Acceptance

Over time the pain lessened.

Tzuyu unfollowed her old friends on all social media and it helped her to not see them every day. She stopped moping and began throwing out any memory of Chaeyoung. It wasn’t like she would forget the girl, Chaeyoung had played a very important role in her life. Part of Tzuyu will always hold the memories of their relationship close to her heart. It was okay to feel nostalgic, it had been her first love.

But she wouldn’t dwell on the past any more. It was killing her, she couldn’t keep doing it. So Tzuyu began moving forward. She unpacked the last few boxes and decorated her small apartment above the diner. Before she had been waiting for Chaeyoung to summon her back, now that wasn’t going to happen she made her home more permanent.

Now that the focus was off her ex she could turn it towards school. Nights spent stalking GramInsta were now spent in the diner studying with Sana after closing. She worked more shifts and joined the archery club. Everything seemed to be getting better, she even made friends in her classes. Chaeryeong and Ryujin joined Tzuyu and Sana at their study sessions and the foursome became very close.

Sana remained Tzuyu’s rock and overtime Tzuyu made a point to return the favour. Bringing Sana lunch when she was studying in the library all day, arguing with the librarian when she said they couldn’t eat there. They began relying on each other, as a partnership. That was something Tzuyu had never experienced before, being part of a team with someone she cared about.

If she offered to pay for something Sana would protest. If she wanted to go somewhere Sana would never stop her or at the very least would politely decline and tell her to go with Ryujin or Chaeryeong. Tzuyu and Sana had definitely grown much closer than before, everyone had placed bets on hen they would actually get together officially. Truth was they were already dating, they just didn’t know it yet.

At first Tzuyu just wanted to get used to being single. She wanted to adjust to being alone and learn how to be by herself. She actually ended up finding herself to be great company. It had started with one night a week where she would just be by herself, then it became two. The old camera was dug out and charged, Tzuyu taking the time to do the things she loved again. A wall once covered in old, painful memories was now covered in new ones. Mainly of Sana.

It was as she looked at said photo’s on her wall that Tzuyu realised something important. Sana had come over for a movie night and they had been sat on Tzuyu’s bed watching some Disney film. There was a weird tension that night and it had left Tzuyu rather distracted. Their first year had just ended and they were trying to fully enjoy what remained of summer.They’d spent nearly every day together, but something about being somewhere so intimate caused her stomach to feel funny.

When she looked at Sana the feeling intensified forcing her to look anywhere else. It wasn’t a bad feeling, not in the slightest, but Tzuyu knew it could lead to a negative outcome and she didn’t know if she could take it. Not after how much the last time hurt. For a moment she decided to try and focus on the movie. But when she did she found herself watching somebody overcoming unbelievable odds for a chance at what they wanted.

Stupid Hercules.

“Sana…”

“Hmm?” Sana hummed and looked at her,

Tzuyu blushed, she was way to close. How was she supposed to do this when Sana looked at her like that?

“I-I…”

“You okay?”

Tzuyu swallowed, this was Sana - she can tell Sana anything, “I think I like you.”

“Well I like you too,” Sana’s face remained innocent, “You’re a really good friend and I love hanging out with---”

“Not like that!” Tzuyu interrupted, “I-I mean…oh God. I like you, in like a romantic way.”

Sana smiled mischievously, “I know what you meant. I just like messing with you.”

Tzuyu scoffed and grabbed the pillow from behind them, smacking Sana with it as the elder girl laughed at her expense. She quickly disarmed her and began tickling her sides in revenge. Tzuyu squealed and laughed as she was forced to retreat until her back hit the mattress and Sana was above her. Both when red when they realised how this would look if Elkie decided to visit unannounced as she tended to do.

Tzuyu cleared , “You uhh…never answered me.”

Sana’s smile softened, the same smile Tzuyu had noticed was just for her. The older girl leant down and pecked her lips softly.

“That answer your question?”

Tzuyu blinked, head feeling a little light.

“Maybe run it by me one more time.”

_____

They moved in together towards the end of their third year.

