Story: K-On: The Return (all chapters)

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from K-On, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. This is also based of the 'I ain't got rhythm' AMV for K-On, though only in a general way.

K-On: The Return

Mio Akiyama smiled as the black haired woman pushed the cart full of books through the library, the head librarian humming to herself softly as she worked. She wore a almost stereotypical outfit of a office lady, with business skirt and white blouse, along with a vest matching her skirt. She was well aware she drew glances with her curvy figure, but she maintained a business-like manner that kept most of the wolves at bay.

With a warm smile the twenty-something woman dealt with several requests as she shelved books, then pushed the cart back to the main desk where she sat down and sipped her still warm tea. "Miss Akiyama?" a young teen asked, her red hair falling into her eyes as she held a piece of paper in her hand.

"Yes?" Mio asked pleasantly, then froze as a familiar picture was set in front of her.

The band 'After School Tea Time' were pictured, her up front as they preformed in one of their high school shows, back before she left the group. "Could I get your autograph?" the girl asked eagerly, extending the paper.

"Sure," Mio smiled wryly as she signed, glad the girl didn't have that pic from her last, embarrassing performance

"Thank you!" the girl beamed, clutching the photo as she nearly skipped out of the library.

Ryouko Sorayama looked amused as Mio's co-worker brought her a fresh cup of tea. "How does it feel to be famous?" she asked gently, her short black hair falling into her eyes.

"The band is famous," Mio corrected. She smiled wryly as she explained, "I'm more like the band's Pete Best, or something."

"The fifth tea timer?" Ryouko chuckled. She looked at her sympathetically, "I guess it must be hard, at times."

"Not really," Mio said honestly. "I don't regret leaving the group," she explained as she sipped her fresh tea, "even if they have become famous." Firmly she added, "It just wasn't for me."

"If you say so," Ryouko nodded.

The day passed as busy as usual, Mio dealing with the regular requests and jobs at a regional library. It was exactly the job she had been trained for after achieving a masters in library science, and she enjoyed her work. There was a comforting regularity to it that pleased her, as well as the occasional research challenge too.

She helped a little girl put her books back, Mio smiling at her warmly as she said, "Thank you very much."

"Thank you big sis!" the little girl beamed before scampering off to her mother.

Mio got up, smiling fondly as the girl and her mom left. Heading back to the desk she checked the time, then turned on the PA system. "The library is closing in ten minutes," she said calmly, "if you have books that need to be checked out, please head to the check out desks. Thank you."

Working on her paperwork Mio looked down at the sheets, only barely registering as the woman in sunglasses came in through the main entrance, looking around her curiously. After a moment she walked through the milling people, across the library to the reference desk.

Mio sensed the woman there and looked up, "May I help you? The library is closing soon..."

The woman took her sunglasses off, familiar brown eyes looking down at Mio. "It's been awhile," Yui Hirasawa said nervously, giving her a weak smile.

"Yui?" Mio squeaked softly.

The two women gaped at each other, neither sure quite what to say. Over the past six years they had exchanged letters and the occasional phone call, but other than that there had been no contact. Mio had been very angry and very forceful in leaving the band, and the other girls had accepted that, however reluctantly.

"What are you doing here?" Mio managed.

"Uhm," Yui looked sheepish, "it's kind of complicated."

Ryouko hurried over, frowning at the strange woman then looking at Mio. "Is this woman bothering you, ma;am?" she asked pointedly.

For a moment Mio was tempted to let her coworker force Yui out, but she couldn't go through with it. "It's all right, she's a old friend," Mio explained. She smiled slightly, "Ryouko Sorayama, meet Yui Hirasawa of After School Team Time."

"It's nice to meet you," Yui bowed slightly, smiling shyly.

Ryouko looked rather unimpressed. "So you're one of the people that hurt Mio?" she asked her flatly.

Yui flushed, looking away as Mio sighed. She put her hand on Ryoko's arm as she told her gently, "It was a accident."

Ryouko snorted softly, "You're much more forgiving than me."

