Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

Lily bit her lip, frowning down at her phone in confusion. Though she had heard the question (a question that had been posed to her several times already), she gave no indication that she did. Instead, her eyes remained fixed on the map displayed onscreen, trying desperately to discern where they were in relation to where they left.

"I...think so?" she responded for what felt like the hundredth time. She was trying. She was really, honestly trying, and Gumi kind of pitied her. Unfortunately, pity did not stop her from being rightfully pissed off.

"Lily, we've been walking in these woods for a pretty long time now. I'm pretty sure that Snorlax is gone."

"But it's still on the tracker!" Lily protested. She tapped the menu at the bottom right, and the silhouette of a large, round Pokémon appeared on a white background. "It's gotta be around here somewhere. I just know it!"

Gumi sighed and rubbed her temples. She, too, had been part of the Pokémon Go fad when it first came out, but it quickly became nothing more than a forgotten pastime in her mind. For Lily, however, it was an obsession, and she had started to bring her green-haired girlfriend along with her on some of her "outings" in an attempt to get them both some more exercise (though Gumi didn't think that the blonde really needed it).

Suddenly, a loud gasp elicited from Lily, and she tapped the screen once more in excitement.

"It's here!" she cried. "It's here! I found it!"

Gumi glanced over Lily's shoulder at her phone and found that, in fact, she had been correct; a fat blue thing with closed, slumbering eyes was displayed in front of what looked like the forest they were in.

"I'm gonna catch it," Lily proclaimed, more to herself than to Gumi, "I'm gonna fucking catch it."

Gumi gave the faintest hint of a smile. "Go for it."

The blonde slid her finger over the screen carefully, a yellow and black Ultra Ball trailing along in its wake. It hit the Snorlax right in the center of its peach-colored belly, sucking it inside. It wiggled once, then twice, and then once more. A faint click sounded, and Lily pumped her fist in the air.

"YES! First try! Did you see that?!" She showcased her prize proudly, and Gumi couldn't help the amused look that crept its way over her face.

"It's kinda cute, in a weird way," she admitted, "I like its stubby little fingers."

"I know, right? What should I name it?" Lily paused to think, then snapped her fingers. "Got it! 'Thicc.'"

Gumi rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's immaturity. "Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. Now, it's practically 100 degrees out here, and I'm starting to get tired. Do you know the way back?"

Lily puffed out her chest with a confident grin. "Of course I do. Lemme just check the map, and-" She froze. Her phone had just gone completely black.

Gumi cocked her head. "What's wrong?"

"...Shit."

The green-haired girl's eyes widened. "Don't tell me-"

"My phone died. My fucking phone just died." Lily facepalmed, groaning into her hand. "Fuuuuuckkk."

Gumi sighed. "Don't worry. My phone still works. I can-" She felt around in her pocket as she spoke, but her face went pale. She patted her skirt frantically, feeling around for any sort of item that could possibly resemble a cell phone. Much to her exasperation, she found nothing.

The two of them remained silent for a long time until Lily offered a restrained laugh. Gumi shot her a look.

"It's not that funny."

"It is, actually. It's kinda hilarious."

"Shut up."

And yet, despite their situation, she laughed too.

Chapter Text

"Okay, but hear me out: baby carrot."

Gumi groaned and put her hands over her face, though a faint tinge of red was still visible on her cheeks. "Oh my god, that's so cheesy. You're cheesy."

Lily smirked triumphantly. "You're blushing. You like it."

"Noooo," the shorter girl replied, barely stifling a laugh, "it's weird!"

But the blonde was already nudging her with a flirtatious wiggling of her eyebrows. "You like it! Baby carrot likes it!"

Gumi laughed childishly, still covering her face, though she used one hand to give her girlfriend a playful shove. "No, don't call me that!"

"Oh, yeah?" Lily put her hands on her hips in a challenging manner. "And why shouldn't I, baby carrot?"

"Because if you don't stop, I'll have to unleash...my secret weapon!" The green-haired girl straightened up and looked Lily directly in the eyes with a playful grin.

The blonde leaned forward. "Try me, baby carrot."

Gumi's blush grew, but she stood her ground. "O-okay...honeybee...?"

Lily blinked. For a moment, Gumi worried that she had said something wrong, but then the taller girl clutched her chest and fell down with a dramatic "bleh" noise.

"Excuse me, I just died," she said, "that was way too adorable, holy shit."

Gumi giggled and shook her, trying to get her to sit up. "You are such a dork."

"No I'm not. I'm your honeybee, remember?"

"I hate you," Gumi chuckled, giving Lily a light kiss on the forehead. The blonde hummed happily and pulled her closer, planting another kiss on her lips.

"Love you too, baby carrot."

Chapter Text

The sudden contact of ice against bruised skin made Lily hiss in discomfort. "Come on, babe, is this really necessary?"

Gumi gave her a deadpan glare. "Are you serious? Look at yourself! I swear, you're gonna get killed one day if you keep this up."

Lily pouted quietly as Gumi applied ointment to her cuts, sealing them with bandages shortly afterward. "'S'not my fault. The fucker had it comin'. You shoulda heard the things he was yellin' at me."

The green-haired girl sighed, moving the ice pack in her hand further down her girlfriend's blackened arm. "Lily, you can't just go and beat someone up just because they're being mean to you. You have every right to defend yourself, sure, but was all this really necessary?"

"He called me a dyke!" Lily blurted out, anger at the man who crossed her clouding her thoughts. "Said he was gonna beat me straight, so I turned around and clocked him in the side of the head!"

Gumi froze, her face paling. She looked up at the blonde fearfully, a thin hand reaching out to grasp one of the calloused, worn ones wrapped in bandages and dried blood. "What did he do to you?"

The look on her face, wracked with anxiety and protectiveness, caused a pang of guilt to resound in Lily's heart. "I-it's not that important, honestly. Look, I gave him what he deser-"

"What. Did. He. Do." Though her voice sounded angry, Lily could see the look of terror in Gumi's eyes and felt utterly powerless against them. They forced her to tell the truth, as if she were up against the world's most beautiful and heartbreaking lie detector.

"...He pushed me down and managed to get a couple punches and kicks in."

Another look from those eyes prodded Lily to continue, and she felt her mouth move against her inner wishes,

"At one point, he grabbed me and dragged me across the wall, which is where this came from." She motioned to the large wound on her other arm, which was already heavily bandaged.

Gumi gasped, tears filling her eyes. She looked back and forth between the injury and her girlfriend's face, the rate of her breathing starting to pick up the pace. Lily rushed to take both of her hands, squeezing them reassuringly.

"But look, I'm okay, see? Trust me, he's waaayy worse off than me." she explained rapidly, her words coming out at a mile a minute. Unfortunately, they seemed to have little effect on Gumi, who wrapped her in a tearful hug.

"Don't ever do that again," she rasped, pressing fervent kisses to her shoulder, "please, promise me you won't ever do that again!"

With a sigh, Lily wrapped her arms around the smaller girl, giving her a somber kiss on the top of her head. "...I promise."

"Lily?!" Gumi's voice was desperate and laced with panic, causing Lily's inner "protective girlfriend" senses to activate.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" she asked as she rounded the corner into the next room. Gumi was clutching at her wrist, and a few drops of blood were just barely visible under her hand. Her sleeve was ripped and torn, as if it had been caught on something.

"O-one of my scars opened up." she stammered, slowly lifting up her hand. Sure enough, a small but fresh gash across her wrist was bleeding a warm crimson liquid, and Lily's eyes went wide.

"Shit," she muttered, "you stay here, okay? I'll be right back." She rushed to the kitchen, her body acting on pure instinct alone, and scrambled to get out the first-aid kit. Hastily, she opened it up and retrieved a washcloth, which she soaked in warm water and soap from the sink. She was back in less than a minute, thanks to her quick reflexes.

"Show it to me again, princess." she said comfortingly, and Gumi gradually removed her hand from the wound entirely. It wasn't particularly big, especially compared to some of her other scars, but the blood was definitely starting to drip down her tiny wrist with a horrible, horrible vengeance.

Lily wasted no time and set to work, carefully cleaning the wound with the washcloth. Gumi winced a little due to the direct pressure, but said nothing. She just forced herself to remain calm as Lily's expert hands finished cleaning and began to unroll some bandages.

"How did this happen?" the blonde asked, concern lacing her voice. Gumi looked down, ashamed, but Lily put a hand to the side of her face and gently pulled her head back up to give her a consoling stare.

"M-my sleeve got caught on that nail in the wall and started to tear, so I turned around to detach it and ended up slipping and scraping my wrist against it as I fell." She motioned to the nail in question, and sure enough there was a smear of blood and a scrap of orange fabric attached to it. Lily winced, but was grateful that the wound was not self-inflicted.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," she whispered when she saw Gumi start to cry, "shh, you're alright, honey."

"I'm sorry," Gumi stammered, reaching up with her other hand to wipe the tears away. Lily finished dressing the wound and gave it a light kiss.

"Don't apologize, alright? It was an accident. You did nothing wrong."

Gumi nodded faintly, a sniffle escaping her. She gave Lily a hug, which the taller girl returned affectionately.

"Lily?" Gumi asked, hating how childish she sounded. "Am I gonna be okay?"

The blonde girl allowed a small smile to cross her face as she snuggled deeper into her lover's embrace. "Of course."

Chapter Text

Gumi was absolutely sick of the color white. It was all she had been looking at for the past few monotonous days that went by in the stupid hospital. White sheets, white walls, nurses and doctors in their clean white uniforms with their smiling white teeth...Gumi needed some goddamn color, or else she was gonna go colorblind.

Fortunately, the voice from the hall seemed to indicate that she would be getting her wish.

"What the fuck do you mean 'family members only?!' I'm her fucking fiancée! I'm the only one watching over her little brother right now! Let me in!"

Gumi breathed a sigh of both annoyance and amusement. Leave it to Lily to cause a scene in the middle of a hospital, but only for her. It was both flattering and extremely, unbelievably embarrassing.

When the door to her room finally opened, it was with more care than Gumi had expected. Cautiously, a head topped by blonde hair peered into the room, followed by a much shorter one with green hair that matched her own.

"Gumi?" Ryuto asked. "Are you awake?"

The aforementioned girl smiled at her little brother affectionately. "Yeah, you guys can come in."

She was immediately met by a rush of green flying toward her bedside and attempting to wrap her in a hug. She laughed and tried to return it, but remembered her bandaged wrists and chose not to.

"Hey, now, take it easy," Lily chastised, "she's still hurt. You can hug her all you want when she gets better."

Ryuto backed away sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Oops. Sorry."

Gumi gave her brother a faint smile of reassurance. "It's okay. I missed you guys, both of you. It's been pretty boring in here."

Lily approached the bed and gave her girlfriend a quick kiss. "I can only imagine. I hate hospitals, man. Doctors are assholes."

"Hey, watch your language. There's a kid in this room."

Ryuto giggled. "You should hear her at home."

The blonde clasped a hand to her heart, looking betrayed. "I can't believe this. You're ratting me out after all we've been through?"

This is more entertaining than the shows they have on the TVs in this place, Gumi thought, but chose to avoid saying it out loud in favor of more pressing matters.

"Have you been brushing your teeth?" She turned to Ryuto, who nodded dutifully. "Doing your homework? Not playing any video games before bed?"

"I maaaayy have been giving him some leeway on that last one," Lily interrupted, causing Gumi to roll her eyes playfully. She gave her brother a scolding look, and he held up his hands defensively.

"Hey, it's not my fault! Lily wanted to play me in Melee!"

Gumi chuckled, and for a moment she forgot about where she was and why. She suspected that the others did too, as they joined her with smaller laughs of their own. They were happy to be alive.

