kissing and touching."

Yumi rubbed her forehead a little.

"So…er, do you do that?" Yoshino asked a little sheepishly.

Well, at least you have the decency to be hesitant.

Yumi thought about it. Judging from what Yoshino said, she did have nights like those with Sei. She could even recollect the first time it happened. It had been a few weeks after they had started dating and sleeping with one another, after they had dinner at Yumi's house and in Yumi's own bedroom no less. Sei, for some inexplicable reason on that day, had been tender and mild—loving, even—with her. It was not a special occasion. They were not celebrating anything. Yet the thought did not run away from Yumi that Sei had been worshipping her that night, almost treating her like if she was a delicate object that should be handled with utmost care; as though she had been reading her body, thumbing her skin lightly as one would do with a precious book. When it was done, Yumi had felt her heart ache for Sei in a way it never had, and she needed to show Sei that she felt the same way. She had touched Sei's lips with her own, long and sweet and gentle. And she had gone on to kiss Sei everywhere, absolutely everywhere…

"Yeah," Yumi said softly, "we've done that."

"That's good," Yoshino said, equally quiet, "that's really good, Yumi. So…uh, we ruled that out now."

"So…sex, then?"

Yoshino cleared her throat and continued, "Having sex is the most common. You don't need to have any real emotion behind it. All you need is desire. And sex happens anywhere really, while lovemaking happens in more private places. Sex is about mutual release most of the time. About gratification on both parts. Sometimes that's not the case, if your partner is not very good and is unable to 'share the wealth' so to speak. And you have sex to have an orgasm. Full stop. Roughness and time spent carrying out the act varies depending on the situation and the individuals."

"You should do this as a thesis paper," Yumi sighed.

"You think?" Yoshino asked, sounding pensive.

"Uh, no."

"So. I don't think you even need to answer that one."

"Right."

"That look you had the other day was like a freaking tell-tale heart."

"Was it that bad?" Yumi asked, poking herself in the cheek and frowning.

"Not really. I'm just used to you. But I'm surprised Yuuki hasn't murdered Sei in her sleep as yet, though. He, I thought, would have been the first to notice."

"Yuuki's not like that, Yoshino."

"Are you kidding me? Your brother adores you. I'm sure the idea of somebody even touching you is driving him nuts."

"Yuuki wouldn't care about things like that! He doesn't really seem interested in anything ever, so why would my private life concern him?"

"You two are practically twins—there is no 'private life'."

Well, she's got a point. There are those times of the year when Yuuki and I are the same age. Why couldn't my parents wait…?

"AND you are his big sis," Yoshino went on to say, "for some guys, that's virtually like another mother for them. And all guys have a mother complex. All of them. My mum and paternal grandmother can hardly stand each other, you know why? It's because they're just about the same person. Two alpha females in one room can be pretty intense. But it proves that the age-old saying 'Every man grows up to marry his own mother.' is like a fact of life."

Yumi sighed. Her mother and grandmother were fine with one another.

"And, you know, I bet if I ask Yuuki what type of girl he's into," Yoshino rambled on, "he'd give me an example that would sound horribly like your mother or you. Boys all want someone who'd take care of them. It's like idol-worship. It's pathetic, really. Yuuki needs a girlfriend, stat. Maybe I should call him…out of all the ex-Hanadera students, Rei doesn't seem to mind him and Alice at all."

"You know that's my baby brother you're talking about, right?" Yumi asked, making a face.

"So? He's cute. And last I saw…he was definitely no baby…"

"He's my little brother, Yoshino, don't say things like that!"

"See! Exactly what I mean!" Yoshino exclaimed triumphantly.

"What?"

"Why men who love their female relatives love them so much. They think those are the only women on the planet who likes them unconditionally and not for their looks or money. Sisters telling dirty skanks to lay off brothers? Guys interpret that as walking the plank in their name and baking them double fudge chocolate chip cookies. Pathetic, the lot of them."

"How do you know all this?"

"I talk to men. You should try it sometime, you might learn something."

"I talk to Yuuki and Alice and Kobayashi and Kashiwagi, uh, well sort of…"

"Let's see…your brother, a girl, a guy who's had a crush on you since forever, and a poof. That's some list, Yumi."

Yumi made a face.

Yoshino went on, "And back to our real topic. With fu—"

"Uh, you don't have to say it, I know," she said quickly.

"Well, with that, it's absolutely carnal behaviour. There's no affectionate emotion associated with it. One does it to please oneself by bringing 'pain' to another…it can be a little kinky, I guess. Some people do it to get something like a momentary illusion of power. That's what I think, anyway."

"Power?"