Noting the time Mio gave Yui a apologetic look as she said, "We have to close up. Did you want to talk to me after work?"

"If I could," Yui said uncomfortably.

Mio and Ryouko, along with the other staff, ushered the remaining patrons to the check out and outside, then did a final check to make sure no garbage and other items were left. It took about a half a hour to finished everything and lock up, then the group of women and men got ready to go.

"We're going out for drinks," Yue Ayase asked Mio, giving a slightly wary look at Yui, "would you like to come?"

Mio shook her head no. "I'm being picked up," she explained before dryly adding, "besides I need to see what my old friend wants."

Yui sighed softly as the women left, the two of them standing outside the now darkened library. "You look good," she offered mildly, "being a librarian suits you."

"Thank you," Mio answered then she looked at Yui with a frown, "But I really doubt you looked me up after so long to compliment me."

"You told us to leave you alone, after...," Yui trailed off, sighing.

"Yeah," Mio conceded, remembering that final concert vividly. All of them up there in new costumes by Sawa-sensei, singing as the teens in the small club cheered. The final song, waving good bye, then Ritsu tripping, grabbing the back of her dress and...

Yui nodded glumly, probably remembering the same scene. "Do you still play the bass?" she asked after a moment.

Mio looked at her warily, "Yeah, I still play. Just for fun, though."

Yui puffed out a relieved breath. "Azusa took over as bassist after you left," she explained quietly, "you know that, right?"

"I've kept up with the band," Mio said noncommittally.

"We have a concert tonight," Yui admitted, "a big one. It could break us out all over Japan."

"And," Mio said grimly, knowing where this was going.

"Azusa's hurt her arm," Yui blurted, "she can't play! I was hoping you would..."

Mio gaped at her, her mouth open in surprise. "Are you insane?" she yelped, "After Ritsu STRIPPED ME NAKED ON STAGE do you really think I would ever preform again?"

"Uhm," Yui looked away as a familiar figure walked up to them, her glasses gleaming.

"I could hear you yelling from across the street," Nodoka Manabe said gently, her brown hair falling over her half glasses.

"Nodoka-chan!" Yui smiled warmly, but hesitated as she saw her friend's frown.

Nodoka put her hand comfortingly on Mio's arm, "Are you all right?"

"Just a bit shocked," Mio answered, leaning a bit against the other woman.

Nodoka put a arm around Mio and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. She looked over at Yui as she said firmly, "Please don't upset my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Yui squeaked, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Yes," Nodoka gave her a look, "do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no," Yui quickly shook her head. She smiled slightly, "Wait till I tell Mugi..."

Mio smiled slightly, "She's still into it?"

"Oh, yeah," Yui agreed. She took a steadying breath and looked at Mio entreatingly, "I know you're angry over what happened and don't want to preform again."

"Yes," Mio nodded grimly.

"But it was Ritsu and my fault that happened," Yui said humbly, "not Mugi and Asusa's. Do you really think it's fair punishing them? Especially when this concert could be their big chance?"

Mio sighed, "Bringing them up was dirty, Yui."

"Sorry," Yui shrugged.

"And why does it have to be me?" Mio asked plaintively, "You could hire a fill in..."

"We're playing stuff from back when you were in the group," Yui said hesitantly, "Fluffy Fluffy time and My heart is a stapler. No one knows them better than you..."

Mio sighed then she looked at Nodoka as she softly asked, "What do you think?"

Nodoka hesitated, holding Mio close. Years ago she had helped Mio recover from the public humiliation, and in the process had gradually fallen in love with her already close friend. She loved her deeply, but Nodoka also knew that part of Mio was still unhealed...

"Do you want to?" Nodoka asked gently, smiling at her.

Mio sighed, looking down then up at Nodoka, "What if it goes wrong again?"

"I'll be there for you," Nodoka promised, "and so will our friends." She looked up and gave Yui a pointed look, "And no outlandish costumes."

"No, never," Yui promptly promised.

Mio nodded, hugging Nodoka a moment before looking at Yui, "All right, but just this time."

"Thank you!" Yui practically glomped both off them, sending them staggering backwards and nearly falling over.