But then, the laughter died, and a cold silence enveloped the room. None of them knew what to say next, which lead their minds back to the cause of the visit, and the cause of the bandages around Gumi's wrists.

"...Hey, Lily?" she asked, and was almost immediately greeted by her girlfriend, who leaned down to listen. Gumi swallowed hard and lowered her voice to a whisper, making sure Ryuto couldn't hear. "Have you heard anything from my parents?"

Lily's face fell. She shook her head grimly. Gumi sighed. Of course. She should have known.

"What?" Ryuto asked, in that annoyingly inquisitive tone that every child spoke in whenever they weren't involved in anything. "What did you tell her?"

"It's nothing, Ryu." Gumi replied curtly. "Can you leave the room real quick? We gotta talk about grown-up stuff."

The boy seemed upset. "But I promise I won't tell anyone! Pleeeasse?"

"Ryuto, if you don't leave this room, I'll tell Lily to play Melee without you. You like playing with her, don't you?"

With a groan, he sulked out of the room, but not before shooting a reproachful glance back at his sister. When he was gone, Gumi turned to Lily sternly.

"First off, how much does he know about why I'm here?"

Lily inhaled sharply. She dreaded discussing this topic. "I told him that you hurt yourself. That's all I said."

Gumi seemed okay with that answer, but something was clearly bothering her. "He didn't ask any questions, did he?"

"It's Ryuto. Of course he did."

"So, what did you say?"

Lily sighed. "I don't know. I just said that you got cut really bad and that you needed to go to the hospital. Why, was there anything in particular you wanted me to tell him about all this?"

"No, no," Gumi said quickly, "he's just a kid. He's not ready to learn about this yet."

"Still, it's not good to keep this stuff a secret from him." Lily pulled up a chair from the corner of the room and sat down, scooting closer to the bed. "Christ, Megumi, why did you do it? I'm not mad at you or anything; far from it. I just want to know."

Gumi bit her lip, the mention of her full name letting her know just how uncharacteristically serious the blonde was. "I don't really know myself, honestly. Things aren't nearly as bad as they used to be, especially now that we're living together. I just...had an attack."

Lily rubbed her temples and gently put a hand over one of her girlfriend's bandaged ones. "This was...when I wasn't home, right?"

"It's not your fault," Gumi interjected quickly, and Lily nodded solemnly.

"I know, I know. It's just...god, we need to do something about this."

"I know."

"Is..." Lily hesitated before leaning closer. "Is there anything I can do at all? Anything Ryuto can do? Anything we can do together?"

Gumi was taken aback by the question. Was there anything? For a long time, she was convinced that there was nothing, but being with Lily had shown her that there were indeed others like her; others who struggled with anxiety the same way she did. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope. Maybe they could work something out.

"Well," Gumi began, "I think when we get home, we should have a long talk. All three of us. From now on, we're gonna be completely honest about it."

Lily blinked, but a slow smile began to creep across her face. "I like that. I like that very much."

"Guys?" said Ryuto, poking his head through the door. "Can I come in now?"

Lily and Gumi gave each other knowing looks, but without the strain and tension that had been present in the room beforehand. Then, gradually, they nodded.

"Of course."

Chapter Text

"How did you get that?" Gumi asked with wide, curious eyes, pointing to the jagged scar along Lily's shoulder. She trailed her finger over it lightly, running it down, down, down until it reached her similarly-scarred left hand.

"Oh, these babies?" Lily replied smugly, puffing out her chest in pride. "Oh, they're no big deal. This one dude was tryin' to fuck with me, so I beat the crap outta him. He nearly killed me when he stabbed me in the shoulder, but apparently he just missed an artery."

Gumi winced at the story, pressing a protective kiss over the scar. It was mostly faded, but she could still see the pattern of the knife when it slid into Lily's flesh, and it made her shudder to think of it. She kissed it again, snuggling closer into her girlfriend's arms.

"What about this one?" She gestured to Lily's hand with her eyes.

"That one's from the same fight. I punched him so hard I ended up breaking his nose. Unfortunately, punching someone in the nose almost always results in getting your hand broken, which I learned the hard way." The blonde blushed and reached up to rub the back of her head, but Gumi stopped her to examine the mark even closer.

"A-are you okay?" she asked nervously, causing Lily to chuckle.

"Of course I'm okay, babe. This happened, like, three years ago."

"I know, but..." She brought the hand up to her cheek, enjoying the rough, calloused texture. "I don't know, I just worry about you a lot."

Lily watched her keenly, a smile etching its way onto her face. "You don't have to worry about stuff like this anymore, hon. I haven't gotten into any fights like that in almost a year now."

"Yeah..." Gumi trailed off, cuddling deeper into the hand. She rubbed Lily's shoulder absentmindedly, letting her mind wander. "Have I ever told you how happy I am that you're alive?"

Lily snickered, wrapping a tired arm around the green-haired girl's waist. "Yes, and I feel the same way about you."

It was difficult to adjust to wearing short sleeves again. At first, Gumi thought she could make it through the hot summer without wearing anything that showed too much of her wrists, but the unbearable heat soon proved her wrong. She hated this time of year.

"You ready?" Lily asked, peeking into the room. Gumi looked up from the bed with a sigh, and the blonde immediately joined her.

"What shirt should I wear?" the shorter girl asked, frowning at the pair of T-shirts that lay before her. She didn't own much of them, for obvious reasons.

Lily's eyes immediately traveled down to the scars on Gumi's wrists. She frowned, gently running her hands over her arms, being careful not to accidentally rub the scars by mistake.

"Do you think people will notice?" Gumi asked again, anxiety creeping into her mind. "What should I do?"

"Honey, if anybody says anything about your scars, I'll personally beat the crap out of them." Lily cracked her knuckles for emphasis, but Gumi simply continued to stare down at her arms.

"I'm being serious."

"So am I. Hell, if somebody even LOOKS at you wrong, I'll kill 'em for you."

"Lily..." Gumi sighed once more, holding her wrists closer to her face. "It's not that I'm worried about them being mean or anything. I'm mostly just concerned that they'll ask me about them. People usually do."

"Well, then, they can mind their own business or fuck off, unless they want my foot in their ass." This time, the remark drew a slight chuckle from the green-haired girl, and she slowly relaxed to let Lily carefully run her thumb over some of the scars. The blonde kept shooting furtive glances down at her, her gaze asking for permission, and Gumi acquiesced every time.

"Hey," Lily finally said, breaking the silence, "your story is YOURS to tell, whether you want to or not. If strangers try to ask you about it without even getting to know you first, then they don't deserve an explanation."

Gumi leaned back, making a slight purring noise that reminded Lily of a cat. Slowly, the taller girl pulled her arms up and gave her wrists a gentle kiss.

"You're beautiful." she said, trailing her kisses up, up, up, until they reached her neck. Gumi let out a pleasurable hum.

"You're more beautiful."

"Nah, you are." A kiss to her cheek, soft and reassuring.

"Come here." Gumi whispered, pulling Lily's face closer for a proper kiss. It was warm and comforting, just like the lingering spring air as it faded into summer, which Gumi supposed she didn't hate as much as she used to after all.

They broke apart, smiling at each other. "You look good in both. Honestly, I'd just flip a coin."

Gumi rolled her eyes playfully. "Thank god I don't let you pick out my clothes."

Lily gave her an exaggerated, flirty wink, and they both finished getting dressed together.

Chapter Text

"According to all known laws of aviation-"

"Stop."

"-there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its-"

"Lily, I swear to god."

"-wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don't care what humans think is impossible."

Gumi gave her girlfriend an unamused look. "Are you done?"

Lily paused for a moment, as if to consider the question. Then, she shook her head. "Nah. Yellow, black, yellow, black, yellow, black-"

Gumi groaned loudly and put her hands over her ears. "Why do you insist on quoting the entire Bee Movie script while I'm trying to read?"

Lily shrugged. "'Cause it annoys you, and you're cute when you're annoyed. Also, books are for nerds. Therefore, you are a nerd, and it is my duty to bully you."

The shorter girl stuck out her tongue playfully. "Only a nerd would memorize the entire script to some weird American meme movie about bees."

Lily clasped her chest, feigning offense. "What the fuck did you just fucking say about me, you little bitch? I'll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals-"

Gumi slammed her book shut, looking up at the blonde in amazement. "Why do you know so many of these?"

"'Cause, unlike you, I enjoy the finer things in life." Lily smirked, gesturing down at the book in Gumi's hands. "While you were busy being a loser, I studied the blade."

"If by 'blade' you mean 'the art of being completely insufferable,' then I'm honestly not surprised." A faint smile threatened to cross the green-haired girl's lips despite her attempts to force it back. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were doing this for attention."

"Whaaaat? Me? Attention?" Again, Lily pretended to be hurt, not-so-subtly leaning her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talkin' about. I would never- I mean, really, how could you say something like that?"

Gumi rolled her eyes, but found herself absentmindedly running her fingers through Lily's long blonde hair. "Because I've known you for five years."

Lily hummed, pleased by the affectionate touches. "That's pretty gay, man."

"Both of us are gay, Lily. That's literally how you introduce yourself every time you walk into a room." She casually slid her hand down over Lily’s mouth, silencing her. “Now, hush. I’m trying to read.”

Lily mumbled something resentfully, but relaxed into Gumi's body, eyes scanning over the contents of the book. It was some sort of sci-fi novel.

Knew you were a nerd, she thought, and closed her eyes for a nap.

Chapter Text

Gumi didn't know how long she had been sitting there, staring at the wall with a blank look on her face. Her phone was still in her hand, the echoes of the call still ringing in her mind, and yet she felt nothing. There was nothing, really, to feel. She didn't even feel bad for not feeling at all; she just shut down, vaguely aware of her surroundings.

"Gumi?" Lily asked worriedly, opening the front door and stepping inside as quickly as possible. "Are you okay? I heard the news and tried to come home as quickly as possible, but I got-" She stopped, concern growing in her eyes.

Gumi looked at her briefly, then shrugged, her expression the same save for a slight furrowing in her brow. "I...don't know."

Lily grimaced and plopped down on the couch next to her, cautiously putting a hand on her shoulder. "Can you at least try to describe what's going through your head right now?" she asked encouragingly, running her hand up and down her arm.

The shorter girl frowned and tried to concentrate. "I mean...I know they're my parents and everything, but I just...don't really feel anything. It feels like I should, but I just can't."

Lily paused, choosing her words carefully. "That's perfectly understandable, hon. I mean, y'know..." She trailed off abruptly, mentally kicking herself. She wanted to at least address the subject matter, but she didn't want to cause her girlfriend any unnecessary anxiety. She should have thought this through while she was in the car instead of just blindly rushing home in a panic.

"No, no, it's fine," Gumi reassured her, "I don't really mind talking about it anymore. This is just the first major death in my family, so I don't have a lot of past experience to go on when it comes to reacting to this sort of thing. Then again, I guess what they did might have some kind of role to play in that."

Lily was surprised at how calm she was being. Normally, this topic was a sensitive one for her, but she supposed that being away from that environment for so many years must have had an impact on the way she viewed things. Still, she felt compelled to do something.

"Do you, like...need anything? 'Cause you know you can just say the word and I'll do it."

Gumi reflected, sighing and shaking her head. "No, not really. I guess I just wanna clear my head and try to process everything."

The blonde nodded, pulling her girlfriend closer and planting a kiss on her head. "Take as much time as you need, love. Sorry there's not much I can do."

"It's not your fault." Gumi finally felt a twinge of emotion pull at her heart. "If anything, it's their fault. They're the ones who fucked me up." She smiled a little, a faint, barely-present smile, but still a smile nonetheless. She kind of felt horrible for doing so; she had just been told that her parents were dead, and here she was cuddling her girlfriend and smiling. The grin disappeared almost as soon as it had come.