"Yeah. You would think 'See? Look what I'm doing to you. Right in the pussy'. That sort of thing."

"Oh my God, Yoshino, I can't believe you said that word!" Yumi shouted at her.

"Hey, hey! We're not babies."

"But we're better than that! Don't say that word around me ever again, you got it?"

"You need to get out into the world. The real one. And I don't like using that word myself. I'm just repeating what I heard some guy say on TV."

"What were you watching?" Yumi said resignedly.

"It was—"

"That was rhetorical, Yoshino! Don't answer it," she said quickly. "And Sei and I aren't even…equipped…to do that."

"Yeah right!" Yoshino disagreed. "There's this bisexual girl on the kendo team, and she said she fucked another woman. Three fingers. She likened the feeling to knocking the shinai right out of an opponent's hands."

"What is wrong with the people on your kendo team?!" Yumi nearly shouted.

"Nothing. So…have—?"

"If you're asking what I think you're asking Yoshino, the answer is 'Of course not'. You don't think Sei and I would do something so crass."

"Maybe that could be the problem," Yoshino said calmly.

"Huh?"

"Maybe she wants to experiment in the bedroom. You ever thought about that?"

Yumi remembered Sei's pensive 'Just my luck'.

Just Sei's luck that I'm a sexually lame girlfriend?

Yumi frowned. Sei never spoke to her about wanting to do anything more. She did not want Sei to be wanting. Was Sei unfortunate in that Yumi was not willing to try something new?

Not that I'm unwilling…I don't know what she wants…she's always joking when it comes to things like that…I don't know when to take her seriously…

"Maybe," Yumi said contemplatively into the mouthpiece.

"But hey, Yumi? If you ask me, from what I know of Sei, you're right; she wouldn't want to do something like that. But, like you also said; I don't really know her that well. And, hey, I have another question."

"What?"

"How often do you masturbate?"

Yumi blanched.

"What the hell, Yoshino?!"

"I was thinking maybe the problem was you."

"Me?" Yumi asked weakly, not sure if she wanted the conversation to continue.

"Yeah, I was thinking that maybe it's you. In that you're lacking physical pleasure and you're twisting it around into a relationship problem. You and Sei have sex regularly, right? By the way, I'm cursing you in the back of my head for that. But like I said, quantity and quality are two different things. Is Sei a good lover?"

"That's between the two of us!"

"I'll take it that you've been having anti-climaxes, then? Oh, finally! The cause of it all."

For some reason, Yumi felt incredibly defensive. And she did not, for the life of her, want to tell Yoshino anything, but…

"Sei's great in bed, so mind your business."

"All right, Yumi!" Yoshino shouted gleefully. "You admit it! Yeah, baby! Victory for Shimazu!"

Yumi scowled.

"There is something wrong with you."

"So. Anyway. You ever stop to think that maybe it's because you're craving it, you think you're not having enough these days? I mean Sei hasn't complained to you about the lack of sex, right?"

"I do not follow you and I do not want to."

"Oh God, I'm saying you need to start pleasing yourself and stop relying on Sei to lay you like a brick road!" Yoshino said exasperatedly. "So tell me, how often do you masturbate?"

"I'm not telling you that!"

"Okay, too personal? I'll be fair—I change the batteries for my vibrator a lot."

You have a what?!

"See? There's something you didn't know."

I didn't want to know that, Yoshino!

"Yoshino…something is very, very wrong with you…"

"Masturbating isn't wrong. It helps you relax; unwind from stress and tension. I know a couple of Sisters who should have spent less time saying the rosary and more time in the bath."

"Scruples, have you none?" Yumi implored.

"I told you about Oujin-sama, now you tell me about your self satisfaction."

"Oh my God, Oujin-sama? You NAMED it, Yoshino? Oh God."

"I could tell you the colour too if—"

"No, I'm good. I'm set for life, actually."

"Come on, Yumi! You could be putting yourself up for problems with Sei when the issue could be resolved with a little TLC to yourself!"

"Is that what you call it?"

"No, I prefer to term it 'Adventuring With Oujin-sama'."

Yumi supposed she walked right into that one.

Seeking help from one another.

She finally understood what it really meant.

The eleventh month mark

Oh God, how do I do this?

Yumi laid flat on her back, sprawled out on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She sighed. She glanced at her clock on the wall and saw that there were fifteen minutes left until twelve. She was sure that she was the only Fukuzawa in the house awake, and she inwardly chastised herself for the reason why.

Do I…close my eyes?

She slapped her face very hard with both hands, cheeks already burning red from what she was thinking about.

Yoshino is insane. I shouldn't take her advice on this part at all.

She looked out her bedroom window and saw nothing but the light from her bedroom reflected in the dark glass.