"Yui!" Nodoka chided, laughing.

"Sorry," Yui smiled sheepishly.

Mio shook her head, hoping this wasn't a sign of things to come. 'Well,' she mused as she, Yui and Nodoka walked away, 'either way, I'll handle it.'

To be continued....

Notes: Inspired by the basic idea of Mio leaving the band, and Yui having to come find her. I tried to come up with something embarrassing enough to lead to Mio quitting. I figured being stripped on stage might be enough... Nodoka & Yui were close, but lost touch after school. It happens.

K-On: The Return

Two

Mio Akiyama sang with passion, her long black hair swinging as she grabbed the microphone stand, bringing it close. There was a electric feeling to preforming that she had forgotten, or maybe chose to forget, and it raced through her as they finished up the set.

"We're After School Tea Time," Yui Hirasawa waved excitedly as the crowd cheered them all, "thanks for coming!"

"And I hope we pass the audition," Ritsu Tainaku murmured under her breath, the group filing off stage as they smiled and waved, her shaggy brown hair soaked with sweat.

"The Beatles?" Mugi Kotobuki recognized the quote, the light brown haired woman looking amused as the much more composed looking woman followed.

"You were great!" Azusa Nakano said excitedly, her eyes shining as she waited off stage with Nodoka, her long black hair tied back in a ponytail. Her right arm was still in a cast, only the fingers exposed from the white plaster.

"You were terrific," Nodoka Manabe agreed, her dark brown hair falling around her face as she moved to meet Mio.

"Thank you," Mio swiftly hugged her girlfriend, sighing in relief. It had been a long time since she had played, and each performance filled her with anxiety.

At first, all the band had asked for was for Mio to fill in for the injured Azusa in one show. As Yui had said, the show was televised and helped break the band all over Japan, but there was pressure to tour immediately to capitalize on the sudden interest. Despite still carrying a grudge with Yui and Ritsu, Mio didn't feel she could sabotage Azusa and Mugi's chance for fame by dropping out again, so she agreed to keep playing until Azusa recovered.

"Damn, they're cute together," Ritsu noted, feeling a deep sense of regret. Once she and Mio had been close, but after accidentally stripping Mio on stage her friend had fled her and the band. Which, considering how much she used to tease Mio, wasn't entirely unreasonable.

"They are, aren't they?" Mugi agreed, beaming.

Ritsu looked at her friend with amusement, knowing that Mugi had always been a yuri fan-girl. She was probably overjoyed at having a real life yuri couple to watch, instead of just relying on her overactive imagination.

"Hey," one of the stagehands not taking their equipment off stage and hauling it out to the official 'After School Tea Time' van stuck his head around the corner, "there's a few girls with back stage passes. Do you want to see them?"

"Women, not girls," a voice corrected him from somewhere behind him.

Mio had to bit back a laugh as she recognized the voice. "They're my friends from the library," Mio admitted a bit shyly, "I sent them passes for the show."

Ryouko Sorayama lead the pack of what looked like office ladies gone wild, normally reserved women who were wearing the flashiest clothes they had. Her short black hair gave her a boyish look, well suited to the long trousers she wore along with a leather jacket.

"You were great!" Ryouko enthused, suddenly hugging Mio as she added, "I never realized!"

Yue Ayase and her friend Emily were close behind, looking looking rather amused by their co-worker's antics. "I'm sorry about this," she addressed the other members of the band, her long purple hair tied back.

"I remember her," Yui actually looked amused as she noted, "she tried to scare me off when I came to see Mio."

"It's nice to meet you," Azusa bowed a bit to the newcomers as she wryly added, "you must think we're terrible."

"Mio didn't talk much about what happened," Emily said politely, keeping close to Yue.

"We're lucky Mio is a forgiving sort of person," Ritsu admitted, smiling shyly. "I want to do something special for her, but I still don't know what."

"You know, I might have a suggestion," Yue admitted, leaning a little closer and murmuring something to Ritsu.

