Citrus: Mei's Story vol. 10 - Resolute Heart

Epilogue B. Happily Ever After

I sighed as I read the entry of my old diary about our wedding. It felt like it had been just yesterday that I had first met Yuzu, but in reality it was nearing our fifteenth year of married life. Kaguya would be starting her first year in high school. I just hoped she could make some friends. Just as my mind started drifting back towards the memories of my high school years with Yuzu and our friends, I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders.
"Mei, why aren't you getting ready yet?"
"The ceremony starts in a couple of hours. We've got some time."
I turned to look at my wife and found her looking in the mirror as she adjusted and admired herself in her tailored pastel suit that was surprisingly perfect for her. I watched as she spun herself around to check the look of the soft yellow and lilac against the contrasting black of her vest when she moved, and remembered how she used to be so focused on looking fashionably girlie and cute. She still liked looking fashionable, and was still quite cute. However she had long since shifted away from trying to look girlie and embraced a slightly masculine sense of style. Satisfied with her outfit she started primping her hair. She glanced over and caught me watching. There was a time when I would have tried to hide that I would look at her so much. I would have turned right before she could notice me and do my best to hide or suppress my blushing. Now I brazenly watched my wife as she got ready.
"What do you think? Should I put my hair up and try to look more like a teacher, or down and loose to look more feminine?"
At her question I rose from my chair and crossed our room towards the mirror. The room had changed a lot since it had been Grandfather's. The first thing I did when we inherited the manor was take down and sell his garishly opulent furnishings and let Yuzu help pick out the replacements. Now, after eleven years of living here, it was comfortable and felt like home. As I reached my handsome wife at the mirror, I slid my arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
"Personally I like when you have it down and styled to look a little messy..."
I kissed my way up and whispered into her ear.
"It makes you look dashing."
"Mei..."
I slipped out from behind her as she blushed like she always did. Ever since I knew her, it was always easy to make her blush and become adorable. However I noticed that today, she had tears in her eyes. I reached out and caressed her cheek.
"What's wrong, Yuzu?"
"Nothing, it's just..."
She covered my hand with hers and pulled it over to kiss my palm.
"Our girls are getting married."
"My sweet prince, I love that your heart is always so kind."
I stepped closer and moved my hand so that I could kiss her directly.
"Just remember to not call them our girls in front of their parents."
"I won't."
You say that, but now you're pouting.
"Yuzu..."
"I promise!"
She looked so dashing and adorable. It was a ridiculous thing to have to promise, but I understood why she had that issue. She had been the homeroom teacher for both of them on their first year and became the confidant for the Kabehana girl until she graduated. I had become the relationship expert for the Koito girl. The fact that they were dating each other only became clear when the pair lost their dorm privileges after excessive noise complaints. Luckily, we were able to accommodate them by having them stay with Mother for the last couple of weeks. The entire situation had endeared Yuzu and I to the girls to the point that they wanted us present at their wedding. I sighed happily as thinking about that brought back memories of our own wedding, and slipped out of Yuzu's grasp.
"Care to help me with my dress?"
As expected, my wife was easily to appease with the prospect of watching me undress and slip into something she bought for me. She eagerly followed me into our shared closet. I was planning on wearing the pale lavender gown she had given me for Christmas. As I started to slip out of my business dress, Yuzu seemed to realise something.
"What were you doing earlier?"
"Just reading my diary about our own time at the academy and even our wedding."
I heard a chuckle from her.
"What?"
"I was just thinking about how different things are from then. And what I imagined our life would be like."
"Do you regret how it turned out?"
I glanced back as she helped unhook my bra. The reaction to my question was adorable. She was horrified at the mere idea. She didn't even consider it for a second before she spoke.
"Absolutely not! Do you?"
"The only thing I regret is not telling you how I felt as soon as I knew it."
"It all worked out."
I slipped out of my panties and folded them before putting them in the laundry basket. I gave a glance at my grinning wife. She knew exactly what I was referring to, and why it all worked out. She just was waiting for me to admit it. I didn't disappoint my wife.
"Thanks to your stubborn heroics being the one thing I could predict. And our friends."
"That reminds me. Harumi called. Matsuri wants to know if she should have Sayaka and Miyabi on standby."
I had fortunately already slipped into a fresh pair and was fussing with the bra when I stopped as a thought crossed my mind at Matsuri's request.
"Didn't they just adopt a child? Why would either of them still be working right now?"
"Sayaka has never been one to relax. I'm still surprised that she and her wife actually work for Matsuri."
