*approaches sheepishly*

I just horrified myself my looking at my last update date. *winces* I'm so sorry, everyone. I would be surprised any of you even feel like this chapter was worth the wait, too. It's very filler.

I have, however, promised myself that I will only update this once I have the next chapter at least half written, to give myself something to aim for. And it's on the way! Already 3K words in! ^_^

Anyway. As I said, we're going to take this holiday one day at a time. So, let's enjoy today whilst we wait for tomorrow.

—

THURSDAY

Ugh.

Sachiko rolled away from the clock.

Horrid thing.

Never excited to see dawn break on any morning, she was even more resentful of the digital buzz buzz to her right. She hadn't slept well.

As a person, Sachiko was very black and white. She found it easy to draw lines between people, places and things that she liked and disliked. Tepid black tea. Dislike. Dried plums. Dislike. Karaage Fried Chicken. Like, like, like.

Ginkgoes. Dislike. Horses. Like.

Yumi.

Adore.

She sighed. And yet I can't seem to say or do any of the right things around her.

Sachiko stared at the thin, pale curtains adorning her window and extended a wrist into the rectangle of light that had fallen on the bedsheets beside her, enjoying the warmth; it was going to be a beautiful day.

All she could think about this morning, however, was how to approach what had happened the previous evening. The entirety of her insomniac night had been fuelled by the elements 'Hope' and 'Doubt', the combination of both resulting in the compound 'Vexed', and had left her unsure of herself and her imouto.

Just as it had last night, her mind began turning over the image of Yumi's eyes wide with shock and trepidation and she kicked herself again. This was exactly what she had wanted to avoid. One of the major reasons she had elected to enter Lillian University in favour of the other, more prestigious universities was to be near Yumi, to watch over her and to build their relationship, slowly and gently, into something more. Yesterday, she had allowed herself to be carried away by her emotions; possibly because it had been slightly overwhelming to be around Yumi again after their period of estrangement; possibly because she was holidaying at her summer home, a house she felt safe and comfortable to be herself in. Regardless of the reason, it had proved to be an unwise decision.

Sachiko alighted her bed and moved to the dresser, sitting down to run a brush through her lengthy dark hair with a heavy soul. Perhaps it is something I should put away in my heart, she wondered, detangling some ends with her elegant fingers, wincing slightly at the prickle of pain.

But… That moment. By the piano.

Her hands fell to the table as she concentrated on the memory, inhaling deeply with a shaky chest. The kind of hope and love and exhilaration that the mere memory of that moment instilled in her… Surely that had to indicate something? The sight and smell of that moment would remain with Sachiko to the end of her days, she was sure; from the feel of her own pounding heart and the sound of her pulse in her ears to the sight of Yumi's flushed cheeks and the smell of her soft, brown hair…

Sachiko groaned and rested her head in her hands, propping herself up on the dresser by the elbows. If only I could read minds…

Giving up, she raised her head and decided to put her best game face on, get dressed and treat the day as any other. There couldn't possibly be any further absurdity on the day's schedule.

—-

She arrived downstairs to the sound of gentle chatter wafting from the kitchen. Sachiko could pick out Yumi's cheerful, delicate voice from a sea of a thousand people, so it was easy to discern that she and her mother were the ones by the stove, rather than their resident cooks.

'So, mirin first?' Sachiko heard Yumi enquire softly, concentration colouring her voice pleasantly.

'Oh, it doesn't much matter, Yumi-chan. The ingredients can be mixed prior to frying in any order you like; the important part is the rolling.'

Ah. Sachiko smiled. Tamagoyaki.

Like.

'Should I get the bamboo mats out now, then?'

'If you wish. It doesn't hurt to be prepared.'

It was a wonderful sound, Yumi and her mother tinkering around in the kitchen, making breakfast together the way that she used to do with her on rare occasions when she was a little girl. She could hear the lightness in her mother's voice; it manifested as a kind of genial, maternal sigh that wrapped around each sentence, warming the house and Sachiko's currently slightly turbulent heart.

'Okay, Yumi-chan, the first layer is on. Get ready! As soon as those bubbles appear you must start rolling the omelette!'

Sachiko chuckled under her breath as she approached the door to the kitchen. Her mother always did love the menial excitement of sweet omelette-making.