Lily sensed her distress and ran fingers through her emerald hair, whispering, "Shh, shh," and soon the shorter girl was clutching onto her tighter, her breath coming out in slow, shallow movements, swallowing back memories that she did not want to think about.

Gumi looked up, forcing herself upon another train of thought. "Does Ryuto know?"

Lily shrugged sadly. "If he didn't before, he probably does now. Schools are supposed to call you when this sorta thing happens. We should be getting a message to pick him up soon." She kissed Gumi's nose comfortingly before asking, "Wanna come with me to get him?"

The green-haired girl thought for a moment, then assented reluctantly. "Yeah. I don't want to be alone." The statement held two meanings, both of which Lily was able to easily pick up on. Aside from the fact that she simply wanted to be there for her younger brother, it was obvious to her why she didn't want to stay at home by herself after hearing such news.

"Then come on," Lily said softly, hefting Gumi up in her arms, "let's get going. You don't mind if I carry you to the car, right?"

Normally, Gumi didn't like to be carried around, but she felt like she needed it this time. She snuggled deeper into the taller girl's hold, murmuring a barely-audible, "Mhm."

Lily bent down gently, allowing Gumi to give her a soft kiss on the lips. It was brief, but she understood the meaning behind the gesture nonetheless; it was a grateful one.

"C'mon. Let's get going." she said, and they left the house together.

Chapter Text

"Lily, you have to wake up."

The blonde didn't even open her eyes, snuggling deeper into the pillow she had wrapped her arms around. "Mmm...nah."

Gumi frowned, unamused. "Come on, we have to take Ryuto to school."

"Can't you take him?" Lily mumbled. "I'm sure he can get by just fine without me."

The shorter girl huffed, a pout forming on the edge of her lips. "Lily Masuda, if you don't get up this instant, I'm going to-"

"Gonna what? Punish me?" This time, Lily did roll over, opening her eyes ever so slightly to give her girlfriend a coy look. "That's kinky."

Gumi's face immediately went red, and she spluttered hastily. "Well!! Um!! I mean, uh, yes? No?? You know that's not what I-"

Lily laughed, pulling the green-haired girl closer. "Chillax, hon. I was just messin' with ya." She yawned loudly and rolled over, taking Gumi with her. "Now, c'mon, lemme get back to sleep, yeah?"

Gumi grumbled and tried to get up, but Lily's strong grip was keeping her down. "Lilyyyy," she groaned, a soft giggle escaping her despite her efforts to hide it.

"Hmm? What was that? Couldn't hear ya over how cuddly you are, babe."

"Oh my goooddd," Gumi cooed, "you are such a dork."

"Not as dorky as you." Lily began pressing kisses to her girlfriend's forehead and face, earning happy squeals from the shorter girl. "You're really cute, y'know that?"

Gumi hummed and relaxed, snuggling deeper into Lily's embrace. "Oh, shush."

"Make me." the blonde dared, raising a sleepy eyebrow. Gumi rolled her eyes and kissed her, running her fingers through her long, messy hair. Lily returned the kiss, her hands trailing up and down her back in a soothing manner that reminded Gumi of just how tired she really was.

When they broke apart, both of their eyes were still closed. They cuddled together, blocking out the sunlight that was streaming through their windows.

"Now do ya see why I wanna sleep in?" Lily murmured, her voice soft and quiet. Gumi gave a faint chuckle and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I love you."

Lily grinned, inhaling the sweet scent of Gumi's hair, which was still slightly damp from the shower she had just taken earlier. "Love you too, sweetheart."

Chapter Text

Sometimes, you just need a hug. Gumi understood this all too well, having been deprived of them for so long until she met Miku and her friends, who showered her in affection and made her feel loved. She had always received hugs from her brother, of course, but having people outside of her family embrace her took some time to get used to before finally learning to appreciate them.

But Lily? Lily refused to accept hugs.

She preferred giving them over receiving them, which was fair, but it wasn't long after they first started getting to know each other that Gumi realized just how badly she needed one.

"I don't want no fuckin' hugs," she'd snap at anyone who tried to approach her, "I'm fine. I can handle myself."

And so, for a long time, Gumi would try to ignore the urge to wrap her arms around her, even though it was an urge she had never really had around anyone else before, and even though she could just tell that there was something she hated about herself, despite how terrible she was at reading people, and-

No. No, she did not have a crush on Lily. That would be ridiculous. She could just...relate to her a lot, that was all. No, Gumi most assuredly, absolutely, positively was not gay. Maybe. Probably.

So why did Lily's struggles regarding her own sexuality strike such a chord with her?

"I know I'm gay," she'd say, "that's just how it is on this bitch of an Earth. I'll steal your girl, I'll steal your mom, and I'll steal your sister, too."

But when nobody was around, she'd reveal a less confident side of herself that she didn't want others to see. So far, Gumi was the only person to see it.

"Bitchass punks," Lily would yell, punching the pillows on her bed in frustration, "fuckin' assholes can't handle the fact that there's a dyke in the room, is that it?! Lookin' at me as if they ain't never seen a girl who likes girls before, as if I'm some kinda foreign animal."

As far as Gumi knew, Lily was correct. Aside from their small group of friends, everybody else would pass judgmental glares at the blonde in the hallway, whispering things like, "Of course she's a lesbian. Have you seen her?" and "I heard she got it on with that Nekomura girl in the music room last year. Wish I coulda seen it."

Usually, Lily's responses to these comments would range from pretending to ignore them to just straight-up flipping somebody off. There was a varying level of shit she was willing to put up with, and some things were worse than others.

Gumi didn't know why she only decided to complain about it when she was around. Maybe she trusted her the most, for whatever reason. Regardless, Gumi tried her best to be there for her, even if she didn't exactly know how.

And that was why she asked her, albeit with a lot of awkward stammering, if she wanted a hug.

Instead of the usual fierce rebuttals that she offered to anyone else who asked, Lily tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

Gumi blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "I mean, I know you don't normally like them, but...um, well, I just thought..." She wanted to kick herself. "You don't have to if you don't want to. Sorry."

"No, no," Lily reassured her, holding up her hands, "I'm not mad at you or anything. Just...why?"

Gumi couldn't stop herself from saying what came out of her mouth next. "Because...I think I might like girls too." She looked away, ashamed, regretting the words the instant she said them. Was Lily going to take them the wrong way? Was she going to think that she had a crush on her? Was she being gross and predatory? Oh god oh god oh god oh-

She froze, feeling the blonde's eyes boring into her in a mixture of shock and disbelief. She glanced up nervously, but her expression was far from disgust or apprehension. Instead, she looked...happy?

"Oh my god," Lily said, a wide smile growing across her face, "oh my god, really??"

"I think so," Gumi responded, a bit bolder, "I tried dating guys before, but I could never really feel anything for them, so I just sorta...stopped. And I think I like girls. Maybe. I don't know, I've never dated any before."

"Dude," Lily's face sudddenly grew serious. "Has anybody given you shit for it? Because I swear to god, if they did, I'll-"

"No," the shorter girl interrupted hastily, "you're the first person I've ever told about this. I just thought maybe you'd like a hug from somebody you can relate to better...? Sorry if I'm being weird."

"You're not being weird at all, hon," said Lily comfortingly, "and it's not that I don't accept hugs from people I can't relate to. I don't really like 'em in general."

Gumi's heart sank. "Oh."

"But," Lily put a hand over Gumi's suddenly. "We can still try. You alright with that?"

Gumi swallowed hard. It was just a hug. Why was she getting so nervous? She nodded, awkwardly holding out her arms for an embrace and wrapping them gently around the taller girl.

To her surprise, Lily was quick to reciprocate, her strong arms holding her just tightly enough to be secure but just gentle enough to be reassuring. It was safe, Gumi decided. She felt safe.

Lily exhaled through her nose, relaxing into the hug. It was easier than she expected, probably because the other's grip was soft and light. For the briefest of moments, she thought it was kinda cute, but she hurriedly shoved that notion aside. Gumi was her friend. Besides, what were the chances of the two of them getting together? Practically none, she thought with a grimace. But...

The hug was nice.

Chapter Text

Gumi looked peaceful when she was asleep.

It was one of the few times that Lily got to see her when she was truly relaxed. When she slept, all the worry lines and anxiety left her face. It was a beautiful, if rare, sight, and Lily cherished it greatly.

Sometimes, if only for a moment, she would see a smile flicker across Gumi's face. Whether that was because she was secretly awake or because she was having a nice dream, Lily didn't know, but she liked to assume that it was the latter. She wished she could enter that dream world and see what was making her so happy, and hopefully join in on some of the fun.

Little did she know, of course, that Gumi was dreaming about her.

Gumi knew that Lily would probably try to deny it, but goddammit, she was cute when she slept.

The blonde wasn't normally one to accept compliments that she considered to be "feminine" in nature (though Gumi didn't understand why this was so; didn't straight girls call guys cute all the time?), but the way she would attempt to refute them was utterly adorable. She'd get all flustered and try to put on a gruff exterior, which would ultimately fail due to her blushing face and very, very faint smile.

So, Gumi kept the secret of her cuteness while she was sleeping to herself. It was a moment in time that perfectly encapsulated everything she felt represented Lily: the soft side that tried to hide from everyone except her. If anyone besides Gumi tried to get Lily to "open up" about her feelings, she'd probably punch them in the face. But when she was asleep, she had no problem reverting back to her more natural, cuddly state.

Gumi had no trouble going to sleep when she studied that slumbering face.

Chapter Text

"Alright, I'm done!" Lily said proudly, holding up her drawing. "Ta-da! Whaddaya think?"

Gumi stared at the piece of paper, blinking in confusion. "...Who's that?"

Lily smiled widely. "It's you, duh! Look, see? I gave you green hair." She pointed at the stick figure she had drawn, where haphazardly-scribbled green stripes ran down from its head to its shoulders.

"Oh!" Gumi exclaimed, her face brightening up. "Aww, that's really sweet! But, um..." She leaned a bit closer. "What is that in my hand?"

"That's a carrot," said Lily, snickering. "Y'know, 'cause you look like a carrot?"

"I do?" Gumi looked down at her orange sweater. "Hmm...I don't really see it, but that's a really cute drawing, Lily. Thank you."

The blonde beamed, clearly excited by the praise. It was one of those moments where the word "adorable" would have been an understatement, in Gumi's opinion, but she kept it to herself (though she did chuckle at the thought).

"Actually, it's funny that you ended up drawing me, because..." She trailed off, reaching for her own piece of paper. "I drew you, too!"

Lily gasped, her eyes widening at the drawing that she was presented with. Gumi was clearly self-conscious about it, but she held it up nonetheless. It was sketchy and dotted with eraser shavings, but it clearly had a lot of effort put into it.

"Oh my GOD," Lily finally said, "it's fucking amazing!"

"Are you sure?" Gumi asked, nervousness shining in her eyes. "The anatomy is really bad and the lines aren't even finished yet and-"

"Goom, to be perfectly honest, I have no fucking clue what any of that stuff means, so I don't care. You could draw me getting violently murdered by a pack of bears, and I would love it."

The shorter girl heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I was worried you were gonna hate it."

Lily looked taken aback. "Why would I hate it? Honestly, I'm surprised you don't hate mine. Yours is better."

"No, it's not!" Gumi protested.

"Yeah, it is."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh. Wanna fight?" Lily got into a mock battle stance. "Square up, scrublord, I'm ripped."

The green-haired girl laughed, resting her head on her girlfriend's shoulder. "Yes, you are, but you're a loser and I love you."

Suddenly, Lily pulled her close, ruffling her hair playfully. "Oh, I'm a loser, am I? Well, this loser could totally crush you with her bare hands."