It should be dark, I guess.

Yumi sighed again and got off the bed to take off the lights. The conversation she had with Yoshino days ago was still fresh in her mind. The shock of it all still had not worn off, and she had been thinking a lot of what Yoshino said, especially the part about the types of sex and her own sex life. She walked back to her bed, trying not to crash into anything on the return. Yumi flopped back onto the bed—she realised she reached it when she painfully banged her knee against it—and rolled until she found a comfortable position on her stomach.

What should I think about?

Yumi tried to come up with something to get herself in the mood. Coming up blank, she decided to go straight for it. She slipped her hand down to her pyjama bottoms and—with nervous fingers—stroked herself.

"Oh God, I can't do this!" she whispered, pulling her hand away in her embarrassment.

She had never masturbated. She had heard one particularly bitter Sister—during middle school, before entrance exams, of all times—say awful things about girls with filthy minds who touched themselves or let boys touch them. But Yumi and the others were told not to take her seriously by some high school upperclassmen who said that the nun went to Ireland a few years ago and came back changed. They said that strange things happened to Catholics there. So it was always in the back of Yumi's mind that masturbation was idle and therefore, a sin. But as she got older, she started seeing how silly it all it was. It did not hurt anybody, and as much as she hated to think that Yoshino was right, it did relieve a lot of stress. Or so she overheard some girls in gym saying. But still, even back when she was at the age of seventeen, Yumi could not find it in herself to touch herself down there. Anytime she became aroused, she simply clenched her legs together and waited until the perverse—very nice—feeling passed.

For a moment, Yumi conjectured whether or not she should have masturbated back in high school. She remembered once being in class, bored out of her mind, and drifting away in thought…

The clock on the wall had been trapped in a parallel universe, Yumi had been sure, for she was certain that it read 'ten to two' for the last half hour. She had tried staring at her text book, but the words only got blurry and illegible. It had been quiet save for the scribbling of pens on paper and a few murmurs from the girls around her. She had decided to look at the board. Her teacher had been writing an equation, the chalk scratching and clacking against the blackboard as her hands moved up, down, across, up, diagonal, across, up and down; over and over and over again. Yumi had been hypnotised by the fluid movement, of seeing the once empty space be filled with symbols and numbers and letters. And her teacher's slender arm had been gliding across that board, sending knowledge to the class through her long fingers and a stick of chalk. And it had been as though Yumi could have seen how every muscle must have been moving; shoulders, forearm, hand. She had wondered how it might have looked if she actually saw it. And with the barest thought of it, Yumi had been able to remove her teacher's shirt—to imagine what the milky skin covering the taut muscle might have looked like, to almost feel how her own hand might have felt pressed against flesh so warm…

Then it had happened. Yumi had suddenly felt a tingling under her skirt. The warm wetness had been enough to snap her out of the reverie. She had looked around her class, her heart racing, wondering if anyone had noticed, for she was sure 'I was getting off on sensei' was written somewhere on her visage. But no one had looked at her, and—after she had wiped her brow with the back of a hand—Yumi had decided to pay attention to the words in her book for the rest of the class.

Ugh, and that wasn't the only time…

There was also the time they had the school festival, and she had seen some of the girls just stripping to their underwear in the changing rooms, hurrying to get into their sports clothes. She had not meant to look, but it was hard not to see. After all, everywhere she had turned was another bra-covered pair of breasts or a bottom to fill the void. It would have looked suspicious had she banged her head against the lockers or buried her face in her hands, so she had to stare at the floor for the most part. And it had not helped any that people kept asking 'Yumi, help me get this on, will you?'

There must have been something wrong with me…I really should have tried doing THAT back then.

But as she finished high school, she had started seeing Sei. And with Sei, there was no need to try masturbating, for there was not a need.

Okay. I can do this.

Yumi took an audible breath and slipped her hand back down, into her pyjamas and into her panties. She felt her own hand—small and cool—and wondered how it was so different when Sei touched her there. Sei's hand was enchanted, Yumi figured. Those four fingers and thumb had the ability to send pure electricity right from their tips and straight into her body. Being grasped by Sei with that hand was enough to leave her panting and writhing and begging for more…

And then, Yumi remembered—her hand started to work—Sei being in that very bed she was lying on.

Sei.

Sei's mouth spreading kisses from her lips to her breasts down to her stomach.

Sei.

"Unh," Yumi gasped, rubbing the spot even rougher than before.

Sei's tongue, running past her navel, going down between her legs, touching her outer lips, lashing against her clit—that rough muscle torturing the sensitive, soft nub of flesh, simply doing unspeakable things to her body.

Sei.