'Oh, there! Bubbles! Okay… Aaaand…'

Careful not to interrupt, Sachiko hovered by the doorjamb. She didn't want to suddenly surprise Yumi in the middle of her intensive tamagoyaki training regime.

'Gya!' A light clatter. Oh dear… Sounds mildly disastrous. 'Quick! The chopstick! Pass me another one please, okaa-san!'

Silence.

Okaa-san.

Sachiko felt her eyes stretch open. Her heart quickly followed suit.

Okaa-san.

'Quick, Yumi-chan! The pancake is burning. Here. Roll, roll!'

A clatter of pans and thin wood swiftly followed as Sachiko snuck back into the hall slightly. Mature yet bewildered laughter followed her.

'Honestly, Yumi-chan! Such a face for such a silly thing!'

Sachiko stifled a giggle. She could just about picture the poor girl: hands clapped over her mouth, stock still and horrified at her slip, and she snorted lightly. Contrary to Yumi, Sachiko hadn't found it horrifying in the slightest. In fact, she couldn't think of anything more enchanting. Dreams of herself, Yumi and her mother all living happily together in this house, pottering around in the kitchen and making breakfast as they were now, or playing the piano together and curling up with books in the evening by the fire or on the porch… Sachiko sighed happily the thoughts. It would be heavenly to always have Yumi's presence in the family, making her mother laugh and filling Sachiko's days with happiness. She swallowed a little bubble of giddiness at the thought

Listening, Sachiko heard that the quiet concentration had returned and straightened up, readying herself to pretend that she'd just landed downstairs, but stopped yet again when the familiar gentle bell of her mothers voice chimed again.

'Really, if you're going to have any kind of slip of the tongue, that must be the loveliest kind.' Sachiko agreed inwardly as she inched toward the door jamb, and then heard a little girlish snicker. 'Perhaps I should call you 'other daughter' or 'daughter-in-law', hm?'

Now, it was possible that Yumi had replied, but Sachiko would not have been able to confirm nor deny that had anyone asked. She stood rooted to the spot centimetres from the doorway, a victim of her own keen intelligence.

That was not the sort of joke one makes about a petite-soeur. That wasn't really the kind of joke one made about anyone who isn't betrothed, and yet the words had tittered out of her mother with nothing but the vaguest note of a wink and a nudge.

Sachiko was instantly suspicious. There was every possibility that Sayako was trying to subtly let Yumi know that she was aware of… of something that was happening between the two of them, whatever it was. She could hear the raised brow in that rhetorical question.

She felt her brow furrow. But, what would that mean? Is she seeking some sort of affirmation? Or perhaps, is she… Is okaa-san hinting at her approval?

The very possibility stopped her breathing as previous thoughts of them all living together rushed back at once and she beamed, feeling the hot tickle of tears pricking at her eyes. Could it be? Could it? She balled a fist at her chest, desperately grasping at an intangible wish suddenly made possible, even if only by the smallest increment.

Still, she thought, holding off the tears and collecting herself. It would be better not to get too carried away. We live in a modern world but… Her father came abruptly to mind. There are some who might be less happy about these sorts of things.

Sachiko took a deep breath and steadied her stomach. It had fallen quite the victim to emotion over the last few minutes and quivered slightly but she regained composure and, with a warm blanket of hope wrapped around her tentative dreams, she cleared her throat and stepped into the kitchen.

'Good morning, okaa-san, Yumi. My, but it does smell delicious in here.'

Much to Sachiko's chagrin, breakfast was a slightly tense affair, and as they sat on the porch together, Yumi somewhat begrudgingly flipping through next term's math book and Sachiko reading an optional extra from her university reading list, she couldn't help but feel that they were wasting what precious little time they had together. Yumi had clearly taken her own innocent slip of the tongue to heart far more than was necessary (and more than anyone else had) and it made for stilted conversation over their omelettes.

Flicking another page right, Sachiko tensed. She could feel Yumi's eyes darting in her direction intermittently, and didn't need to look up to know what it was the younger woman was searching for. Truthfully, it was something that Sachiko would find unbearable with many people, even Yumi, in years gone by, but she was beginning to realise that many aspects of her character had begun to change recently. She did many things because of and around Yumi that she had never even considered before.

Last night, for example, she thought.