Gumi couldn't stop a smirk from pulling at her lips. "I'd like to see you try."

Lily wrapped her in a crushing hug, drawing out high-pitched laughter from the both of them. She spun around, lifting Gumi up as she did so. They collapsed onto the couch together, still holding each other and giggling hysterically.

"That was pretty gay," Gumi mumbled, stealing a quick kiss to Lily's nose.

"Oh, like you're one to talk." The blonde rolled her eyes, relaxing into the impromptu snuggle pile they had just created. On the table, their drawings had landed in a similar position.

Chapter Text

"This is so unfair," Lily muttered through gritted teeth, tightening her grip on the GameCube controller.

"Life is unfair." Gumi stated with a shrug, absentmindedly popping a baby carrot into her mouth. She casually tapped at a few buttons and moved her joystick, smirking as Sheik performed her up smash. Lily groaned loudly, the force of the blow causing Samus to fly off-screen.

"No, like, this doesn't make any sense! You're a ninja, but I'm a fuckin' space bounty hunter with cybernetic armor. Realistically, I should be able to tear you apart."

Gumi grinned, a faint devious grin that only grew wider as the victory screen popped up. "Well, maybe if you thought ahead instead of charging wildly into battle, then maybe you'd have a realistic chance at beating me. Just saying."

Lily shuddered. "Jesus, you do realize you're just talking about a video game, right?"

"A video game that I have been consistently beating you in for the past two hours, yes." Under normal circumstances, Gumi was never this smug, but Smash Bros. seemed to bring out a side of her that was almost cruel in its unmerciful ass-whooping prowess. It was kind of hot, but Lily would never admit that.

"Yeah, yeah, keep laughin'. Maybe I'll play as Sheik this time, beat you at your own game."

Gumi uttered a slow chuckle that reminded Lily of a smug anime girl. "Whatever you say." She ate another carrot, munching happily. Her oversized pajamas made look deceptively adorable, but the blonde knew deep down that behind that cuddly exterior was a cold, calculating brain that was only ever unleashed during the most vicious video game sessions. God, Lily wanted to kiss her. In fact, the urge to do so was becoming so predominant in her mind that she did a comically exaggerated yawn and not-so-subtly put an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders.

"Y'know, you're pretty good at this," she said, "but I think I know something that I can beat you at."

Gumi, still cocky from her victory, shot a smirk back at her. "Oh, yeah? And what's that, dear?"

Lily leaned in closer, a sly smile on her face. The shorter girl moved forward as well, obviously anticipating a kiss, but was suddenly caught off-guard by a surprise tickle attack. She reared back, laughter bursting from her lips as Lily continued tickling her stomach without mercy.

"Catchin' you off-guard," she retorted matter-of-factly, "Now, say 'Lily is the best at Smash.'"

"Y-you-" Gumi stammered between giggles, "you can't do that! That's cheating!" She laughed harder, tears of mirth welling up in her eyes.

"Oops," Lily said, tickling harder. Gumi was gasping in delight, trying to writhe away so she could speak clearer.

"Okay, okay!" she spluttered. "Lily is the best at Smash!" She let out another uncontrollable bout of laughter before the tickling stopped, and she sighed in relief. Lily pressed a soft kiss to her lips and wrapped her arms around her.

"Theeere we go!" she encouraged, a devilish lilt in her voice. "See, was that so hard?"

The green-haired girl rolled her eyes tiredly, snuggling deeper into her lover's arms. "You are so mean sometimes. You're lucky I'm too exhausted to get you back for this."

Lily feigned offense. "Well, excuuuuse me, princess. I was just defending my honor. You were taunting me, after all."

Gumi hummed and slid another carrot into her mouth. "Oh, whatever." She rolled over, pressing her nose against Lily's. "Now I'm all sleepy. Thanks a lot."

"So, I guess you could say..." The taller girl raised an eyebrow. "I win?"

Gumi closed her eyes, kissing Lily's soft smile. "I guess, if that's how you want to put it."

The blonde felt a surge of triumph before she pulled her girlfriend closer, joining her in her nap.

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, there lived a princess with hair that shone like the most brilliant emeralds. She lived in a dark, gloomy castle where no one would ever acknowledge her, not even the servants. Despite the fact that she was supposed to be the next ruler of the land, the king and queen never bothered to give her any sort of training that would prepare her for her duty. Thus, the Emerald Princess lived sad and alone inside her castle, with only her younger brother to keep her company.

Meanwhile, in the king and queen's royal guard, there existed a brave and fearsome knight with flowing locks of gold that would have made Rapunzel jealous. Her skills in combat would have been something to behold, if not for the fact that she was rarely allowed to participate in battles.

"Women cannot be knights," the captain of the guard would say to her, "You are lucky to even be allowed in this guard. Do not protest, for I could simply snap my fingers and have your head removed for your insolence."

And so it was that the knight and the princess ended up bonding through unexpected circumstances. One day, while idly patrolling the courtyard, the Knight of Gold saw the Emerald Princess and her brother attempting to sneak away.

"Halt!" the Knight of Gold said, rushing after her. "Are you not the Emerald Princess, heir to this land? You are forbidden to leave the castle by orders of the king and queen!"

But the princess did not show any emotion upon being told these words. She said, "The king and queen are wicked. They have put my brother and I through countless nights of abuse and neglect. I am sure that they would not care if I were to disappear."

The Knight of Gold was horrified by the tale that the Emerald Princess relayed to her. Due to the discrimination that she faced on a daily basis, she could most certainly relate to the princess' feelings. She had been beaten, harrassed, and degraded in a similar fashion; thus, she felt a strong connection to the princess.

"I will help you escape," said the Knight of Gold, leaning down to pat the princess' brother on the head, "and then, we shall run away together and be free. I swear it on the knighthood that I was granted."

The Emerald Princess was taken aback by the knight's kindness, having never been shown any sort of affection save for that of her younger brother. She did not know love outside of the familial sense, and even in that area her knowledge was limited. The tenderness in the knight's voice made her heart feel light and warm.

"But what are we to do?" chirped the Young Prince. "The king and queen's guards will surely try to stop us."

The Knight of Gold put her hand to her chin in thought, but the Emerald Princess raised her hand timidly. "I think I have an idea..."

And so, when night fell upon the land, the Knight of Gold volunteered to patrol the castle halls near the princess' room. Under this pretense, she told the princess and the prince how to navigate past the rest of her fellow guards and escape into the wide Forest of Plenty, where a kind group of fairies lived together in harmony and helped all who came in peace. These fairies seldom appeared to humans, but the Emerald Princess had a feeling that they would take pity on them and welcome them into their tribe.

As the trio crept through the castle, dodging guards and slipping through narrow corridors, the Young Prince seemed suddenly alert. "We must hide!" he whispered quickly. "I sense a dragon is nearby, waiting to devour us whole!"

But the princess and the knight shook their heads. The Young Prince was obviously lost in a world of childish delusions, they concluded. There were no such things as dragons.

But then, all of a sudden, a loud rumbling shook the ground that they tread upon. They looked around and gasped in surprise; crawling toward them with ferocious snarls were not one, but TWO dragons, with fangs of pointed ivory and scales of deep jade.

"My word!" cried the Knight of Gold in horror. "What are these foul beasts doing in the castle?!"

But the prince and the princess knew perfectly well who these dragons were. They could recognize their eyes, welled with hatred and bloodlust; they were none other than the king and queen, whose black hearts had transformed them into evil monsters. Thankfully, the hearts of their children were pure, and thus untainted by this curse, but the darkness inside the rulers was unrelenting and unmerciful.

"I'll fight them!" the knight proclaimed, drawing her noble blade. "You must take cover!"

But the prince and the princess were fed up with the king and queen's lies and mistreatment. They swore to stand by the Knight of Gold's side, and prepared for a fight.

The dragons roared angrily, ready to tear the three rebels apart, but they would soon find that this would not be so easy. The trio scattered in different directions, confusing the dragons and causing them to let out fiery breaths of rage.

Each of the three ducked quickly behind cover, and the Emerald Princess soon retrieved a sword from one of the displays on the wall. The knight and the princess charged at the dragons, the Young Prince being ordered to stay behind due to his tender age.

As the Knight of Gold tackled one dragon, the princess tackled another, and the two fought valiantly. They sank their blades in wherever they could, though the knight chose to go for a full-on offensive strategy. The princess, on the other hand, fought with precision and elegance. The two made a wonderful team.

However, before they could deal their finishing blows, one of the dragons snatched the Young Prince from his hiding spot. The princess and the knight gasped, dropping their weapons in surrender. Unfortunately, the dragons did not let the prince go.

Then, when all seemed lost, a brilliant glow began to illuminate the room. The dragons stopped, allowing the Young Prince to slip out of their grasp. Through the window came the group of fairies, lead by a small maiden of radiant turquoise.

"Fear not," said the Turquoise Fairy, "for we have come to aid you in your quest for freedom. It is our duty as fairies to rid this world of evil dragons like these."

Using their magic, the fairies paralyzed the dragons, rendering them unable to fight back. The knight and the princess nodded at each other and drew their swords, and with a synchronized swipe, they chopped off the heads of the evil tyrants once and for all.

The members of the royal guard came bursting into the room, having been too cowardly to fight the dragons on their own. "We thank you so much!" they said to the knight and the princess. "If it wasn't for you, we surely would have been goners!"

The pair looked around for the fairies, but they were gone, seemingly leaving no trace of their presence. The head of the royal guard approached the Knight of Gold, bowing in deference.

"My fair lady, you have earned the right to take my place as the head of the guard. Will you please accept my offer?"

But the Knight of Gold did not feel any pity for the man who had oppressed her for so long. "With all due respect, my dear captain," she said smugly, "you can kindly fuck off."

And so, the knight, the princess, and the prince ran away together, where they all lived happily ever after.

Chapter Text

Lily practically kicked the door open, holding her phone high up in the air. "GUMI, HOLY FUCK!"

Gumi jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the bowl she was washing. "Jesus, Lily!" she said, inhaling sharply. "What is it?!"

The blonde grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "Ahh, sorry, it's just...oh my FUCKING GOD, they just announced the new Pokémon game!!" She pulled up the commercial on her phone, practically bouncing in place as she did so.

Gumi, who was still recovering from the shock, managed a faint smile as she watched the ad. "Aww, it looks really cute." she said appreciatively.

"YOU'RE GODDAMN RIGHT, IT'S FUCKING ADORABLE AS HELL!" Lily practically squealed, pausing the video on a scene of Eevee wearing glasses. "SEE THIS MOTHERFUCKER RIGHT HERE?? THAT BITCH IS MINE!!"

Gumi laughed at her girlfriend's enthusiasm. "Well, that looks really awesome, sweetie. I can't wait to play it."

Lily stopped, a tinge of red staining her cheeks. "Uhh...yeahhhh...about that..."

The green-haired girl tilted her head, a stern look crossing her face. "What?"

"Um...well, it's for the Nintendo Switch." Lily pointedly avoided Gumi's gaze, digging her foot into the ground. "And...we don't have one."

Gumi groaned and shook her head. "Look, Lily, I'm sorry, but we just can't afford a Switch. And even if we could, it would be more responsible to spend that money on something more useful."

"Ohhh, come on!" Lily begged. "Pleeeeease?? I can save money and everything!!"

But the shorter girl continued to refuse. "Sorry, but you know we're kind of in a tight spot right now. We have to focus on the essentials."

Lily frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Oh, yeah? And what if a game YOU really wanted was announced for the Switch, huh? Then what?"

Gumi rolled her eyes. "Please. You know as well as I do that the only game I care about is Melee, and no game Nintendo could possibly announce could ever come close to-"

"LILY, OH MY GOD!!"