"Ah…unh…unh…ah…"

Sei's finger entering her body, another slipping in through the slickness, the beginning of another slow torment—thrusting; in and out—that caused every raw nerve in her body to react, causing the throbbing in-between her legs to hurt, and hurt, and hurt so agreeably…

Sei.

"Sei…" Yumi whimpered.

"Yumi?" came a voice.

Yumi nearly screamed, pulling her hand out of her underwear as quickly as she could, and trying to calm down the erratic pounding in her chest.

"Oh my God, Yuuki, what are you doing?!" Yumi shouted, burying her face in her pillow, thanking the heavens that he at least did not put the light on.

"What the hell?!" he said. "I heard some weird noises while I was passing in the hall—I thought something was happening to you!"

"Nothing's wrong, now get out of my room!" she lifted her head and said, the words sounding raspier and angrier than she thought they would have come out.

"It sounded like you were crying or something. I was worried!" he argued in his defence, and then Yumi noticed, his voice got serious, "hey, Yumi, is it Sei? Is she making you do this?"

Answering 'Yes' to you would be correct.

"Yuuki, I just want to be alone right now, okay?" Yumi said, keeping her voice levelled, "thanks for being worried about me, but I'm okay. Really."

"Okay," he said quietly, "but hey, I'm next door, you know, if you need me or anything like that."

"Thanks Yuuki. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

And she heard the door shut. Yumi's breathing had calmed down considerably. And it was fairly easy to ignore the uncomfortable feel of wet panties as dozens of feelings were rushing through her body. Part of her wanted to kill Yuuki for causing her to miss her climax, part of her wanted to kill herself for even doing what she had just done, and part of her wanted to kill Shimazu Yoshino for putting the idea into her head. But Yumi's plans for double homicide and suicide were put to halt when her cell phone started ringing.

Does the whole world know what I'm doing?!

She reached out to her bedside table and grabbed the blinking, ringing mobile and answered, not even bothering to check the Caller ID.

"H-Hello?" she asked, wishing she could just crawl into a hole somewhere and die rather than make chit-chat with someone in the middle of the night.

"Yumi?"

Sei.

"Sei, hi," Yumi said, sitting up. "Hold on a second."

She reached out and turned her lamp on, shifting the phone from one hand to the other—Oh, I touched my phone with that hand, she thought miserably—and pressing it against her ear.

"Are you all right, Yumi? You sound weird."

"I'm all right. I was just…getting ready for bed."

"Okay. I was wondering what time you want me to pick you up."

"Anytime tomorrow would be good."

"Today."

"Huh?"

"Today. It's three minutes past the hour of twelve."

Yumi sighed. She could practically see the smirk on Sei's face.

"Fine, anytime today would be good," Yumi said smiling for the first time for the night.

"Hey Yumi?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't wait to see you. It feels like we haven't seen each other in so long, you know?"

"Sei, two weeks isn't that long."

Yumi wondered if she could even buy what she was selling. She had been crazily missing Sei.

"Some people don't see their girlfriends for months at a time," she finished.

"Long distance is terrible," Sei said. "I couldn't do it. That would be tons of phone sex, don't you think?"

"Sure."

"Hey, you know we've never tried that before…"

"I don't think I want—"

Yumi paused.

"Yeah, you're right. We haven't."

"Oh?" Sei said, sounding amused, "What's this? No 'Sei you dirty old grandpa!'? Why, I am surprised."

"Is it really that surprising?" Yumi asked quietly.

"What's that?"

"Oh, nothing," Yumi said quickly.

"Hmm, okay. And hey, sweet dreams. Don't forget to think about me. Oh…but then you might have wet dreams…"

Yumi groaned.

"I'll definitely try not to."

"Oh, and Yumi?"

"Yeah, Sei?"

There was a pause. Yumi was about to ask what was wrong when she heard Sei's usually playful voice, quiet and meaningful.

"Happy Anniversary."

The twelfth month mark

Sei picked up Yumi about fourteen hours after their conversation. It had been raining, before she left the dorm and she thought it seemed ominous. But as she arrived only a few blocks away from the Fukuzawa's, the heavy shower turned into a light drizzle. And by the time Yumi came bounding down the walk after Sei popped the horn, the rain had stopped completely. Their drive to the dorm had been the same as most of their drives had been. Started with a kiss, light conversation and complaining about the road hogs and music on the radio. Sei, however, noticed something was wrong with Yumi from the moment she buckled her seatbelt. There was something in the girl's eye that Sei had not seen in a very long time—not since they had been in Lillian together. By the time they got to the dorms, the rain had picked back up, but they were already inside and Sei did not need to get out any umbrellas.