Ryouko was saying something to Yui that made her go visibly pale, then the bold young woman stepped back. "All of you take good care of Mio," she said, not adding aloud 'or you'll regret it' but everyone got the message.

Emily shook her head as she said, "I wish we could stick around, but the library is opening tomorrow and we're on shift."

"I'll stop in as soon as I can," Mio promised as she hugged her friends and coworkers, "I miss the kids, and even the annoying patrons."

"I like your friends," Mugi noted as they headed out from the small club they were playing in, "they seem very nice."

Azusa snorted, "Did you hear what Ryouko said to Yui and Ritsu?"

"Eh?" Mio blinked.

Yui looked sheepish as they unlocked the van the band was using, "She's just worried about Mio, Azusa. It's fine."

"I think we should go out somewhere tonight to celebrate," Ritsu said, smiling in the way that signified to the whole band that she was up to something.

Almost everyone got into the fairly mild argument, but in the end Ritsu triumphed due to two reasons. First, she was very stubborn, second, she was the only one who could drive the old, stick shift van they had borrowed.

The club was on the edge of town, in the warehouse district, but was brightly lit and aglow with a large neon sign. They front read 'Arisugawa's Locket' and had the image of a locket opening to reveal the picture of a pretty woman, while underneath a moderate line waited to get in.

"Why are there only women in line?" Yui asked innocently and Ritsu just smiled, gesturing for them to get in line while she and Mugi locked up the van.

They got in pretty quickly, really, and went down a short hallway that openhed into a much larger room. It was obvious the owners had converted a large industrial warehouse, fitting it out with lighting, a dance floor, a bar, dining tables, a stage and if their eyes weren't decieving them a library! There were also stairs leading up from nearby the bar, and who knew what was up there.

"How did you find out about this place, Ritsu?" Mio asked, looking around her with wide eyes.

Ritsu smiled as she answered with a half truth, "I heard about it from a fan at the concert, actually." In fact she had heard about it from Mio's own friends, but she wasn't going to tell her that. 'I wonder what that says about her friends Yue and Emily?' she mused.

"This is so cool!" Yui Hirasawa breathed out excitedly, her shoulder length brown hair shimmering in the light as she looked around at the dancing women, women sitting having intimate meals and even going off to make out in the dimmer corners..

"Wow," Mugi Kotobuki murmured, the pretty blonde watching in fascination as two women kissed at one of the nearby tables.

"Don't space out on us," Azusa murmured to the older woman, the smaller black haired girl walking beside her.

"Sorry," Mugi laughed.

Nodoka stood beside her lover Mio, her stylish glasses catching the light as the brown haired woman looked around with a bemused expression. "Think Ritsu picked this place out because she knows about us?" she asked softly.

Mio Akiyama smiled slightly, "Could be, but I don't really mind."

"Yeah, me too," Nodoka agreed as the group of six made their was through the crowd up to the bar. She still found it strange, being back hanging out with this group of people, strange but nice.

"Have I said thank you lately for agreeing to come back and play?" Azusa murmured, the younger woman carefully shielding her cast enclosed hand from the jostling crowd.

"Yes, but you can repeat it as many times as you wish," Mio smiled at her wryly and Azusa laughed softly.

They passed a positively scary looking woman with tattoos on the way to the bar, then the six women reached the massive bar with two bartenders flamboyantly serving booze. "Can I see your ID?" the one bartender asked Azusa, her cheeks marked with twin scars.

"Everyone asks for my ID," Azusa sighed as she passed it over, even though she was over twenty. Admittedly not much over, but still...

"That's because you're so cute!" Yui said, hugging her from behind.

"Yui!" Azusa squeaked, blushing even as the bartender laughed warmly.

"Here you go," the woman handed back the ID, "I'm Minagi, what can I get you?"

The girls ordered their drinks even as someone started up the karaoke machine. All of them blinked as a girl got up to sing, 'Girls who like girls.' Thankfully she could carry a tune, and the song was kinda catchy.

"I can't believe someone wrote a song like that," Mio noted wryly as she sipped from her mug of beer.