The blonde yawned sleepily as she poured out a cup of coffee for the morning. "Yeah, what is it, babe?"

Gumi was pacing up and down the room, a habit she normally did whenever she was excited and had a lot to say. "The new Smash game looks amazing!! They're bringing back all sorts of old characters and adding in new ones and they're FINALLY bringing in Ripley and they made Samus look SO HOT and the graphics and art style are GORGEOUS and-"

Lily chuckled as her girlfriend continued infodumping. She always enjoyed hearing her ramble about her hyperfixations, even if she never quite understood them. She learned very early on after meeting her for the first time that once she started talking about a special interest, she could keep going for a LONG time.

"-and that's why Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is actually going to be the BEST game in the entire Super Smash Bros. franchise!" Gumi concluded, waving her hands wildly to emphasize her point. She looked at Lily eagerly, her gaze probing her for her opinion.

"That sounds rad as fuck, Goom!" the blonde responded. "So, when's it coming out?"

"December 7th!" she responded promptly. "Ahhhh, I'm so excited! I wanna play it so bad!"

Lily smiled, happy to join in on the fun, but a sudden thought occurred to her that made her pause. "Hey, wait...what's this game for? Like, what console?"

Gumi beamed proudly, ready to answer the question, but her voice deflated halfway through her statement. "Oh, it's for the...Nintendo...Switch..."

"Oh." They stared at each other awkwardly, unsure how to proceed with the conversation. One thing was quite clear, though: they were both dying inside.

"...Lily?"

"Yeah?"

Gumi sighed and spread out her arms, defeated. "I guess we're saving money for a Switch after all."

Despite the situation, Lily grinned smugly. "I knew you'd see it my way."

Chapter Text

Gumi relaxed into Lily's grip as she gently guided her hands over the guitar strings, showing her the proper way to position her fingers. It was a bit difficult to get the hang of on her own, so she was grateful for the assistance, especially since Lily was more experienced when it came to playing the guitar.

"Alright, so what you wanna do is hold it against your stomach," the blonde instructed, pulling the instrument (and, by extension, Gumi) a little closer, "and keep your back straight."

Gumi couldn't stop herself from flushing as Lily leaned in closer to control her movements, their heads extremely close. She prayed to whatever gods there were that her nervous state wasn't so easily noticeable.

"Then, just put your arm here," Lily continued, moving the shorter girl's arm over the wide body of the guitar, "and your left hand behind the neck."

Gumi obeyed, swallowing back her excitement. She felt like she was lost in unknown territory and Lily was her guide, showing her how to navigate through the dark forests and foreign lands. ...Okay, maybe it wasn't that deep. Still, she enjoyed letting her girlfriend run her hands over her arms, teaching her how to hold and play the instrument.

"You doin' okay?" Lily asked gently. When Gumi nodded, she gave her a rewarding kiss on the side of her head. "Atta girl. Now, all you gotta do is just move your right hand here-" -she moved it above the hole in the center of the guitar's body- "-and your fingers juuuust below the fret here. There you go! Lookin' good!"

Gumi smiled at the praise, eager to get started with the actual lesson. "So, how do I actually play?"

The taller girl snickered. "Hold on, now, it ain't that easy. You gotta learn about the actual parts of the guitar first."

Despite herself, Gumi couldn't help but let out a small sigh of impatience. However, her complaints quickly ceased when Lily pressed a kiss to her ear, whispering, "Don't worry, we're almost there. It shouldn't take long."

And just like that, Gumi let her keep going, content with the feeling of hands on hers.

"Fuuuuck, this is so fuckin' difficult. How do you get the hang of this?" Lily grumbled, examining the mess of clockwork that was sprawled out before her. She had always been impressed by Gumi's ability to take machines apart, fix them, and put them back together, so she had asked her to show her how she did it. Unfortunately, despite the green-haired girl's claim that clocks were the easiest to start on, she had no idea what the fuck she was doing.

"Well, it's easier once you know all the parts!" Gumi chirped, clapping her hands together excitedly. "So, you see this long coil thing right here? That's called the mainspring, and it's what powers the watch! It stores energy when you wind it up to adjust the time."

Lily didn't wear watches, but she was pretty sure that nobody wound them up anymore. Regardless, it was kind of cute to see Gumi explain everything just due to how invested she got into her own words.

"So, there are these little rubies that are put inside the clock to keep the metal from wearing down due to friction, though in some watches they're sapphires instead but they pretty much serve the same purpose and then there's this little group of springs and gears called the 'escapement' that-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, babe," Lily said sheepishly, "I love hearing you get all excited, but it's hard for me to keep track of what you're saying. Can you go a bit slower, please?"

Gumi blushed and rubbed the back of her head. "Ahh, sorry...how about you just point to a part and I'll just tell you what it does?"

Lily stared down at the mechanical menagerie on the table before pointing to a random spring. "What's this for?"

The shorter girl smiled and lifted it up for emphasis. "This is the balance spring, and it helps to control the speed of the gears and the mainspring."

"And this?" Lily asked, gesturing to a small pin.

"That's the crown. It's the part that you wind up to adjust the time."

Lily nodded, gazing at all the parts with a bit more understanding. She grabbed a gear at random, glancing over at the watch that Gumi had already reassembled twice.

"In that case...I think this goes here, right?" she proclaimed confidently, attaching it to a random part of the watch.

Gumi winced. "Um...no."

"...Fuck it, then." Lily lifted up her arms with a shrug. "Guess I'll die."

Gumi laughed, removing the gear from where it was positioned. "Oh, stop. You at least made an effort to understand, and that's all that matters."

The blonde grinned faintly. "I liked seein' you get all passionate about this machine stuff. Wanted to give it a try."

Gumi gave her a kiss on the cheek, rubbing the top of her head playfully. "And you get an A for effort. Now, just watch me, and maybe you'll pick up some tips."

And so, Lily watched as attentively as she could as Gumi put all the parts in their proper places, explaining away as she did so. Although she didn't get it, she had to admit it was one of the most interesting things she had seen all day.

Chapter Text

The phrase "I need you" had many meanings.

Sometimes, it was a casual way of beckoning the other over. "I need you to help me fix this" or "I need you to get me that" was the most innocuous use of the words, and neither of them thought much of it.

Sometimes, it was a bit more personal. On gloomy days, they would cuddle against each other for comfort, crying into the other's shoulder or just venting about their problems.

"I'm sorry," Gumi would whisper, burying her face into Lily's hair, "I just really need this right now."

"Don't be sorry," Lily would respond, "I totally get it, love."

On days where it was the other way around, Lily would hold Gumi close, sniffling loudly and trying to choke back tears.

"It's okay," the shorter girl would say reassuringly, "I won't think less of you for crying. Everybody does it."

And Lily would sob, mumbling cries of, "I need...I need..." before cutting herself off with more tears. It was a side of herself that she vowed never to show to anyone, but with Gumi she knew what she truly needed: to release that side, to let herself be vulnerable every now and again.

Of course, on other occasions, the phrase "I need you" took on a more suggestive connotation. Sometimes it was whispered huskily against soft lips or pleaded in desperate, primal passion.

"Fuck, babe, I need you," Lily would growl, soft teeth grazing her girlfriend's bottom lip. It was a sentence often spoken when they lost themselves in kisses, peppering them down upon each other's lips like it was the last time they'd ever see each other.

"Lily, please, I need you," Gumi would gasp, hanging onto the taller girl's shoulders for support as she was held up against a wall. It was a mixture between a request and demand, raw instinct taking over her consciousness and controlling all of her movements.

And so, there was no set meaning for the words "I need you" in their house, because they needed each other in a variety of ways every single day.

Chapter Text

Gumi wasn't sure what was hotter; the weather, or Lily right now.

She was doing this to tease her, she fucking knew it. They were washing the car together, and of course Lily just had to wear that tank top that clung to her body and showed off her strong, muscular arms and her toned stomach and-

"Yo, Goom, you okay?" the blonde asked, snapping her out of her daze. "You seem like you're thinkin' about somethin'."

"I'm fine!" Gumi lied, trying to tear her eyes back to the task at hand. "It's just...really hot out here, that's all!"

Lily shrugged. "Meh, it'll get cooler as we go. We are workin' with water, after all."

Gumi nodded, dipping her sponge in the soapy bucket that they had filled up. Normally, this would have been a mundane task, but doing it together not only made it more tolerable, but also more entertaining.

Gumi bit her lip, trying to focus. It was rather slippery work, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the feeling, even if she had to wear short sleeves. Luckily, there was no one else around to see her scars.

"Hey, can you help me out with this?" Lily asked, gesturing her girlfriend over. Gumi nodded, approaching her with sponge in hand, only to be surprised by a sudden spray of water from the hose. "Oops." she said innocently, a devious smile at the edge of her lips.

Gumi rolled her eyes. "Haha, very funny. I've been ambushed."

Despite herself, Lily couldn't stop an immature giggle from escaping her. "Oh, come on. This isn't the first time I've made you wet."

The shorter girl flushed a bright red, charging at Lily with her sponge. "I swear to god, you're gonna pay for this!"

The blonde grinned as the water fight commenced, the two of them laughing and assaulting each other with whatever water source they could find. By the time they had ceased, practically delirious with laughter, the car was drier than them.

"Hey!" said Ryuto, leaning out of the doorway. "Why didn't you guys tell me you were playing in the water? No fair!"

The couple recovered from their little battle, completely covered in water and soap. "Oh, go back inside, Ryu. We're doing grown-up stuff." Gumi said, wringing out her hair.

"But I wanna join!" the boy repeated, staring up at them with wide, pleading eyes. "Pleeeease?"

Lily and Gumi looked at each other and exchanged smirks. Gumi picked up the bucket, still somewhat filled, and Lily picked the hose up once more.

"Alright," said Lily menacingly, starting up the hose, "you can join...if you can escape our combined might!"

The air was filled with laughter that afternoon as they played together in the sunshine.

Chapter Text

"Gumi...I'm dying..." Lily wheezed, reaching her arm up shakily, "Tell my wife...I love her..."

Gumi folded her arms, unamused. "Lily, I'm your wife."

"My point still stands!" the blonde cried, flopping onto her pillow in defeat. "Anyway, I recommend you save yourself before the infection catches you too..."

"It's just a cold. I think I'll be fine." Gumi held out a water bottle to her in one hand and two pills in the other. "Now, take these. They should help."

Lily turned away stubbornly. "No thanks. You know as well as I do that I've never been a fan of swallowing big things."

The shorter girl sighed. "That one was terrible, even for you."

Lily shrugged. "Meh, I'm sick. Gimme a break."

"Sorry, no can do. You are going to take this medicine and then you're gonna thank me later." Gumi tapped her foot, inching closer. She was on a mission, and nothing would stop her.

"Fuckin' fight me."

That did it. Gumi crawled onto the bed and sat on Lily's lap, looking her directly in the eyes. "I swear to god, if you don't self-care this instant..."

"Oh, alright, alright," Lily conceded, leaning down to the hand that held the medicine, "if you insist." Slowly, playfully, she kissed the palm of Gumi's hand, her tongue deftly sweeping up both pills. She pulled away and stuck it out, proudly displaying her catch, before swallowing with a smirk.

Gumi was unimpressed, but she let out a slight chuckle. "Showoff."

"What can I say? I'm good with my tongue."

The green-haired girl groaned, rubbing her forehead. "At least that one was slightly better than the first one. Now, come on, at least drink some water."

This time, Lily obeyed without question.

"Gumi, you're not seriously going to work in this condition, are you?" Lily demanded, frowning at the half-dressed girl in front of her. "You're sick!"