That was a fair point. Ever since our third year of high school, Sayaka and Matsuri were typically at some sort of antagonistic relationship. Even their eventual friendship was based in arguments and rivalry on almost every single issue. I could only suspect that it was Sayaka's loyalty to Mitsuko and the likely manipulation from Miyabi that convinced her to cooperate and eventually work for Matsuri. Matsuri's position likely helped.
"Well she is the acting president of the Taniguchi Security Company and the head of the Taniguchi family after she married Harumi."
"That was also surprising to learn. What is it with that Mitsuko and her wife?!"
If you're meaning what are they up to...
"They used to run a network that specifically helped girls like us. Now Mitsuko is wanting to expand that network so those girls can get to a safer place, and Kayo is staying close to Suzuran as they run the Tokyo branch."
"And those two are dating, right?"
I found the dress I wanted to wear and handed it to Yuzu so she could help with the clasp and zipper.
"Doesn't Suzuran take you out for lunch whenever she comes to visit?"
"Yes, but not just me! We always go with Harumi and Nene. So you can imagine who dominates the conversations."
"I can't believe you actually buy every single book Nomura writes. And you get them signed."
I know they're popular, but still... I can't get into them.
"What?! She writes very romantic stories that I don't have to hide from Mikashi."
"You know what she uses as inspiration, right?"
It was obvious to all our friends. Matsuri purposely bought them to use as kindling for her fireplace. Harumi was mortified when she read the first book, and like me, refused to touch them. And yet my wife collected them and encouraged Nene to keep writing her books.
"It's harmless. Oh, I nearly forgot. Kana and Manami wanted us to have dinner at their apartment. Seems they have something they want our opinion on."
"Maybe they're finally getting married."
I didn't understand why a couple that was together longer than most of us and living together, refused to make it official in any way. They didn't even deny they were together, and Manami actually stopped dating guys for Kana. And yet they always avoided the topic of marriage. Yuzu let out a resigned sigh, and I knew she was more upset at the loss of being a joint bridesmaid for both her friends.
"That doesn't really feel like their style, but if so, we'll congratulate them."
"Just make sure it's not this Saturday."
"What's this Saturday?"
I felt the soft fabric of the dress shift as she decided it was her turn to tease me after I was dressed. I turned and wrapped my arms around her neck while hers remained around my waist. I looked at her face and hoped this wouldn't be another issue for us.
"Dinner with Himeko and her husband."
"Will Asa be there?"
       What is your problem with Himeko's girlfriend?!
"Of course."
"That's the one relationship I don't understand. I mean... Sara being like Mama, fine. Suzuran's relationship with your friends, odd but okay. I even get Nina marrying a woman who looks and acts exactly like Sara. But I will never understand why Himeko stays married to that man when she loves and lives with Asa."
Definitely glad I didn't have to actually use Plan B back then.
Now that I was finally dressed for the event, we exited the closet and I quickly put on my jewellery and checked my hair. As soon as I was done I caught the glint of metal from my necklace and smiled. That was one thing that never changed since our wedding. Both of us still wore the rings she had bought when we were dating on chains around our necks while the ones we got for the ceremony remained on our fingers. I lovingly toyed with mine just as Yuzu remembered another bit of news.
"Oh and Sara's expecting again."
"That's her..."
"It will likely be her fourth, unless I'm forgetting one."
I shook my head in disbelief.
"I still don't understand how she can do it so many times. With her small frame it has to be torture."
"Do you—"
"Do not even finish that question. You know the answer, and you know she's likely right outside the door."
Mikashi was just like her namesake had seemed from the early pictures of the photo album. She loved to smile, was mischievous and adventurous, and tended to get into places where she knew she wasn't supposed to. I loved every inch of her, and never once regretted our decision to try surrogacy. It had been the only way I could give birth to Yuzu's child. But I wasn't going to deny that one pregnancy was enough for me.
Yuzu and I slowly approached our bedroom door and opened it to look out into the hallway. Nothing. Our six year old daughter was not in her typical snooping position. I let out a relieved sigh that we weren't overheard again and was treated to my wife's chuckling. Yuzu didn't understand my nervousness about Mikashi trying to spy on her mothers, but then she wasn't the one who Mikashi then came to with questions about what she heard or saw.
"Mother should be here in a moment. Do you mind if I say goodbye?"
"Go ahead, I'll wait by the door."
