*Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!

She wasn't quite sure why, but showers were one of the most amazing things in the world for her. In addition to cleansing her body from her daily labors, she was able to let her mind unwind without interruption. She could let her thoughts wander to anything and everything, work through whatever it needed to. For someone like her, who could get lost in thought easily like her parents, her shower time was invaluable.

While she had just finished one of those relaxing sessions, she still had some lingering thoughts occupying her mind. It was unusual for her mind to still be this busy even after a shower, though today was a special occasion. There was some planning that needed to be done. She had spent her shower running through countless ideas, and even spent some time after just staring at her reflection in the mirror as her mind worked. Some knocking on the bathroom door finally interrupted her thoughts.

"Are you done in there yet?" asked a familiar voice.

"Sorry, give me a moment," she called back. She took one last second to fix her light grey hair before she opened the door, revealing a slightly shorter girl with red hair.

"Do you always have to take so long in the shower?"

She chuckled. "Sorry, Lily-chan. I was just trying to figure out what to get, but I couldn't decide on anything."

"Maybe it'll be easier when we're in town and you can actually see everything," Lily suggested. "Besides, you can always make something yourself. She usually loves your hand-made gifts."

"Ah, you know, I haven't thought about that. Do you really think that could work?"

The redhead sighed. "Honestly Onee-chan, have more confidence. Your creations are always amazing. I wish I was half as good as you…"

The older girl couldn't stop her lip from curling into a smile. In truth, they weren't completely sure if they were really sisters or not. They had asked about it once before, but they were still young at the time, and the answer their parents gave them didn't make much sense. In the end it didn't matter, as they saw each other as sisters and treated each other as such. Moments like these were one of those that made her really happy she could call Lily her sister.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short either, Lily-chan. Have you heard your compositions? I agree with our parents when they say that words can't describe how talented you are."

Red started to grow on the younger girl's face. "I-I'm going to take a shower now, if you don't mind." She got out of the way so Lily could enter the bathroom. The redhead turned to close the door but paused. They gazed into each other's blue eyes, the only common feature between them. "Thanks, Onee-chan." And with that Lily quickly shut the bathroom door.

The older girl gave herself a moment to enjoy her younger sister's embarrassment before moving on. She made her way to her room, grabbing her underwear from her dresser before moving to her closet. She flipped through her outfits, skipping over all the hand-made ones. She had nothing against them, but she knew now wasn't the time to be wearing one of them. She browsed her store-bought outfits. Although the weather would be nice all day, she didn't feel like a dress at the moment. Instead she elected for a casual outfit, a simple white t-shirt and blue denim shorts. A quick glance at the full body mirror in the room caused her to consider fixing her hair for a moment. Though, she quickly decided against it, again wanting to wait until later to put together a more appropriate look for the day's special occasion.

Satisfied with her look, she left her room and wandered into the living room. As far as the layout, it was a fairly simple one. Two couches forming an L along two sides of a coffee table with a TV on the opposite end. The difference was the quality of it all. Her and Lily's parents were very well off, though they didn't try to show it off too much. Their expensive furniture was some of the only indications, outside of their reputations.

"Good morning, Hazel-chan."

The girl turned, seeing a ginger woman with blue eyes and a bright smile. She immediately wrapped her arms around the ginger. "Good morning, Okaa-san."

Kousaka Honoka returned the embrace before looking down at her older daughter, studying her. "It's not very often for you to choose a casual outfit."

"Well, I want to wait until later to go all-out with my look," Hazel explained.

Honoka chuckled. "Well, you still look lovely like you always do."

"Thanks, Okaa-san." Hazel took another look around the empty living room.

"She's out right now so that we can get the house ready for tonight," Honoka explained.

"I see. Will you have time to give Lily and me a ride into town?"

"Of course. Do you two know what you're going to get?"

Hazel shook her head. "Not yet. We're hoping we'll figure something out once we've looked around."

Honoka chuckled. "Well, I'm sure no matter what happens, you girls will come up with the perfect present." She finally released her daughter. "Well, I'm going to continue with the preparations until Lily is ready."

Hazel nodded, waiting for Honoka to leave the living room before moving to the couch and getting herself comfortable. Despite her words earlier, Hazel knew her younger sister used the shower for the same reasons as she did. Lily was going to be a while, so she might as well relax until it was time to go.

"Hoping they'll get lucky and find something in town," the redhead reviewed what Honoka had said. "They are without a doubt your daughters."

Honoka chuckled. "Hey, you are responsible for one of them. Besides you know you love them both all the same, Maki-chan."

"Well I can't argue with that," the redhead sighed, though smiled right after.

"I can't wait to give her our gift, either. Ah, tonight's going to be so exciting."

Maki chuckled. "It's been a while since the last time, hasn't it?"

Honoka nodded. "The girls were barely starting elementary school."

"It's going to be a wonderful night."

Having finished setting the table, Maki made her way over to where Honoka was preparing the food. With practiced movements, she locked their lips together without bumping into Honoka. The ginger paused to properly reciprocate the redhead's affection.