"I'm fine," Gumi lied, pulling on a shirt, "it's just a sore throat, that's all."

"Babe, your temperature was higher than Yuuma on a Friday night. You're stayin' at home."

Gumi opened her mouth to retaliate, but a sudden pain in her head made her wince and lie down on the bed. She weakly struggled to get up, but found the soft warmth of the mattress too overpowering to withstand.

"I can...get up..." she stammered, trying and failing to get to her feet, "just...wait a second..."

"Yeah, no. Sorry, babe, but you're sick and need rest."

"No!" Gumi rolled over onto her side. "I can do it, I swear!"

"Nuh-uh. You are not leaving this house until you're feelin' fresh as a goddamn daisy."

"But..." The shorter girl rubbed at her arms anxiously. "But I can't miss a day! What if my boss gets mad at me?"

"Honey, it's just one day. Everybody calls in sick at some point or another. 'Sides, you're already super hardworking; I'm sure nobody will mind."

Gumi huffed, biting her lip in frustration. Lily smiled and got down on the bed beside her, kissing her forehead.

"Look on the bright side. At least you get to spend all day with me, your favorite person in the entire world."

Gumi rolled her eyes, though she was suppressing a faint grin of her own. "Oh, joy. I can't wait."

"That's the spirit. Now, get your ass under those covers and prepare yourself for the best motherfucking sick day ever." Lily pumped her fist in the air, and for a moment Gumi wondered if her enthusiasm was what was really infecting her.

"Oh, alright. But you better be prepared to make it up to me if I suddenly do feel better and you just kept me from work all day."

"Sickness doesn't work like that, babe."

"Oh, yeah? Are you a doctor?"

"As a matter of fact, I am," Lily said, puffing out her chest, "I'm a love doctor, baby."

"...I hate you so much."

"Glad to know the room is already filled with positive vibes."

Chapter Text

Lily hummed as Gumi's warm, comforting touch ran along her arms and back, gentle kisses pressing against her collarbone. It was a nice surprise to come home to something like this, even if she felt really gross and sweaty from all the hard work she had done that day.

"Shit, babe," she muttered, "you didn't have to do this for me, really. I'm a total mess right now."

"Oh, you're always a mess." Gumi replied, reaching over to the table. "Now, hush. I spent all day preparing this."

She grabbed an apple slice from the plate in front of them and gently dipped it in honey, offering it up to Lily sweetly. The blonde couldn't resist the smell; she took a bite almost immediately and relished the delectable flavor.

"Mmm, oh my fucking god," she said, "did you put honey in everything?" She gestured to the food on the table while sipping at the sweet tea that she was holding.

Gumi smiled, and she looked so goddamn proud of herself that Lily couldn't help feeling her own surge of happiness for her. "Yep! I knew it was your favorite, so I thought I'd make things that revolve around them." She picked up the freshly-baked bread that she had made, and the scent nearly drove Lily wild.

"I'm just gonna take a wild guess and say you baked this wiiiith...weed."

Gumi rolled her eyes. "Must you ruin every moment?"

"Nah, the moment ain't ruined. I got you right here with me, don't I?" With that, Lily leaned in, kissing her girlfriend gratefully and tasting the honey on her lips. In her opinion, it was the most delicious thing of all.

Gumi sighed, letting Lily's warm embrace shield her from the stress and anxiety of the day. There was something heavenly about the way the taller girl's arms wrapped around her, the way she whispered soft reassurances in her ear, the way she trailed her lips up and down her neck gently.

"Just relax, sweetheart," Lily murmured, "I gotcha. Long day, huh?"

"Mhm..." Gumi responded, her head too clouded by bliss to speak properly. She snuggled deeper into Lily's arms, shuddering slightly at the kiss that was planted lower as a result.

"Well, don't you worry about none'a that now. We're here, and we're safe."

Gumi sighed through her nose, enjoying the feeling of hands rubbing up and down her sides. Lily knew exactly what she wanted after a tiring day like this one. She rolled her head over so the blonde could kiss her cheek.

"You're wonderful," Gumi breathed, loving the lips that grazed the side of her mouth.

"Yeah, but so are you."

The green-haired girl moaned, trying to turn around so she could feel those lips on hers. "You're so sweet."

"You're sweeter," Lily teased, deliberately avoiding Gumi's mouth, "and cuter."

"Lilyyyy," Gumi whined, squirming to get closer. The taller girl grinned, finally kissing her where she wanted it the most. Gumi smiled into the kiss, letting the sensation carry her away to better places.

When they broke apart, Lily smirked, running a hand through Gumi's emerald hair. "Did you know that you're the best girlfriend ever?"

"I swear, if you start this argument again-"

"I'm not arguing. I'm just stating a fact."

"You're a loser, but you're also the best girlfriend ever." Gumi concluded, nuzzling Lily's head with her own.

The taller girl grinned. "Whatever you say, princess."

Chapter Text

Gumi hated shopping with a burning, fiery passion.

No matter where they were or who she was with, shopping always took much longer than it needed to. If they had to pick up one or two things from, say, the grocery store, Lily would spend hours upon hours contemplating whether or not she should get this or that. It was complete and utter agony.

She hated the mall most of all. With so many stores and so many people, it was hell on her anxiety. While Lily had anxiety as well, it was different from Gumi's in the sense that she could handle large crowds of people unless she had to talk to somebody. As a result, she could stay in the mall as long as she wanted and only got nervous when having to pay for her purchases because, holy shit, there was somebody looking at her and expecting things from her.

So, really, even though she hated shopping, Gumi would often tag along just to provide emotional support, which she was graciously offered in turn. Their anxieties weren't as bad when they faced them together, even if they wound up being there for a long time. They took great care to stay with one another, as both of them hated being alone in times like these.

...Of course, that didn't mean Gumi was okay with just standing there and staring at the same goddamn aisle for twenty minutes.

"I, like, wanna ask for help, but I don't wanna come across as weird, y'know?" Lily stammered nervously, eyeing the shelves in front of her. "What if the thing I'm looking for was right here the whole time and I'm just bein' stupid and can't see it? Like when you lose stuff and look all over the place for it only to find it was right in front of you the whole time?"

"They probably just don't have it, Lil. We've looked all over the store by now."

Lily ran her fingers together nervously with a sigh. "I know, but..."

Gumi put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We can always look somewhere else."

Lily groaned, rolling her head back exaggeratedly. "Fiiiiine."

Of course, as soon as they left, another customer walked up to the aisle and bought the exact item that they were just searching for.

Chapter Text

Personally, Gumi thought she was hilarious, getting Lily lilies. It was such a brilliant play on words that she knew her girlfriend would appreciate. Gumi didn't normally like to pat herself on the back, but she had to admit the sheer genius of her plan.

...If only the object of her affection was anywhere but the very same flower shop where she was making her purchase.

Gumi darted into the nearest aisle, hoping furiously that she hadn't been spotted. How the hell was she going to buy these flowers now?? She couldn't, not now, not here, not when the person she was buying flowers for was in the store.

Get it together, Gumi, she thought to herself, you can do this. You just have to be stealthy.

So, as the Mission Impossible theme played in her head, she cautiously peered between the shelves and watched Lily walk over to another aisle. Slowly, carefully, she crept out, trying not to make a fool of herself as she walked with the quietest footsteps she could muster. So far, so good.

She spotted her prize not too far ahead: freshly-bloomed lilies, seemingly shining in the light cast by the large windows. The yellow ones in particular caught her eye; yellow would match Lily's hair. She needed the yellow ones. It was crucial to her success.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps from the direction in which Lily had gone, and her instincts forced her to dart forward as fast as she could. She couldn't afford to be noticed. If she was, it was game over.

She ducked behind the lily shelf as soon as possible, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest. This was it. She was finally here. Now to grab her objective and run.

She selected the yellow flowers and peeked around once more. Lily was nowhere in sight. Perfect.

Hurriedly, she approached the counter and fumbled in her wallet, eyes darting this way and that. Lily could turn up at any minute, she reminded herself. She had to act fast.

Finally, finally, she pulled out the amount of money required to pay and practically ran out of the store. Once she was out, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Mission accomplished.

Meanwhile, after she left, Lily tentatively came up to the counter, a bouquet of marigolds in her hands. She looked around one last time, trying to make sure that Gumi was really gone.

That was a close one, she said to herself, I hope she didn't see me.

Chapter Text

"You're cheating!"

"How do you cheat at Uno? It's luck-based."

"Because...you...I don't know, you're just cheating!" Gumi spluttered, folding her arms childishly. Lily chuckled, watching her with amusement. It was no secret that Gumi got competitive when it came to any sort of game, and she absolutely hated to lose.

"Wow. Really sound logic there, babe." Lily said, smirking devilishly. There was some part of her, deep down inside, that enjoyed seeing Gumi get all passionate and angry like this. The more she lost, the more determined she was to win, and Lily always loved a good challenge...not that Uno was particularly challenging, really.

"You are so dead," Gumi muttered, already shuffling the cards for another game, "I swear to god."

"Hmm..." Lily said aloud, a sudden idea occurring to her, "here's an idea. Wanna make a bet?"

The shorter girl raised her eyebrows curiously. "A...bet?"

Lily nodded. "Mhm. Whoever loses this next round has to...oh, I dunno, sleep completely naked for a week."

Gumi's face went red, but the faintest hint of a smile started to grow on her face. "Is that all?" she asked, her tone almost daring Lily to add on to the bet.

The blonde grinned, but resisted the temptation to start laughing at her girlfriend's eagerness. "Maybe. We'll see once I win."

Gumi's eyes narrowed. "Oh, when you win? I'm sorry, I think you're mistaken. By all laws of probability, I'm going to win."

"Nuh-uh. Luck's been on my side this entire game. I'm the Uno master."

"Luck can only take you so far! You've been winning for so long, it only makes sense that I'm gonna be the next victor."

Lily bit her lip, restraining more laughter. "We shall let our cards decide!" she proclaimed, retrieving the seven that had been handed out to her during their trash-talking. "It's time to DUEL!"

Chapter Text

Gumi sighed as she sat out on the porch, watching the sun set blissfully. Lily came out to join her, pausing to look off into the beautifully-lit horizon.

"Damn," she remarked, "it's fuckin' gorgeous out here."

Gumi rolled her eyes. Even in her old age, Lily still knew how to ruin a peaceful moment with her usual profanity. Of course, she was used to it by now, and she realized that she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Come on, sit down," she invited, gesturing over to the empty seat beside her, "I could use the company."

Lily smiled and plopped down next to her, taking the shorter girl's hand in hers. "Y'know what's even more stunning than this sunset?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Gumi groaned. "If you say what I think you're gonna say, I'm getting a divorce."

The blonde (whose hair was now a much lighter shade thanks to the passage of time) gasped and put a hand on her chest. "I was actually talking about myself. How could you be so conceited? Not everything is about you, y'know."

The green-haired girl chuckled, shaking her head. "Even after all this time, you're still a dork."

Lily smirked and pointed finger-guns at her. "Your dork."

Gumi gave her a kiss on the cheek and laughed as they watched the sun set together.

Chapter Text

"So, Ryu," Lily said, plopping down next to the boy, "what's this friend of yours like?"

The boy smiled. "Oh, Yuki? She's really cool and funny! She says she's gonna take over the world one day!"

Lily laughed and looked over at Gumi, who was forcing a grin of her own. While Ryuto was too excited to notice, Lily took note almost immediately. She stood up and went to approach her girlfriend, whispering, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Gumi hesitated, but seemed to finally relent, pulling Lily into the other room. "It's just...something has always been off about Yuki."

The blonde tilted her head in confusion. "Whaddaya mean?"

Gumi sighed exasperatedly, rubbing her head. "It's just...god, I don't want to sound rude or anything, but she's...creepy."