—

The landing was so quiet that her own breathing was the only thing disturbing the night air as she tiptoed to the white door, nervously glancing at the other one adjacent to the staircase. Her mother had retired a little after Sachiko had. She knew because she'd laid awake, unable to rest her mind and instead replaying that evening again and again, each time changing every nuance of the event to have, if not a better, then at least a definitive ending. Swallowing around her dry mouth, creeping closer to Yumi's door, Sachiko could still feel the shocks of their closeness running throughout her body, her limbs tingling with captive electricity. No wonder she hadn't been able to sleep.

With her palm on the polished brass of the doorknob, she stopped and steadied her breathing, wondering again if she really had the wherewithal to do this, her hand shaking. If Yumi wakes…

No.

Stilling her hand and instead shaking away her fear, Sachiko gripped the handle and turned.

Even in the darkness, she could see her. She could hear Yumi's breathing and see her shape with the faintest glow of the back porch light, like a candle in a cavern. A warmth settled in her chest as she pulled the door closed behind her softly, careful not to wake her sleeping friend.

Tip-toeing lightly across to the bed, Sachiko wondered if she should be snooping around in the dark, towering over the bed like some sort of friendly bogeyman. However, she had lain in the emptiness of her room feeling devoid of warmth, shivering the kind of shivers one only experiences with an overload of emotion knowing that if she could only touch Yumi, her heart would settle enough to sleep.

Sachiko knelt by the bed and peeled the thin blankets back. Not all the way, just enough that she could see the rise and fall of Yumi's chest under the t-shirt as she slept, see the hands that rested idly in front of her, the tips of two fingers nestling under the pillow's edge.

Sachiko felt the familiar warmth that accompanied Yumi's presence, marvelling that it occurred even whilst she was technically not present; when her consciousness was elsewhere in dreams of things Sachiko could perhaps only hope for.

She tentatively outstretched her hand, hesitated, and pushed forward once more, ever-so-gently brushing the bangs that had grown so much over the past year away from Yumi's dainty nose and perfect bow lips. She let out a soundless laugh, noting a little drool glistening to the left of their meeting and thought of how abashed Yumi would be if she were to know Sachiko had seen. You are so perfectly adorable, my Yumi.

She pressed her fingers together and smoothed them across the flawless forehead she had come to love so, her palm following to the temple and cheek it connected to. She stayed in that position, kneeling by the bed, basking in the closeness and savouring the feel of Yumi's slumbering warmth. It brought such comfort. It was the clean, sweet blanket of love wrapped around her soul and the very antidote to the empty chill she had felt alone in her bed.

Yumi moved slightly, nuzzling into the hand upon her, and a soft smile ghosted across her face before once more settling into rest.

Sachiko's heart melted for the nth time, and she gazed down at Yumi's parted lips.

If only I could just…

Sachiko felt herself involuntarily lean in.

No, she told herself, stopping with the tips of their noses connected. She could feel the hot puffs of breath coming from the other girl against her mouth.

I cannot take this from Yumi. I will not.

A slight sweat had formed at her lower back as she froze in place. What had she been about to do?

Outrageous, Sachiko. How could you? She admonished herself.

Releasing Yumi's cheek, and keenly aware of the slight scrunching of tan eyebrows as she did so, Sachiko stood and backed away.

I'm sorry, Yumi. Though I want it so much, I promise I will wait until it is given.

She exited the room, pulling the door closed with the same care she had giving it upon entry, and placed a hand against it's smooth whiteness.

Goodness. What am I turning into?

With a final sigh she left, missing the questioning glance from wise eyes waiting by the staircase, and headed to her own room for a fitful night's sleep.

_

Eventually, it was too much for Sachiko to bear. Honestly, she thought, we're doing nothing but idling away time which would be well be spent doing something together. The frustration of it was building within, and she could feel the crescendo coming to a point. She could tell Yumi was taking in absolutely nothing of her maths text, if the speedy flit flit of paper turning was anything to go by, which was infuriating.

Without taking her eyes from the page she was open at, Sachiko mustered her most authoritative tone. 'Yumi, if you persi-'

Only to be interrupted.

'I hope you brought good shoes for walking, Sachiko-san. We're going out tomorrow.' Sayako practically bounced out onto the porch, completely oblivious to the tension. 'We must look our best for great-grandmother's party,' she bubbled excitedly.

Puzzled, Sachiko looked up from her book, irritation abandoned. 'I have brought a dress in preparation, okaasan, as discussed.'

