Uncomfortable Truths

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

~Five years prior~

Mei had intended on spending the morning relaxing.

With her exam finished for the term, she was officially on her summer vacation and had planned on spending the first part of her morning reading before getting started on her work for the academy.

She had no doubt that she'd passed but with the added strain of her pregnancy on top of her academy work, Mei was relieved to finally have a little bit of extra free time to herself, affording her the rare opportunity to sleep in, and there were days when she had managed to do just that. But today wasn't one of those days. With her due date approaching, the baby seemed to be getting more and more active, making it difficult for her to sleep. Typically she would have used to time to make herself some breakfast, but lately, either Udagawa or Yuzu made it their priority to prepare her meals for the day and ensure she took her vitamins and medications.

Despite her gratitude to the pair for preparing her for the day, Mei was beginning to get annoyed with them for pampering her.

She knew that they were only doing what was best for her, given the doctor's orders and her approaching due date, but she was by no means an invalid and there were times she'd scolded them for trying to keep her from making herself a simple mug of approved tea.

However, she'd slowly begun to relax and knew that fighting with them wasn't going to do much good, and after a long talk the two eased off, but they still found ways to skirt around her requests on occasion and this morning Mei was grateful for them.

When she woke up that morning, Mei's body had been so stiff that she'd required Yuzu's help to get out of bed so that she could go to the bathroom.

It wasn't the first time Mei had required such help. Her stomach made even the most simple tasks almost impossible, but that didn't mean she was any less embarrassed at the notion of requesting Yuzu's help getting off the toilet.

"I hate this," sighed Mei after she'd finished cleaning up and headed to the small nest of blankets and work materials she'd made on the couch. "It seems like the closer I get to my delivery date the more my body hates me."

"I know you do," laughed Yuzu as she sat behind Mei so her hands could begin loosening the knots in Mei's shoulder and neck. "But just think, you only have a few more weeks, and then you'll be peeing on your own."

Mei managed a small chuckle before letting out a whimper when Yuzu found an unusually large knot between her shoulder blades.

"Rough morning," laughed Udagawa as he appeared with her breakfast and supplements getting a lazy nod from Mei. "Do you need me to fill the tub? I can stay a little later if you need some help getting in and out."

"I'll be fine," groaned Mei as Yuzu's thumbs began massaging the base of her spine. "I just need to get up and move around a bit. Yuzu can you help me take a walk outside before you go to class? Not a very long one, but just something to get me out of here for a while."

"I think we can do that." Yuzu's hands left Mei's back and wrapped around her girlfriend's neck and squeezed her carefully. "I don't need to leave until one, so we can take a long walk and get you a nice lunch. Is there anything special you want?"

"Not particularly," answered Mei, feeling her face warm up at the intimate contact. "But can we look at something for dinner? I would like something fried if that's all right."

"Absolutely," chimed in Udagawa before checking his watch and cursing beneath his breath. "I have to get going. Do you two need any money for the groceries? I'm going to be staying at my place tonight with Rena, but I'm more than happy to help with dinner if you need it."