"This from the woman who wrote Light and fluffy time?" Ritsu gently teased as she took a gulp of her own drink.

Mio blushed, "I was young."

"Don't tease," Mugi recovered enough from being overwhelmed by the yuri to point out, "it's still one of our most popular songs."

"You're a band?" Minagi asked them, looking thoughtful as she polished a glass and set it back in the rack behind her.

"Yeah?" Ritsu responded a touch warily.

"Wanna play a song or two?" Minagi asked then offered, "I'll put your drinks on the house."

Ritsu looked thoughtful, then she turned to the rest of the group. "What do you think?" she asked them curiously.

"I wouldn't mind," Mugi shrugged, the others all answering in the affirmative.

"I wish I could play," Azusa sighed, holding up her busted hand with a resigned sigh.

"Keep Nodoka company," Yui suggested, "and make sure no one picks you up."

"Yui!" Azusa blushed.

"Don't worry," Yui smiled as she winked at Mugi, "I won't take you away from your girlfriend."

'I'll be damned,' Mio blinked as both Mugi and Azusa blushed fiercely. 'I guess there's some things that I'll need to catch up on,' she mused.

"How long has this been going on?" Nodoka asked, taking a sip of her own drink as she smiled gently at the two women.

"Since not too long after we graduated," Mugi admitted a bit shyly. "I came by the school to offer moral support when Azusa's version of the Light Music Club was playing. I stayed to congradulate her, we went to lunch and, well..."

"I kissed her," Azusa shrugged, also blushing.

"That's so romantic," Yui sighed, even though she knew the story by heart.

"I'm happy for you," Mio told them both, smiling warmly.

"Sawa-chan wasn't happy," Ritsu told them, "though more because she didn't think a college student sould be dating a high-school girl. She insisted they wait til Azusa graduated."

"It was a very long year," Mugi sighed.

"Very," Azusa agreed, also sighing.

"They certainly made up for lost time afterwords," Yui said eagerly, "Ritsu and I walked in on them and they were..."

"Shh!" Ritsu yelped as she swiftly slapped her hand over Yui's mouth while both Mugi and Azusa blushed furiously.

"You really haven't changed," Mio noted to no one in particular, chuckling warmly. 'And I guess I wouldn't want it any other way,' she admitted to herself silently.

To be continued....

Notes: Parts of this chapter were based on chapter 96 of 'Arisugawa's Locket.' Yue Ayase and her friend Emily are both based on characters from Negima, while their other friend is inspired by a slightly less crazy version of Ryouko from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

K-On: The Return

Nodoka's side

Nodoka Manabe smiled slightly as the brown haired woman looked down at the lovely woman sleeping beside her. Mio Akiyama's long black hair fanned out around the beautiful woman, the soft snores more cute than annoying.

They had become friends through a mutual aquaintence, Yui, who had joined the Light Music Club along with Mio. They interacted some, then the next year they had ended up in homeroom together. There a friendship blossomed, as they talked and chatted between classes. She really liked Mio, and sensed a degree of strength beneath her seeming fragility.

They went to different colleges, and Nodoka had expected they would grow more and more distant. But Mio kept up letters and calls, and Nodoka was touched at how she strove to maintain their friendship. Even after graduation they stayed in touch, while her friends tried to be a professional band.

While her friends chased dreams, Nodoka settled down in the corporate world. Starting out as a glorified office lady she demonstrated her managerial skills, ending up in charge of the secretarial pool at first. Getting that running well she moved up the ladder, if a bit slower than some of the men, and felt that she was on her way.

Nodoka had a nice apartment, a fulfilling work life and really felt like she was doing something with her life. Yes, she had no social life, but she also knew you sometimes had to sacrifice a bit to get what you want. Besides, she hadn't really felt any sort of connection with the office ladies she had worked with, and her fellow managers were as focused on work as she was.

Then SHE walked back into her life.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nodoka tiredly went home from another night at the office, working to get ahead. Having the report done early would get the attention of the manager above her boss, raising the possibility of another promotion. Which would in turn mean more late nights trying to get ahead of the next guy.