She gave me a loving smile and left for the main entrance hall as I walked towards where we kept our shrine. I knelt before it and looked at the pictures. Grandmother and Mika were sitting in the same frames that they had been, but they were no longer alone. A few years after the wedding, Grandfather's health deteriorated and he had another heart attack. In his will I was named as the sole beneficiary and heir, which was how Yuzu and I ended up with the manor. It had been a strange relationship between my grandfather and I since Yuzu had proposed, but thanks to our meetings and my work with the board, he came to accept Yuzu and the fact that I wasn't a traditionalist. I had found myself crying at his death. But his was not the most devastating of losses to me. A year after Grandfather passed, there was an earthquake in the country where Father was working and Shoko had called to let us know the bad news. It was still hard to see his photo on the shrine. Our entire family had grieved that lost, and it was only compounded by what happened at the funeral. Ever since, I made a point to say goodbye at the shrine every time I left the house. It was just my way of staying connected to them. As I knelt there and let the memories and emotions wash over me, I heard running from the floor above and followed the path of the noise to the stairs. I finished quickly and rose to my feet just in time to see our wild and excitable daughter slide into Yuzu's arms.
"They're here! They're here, they're here, they're here!"
"And who's here, Little One?"
"Grandma and Granny, and they brought Auntie K!"
At our adorable Mikashi's excited report, Yuzu pretended to be surprised.
"Sounds like you're going to have a fun time without us."
"Maybe we should stay..."
As I suggested that, I walked over and kissed Mikashi on the cheek. She giggled and turned my way, which was all Yuzu needed to sneak a kiss to her other cheek. That just caused her to giggle again and so we kept doing it until the front door opened.
"And where are my girls?"
"Granny!!"
Not wanting to get in between Mikashi and the person she wanted to go to, Yuzu set her down as we turned to welcome out three guests. Just as all three got inside the entrance hall and set down their bags, Mother knelt down and scooped Mikashi up in a tight hug.
"There's the littlest sunspot! Oh, not so little anymore. Pretty soon you'll outgrow this place, and have to come stay with me forever!!!"
"Nooo!"
Mikashi let out a giggling squeal as she shook her head. Yuzu quickly went over and gave Mother a hug while patting Mikashi on her back.
"Mama! You can't kidnap our daughter."
"Oh I would never!"
As she denied it, Mother handed off our daughter to Naruka and then started slipping out of her shoes and into house shoes. Looking at them in the light of the manor, I could make out some peppering of grey hair on both Mother and Naruka. That and the slight laugh lines seemed to be the only indication that they had aged. Naruka shook her head and leaned over to give Yuzu a hug.
"She says that, but she once considered kidnapping that little friend of yours when you were in elementary school. The one you lived near. Hello Yuzu dear."
"Hi Naruka. Mama, you thought about kidnapping Matsuri?!"
I had to fight the urge to laugh as Yuzu tried to confront Mother with belated outrage. Mother let out a sigh.
"I wasn't going to kidnap her! I considered adopting little Mattie because I didn't want her to always be left alone like she was."
I stopped holding back and decided I should say hello. I, of course, offered aid to my wife as I went to hug Mother's wife.
"Are you actually surprised? Do you remember what all she tried to do when we were living with her?!"
"Mei! That's mean, I only tried to help my girls move forward in your relationship."
While I couldn't deny her intentions, her methods on the other hand...
"Mother, I do appreciate that we could talk about things and I could rely on you for advice... but you found out Yuzu and I liked each other and decided to get us a bed to share."
"Mom, did you really do that?"
It was the first time she had talked the entire time. I had almost forgotten that our little half-sister had come. She looked a little bit like Mika had, though with an annoyed scowl and a wave in her silky dyed violet hair. Kaguya also seemed to take her sense of style from raiding Matsuri's closet of her old clothes. She stared at our mother in surprise only to be immediately pounced on by an overjoyed Yuzu.
"Kagi!!"
"I told you a million times to not call me that, Yuzu!"
Kaguya, you're almost in high school. You should know by now that Yuzu is insanely stubborn.
"But I just love my little sister so much I have to give her a cute nickname!"
"Could you not pounce on me when I'm taking off my shoes?"
She managed to push off Yuzu and backed away into the entrance hall. She looked towards Mother and Naruka to help, but was only met with a disappointed sigh from Naruka.
"Kaguya, be nice to your older sisters and say hello."
"Yes, Mother..."
Looking ashamed at being scolded in front of her sisters and niece, Kaguya at first tried to hide her face and then looked my way.
"Hey."
"Hi Kaguya, thank you for coming."
She just sighed and leaned against the wall. Naruka sighed and shook her head before walking over to hug me tightly.
"I really don't know where she gets her attitude from. Hello Mei."
"Always great to see you, Naruka. And I think that's the Aihara dourness in her mixing with Mother's boisterousness."