It made sense really, Sana spent all her time at Tzuyu’s anyway so why not live together? Victoria and Elkie were delighted to have Sana move above the diner. It was no secret that the duo adored the girl, their little Tzuyu was in a real adult relationship and Sana brought out this amazing side of their cousin. They had even offered to help with the move but Momo was coming to help instead. Sana was excited because not only had she not seen Momo in a while, she would also be finally meeting her girlfriend.

Momo was running late so Tzuyu and Sana had already driven her stuff to the apartment from her dorm room. They were mostly done unpacking the car while Momo’s car pulled into another spot at the back of the diner. Tzuyu had just taken a box up, leaving Sana alone downstairs to greet the other couple. Momo leapt out the car and ran to hug her friend, it had been forever since they had seen each other.

“It’s so great to see you!” Sana squealed,

“You too!” Momo picked her up and span them round, “I’ve missed you so much!”

“Put me down pabo!” Sana scolded, “I’m a taken woman!”

Momo laughed and did so, “I’m so happy for you, I told you that you guys would be a cute couple!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

A figure walked up behind Momo and the girl turned to smile at her, “Sana, this is my girlfriend--”

“Mina!?”

All eyes snapped to the door to the stairs where Tzuyu stood stunned.

“Tzuyu?” Mina gawked, “It’s been a while…”

Sana looked between them and vaguely remembered a photo Tzuyu used to have up. Was Mina a friend of Chaeyoung’s?

“You guys know each other?” Momo asked,

“We went to high school together.” Mina explained, awkwardly, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“H-Here I am.” Tzuyu took a few steps forward and immediately her hand was grabbed by Sana’s,

Awkward silence.

“We missed you.” Mina told her,

“Not enough to call.”

“Chaeyoung said you changed your number.”

Momo bristled, she remembered that name.

It was awkward, moving the rest of the boxes upstairs. But out of respect for Momo, Sana made an effort to talk to Mina and get to know her. Tzuyu had said she had no issue with the girl, it was just awkward having not seen her for so long. It was funny, Sana just had this superpower in which she could just take the tension out of any situation. Soon the boxes were all upstairs, unpacked and the girls were drinking wine and laughing.

Tzuyu and Mina had a private conversation in which she asked about the others. Jihyo and Jeongyeon were still together and living in a house in their home town. Apparently they had really missed Tzuyu and Mina suggested she call them at some point. Dahyun, who had been dating Mina when she left, was a piano teacher. She and Mina had broken up after Tzuyu left, apparently there had been a divide in the group. Jihyo, Jeongyeon and Mina had been mad at Chaeyoung while Dahyun was still her best friend.

She said that had all been sorted now but Tzuyu felt a little guilty for coming between them.

The main shock was that Chaeyoung and Nayeon had broken up a year ago. Chaeyoung had fallen in love with a girl she worked with at the grocery store, that’s right she got a job and rather than cheat she broke things off. Tzuyu had rolled her eyes at that, some people never grow up. It surprised her actually, how little she really cared. At one point in time she would be heartbroken that Chaeyoung had gone on to someone else that wasn’t her but now…she just couldn’t care less.

When she and Sana lay in bed together that night, Momo and Mina having left for their hotel, Tzuyu realised how much she truly loved her life. She was now surrounded by good people, she had a good life and she was smashing her course. All thanks to this beautiful woman in her arms.

“Sana.”

“Hmm.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

_____

Two years after graduating came Momo and Mina’s wedding.

While both Tzuyu and Sana were excited to go, there were some nerves over Chaeyoung’s attendance. It was to be expected, she was a friend of Mina’s so was entitled to be there. Though the grapevine Tzuyu had found out that Chaeyoung had jumped from her grocery store girlfriend to her newest one. She almost felt bad for her ex, Tzuyu had time to learn to be alone. She had a chance to find out who she was by herself, Chaeyoung had never had that chance.

Tzuyu realised that her relationship with Chaeyoung had stemmed from them not wanting to be alone. It forced them both to stay long after their expiration date. Feeling what she feels now with Sana and comparing it to the intense infatuation she had with Chaeyoung, Tzuyu realised that towards the end she wasn’t in love with the artist any more. That didn’t take away the good parts of their relationship, or stop her from remembering her friendship with the girl before hand.