"Where's your roommate?" Yumi asked as Sei opened her room's door.

"Somewhere. Like she's ever here in the first place," Sei answered.

As soon as they got in the room and Sei shut the door, Yumi hugged her tightly.

"Yumi?"

"Sei…"

Sei smiled.

"I missed you too," Sei said, returning the embrace.

"Hey Sei?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to talk to you about."

Sei noticed that Yumi's voice was quiet, a little uncertain. She had not sounded that way in a long time as well. Yumi pulled away from Sei and took a seat on the swivel chair Sei used by her desk. Sei helped herself to the edge of her bed.

"Sei?" Yumi asked, her voice very soft.

"Yeah?"

"Do you…" Yumi said quietly.

What's going on?

"Yeah?" Sei urged.

"No. It's nothing."

Sei sighed.

Should I bring that up then? Should I ask her why she hardly wants to touch me?

"Do you want something to drink, Yumi?" Sei asked, nodding to her water bottle on the bedside table.

Yumi looked at the floor but shook her head. Sei's throat felt funny.

I guess I could do with something to drink.

She had something more alcoholic in mind than water.

"Sei. Do you…" Yumi tried again.

"Do I?" Sei asked, reaching out for her bottle of water to take a drink.

"…want to fuck?"

Sei dropped the bottle—it was still closed, and rolled over the carpet to somewhere under her bed—and gaped at Yumi who was still staring at the floor.

What the hell?!

"E-Excuse me?" Sei asked, her voice strained.

Yumi looked up at her, and Sei saw that she had started burning red, but the sad expression in her eyes did not bypass her completely.

"Do you want to fuck me?" Yumi asked again, and it hit Sei like a firm sock to the stomach would.

Oh my God, that was a serious question.

"Yumi…what's all this about?"

"Sei. Just answer the question. Please."

Do I want to fuck her?

"No," Sei said firmly, "No way in hell."

"Why not?"

Sei got off her bed, and made her way to Yumi. She kneeled down in front of her, and took the younger woman's face in her hands and looked at her. Yumi did not want to meet her gaze, but after a few moments, brown eyes met grey. Sei explained.

"Because fucking is the most selfish, sadistic sexual act I can think of, and I can't see why something so violent has to be used in the bedroom. When I think of it, Yumi, I can see myself doing that with a cheap prostitute or some tramp I have no respect for—some half-rate piece of thrash I wouldn't want to look at afterwards. I can't see myself doing that to someone I care about. I do not ever see myself doing that to the woman I love," she said heatedly. "What the hell put something like that into your head?"

"I wanted to know…if you enjoyed having sex with me Sei."

"Of course I do. You know how I feel about you, Yumi."

"I know, Sei. I know how you feel. That's why I was worried. I don't want you to be…missing out or holding yourself back…because of me. Because of your feelings for me."

"Missing out on what?"

"I don't think I'm really good in bed."

Sei let go of Yumi and stood up, one hand resting on her hip while the other ran through her short hair.

"And you think that I'm deprived of orgasms, so you want to do some weird shit that you think will get me off? Yumi, where has your brain gone and why are there rocks in its place?"

"Don't make fun of me!"

Sei took Yumi's hand—both were clutching her knees tightly—and pulled her up. She wrapped her arms tight around Yumi, holding her as strongly as she could. She felt the smaller woman's heart pounding against her body through her clothes. She kissed the top of Yumi's head.

"Hey," Sei said gently, "the sex isn't bad. And even if it was, I'd live with it."

"That's not very reassuring…" Yumi muttered.

Sei felt Yumi's arms round her body.

"Sei. I'm starting to think…I'm starting to think that you might be getting tired of me."

"What?" Sei said loudly. "Are you crazy? Hey, don't even make jokes like that, Yumi. I'll never get tired of you. Ever."

"But I was thinking about our…"

"Our?"

"Sex life," Yumi said, quietly.

"What about it?"

"You don't seem interested these days."

"What?"

"I don't know. I must be just looking too much into it, but I get the feeling that you don't want to be with me…like that…anymore."

"No, no," Sei said. "Yumi, I think we've both caught the Dumb Bug. I didn't want to sleep with you these days because I thought you were getting tired of me. I didn't want to make it be like I'm forcing you into having sex with me just because I want it."

Sei grinned at her when Yumi looked up.

"Are you kidding me?" Yumi said flatly. "You were thinking the same thing? I was worrying because of nothing, then."

"It's both our faults, actually. Kei was right. We should have talked about it…"

"Kei?"

"Yeah," Sei said sheepishly, "I talked to her about it a little. Just for some feedback. She told me to talk to you."