'Oh yes, yes. But…' She tittered and nodded in Yumi's direction. 'Did you discuss such a thing with Yumi-chan?'

Yumi's head swivelled between the two women. 'Eh?'

She couldn't be sure, but this conversation was beginning to sound a lot like going dress shopping with Sachiko-sama and her mother…

A slight frown settled upon Sachiko's brow. 'Sadly, we had no opportunity to discuss our activities this summer. I'm sure Yumi has something suitable.'

Both Ogasawara women turned to face Yumi. Feeling suddenly powerless under the identical scrutinous gazes she was subject to, she took a subconscious step back.

'Um, I probably, well, I think if its been- no, I mean-' She physically clamped a mouth over her hand, bowed and then blurted to the floor, 'I'm sorry, I had no idea! Please forgive my forgetfulness!'

Sayako tittered. 'Oh, Yumi-chan, worry not! It can be easily remedied, as I was coming to.'

Yumi blanched. The idea of going clothes shopping with the women of this family made her incredibly nervous. Although her parents had left her with some money for the week, she didn't have anywhere near the kind of expendable funds for a party dress, and from the way Sachiko's face was changing before Yumi's eyes at some silent communication from her mother, she could only feel apprehensive that she will soon feel very indebted indeed to the Ogasawara women.

'Sayako-obasama, I really wouldn't want to cause trouble for you and Sachiko-sama,' Yumi said earnestly. She really didn't. Sachiko and her family had been so kind to them over the years, she really didn't want to cost them money and time. 'I would happily stay here for the evening, if you would be comfortable with my staying alone in your house, and then you and Sachiko-sama can spend quality time with your grandmother without worrying about me.'

Sachiko had closed her book, listening to Yumi be the conscientious and gentle soul that she loved. She thought over all of the family parties she had attended over the years, remembering the back-biting and showboating, the detestable ladder-climbing and the boastful and braggart natures of her aunts, uncles and cousins. If she were to count the number of these parties she had enjoyed, she would need not only one hand but one finger! Last year, Yumi's debut, was the only truly enjoyable celebration of great-grandmother's birthday in living memory, Sachiko was fairly confident. She had melted the wall around the icy old woman's heart with an unrefined and unrehearsed vocal recitation of Maria-sama's Heart, and all in the face of spiteful comments and disdainful glares.

Not only forgotten, her earlier irritation melted just like the figurative wall around her eldest relative. Yumi was so genuine, so sweetly honest, so open. She was the fresh water that they had needed at such a long-dry event and Sachiko realised that she desperately wanted Yumi to be there with her again.

'No, that simply won't do, hm, oksaasan?' Sachiko stated, making Yumi jump to look at her.

'But, Sachiko-sama, I re-'

'Yes, Sachiko-san is absolutely right, Yumi-chan, you must attend,' Sayako said, cutting off her protests. 'You may remember, last year, grandmother specifically requested you return again, did she not?'

'That's… true,' Yumi said slowly, the feeling of inevitability settling in.

'Indeed,' agreed Sachiko. 'It is agreed, then. Tomorrow.'

Yumi gulped, caught between the identical, serene smiles of the women before her on the porch.

Well, she thought. I suppose there's nothing for it but to accept their generosity once again.

She did, however, add it to her internal ledger.

One day, she would find a way to pay back Sachiko again, somehow.

—

Chapter Fifteen - preview

Yumi couldn't help but melt at the warmth of Sachiko's smile. She was so exuberant today, so full of life, reminding her of when they'd shared their date at the amusement park. She laughed a little inwardly at the memory. Most girls go on dates together regularly without it meaning anything deeper, it was a common practice, especially at an all-girls school. A kind of practice, as it were… But Yumi was beginning to realise that Sachiko was not most girls at all.

How long exactly had Sachiko been feeling this way? Assuming she wasn't reading everything completely wrong, of course; Yumi would always have a true companion in self-doubt, there to ground her whenever she became too unbearably idealistic.

But if she wasn't and Sachiko did feel such a thing… It was maddening.

They could have been… All that time ago…

How much time had she lost? And, more importantly… how much time could she continue to waste?

So, there you go. A little bit of filler before we start getting to the chunkier stuff. It won't be happening in the next chapter, but these two are only just beginning to realise their first ever real attraction to another person so we can cut them some slack. It took me a year and a half to confess how I felt to my first love. Yumi and Sachiko are doing okay.