They both just needed to grow up, without the other one holding them back they had the opportunity to do so. Tzuyu had taken that opportunity and grown into her own person. So she walked into that wedding reception with her head held high. She greeted Jihyo and Jeongyeon who pulled her into a group hug and barked that she was to keep in contact from now on. She complimented Dahyun on the song she had played as Mina and Momo walked down the aisle. She listened to Nayeon’s apology and told her she accepted it but couldn’t forgive her.

Over it or not, she could never trust Nayeon again.

When her eyes met Chaeyoung’s she didn’t falter, she didn’t long to go over, she just felt nostalgic. Like listening to a song from her childhood. Sure, the memory was fond but it wasn’t necessarily as good as she remembered. When Chaeyoung spotted her the short girl’s eyes widened, Tzuyu noted that she hadn’t changed a bit. Because some people never changed, that was just life. But Tzuyu had, Tzuyu was grown up now.

Chaeyoung jumped from girl to girl because she never knew how to be alone. And Tzuyu pitied her for that.

So she just sent the artist (ex-artist) a small smile before going to pull Sana on to the dance floor. It was a slow dance and Sana immediately wrapped her arms round Tzuyu’s neck, resting their foreheads together.

“You okay?”

Tzuyu smiled, “Surprisingly, yes. I am.”

Sana looked over to the newly weds, swaying together nearby and tuning out the world.

“They look happy.”

Tzuyu hummed, “You fancy getting married one day.”

“If that was a proposal Ms Chou I have two things to say,” Sana told her firmly, “One: Never propose at someone else’s wedding. Two: If that’s how you ask me I’m leaving you.”

Tzuyu chuckled and Sana rested her head on her chest, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

It was then Sana felt eyes on them, she opened her eyes and saw her glaring holes in Tzuyu’s head. Chaeyoung was staring at them like a kicked puppy, ignoring her friends and GIRLFRIEND as they tried to distract her. It made Sana angry. How dare Chaeyoung look at Tzuyu as if she was the one hurting her? Sana had always kept shut about the Chaeyoung thing, it wasn’t her place. But there were certainly several things she wanted to tell the girl. What better chance would she have?

She lifted her head, “It’s getting late.”

“You wanna go home?” Tzuyu asked,

“Is that okay?”

“Of course!” Tzuyu smiled, “I’ll go get our coats.”

Tzuyu kissed her forehead softly and then went off to find the cloakroom. Sana immediately turned when Tzuyu was out of sight and began walking towards the es table. What? Sana didn’t go on an emotional roller-coaster to learn that life moves on, she was allowed to hate Chaeyoung. Sana walked over and watched the group at the table begin to panic. She would enjoy it later, for now she kept a sickly sweet smile on her face.

“Umm hi…” Chaeyoung greeted, visibly uncomfortable,

“Hi!” Was the chirpy response, “Chaeyoung right?”

Chaeyoung looked back at Jihyo who shrugged, she looked back, “Yeah.”

“My name’s Sana,” Sana introduced, “A few years ago you cheated on a girl named Chou Tzuyu and broke her heart.”

“Look if you’re here to yell at me, don’t bother--”

“I’m here to thank you.” Sana interrupted,

“Thank me?” Okay now Chaeyoung was really confused,

“Thank you for giving Tzuyu the chance to become independent. For breaking her heart and teaching her to become her own person. Thank you for destroying her so that she could rebuild herself piece by piece better and stronger than ever. You gave her the chance to go to college, to live her life, to become the person she wanted to be. Because of your selfless act she’s now doing her dream job with everything she could ever ask for. Thank you for starting the chain of events that led her to me. Thank you for letting her go so that she could be loved the way she DESERVES.”

The sickly sweet smile remained as Chaeyoung squirmed.

Sana then dropped her exit line, “Would’ve loved to meet your girlfriend but I can see she couldn’t come tonight. It’s fine…I’ll just meet your next one.”

Then she turned and walked away.

She found Tzuyu by the door holding their coats and ran up to her. She pulled Tzuyu’s head down and kissed her deeply.

“Let’s get back to the hotel.” Sana panted when she finally came up for air,

Tzuyu grinned back and all but pulled her out of the hall. They’d apologise to Momo and Mina for leaving without a goodbye later. There were more important matters right this second. Sana hailed a cab and the duo got in, hands clasped.

The taxi began driving forward towards their hotel.

And Tzuyu never looked back.