"Eh, I can't believe Yoshino was right too…" Yumi muttered.

"Yoshino?"

"She gave me some advice that I didn't really listen to."

Sei held her tightly.

"Yumi?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever ask me to fuck you again, understood?"

"I'm sorry."

"And don't use language like that."

"I'm sorry. I hate swearing. And I don't particularly like when you do it either…but that was the name Yoshino used for it. I didn't know what else to call it."

"Oh, she told you about the types?"

"You know about that too?"

"Yeah. It's like common knowledge."

Sei heard Yumi groan.

"I really am stupid."

"It's okay," Sei whispered, kissing her forehead, "you can't expect to know everything in the world. We have, let's see, about fifty to sixty more years on this planet, given good health and no accidents. That's a lot of time to learn about a lot of things."

"We?" Yumi murmured, and Sei felt the younger woman's grip tighten around her.

"I think you're right. You are stupid," Sei said jokingly. "Of course 'we', Yumi. Let's see…one down from sixty. That's fifty-nine. I don't need to be a scientist to calculate that."

"Mathematician."

"Eh?"

"Mathematician. Not scientist—that's not specific."

"Really, what runs through that little head of yours?"

"I have no idea."

"But hey, you know," Sei went on, "you can ask me for sex in a bathroom. Or in my car. I don't object to those at all."

"Dummy," Yumi mumbled, loosening her hold.

"You scared me so badly, you know that?"

"I did?"

"It was like you were asking me to do something awful."

"I didn't mean to, I—"

"It's all right, it's all right. I know you had a reason. It was just frightening."

"I'm sorry, Sei," Yumi apologised again.

"Now I know really I can't ever leave you."

"Huh?"

"Do you always go around soliciting sex from people in such a fashion, Fukuzawa Yumi?"

"Shut up."

"I'll have to buy a new leash for Tanuki-chan, then."

"I said to stop talking, you jerk," Yumi grumbled, "It's comments like those that got me like this."

"Yes, boss," Sei sighed.

"And you better keep your word."

"About?"

"Not leaving me."

"I will," Sei said firmly.

I don't want to leave you.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. And I'll go by that leash first thing tomorrow."

Yumi groaned.

"Can you do the same for me?"

"I think you NEED a leash on you…"

"No," Sei said, smiling, "I meant stay with me."

"I can."

"All right? Although, not for forever. Forever's way too long. I'm going swinging in the after-life, how about you?"

"There's a border between telling a joke and getting a laugh and telling a joke and being punched. And the line is very fine so you should watch how you tread it," Yumi said, poking Sei in the arm.

"Should start sleeping with an eye open," Sei said. "What do I do with the go-go girls in my closet then?"

"Set them loose into the mountains."

"That's what I like about you—you're one of the very few people who get my sense of humour."

Yumi sighed before saying, "That's because it's not a sense of humour. You're confusing it with stupidity."

"That could be the case. Hey Yumi?"

"Yeah?"

"You're stuck with me, all right?"

"All right," Yumi agreed.

"Any more potentially terrifying things to tell?"

"Yeah, I'm pregnant."

Sei laughed and placed another kiss on Yumi's head.

"You know, you almost got me, Yumi. Even felt my stomach twinge—just a little."

Yumi pulled away from her and walked over to her bed, sitting down.

"And if I was a guy, I'd be shitting myself with that one," Sei said, following her, "I don't think that one's even a joke with them."

And remembering that dream she had months before, Sei did not think it was very much of a joke with her either, but that was something she and Yumi could discuss afterward.

After all, I have fifty-nine more years left to tell her about it.

Yumi gave her a small smile.

"Some anniversary, huh?" Sei asked. "Maybe next year I should take you to some hot springs or something…"

Sei nearly flinched at the grumble that escaped Yumi.

"What is it?"

Yumi answered, "I have more than one bones to pick with Shimazu Yoshino."

Sei grinned.

"Say, Yumi?"

"Yes, Sei?"

"I have an idea of something we could do to pass some time," Sei said, winking.

"Oh yeah?" Yumi asked softly.

Sei took Yumi's hand in her own and gave it a kiss.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" asked Sei, nodding to her pillows.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Yumi said, crawling to the middle of the bed, "we haven't slept together in a while."

Sei waited until Yumi got into a comfortable sitting position before climbing onto the bed herself.

"Hold on," Sei said as she grabbed the pillow behind Yumi and tugged at both ends roughly; fluffing it, before putting it back to rest. "There you go."

As Sei did the same with the other pillow, Yumi laid down. Sei settled in, lying down on the bed as well. She shifted so that she was closer to Yumi, pulling the woman closer so that she cradled her against her chest. Sei felt Yumi's warm breathing on her neck, Yumi's arm resting on her back and Yumi's legs intertwining with her own.