'Why did I want to get promoted again?' Nodoka wondered wryly as she walked up the hall to her apartment. Turning a corner she blinked, seeing a figure standing by her door, long black hair messy and her clothes looking worn.

"Nodoka?" she turned, smiling weakly.

"Mio?" Nodoka blinked, hurrying up to her. "I haven't seen you in years!"

"I'm sorry for just dropping in on you like this," Mio said quietly as she followed Nodoka into the apartment. She sat down on the couch and sighed, "To be honest, I rented out my apartment and have no where else to go."

Just looking at her Nodoka knew something had gone horribly wrong, but she also knew not to press. It seemed fairly clear Mio wasn't in any shape to deal with what was going on. Instead she said, "It's fine, stay as long as you want."

"Thank you," Mio looked up at her as tears began to trickle down her cheeks.

Without really thinking about it Nodoka sat down beside her and cradled Mio in her arms. The other girl stiffened a moment then relaxed, sobbing gently against Nodoka's shoulder. "There there," Nodoka patted her back, "there there."

It took a few days for Nodoka to find out what happened. In a way it was typical for the band, silly and embarassing all wrapped up in one huge package. While preforming for a college crowd the group was wearing some new gothic outfits designed by their former teacher, Sawa. Like on their very first preformance, someone tripped.

However, unlike the first time it was Rits who tripped going off stage. Reaching out she had grabbed at something to break her fall... and managed to rip Mio's dress right off her, leaving the poor girl standing there in just her bra and panties.

That had been bad enough, but reading between the lines Nodoka got the sense that a lot of harsh words had been said afterward. While she didn't think Mio had burnt her bridges behind her, they were certainly very singed. And it looked like the friendship between Rits and Mio was done, too.

Mio stayed with Nodoka a week as she recovered, look a look at her life and decided what to do with herself. Nodoka didn't push, wanting to give the other woman time to think. And on a purely selfish note, Mio was a better cook than she was and kept the place spic and span. In the end she decided to go back to school, take course credits she generated in college and persue a degree.

Nobly (Hah!) Nodoka offered up her spare bedroom as a base of operations for Mio, in return for cooking and cleaning around her classes. Mio agreed, and the two settled into a odd version of domestic bliss. Odd in that they didn't have that kind of relationship, yet...

Nodoka had seen girls have crushes on other girls before. Hell, she had been vice president to a woman who was madly crushed on Mio, at one point even following Mio around. And astonishingly Mio had even forgiven Megumi for the stalking, something Nodoka didn't know she could do!

But Nodoka had never really had such emotions herself. Or at least she had thought she hadn't. But the more time she spent with Mio, the more comfortable she felt. And as time passed a warmth built up between them, each watching out for the other. Nodoka found herself knowing when Mio was distressed, even as Mio seemed to know that about her.

Sadly, Nodoka just didn't have the guts to DO anything about her feelings. As Mio took accelerated courses and graduated with a Masters in Library Science, all she could bring herself to do was stand by her and help however she could. Thankfully, several classmates of Mio had seen her mooning around, and hatched a plan.

The celebration for the graduates invited friends and family along, and Mio had asked Nodoka along, They drank and talked through the evening, even as the classmates discretely peeled off to give them privacy. In a corner table, with candlelight glittering and enough wine to give her courage Nodoka asked Mio out, and Mio accepted.

Later on, Mio told Nodoka that she had been struggling with similar feelings. At first she though her feelings were just inspired by Nodoka's kindness, but they grew and strenthened. However she was scared to act on them, worried she might frighten Nodoka away.

"I guess we're both idiots," Nodoka noted as they staggered home rather drunkenly.

"I guess so," Mio agreed, then hiccuped.

That made Nodoka burst into giggles, and Mio laughed too. "You have a lovely laugh," Nodoka noted as they reached their building.

"You too," Mio agreed as they went inside and headed for the elevator. She smiled, "Nearly as pretty as the rest of you. And do you know how long I've wanted to SAY that?"