"I can hear you, you know?"
I ignored Kaguya's brattiness because I knew it was going to be short lived. Sure enough, Mikashi scurried over to glomp onto her aunt's legs.
"Auntie K! Are you here to help Grandma and Granny take care of me while Mommy and Mama go to their party?"
She might have been aggressively annoyed with Yuzu's affection. She might act stand-offish with me to cover that she looked up to us both. She might be a bratty bookworm, but all of her walls were destroyed by one Mikashi smile. In a manner that felt like she stole it from her favourite "aunt" Matsuri, Kaguya squatted in front of her little niece so they were eye to eye. There was a mischievous glint in her eye as she spoke.
"Nope, I'm here to hang out with you and get Mother to bake us cookies for dinner. Sound good, 'kashi?"
"Yay!!"
"There is no way I'm letting you just eat cookies."
While Naruka argued over dinner arrangements with a fourteen year old and a six year old, Mother moved over to speak with Yuzu and I.
"You two are going to a party?"
"A wedding actually."
Mother brightened at the mention of a wedding. I saw a bit of the old schemer in the smile she gave.
"Oh, and who's getting married this time?"
"A couple of my students who we sorta helped get together."
I didn't even hear or see her approach, but suddenly Kaguya was right in front of us. The scowl was gone and in its place was an expression that made me think of how I likely looked at some point in my early years with Yuzu. She was wide eyed and blushing as she shouted at Yuzu.
"Wait! You're going to Kabehana's and Koito's wedding?!"
"How do you know about them?! They just graduated high school and you're only entering in the new semester!"
Almost immediately after hearing Yuzu's response, Kaguya spun on her heels and ran back over to Mikashi.
"Tell Kabehana I said congratulations! Okay, 'kashi. How about you show me to your room and we'll play until dinner's ready!"
"Okay!!"
The two younger girls ran from the entrance hall and up the stairs until they were out of sight. Yuzu shouted after our sister.
"You little brat!! Don't ignore your eldest sister!"
"Yuzu, of course Kaguya knows about them. All the students in the academy's three branches would know about the foreign exchange student with piercings and tattoos and about the girl who jumped into the high school branch two years early."
As I tried to calm her down, I hugged my wife and kissed her on the cheek. That interaction with Kaguya felt like we might have actually learned something she had never shared before. Yuzu sighed and nodded, but there was obvious disappointment in her voice.
"I guess you're right, but that was the first time I saw her get interested in what I was doing. I want to be a good big sister."
It's hilarious, but I think you're relationship with Kaguya is like Mitsuko's was with Harumi. Plus I'm pretty sure Kaguya had herself a little crush. Let's just leave her alone for now.
"You're a great big sister. Now we need to get going, so how about you head to the car and I'll be out shortly."
"Alright. I love you, Mei."
She leaned close and gave me a deep kiss. When we separated, I squeezed her arm.
"I love you too, Yuzu."
I watched her walk out of the manor, sighed at how handsome she looked when her suit caught the daylight, and then turned back to Mother and Naruka.
"Thank you both for watching Mikashi tonight."
Suddenly that wasn't enough. All the memories of my life with Mother pushed me into a run to her.
"Mei?!"
I wrapped my arms around her and held her as tightly as if I was scared she would vanish into dust if I let go. Tears threatened to fall, but I held them in. This woman had confronted Saya at Father's funeral. She had stood up for me when the woman who gave birth to me scorned me and berated Yuzu because we had married. Saya had been so cruel that I actually cried that day. Ume had physically dragged Saya away and later I saw her knuckles were bruised. In that moment it was finally truly settled who was my mother and who I belonged to. There was only one thing I wanted to say.
"Thank you, Ume! Thank you so much for being a real mother! For being my mother! For always loving me! I love you, Mother!"
"Of course I love you, Mei! I loved you ever since Shou told me your name! Thank you for being a wonderful daughter! Thank you for embracing me and for loving Yuzu so much! I love you so much and am so very proud of you. I will never treat you like that bitch Saya. You are my daughter, not hers!"
"Thank you."
We separated and I laughed as Naruka wrapped me in a hug as well and kissed my head.
"Mine too. I promised Shou that I would look after Ume and Yuzu and you. I've loved you like my own since that time we all sat down to talk and have lunch. I remember how you smiled when you stood with Yuzu and little Kaguya as I finally married the love of my life. All three of you girls are ours and we love you."
She let me go and I dabbed at my eyes to soak up my unspent tears. Mother held her wife close and smiled at me.
"Now stop wasting time, you have a beautiful woman waiting to take you to a wedding."