"Isn't she, like, nine? Eight?"

"Well, yeah, but..." The green-haired girl opened and closed her mouth, trying to figure out how to put this delicately. "Look, you'll see what I mean when you meet her, okay? It's not that I'm trying to keep Ryu from having friends; he has a lot, and I'm happy for that. There's just something about Yuki that's unnerving."

Lily chuckled and put her hand on Gumi's shoulder. "Don't worry. I think I can handle a nine-year-old girl."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door, and Lily rushed to answer it. Gumi reluctantly followed behind, and sure enough, a familiar girl with black hair tied into cute little pigtails stood on the other side.

"Hi, Yuki!" Ryuto exclaimed happily, ushering the girl inside. Lily gave her a wave, which Gumi slowly repeated.

"Hey there!" Lily said cheerfully. "Name's Lily, and I'm Gumi's girlfriend. Nice to meet ya."

"You already know my sister, Gumi, right?" Ryuto asked, pointing at his sibling.

The girl nodded slowly. "Indeed, I have encountered her several times in my past visits."

Gumi sucked in a breath, hoping that Lily would notice how obviously suspicious it was for a young child to speak like that, but the blonde only laughed in surprise. "Wow, you can talk real good for your age! How old are you again?"

"I am an ageless, immortal entity that has been present since the dawn of time." Yuki paused, then shook her head in an attempt to backpedal. "I mean, technically speaking, I am...nine years old. Because I am a human. A normal human."

Gumi clutched Lily's arm tightly, her eyes giving off every signal she could think of to convey the fact that there was something clearly wrong here, but the blonde didn't seem to notice. "Well, I sure hope so!" she said. "Wouldn't want any demons or anything runnin' around in this house!"

Yuki's eye twitched. "...Right. Yes. No demons whatsoever."

Ryuto, as impatient as ever, tried to steer the conversation toward more fun topics. "C'mon, Yuki, let's go upstairs! I'll let you pick a game for us to play, as long as it isn't the one that you always wanna do where you draw a weird star on the-"

Yuki, alarmed, waved her hands to quiet her friend. "Um, yes! I mean, no! We will not play the 'summoning the Dark Lord' game again, even though it is clearly a game. As in, it is not real. There is no need to contact an exorcist."

"Well, don't let us keep you!" Lily said with a wave. "Have fun, kiddos!"

When the kids left, Gumi looked over at her girlfriend desperately. "Well?! What did I tell you?!"

Lily laughed. "Oh, you're just being paranoid, Goom. She seemed pretty fine to me."

"But...she's so obviously evil!" the shorter girl exclaimed, waving her arms frantically. "Literally no one talks like that, especially at that age! Every time she comes over, she always ends up drawing a pentagram on the ground! She's constantly talking about how the Dark Lord is going to rise from the Earth's crust and obliterate us all!"

"She's a kid," Lily said with a shrug, "they got big imaginations."

Gumi inhaled sharply, resisting the urge to yell. She swallowed hard, her eyes narrowing, and very calmly muttered, "Are you fucking serious?"

Chapter Text

Gumi took a deep breath and bit her lip, repeating her lines over and over in her head. She had practiced them multiple times when Lily wasn't home, and now she was ready to reveal her secret plan. She heard a knock at the door and gasped, getting into position on the couch.

"Yo, Goom, you in he-" Lily was about to ask, freezing when she saw her girlfriend lying down with her arms raised awkwardly above her head. Gumi swallowed, raising one of her legs above the other.

"Um...hey, sweetheart...?" Gumi attempted, mentally kicking herself. "Are you...tired? Because I, uh, can help you...relax!" Oh my god, I hate myself, she thought bitterly.

Lily stood there, trying to bite back the smile that was threatening to form on her lips. A small snort escaped her, and it wasn't long before she accidentally allowed a giggle to slip, eventually morphing into fully-fledged laughter.

"Oh my god," she stammered, "you're so adorable, babe."

The shorter girl groaned, burying her face in her hands. "It's not supposed to be adorable!" she protested, gesturing to herself. "I'm supposed to be seducing you!! You should be so seduced right now!"

Lily laughed harder, plopping down on the couch next to her. "Babe, you don't need to seduce me! I already think you're hot!"

Gumi sighed as the blonde pulled her close and gave her a light squeeze. "I know, but..."

"Shh," Lily murmured, planting a soft kiss to her neck, "don't feel bad. I loved it." She peppered kisses across her neck and shoulders, causing Gumi to shudder in pleasure.

"But...I..." the green-haired girl tried, only to be cut off by her own moan as Lily pressed her lips to her collarbone.

"You're gorgeous, y'know that?" Lily began trailing her tongue up until she pecked Gumi's cheek. She leaned into her ear, whispering, "I love you."

Gumi felt like sparks were going off in her head. She tried to think of something to say in response, but quickly discarded the idea in favor of pulling Lily toward her and kissing her lips passionately. The blonde grunted in surprise, but it wasn't long before she returned the kiss, running her fingers through Gumi's messy emerald hair.

When they broke apart, their tongues brushing against one another, Lily said, "Okay, that was pretty sexy."

Gumi blushed. "Yeah, but only because of you."

"Nuh-uh."

"Mhm!"

Lily quirked an eyebrow. "Are you challenging me?"

"Maybe I am." Gumi responded, a playful glimmer in her eyes.

Lily licked her lips and dove in again.

Chapter Text

Gumi squeezed Lily's hand nervously, anxiety welling up in her mind. "What if they don't like me?"

Lily kissed her forehead reassuringly, smiling at her with comforting eyes. "Oh my god, they'll love you. I mean, what's not to love? Honestly, they'll be really happy that I found someone like you to keep me on the 'right path.'" She rolled her eyes playfully at the last two words.

Gumi sighed, feeling a bit better, but not by much. She was so used to her own parents being...less than accepting of her lifestyle that the thought of confronting her girlfriend's parents for the first time made her body tense up with worry.

"You're gonna be fine," Lily said soothingly, petting the shorter girl's hair, "trust me, they're gonna think you're a keeper for sure." And with a final peck on the lips, she swung open the door to her house, shouting, "Yo, Mom, Dad, I'm home!"

"Lily," came a man's voice from the other room, "at least knock before you come barging in like that. You nearly scared the daylights out of your poor mother here."

"Oh, honestly, Mototaka, it wasn't that bad," a woman responded, her voice approaching the living room where they had entered, "I just get startled sometimes, that's all. Isn't that right, Lily? You know, when your father and I first met, he-"

She continued rambling as she came into the room, and she was nothing like Gumi expected. She was short, shorter than her, and adorably chubby in a way that made her look soft and cuddly. Compared to Lily, who was tall and muscular, they looked nothing alike save for the bright blue eyes that were unmistakably the same shade.

"Mom," Lily interrupted, "I brought my girlfriend here, remember? Say hi."

"What?" The lady stopped her story and gasped, finally noticing Gumi for the first time. "Oh, dear me! I'm so sorry, I can get quite carried away sometimes, can't I? It really is an honor to meet you, truly, and I really do apologize for not seeing you there. You see, I've been told by many people that I am rather talkative, and while I don't think that's true, I do believe that I-"

Lily coughed awkwardly, her face tinged an embarrassed red tint. "Yeah, we know, Mom. Anyway, why don't you briefly introduce yourselves?"

"Oh! Yes, of course." The woman nodded and faced Gumi with a sheepish grin. "Hello there, dear. I'm Ayumi, Lily's mother, as you have probably guessed. And what's your name?"

Gumi sucked in a nervous breath, swallowing down as much of her worries as she could, before responding, "Megumi, but most people, um, call me Gumi."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Ayumi responded cheerily, calling into the other room. "Mototaka, come in here and meet Lily's little girlfriend!"

"Hang on, hang on," came the man's voice, "I can't move like I used to."

He entered the room, and Gumi was pleasantly surprised to find that he had the same stature and body type of his wife; the thought of Lily's parents looking and acting so different of her was such a comical one that she couldn't stop herself from being amused as she watched the two of them. The only thing that resembled his daughter was his blond hair, short and somewhat messy. He adjusted a pair of thick glasses and beckoned the two of them forward.

"Well, I'll be!" he exclaimed, elbowing his daughter in the side. "So, Lily, you finally took our advice and found a genuinely nice girl! Tell me, missy, has she been treating you right?" The question was directed at Gumi, who self-consciously straightened her posture.

"Yes, sir." she responded.

Mototaka laughed and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "I'm just messin' with ya, kid. Hopefully, we raised our daughter to be respectful of others."

Gumi glanced over at her girlfriend, who was now thoroughly embarrassed. "Yeah, yeah, you did, Dad. Now, uh, Gumi and I are gonna head upstairs, okay?"

"Oh, yes! We should really be getting dinner ready, shouldn't we, dear?" Ayumi asked, looking at her husband with a not-so-subtle wink. He returned it knowingly, and both girls felt their faces heat up.

"Yep, yep, of course! You kids have fun, now!" Mototaka said. After a pause, he opened his mouth to speak again. "But not-"

"'Not too much fun.' I know, Dad. Thanks." Lily said with a groan, leading Gumi toward the staircase. When they entered her room, which was covered in various posters for several punk rock bands, the taller girl flopped down on the bed with a sigh. "So, whaddaya think?"

"I...I like them," Gumi concluded with a faint smile, "It's weird, though. They're not like you at all...not that that's a bad thing!"

Lily covered her face with her hands, a gesture that Gumi recognized as one of humiliation. "I know. Crazy, right? Dunno how I could be such a disappointment compared to them."

Gumi took a seat next to her and kissed her hands away from her face. "You're not a disappointment."

Lily looked up at her lovingly and kissed her back. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, I'm glad you like 'em, 'cause they're probably gonna go crazy over you all over again when we get back down there."

The green-haired girl smirked. "Well, that's one thing you guys have in common."

Lily looked confused. "What?"

"You're both crazy over me."

The blonde rolled her eyes, pulling her close. "Oh, hush."

Chapter Text

Somehow, the house felt much nicer when they took that first step inside as the new owners. They had been inside of it before, of course, but now it was different; they were going to live here. It was such a surreal experience for the three of them, and yet they couldn't be happier.

"I'm gonna go outside!" Ryuto said almost immediately, running to the backyard.

Gumi called him back. "Ah, ah, ah, mister! You are staying here and unpacking your stuff first. We are not doing it for you."

The boy groaned exaggeratedly, but trudged back to the boxes that Lily and some of the movers were bringing inside. Gumi attempted to help out as much as possible, but a lot of the boxes were too heavy for her to carry. She hated not being able to assist them, but Lily assured her that it was okay.

When they were finally done, everybody set to work unpacking. Ryuto rushed to put everything that belonged to him in the room that was now his, and with help from his sister and Lily, it was no surprise that he managed to finish his work before the two of them even started on their own room.

"Alright, I'm done!" he exclaimed promptly. "Can I go now?"

Gumi sighed, realizing that it was impossible to disagree with him. "Fine," she conceded, "but I want you back in here as soon as the sun starts setting, alright?"

Ryuto nodded and ran out the back door, leaving Lily and Gumi alone.

"Damn," Lily remarked when he had left, "it's crazy, isn't it?"

"What is?"

The blonde shrugged. "The two of us, living together. Don't get me wrong, there's nobody else I'd rather live with, it's just...fuck, when I was a teenager, I thought I'd end up dead in an alley somewhere when I hit 20. Now, here I am, with a wonderful fiancée and an actual fuckin' future ahead of me."

"Oh, Lily, don't say that," Gumi protested, putting a hand on her shoulder, "you always had a future ahead of you!"

"Yeah, but I always thought it wouldn't be a good one." Lily sighed, putting her hand over her girlfriend's. "Guess I was wrong, though."