"Hey Yumi, Yumi," Sei called, gently.

"Mmm?"

"Look up."

When Yumi obliged, Sei took the chance and pressed a kiss tenderly onto her lips. Yumi closed her eyes. Sei kissed her again, letting the touch linger until she felt Yumi returning the pressure herself. Sei brushed the hair away from Yumi's temple and hooked the stray strands behind her right ear. She pulled away from Yumi lips—Yumi made a slight disappointed noise at that—but her hand left the ear, travelled to Yumi's back, and she clutched the woman's body tighter to her own. Sei pressed her forehead against Yumi's.

"Sleep good, Yumi," Sei whispered, shutting her eyes.

"I will, Sei," she heard Yumi respond after a while.

And they napped for the rest of the afternoon.

The twelfth month mark

"Yuuki! Get that, will you?" called Fukuzawa Miki from the kitchen.

"Okay, mum," he said, getting off the couch and heading to the front door.

He opened the door and saw his sister standing there, grinning at him.

"Forgot your keys again?" he asked.

She nodded. Yuuki was tall enough to see over her head, and it took no effort on his part to see the yellow car in the driveway. The horn of the Beetle sounded and he saw Satou Sei's hand sticking out the window, waving at him. He waved back.

"Is she coming in, Yumi?" he asked.

"No, I just came to get some things," Yumi said, entering the house after changing her footwear. "I'm going to spend the night over at the dorms again."

You've been with her for the whole afternoon and the evening…

'Hopefully playing cards', he added to his reflection afterward as he watched Yumi run up the stairs. He shut the door behind him.

I guess I was worrying for nothing, then.

He really thought that Yumi seemed a little distressed with Sei over the past few weeks.

"Is it Yumi, Yuuki?" asked his mother.

"Yeah," he said loudly so she could hear, "she's going to sleep over at Sei's. Again."

"It's like she's a phantom these days, don't you think?" his mother responded, "you two are just getting too grown-up for me and your father now…"

Yuuki sighed and went upstairs himself, up to Yumi's room. When he got there, he bumped straight into Yumi on her way out.

"That fast?" he asked, looking the bag in her hand.

"I usually have it packed, remember?" she told him, smiling lightly.

"So you two made up then?"

"There wasn't anything wrong in the first place, really," Yumi assured him, "and we didn't fall out, so there wasn't anything to 'make up' about, Yuuki."

"Okay. Yeah, all right," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I dunno. It just seemed lately that you got upset whenever I mentioned Sei around you."

And I walked in on you crying last night too.

"It was just me being stupid, Yuuki," Yumi said, "but if you'll excuse me, she's still waiting in the car.

"Oh," Yuuki said, realising that he was blocking the doorway.

"Bye Yuuki, goodnight!" Yumi said, heading out.

"Hey Yumi, stop in the kitchen and talk to mum for a bit," he called after her, "let her know you're going."

"Okay!"

He sighed.

There she goes.

Yuuki heard the front door slam.

And she's off.

Then he heard the sound of tyres peeling out of the driveway.

I hope she's got her seatbelt on.

Yuuki made his way back to the living room to resume watching the television. He got to the sofa and was about to sit down when he heard the phone ring.

"Yuuki? Could you get that?"

"Yes, mum," he said, walking over to the cordless' station, and picking up the phone. "Hello, Fukuzawa residence."

"Yuuki?"

He recognised the voice.

"Oh, Yoshino. Hey," he said, walking back to the sofa and finally getting that seat.

"Is Yumi there?" she asked.

"You just missed her. She went out with Satou Sei. You can try her mobile."

"Ah, it's okay. I'll try tomorrow morning. Or maybe afternoon. It's Sei she's with, right?"

Yuuki grimaced. He glanced at the TV. The programme he was watching had finished, and something about properly cooking unagi had started.

"Yeah," he answered gruffly.

"Hey, don't sweat it. I know about them too."

"You do?" he asked, very surprised.

"Of course I do. Yumi stinks at keeping secrets."

He sighed.

"You're right."

Yuuki picked up the remote and changed the channel. There was some odd show about ninjas watching a shoujo anime that was on. He supposed it was funny, but did not see the humour and changed the channel once again.

"You don't sound too happy; is something up?" Yoshino asked.

Yeah, my sister is off with her questionable girlfriend—hopefully playing cards—and I'm at home watching dorky ninjas fall down all over themselves.

"Eh, I just worry about things."

"Yeah? About what things, Yuuki?"

"The two of them sometimes," he said.

"What about them?"