Nodoka smiled at her warmly, "About as long as I've wanted to tell you that you're beautiful." She leaned in and kissed Mio gently, then drew back. "I've wanted to do that since you showed up at my doorstep."

Mio chuckled as the elevator doors opened and they walked to the apartment. "Remember when I snuck into your bed because I was scared?" Mio murmured into Nodoka's ear, "I lied."

"You little minx," Nodoka grinned as she unlocked the door.

"You know, there's a lot of things I want to do," Mio noted as they stood in the hall, "but I want to do then sober. Are you okay with that?"

Nodoka hugged her gently as she said reassuringly, "Yeah, I don't want to wake up next morning not remembering what happened."

"Despite that," Mio said quietly, "can we sleep together?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Nodoka smiled as they walked back to the main bedroom.

The next morning Nodoka found herself curled into the warmth of mio's body, both snug in her single bed. 'If I'm going to do this regularly, we'll need to get a bigger bed,' she thought, breathing in the scent of Mio's hair. Thank goodness it was the weekend and neither of them had to work.

"Hmm," Mio stirred, then her eyes opened, turning to see nodoka in bed with her. "Am I dreaming?" she asked softly.

"No dream," Nodoka reassured her. Gently she asked, "Are you all right?"

"A little headachey," Mio admitted ruefully, "my friends party much harder than I ever did." She hesitated, "Did we say what I think we said?"

"I love you," Nodoka shrugged, "and you said you love me. Uhm, you aren't regretting that?"

"No! No," Mio said, a blush stealing across her cheeks. She beamed, "I'd kiss you, but my mouth probably tastes awful."

"Don't care," Nodoka decided, kissing her gently.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Quietly, and without fanfare, Mio's stuff migrated to Nodoka's bedroom and closet. The spare bedroom evolved into a mixed office space for both women, with each of them storing paperwork from their jobs in seperate filing cabinets. A new bed was delivered, and the two women settled down in what was almost married bliss.

Mio went to work for the library, soon showing her own talents. She was good with people, despite a crippling shyness when she was younger, and got along well with her co-workers. Nodoka was surprised to see they'd sort of formed a 'girl posse' at work, with the arch Ryouko in charge. The group of young women also closed ranks protectively if anyone brought up After School Tea Time or bothered Mio.

"I think Yue Ayase has figured out we're more than friends," Mio noted as they sat comfortably on the couch.

"That won't be a problem, will it?" Nodoka asked, thinking of the serious young woman with long purple hair.

"Actually, she congradulated me,' Mio said with some amusement. "I think her and her friend Emily might be in the same club."

Nodoka chuckled softly. "So coming out at work probably won't hurt you?" she asked curiously. "Because I am not telling my bosses, anyway."

"Me too," Mio agreed as she snuggled close to Nodoka, "but my coworkers seem to be cool."

Nodoka hesitated, but decided this might be a good time as any. "Well, if you think they might be okay with it," she started, taking a ring box out from where she stashed it in the couch.

"Is that...?" Mio's eyes were wide as nodoka eased herself off the couch and knelt beside her.

"Mio Akiyama" Nodoka said formally as she opened the box to reveal a nice silver ring set with emerald and diamond studs, "will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Mio yelled, throwing her arms around Nodoka and kissing her wildly, nearly bowling her right over, tears of happiness streaming down her face.

"Hmm, easy, easy," Nodoka laughed, breaking the kiss. They ended up sprawled on the very clean floor, Mio resting in her arms.

"I want to get you a ring too," Mio said, "maybe matching ones."

"Whatever you say," Nodoka squeezed her gently, "my wife."

Now, looking at her sleeping love Nodoka knew she had everything she wanted. Well, mostly. She'd like to see the ugly wound between Mio and her old friends be healed, but she was confident that would happen someday too. After all, they were together, and Nodoka didn't think there was anything more unlikely than that.

End

Notes: I don't know much about the Japanese education system, if I got any bits wrong tell me.

It's hard to write something from Nodoka's point of view, because she mostly just appears as Yui's and Mio's levelheaded friend. Not much to work with. This is probably the end of 'the Return' unless I get struck by some new inspiration.