"She kept me waiting for six months once, she can wait five minutes."
Even as I said that, I was walking out the door to join my wife in our waiting car. As soon as we were seated, I pulled the lapel of her suit and kissed her passionately.
"What was that for?!"
"For spending fifteen years as my wife."
The grin she gave me was as though we were back in high school and she just heard me hint at a plan for a date.
"What will I get when I make it past twenty years?"
"Who said I was done? The rest comes once we get back home and into our room."

"We're home..."
Yuzu yelled out in a whisper. The wedding had gone on later than we thought and was full of very interesting moments. I was glad to be home and was not surprised by the fact most of the lights were off. We quietly made our way to what had been the upstairs sitting room that we turned into our take on the common room from Mother's apartment. It was the only room with a light on. Upon opening the door we were greeted with the most adorable sight. Mother and Naruka were both asleep and snuggled together on the sofa. It reminded me of us at a younger age. There was a creak from the chair in the far corner of the room. Looking over, we saw our little sister passed out in the very comfy chair with Mikashi holding a book as she sat in Kaguya's lap. Seeing our daughter, Yuzu grabbed my wrist. She looked nervous when she whispered.
"Mei...!"
"What?"
She pointed towards the book our daughter was trying to figure out which way was up.
"That's not one of her books. It's not any of the books from her shelves."
"What are you saying?"
What else could it be?!
"What if it's one of your books, or my old manga? There's some things I don't want to have to explain to her quite yet."
I sighed, cleared my throat to get Mikashi to look our way, and put a finger over my lips for quiet as I waved her over.
"You're back!"
"Aihara Mikashi, where did you get that book?"
At her full name, Mikashi grew hesitant about her smile and looked between Yuzu and I. She lifted the book as high as she could to try to hand it to me.
"I'm sorry Mommy, I found it on the desk in your room and wanted to see what stories were in it."
I let out a breath, scooped up my sweet adorable daughter, took the book, and handed it to Yuzu.
"I'll put her to bed. Yuzu, could you put this in the empty spot of my diaries? I had left it out."
"Alright."
Yuzu let out a breath as well once she realised what I meant and took the book to head down to our room. I held my daughter close as I looked around the room, lost in thought.
"Am I in trouble, Mommy?"
"What? No! Of course not. We were just worried about what you might have found. But that book is alright, though it's not the first one in the story."
As I reassured her, I carried her a few doors down to her room. It had once been my room, and before that it had been Mika's. However thanks to Yuzu, it was the most adorable room filled with all the things Mikashi loved.
"How many books are in that story?"
"Several, and it's still being written every day."
I set her down in her bed and moved Kumagoro over for her to snuggle with.
"Mommy, what story was in that book?"
"It was ours. The story of my life and specifically, how I met and fell in love with your mama."
"Can I read it?"
Hearing that question, my heart warmed and I wanted to smother Mikashi in kisses and hugs for how much she had Yuzu's warmth in her. Instead I repositioned her to give me a bit of space to sit next to her.
"I think it would be a bit too difficult for you to read, but I can certainly tell you it. Would you like that?"
She squeezed the giant bear and nodded vigorously. It was so hilariously adorable. There was no way I could refuse, and so I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead.
"Well it all started the day we were getting back to school from summer break during my first year of high school..."
And I started telling her our story. The story of how I found true and lasting love. As I did so, I looked over and I saw my amazing heroic prince of a wife watching from the doorway with a warm smile and love in her beautiful eyes. I almost wanted to cry tears of joy as I realised that in this moment, I had fulfilled the vow I gave her. The memory was fresh in my mind.
Yuzu was asleep on my lap. Somehow after everything she had done just the day before, my beautiful girl had gotten up early enough to meet me in the hall as Himeko and I were heading down for breakfast. She had stayed awake throughout the morning as we made it to the station and then onto the train. We had been able to find seats in a spot where we were alone. Then she had started to fall asleep and so I offered her my lap. I tenderly caressed her cheek and stared at her sleeping face.
"No matter what happens, no matter who tries to come between us, even if you no longer love me... I will always love you. I have from the first time I saw your face. I will to the day I have us buried together, and even beyond. If ever we are separated I will find a way to make sure you can come for me. Otherwise I will refuse to be touched by any lover but you. And one day I want to tell our children about their amazing handsome and heroic mother. So please Yuzu, never stop chasing me when I am away from you. I will always want you to catch me."
I leaned over her and tilted her sleeping face up so her lips met mine. This was a vow, sealed with a kiss, and binding for the rest of our lives.