Gumi smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "Honestly, I used to have the same thought process about myself before I met you. I thought I'd never be able to keep Ryuto safe and finally leave that house once and for all." She shuddered at the memories, shaking her head. "But, uh...as cliché as this sounds, you really helped give me strength, so...thank you."

Lily grinned. "Oh, c'mon. I may have helped, but that courage was all you, for sure. You're stronger than you think, Goom."

"The same could be said about you." the shorter girl responded, leaning in closer.

"Yeah? Then I dare you to kiss me if you really think I'm so strong."

Gumi scoffed. "You don't even have to ask."

Living together was much more enjoyable than any of them could have imagined.

Chapter Text

Yuuma knows that Lily's in love because she won't shut the fuck up.

She's always been the more talkative one out of the two of them; he's been her best friend since childhood, so he knows basically everything about her. And while she's never been in love before, he can just tell she is by the way she keeps rambling on and on about this "Gumi" girl that she's friends with.

Yuuma's been in love enough times to know how it feels, but he's always been the type to just come out and confess his feelings right away. Lily, despite having several girlfriends in the past, had never really been in love with them, so to speak. Her relationships usually only lasted a couple of weeks before slowly petering out. This Gumi person was different, though. She had to be, since Lily kept talking about her so much.

There was only one problem: she hadn't confessed yet.

"Shit, what should I do?" she asked one night while they're hanging out at his house. "Like, what if she thinks I'm just tryin' to get in her pants or something?"

Yuuma shrugged, taking another hit from his blunt. "She won't."

"But she knows my history!" Lily responded anxiously. "She probably thinks I'm some kinda predatory dyke."

"From what you've told me, you're very close to her," Yuuma observed sagely, "so there's no way she's gonna think you're bein' predatory or anything so long as you're respectful of her and her boundaries."

The blonde sighed and took her own hit, looking up at her friend with worried eyes. "How did you confess to Yohio?"

"Walked up to him, told him I thought he was cute, and asked him out on a date. He told me he would think about it, so I let him, and then the next day he accepted my offer."

"Uggghh, but what if that's too forward?!" Lily groaned, flopping down on the couch. "What if-"

"Hey, hey," Yuuma reassured her, "you don't have to do it exactly like that. You just gotta do it in a way that feels comfortable for you."

Lily remained silent, staring down at the dark carpet meditatively. "...You're right," she finally said, puffing up her chest, "I'm gonna do it."

The boy grinned and patted her on the back. "There ya go. Ya just gotta believe in yourself, man."

"Yeah!" Lily stood up proudly. "I believe in myself! I can do it!"

"That's the spirit!"

"...So, do you think she'd like cheesecake, or...?"

Yuuma shook his head, still smiling. "Dunno. Maybe you should ask her."

Lily slammed her fist on the arm of the couch resolutely. "Carrot cake! Of course! Thanks, Yuu, you're a genius!"

"I try."

Miku knows Gumi's in love because she's always asking about Lily.

Some people thought that Miku was naïve when it came to things like love, but she knew better. While she might not have been good at detecting when others had feelings for her, she was really great at knowing when people had feelings for each other, and she had never seen two people so obviously in love than Lily and Gumi.

It started off innocently enough. The whole reason Miku decided to introduce them to each other was because they were both in need of a friend, and they hit it off surprisingly quick despite their opposing personalities. Gumi was shy and quiet, and Lily was loud and bold, but they made a really good team when together. In fact, if Miku wasn't entirely mistaken, they seemed to bring out the best in each other.

Being closer to Gumi, of course, meant that she got to spend more time with her. At first, she would only bring up certain things about Lily; funny conversations, little anecdotes, etc. But as time wore on, it became clearer and clearer than she was smitten with the blonde girl, especially when she began asking how she should go about to impress her.

"I've been thinking about getting her something, but I don't want to come across as one of those people who buys others off, y'know?" she would panic, pacing back and forth. "What should I do?"

Miku shrugged. "Go for it!"

Gumi sighed. "What should I wear when I go to see her next weekend? I mean, it's not really a special occasion, but I don't want her to think that I'm sloppy..."

"Wear whatever you want!" Miku replied simply, her usual cheer ever-present in her voice.

"Would she think I'm weird if-"

"Silly Gumi!" Miku interrupted, ruffling her hair. "Lily would never think you're weird! Trust me, I know!"

"Yeah, but..." Gumi took a deep breath. "I think I...have a crush on her..."

"Oh, really?" Miku asked, pretending to be oblivious. "Well, in that case, you should confess!"

"I can't just do that out of nowhere!" the green-haired girl objected, blushing. "What if she gets the wrong idea?!"

"What do you mean 'wrong idea?'"

"Like...like I'm being creepy or something." Gumi rubbed her shoulder sadly, avoiding eye contact with her friend. Determinedly, Miku pulled her chin up.

"Gumi, listen to me!" she said sternly, a playful smile on her face. "You are wonderful! Say it!"

"Miku, no, I'm not gonna-"

"Say it!" Miku repeated. Gumi rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I'm wonderful. Now, what-"

"Say it again!"

"...I'm...wonderful?" Gumi tilted her head, confusion in her eyes. "Why are you telling me to say this?"

"Because," Miku explained, "you need to be confident in yourself! Say 'I'm wonderful!'"

"I'm wonderful."

"Again!"

"I'm...wonderful!"

"Louder!"

"I'm WONDERFUL!" Gumi practically shouted, a surge of power running through her veins. Miku really knew how to motivate people.

"That's right!" the taller girl encouraged. "And I'm sure Lily would love to date a girl as wonderful as you!"

"Yeah!" Gumi responded, feeling like a whole new girl. "God, I think...I think I'm ready!"

"Ready for what?" Miku prompted, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Ready to...to..." Gumi faltered. "...Crawl up in a hole and die quietly without ever telling Lily the truth."

Miku groaned and facepalmed. Oh, well. At least she seemed more enthusiastic this time.

Chapter Text

Lily hated spring cleaning.

Spring was her favorite time of year for a multitude of reasons; the flowers began to bloom, the birds returned to their nests to resume their songs, and most importantly, bees started to emerge from their hives and fly around her garden. She had made that garden specifically for them, and she considered the bees who hung out there to be her friends. They pollinated her flowers and helped more to grow, which made her job easier. And, Lily thought with a smile, they looked fucking adorable. She wanted to be outside more than anything, not cooped up in here with Gumi chattering away in the other room.

Normally, Lily loved listening to her girlfriend talk, but it was difficult to focus on when all she wanted to do was run around and watch her little bug friends bumble around like the precious babies they were. Unfortunately, she had a job to do, and that job was pretty much unavoidable during the beginning of the season.

"Be sure to get behind the couch," Gumi called from the kitchen, "I swear, Ryuto drops everything back there."

"Yeah, way ahead of you," Lily replied distractedly as she moved the sofa away like it was nothing. She shuddered at the thick layer of dust where it once was, and sure enough, little bits and pieces of what she assumed to be Ryuto's action figures were scattered throughout the filth. He is so lucky he's at school right now, she thought resentfully.

Gumi, who just got done cleaning all the dishes, came out to check on her girlfriend's progress. She frowned upon seeing her gazing out the window, head in her hands, the dusty outline of the couch a few feet away. "Lily, what are you doing?"

The blonde jumped in surprise, nearly stumbling as she turned to look at her. "Oh, uh..." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "I was just...lookin' at the flowers." she admitted with a sigh. "Wanted to see if the bees were out yet."

The shorter girl shook her head, kneeling next to her. "It's the first day of spring, sweetie. You're gonna have to wait a while."

Lily groaned loudly, leaning on Gumi's shoulder. "I knowwww."

Then, all of a sudden, her eyes widened. She leaped up, pressing her face against the glass, and released a happy squeal. Gumi was taken aback by this and went to ask what was the matter, but Lily was already racing out the door in excitement.

"HEY!" Gumi called, running after her. "You still have work to do, missy!"

But her words fell on deaf ears, as the taller girl was already outside, bending down gently to see the object of her affections: a single bee, resting on a daffodil that had grown a few feet away from her garden.

"Goom, look!" she cried excitedly, clapping her hands. "It's here, see?? I told you at least one of them would come!"

Gumi rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop herself from grinning. Lily looked so unbelievably happy over one little bug that she couldn't stay mad at her for abandoning their chores for long.

"Huh, I guess they couldn't wait to see you," the green-haired girl remarked, making an effort to stay as far away from the bee as possible. Though she loved them from a distance, she couldn't bring herself to get as close to them as Lily normally did. She had an irrational fear that they would sting her, even though she had never been stung by a bee in her life.

Still, Lily looked like the happiest girl in the world. It was a rare sight to see her being so openly affectionate toward anyone but Gumi herself. She saved all her mushy feelings for her girlfriend and her bees. It was somewhat heartwarming.

...But they still had work to do, so Gumi waited patiently for at least five minutes before calling Lily back into the house. Thankfully, the blonde complied, though she gave her new friend a small wave as she left.

"He was so precious," Lily gushed, "I think I'm gonna call him Barry."

"That's what you call all of your bees."

Lily shrugged. "It's a great name."

Gumi chuckled. "Well, bee girl, you still gotta finish cleaning."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lily replied, though she didn't seem nearly as bothered about it as she was before. In fact, within half an hour, Gumi had never seen the living room looking so spotless.

Chapter Text

"Wow." Gumi exhaled, leaning gently against Lily's arm. "I mean...wow."

The blonde smirked. "Yeah, I get that a lot," she said proudly, "but honestly, though, I'm glad you enjoyed it." Suddenly, a look of concern crossed her face. "You did enjoy it, right? I didn't hurt you or anything, did I?"

"No, no!" Gumi reassured, rubbing over her girlfriend's hand. "God, no. Um, quite the opposite, actually." She blushed, her mind now clear enough to process in its entirety what had just happened. "Sorry if I did anything wrong or if I was, uh, embarrassing."

Lily scoffed, ruffling her hair. "Oh, don't worry about it. It was your first time, and you did great."

Gumi said nothing, instead absentmindedly opting to trail her finger along the taller girl's bare arm. Finally, she said, "...Thank you."

Lily gave her a tiny kiss on top of her head. "It's no problem at all, hon. You know I aim to please."

"I know, but..." she trailed off, searching for the right words, "...I don't know, you went out of your way to make sure I was comfortable with everything and taught me how to do it right and took care of me and-" She paused, stopping herself before she got into a long-winded rant. Taking a deep breath, she stated simply, "You made everything feel really special, and...I couldn't have asked for a better person to do this with, so thank you." Fuck, she had tears in her eyes. She chastised herself for being so stupid and sentimental.

Lily didn't mind, though. In fact, Gumi could have sworn she saw her tearing up when she responded, "God, thank YOU, babe. And I ain't just talkin' about the sex, I mean for just bein' there for me. You're always so damn wonderful and I..." She swallowed hard. "...Shit, man, I love you so fuckin' much."

Gumi laughed and snuggled deeper into her. "That's not the most eloquent declaration of love I've ever heard, but I'll take it."

Lily rolled her eyes playfully and leaned in closer. "Then how about this?"

They pressed their lips together softly, the warmth of their naked bodies adding to the embrace that they wrapped each other in. Gumi felt her muscles relax as Lily started gently massaging her back and shoulders, motions which she attempted to emulate as thanks. They kissed for a long time, losing themselves in the softness of their lips.

When they broke apart, they each became acutely aware of just how tired they really were. They flopped back down on the bed, still holding onto each other for support, as they felt the growing drowsiness envelop them like a blanket.

"God, I love you," Lily murmured in Gumi's ear.

"I love you too," she responded, nuzzling into her girlfriend's neck.