It's Yumi. And it's Sei. That's like hand-delivering the sheep to the wolf.

"Nothing much. Regular things."

"Hey, Yuuki?" Yoshino asked.

"Yeah?"

"I want to ask you something."

"About Yumi?" he asked, and heard her laugh and say 'No'.

Yuuki flipped the channel once more.

"What sort of girls do you like?"

A/N

When you live in a nothing country like mine, 'a long time' is considered ten minutes…but guess who's back, back again…

I'd like to call this a sequel to Force A Denial, but I won't. I shall call it Squishy and it shall be mine.

The right genre to categorise this is 'Oddness' but that doesn't exist. It's not really Humour. Just thought some of the situations seemed…funny. Like funny curious. If you were looking for a laugh-fest and didn't get it, sorry. But I'll have you know, I banged my head against the keyboard laughing when I wrote Yuuki's Interruption. I have an odd sense of humour.

Shinjuku and Shibuya – districts in Tokyo.

Yuuki's intense sister complex – wasn't incest. If you have siblings, you'll understand the desire to ram your fists through their suitor's teeth.

Sei's dream – I dreamt once that a girl I knew got pregnant and said 'Well, it's yours.' Boys and girls: don't touch the bottle.

And I meant no offence to Americans with Sei's comment. I heard that song from that country singer who says he wants to 'put a boot in your ass; it's the American way' the other day and I remembered it while writing this.

Tic-Tacs – a mint that I disclaim ownership to.

Forrest – reference to the awesome movie 'Forrest Gump'.

Picasso – famous artist (DUH)

Tanuki – raccoon dogs.

Romeo, Juliet and Odin – reference to the anime Romeo x Juliet. (I hate it, but if someone put Juliet between two slices of rye and called her a sandwich; I'd eat.)

Camera-chan – I believe this was Sei's nickname for Takeshima Tsutako, do correct me if I'm wrong.

Spuutniko no Koibito – novel by Murakami Haruki. There's an English translation of it that goes by the name 'Sputnik Sweetheart.' Interesting read.

All Is Full of Love – song by Björk with a scary-ass music video.

Baka-gaijin – translates to 'stupid foreigner'.

:( Yup, Shiori DID slap Sei on the face in the light novel.

The mysterious play – reference to manga/anime Fushigi Yuugi. Tamahome and Miaka are characters.

Kare Kano – reference to manga/anime His and Her Circumstances.

Morinaga Milk – mangaka who specialises in yuri one-shots. Nana and Hitomi are recurring characters (and they are win.) Give thanks to Lililicious for scanlating the manga 'Kiss, sigh and cherryblossoms pink.—the material of love.'

Teppan-yaki – type of Japanese cuisine. Food is cooked by grilling it on a hot iron plate.

Oestrogen and testosterone – info taken from a televised interview with professional boxers. If it's incorrect, I don't care.

Alice – Arisugawa Kintarou a.k.a. resident Hanadera transgendered cross-dresser from the OAVs.

Shinai – a wooden kendo sword.

Oujin-sama – 'Ou' insinuates 'big', 'Jin' is a masculine name, and the –sama suffix shows respect. An English equivalent would be something like naming the vibrator 'Big Daddy Joe'. I don't study Japanese; this is all info acquired from a friend. Who does not do Japanese either...but knows a lot of stuff.

Sensei – teacher (DUH)

Yuuki x Yoshino – yeah, put your stones down. I don't support the pairing. But what's wrong if she's with a man? You people have no problem reading about her macking her cousin.

Unagi – eel.

Ninjas watching a shoujo anime – reference to Ninja Nonsense. The ninjas were actually watching a parody of Marimite and were crying their eyes out.

And I don't know the standard amount of times a couple usually has sex. So I surveyed and eventually went with comparative statistics from my own and my acquaintances' experiences and did averages. If it seems they do it too much or too little, it's the data I had to work with.

If you read this and went 'WTF?' I don't blame you.

Just

1. Don't call me Perverted. I only let a select few refer to me by my middle name.

and

(B) I was experimenting. Being in a relationship can be tough and just very, very strange. But it was interesting to write this because I had to keep in mind that Sei and Yumi are excellent pals making that transition from friends to lovers.

I apologise for writing another Sei x Yumi. I've tried writing Sei x Youko and Yumi x Sachiko…but my hands just froze over the keyboard and my mind came up blank. I just can't.

And in other news, I quite like the song 'Promise' by Ciara, which is strange because I mostly listen to Canadian Post Rock and J Pop :P

Last for me for 2007. Hopefully you writers out there will jump on the Yumi x Sei bandwagon and give me something to read. No? Agh, worth a shot.

Be nice with the flames.