Once Sumire realized it herself, acceptance wasn't all that hard. After all, Luchia was really nice and smart and pretty and their bond, friendship or whatever she may call it, was strong to begin with. Sumire always liked her a lot and the touch of her fingers always made her flinch a little for some reason that she couldn't quite get.
Well, couldn't get until now.
After one too many nights she woke up panting and flushed, unable to return to sleep when the person she'd been dreaming about was lying right across the room, Sumire just had to face it.
She's in love with Luchia.
She told it to her straight the next day [with much stuttering and blushing, that is. There wasn't any point trying to hide it; she was never good at that, and Luchia knew her well enough to figure out something had been not quite right about her lately. Sumire had been worried about her reaction, yes, but only a little bit. They were too close, and Luchia too kind, to let it destroy the friendship between them, even if Sumire's feelings were not returned. Not to mention that sometimes Sumire found herself wondering if Luchia was really just a touchy-feely person, or maybe she was the only one to receive that sort of treatment. But of course, there was no point getting her hopes up - that was just wishful thinking on her part.
Or, as she came to find out soon after her confession, not.
That day Sumire learned two things: that Luchia's lips were warm, and that her mouth tasted of tobacco. Not all that surprising, she admitted to herself as she smiled into the kiss.
-
Then there was the issue of telling all the others.
Sumire had heard of so many cases of children disowned by their parents, no matter how loving they were before; rejected by society, including the people who used to be their friends, just because of their sexuality – it was only natural for her to be scared. Maybe even a tiny bit frightened.
But Luchia just smiled that calm, all-knowing smile of hers and with a pat on her back, assured Sumire that everything will go just fine.
-
Sumire found it pretty logical to tell Nene and Riku first - they were her friends since childhood, after all. Luchia held her hand, which wasn't a very Luchia-y thing to do, so Sumire appreciated it all the more. She fidgeted ever-so-slightly under Nene and Riku's curious gaze as she said she had something important to announce. After taking a long breath, Sumire began to explain.
"Aw, Sumire-chan, why did you have to bring it up again?" Nene pouted and dug inside her pocket to take out a handkerchief and hand it to her brother. "You made Riku cry!"
"A-again?..." Sumire stared at them dumbly while Riku blew his nose.
"I remember!" he managed to let out between his sobs. "'I want to be by Luchia-san's side'…! Ever since then, I knew I never had a chance…"
Nene's version of a comforting pat on the head turned out more like a violent smack to the back of the poor boy's skull as she told him, "You know you're not at fault! There's nothing wrong with you, you're just the wrong gender."
-
"I knew it wasn't a boy after all!" Mika beamed. "That's even more incredible! Ah, what is more beautiful than two women indulging in such forbidden yet divine acts, disregarding the barriers placed by the world for the sake of their own pure feelings of love?!"
Luchia stared. Sumire was probably the only one who could notice her eye twitching ever-so-slightly.
As Mika went on and on about sweet taboos and breaking the norm Kyouko smiled sweetly, if not somewhat apologetically, and said "I'm so happy for you guys."
-
"Sumire-chan, dear, you already told us," was her parents' reaction, completed with a sniff at the happy memory.
"Eh?..."
"You moved to Luchia-chan's house months ago, remember? Was our reaction not clear enough?"
Sumire's own eye was beginning to twitch, too. "Y-yeah."
"WE JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WE LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT! WE'LL BE WITH YOU THE WHOLE WAY! SUMIRE-CHAAAA-"
Sumire dragged Luchia out the door and slammed it behind them, face bright red. Luchia sighed, exhausted yet content, and lit up a cigarette before taking Sumire's hand in hers again.
"See, I told you so."