"Hey, save some for later," Honoka joked.

"A little practice never hurt, right?" Maki replied playfully.

"Is Maki-chan making an excuse?" Honoka exaggerated being shocked.

"Mmm, I don't think I heard a no," Maki responded with a smirk.

Honoka returned with a smirk of her own before initiating the kiss this time. "Alright, you got me with that one," she told her younger wife.

Maki smiled at her mini-triumph. "Well, we still got a lot of stuff to take care of. Let's get back to work."

"Wasn't it you that got distracted first?"

"Mmm, maybe. But who do you think she will believe got sidetracked first?"

"Hmph, I never get my way around here."

After a brief pause, both of them burst into laughter. That statement was ridiculously inaccurate and they both knew it. With one more kiss, the two women resumed their preparations. With everything else taken care of, Maki joined Honoka in helping with the food.

"That spa sure hit the spot, but why do I have a feeling my day is far from over yet?" Kotori mused as she continued her drive home.

She wasn't one to not appreciate a nice thought. After an unusually hard week of work, it was nice to wake up this morning to find that her family had booked her a spa day. It did wonders to relax and revitalize her body after what she put herself through to make it to the end of the week. She did have one complaint about the arrangements, though it wasn't about the spa itself. Her mind had consistently managed to wander back to her family throughout her treatment. This whole thing was just for her, but she would have definitely preferred to have had one of them tag along with her. As good a job as the spa treatment did to relax her, she knew deep down she wasn't 100% without her family.

This led her to believe that there was still something in store for the day. After all, it wasn't like she was the only one that felt the same about their family. It was feeling they all strongly felt and strongly shared. Knowing that, it doesn't make sense that they sent her alone. They most likely had something else in mind for her. Though Kotori couldn't come up with any ideas as to what that was. And the mystery behind it all was making her both excited and nervous at the same time.

She didn't realize how much she was thinking about it until she found herself parking her car in the driveway and realized she was already home. Even as she got out of her car and made her way to the front door, she still had a lot on her mind. She managed to calm her mind somewhat as she got the door open.

"Tadaima," Kotori called uncertainly.

"Okairi," she heard a familiar voice answer. "Kotori-chan, can you come into the living room please?"

"Okay."

Again the mixture of excitement and uncertainty returned to Kotori. She did her best to keep calm as she made her way down the hallway. She allowed herself one last pause before she opened the door to the living room.

For all her thoughts, she wasn't expecting a few loud pops that greeted her.

"Happy Birthday!" chorused four voices.

"W-what…?" was all Kotori could manage. It took her a few moments to realize exactly what day it was. "How… did I miss the date all day?"

"Actually… that's why we sent you to the spa," Honoka spoke up. When Kotori had a questioning look, Honoka continued. "We've noticed how hard you've been pushing yourself this last week. You might not have noticed us, but both Maki-chan and I have caught you still up and working way past midnight at least once each. We kind of figured that you would overlook today because of how focused you were all week."

Maki nodded. "We wanted to reward you for all your hard work, especially the extra effort you put in this past week. And what better way to do that than to go all-out on your birthday?"

"We also wanted to say thank you," Lily added.

"Despite how much you were going through, you still found time to spend with us. That meant a lot to us already, but hearing that you prioritized us on top of your work makes it mean so much more," Hazel explained while trying to keep her voice stable.

A tear had appeared in Kotori's eye, though it didn't alarm any of the four. Especially since Kotori was smiling the entire time. Kotori reached a finger to her cheek to wipe away the stray tear.

"You four are so sweet. You're all the best family I could have ever asked for."

It was Hazel who moved first, wanting to embrace her mother right away. Lily joined right away, followed by Honoka and Maki shortly after. Their impromptu group hug only lasted a few seconds before they five separated.

"Go ahead and get comfortable," Maki offered. "Leave everything to us."

It was times like these that Kotori was truly grateful for her dear friends and now wives. She had no idea what would have happened if the three hadn't made their feelings clear for each other right before their graduation. At first it wasn't easy for the three to date each other simultaneously, especially without their futures planned even a little bit. But they stuck strong together, and eventually everything fell into place.

Even without Muse, Maki stuck with music rather than going back to becoming a doctor. She did performances for hire for a few years, but found it to be very straining on all three of them. Eventually she sold of her compositions with the intention of becoming a private music teacher. Though none of them could have predicted how popular Maki's pieces would become. Maki still did private lessons, but now with the added luxury of creating a music composition to sell at her own leisure. Being highly sought after in the music world, either option rewarded the talented redhead with quite a nice sum.

Kotori stuck with clothing after high school, her expertise in designing Muse's costumes carrying on with her. Similar to Maki, things started out slow. But once a few of her designs got the right exposure, she became one of the biggest names in the fashion world. Just her design ideas alone earned her so much attention and praise, and a decent income as well. But it was her hand-made clothes that did the trick, because she only made a handful of any one outfit. The first time she saw the price people were willing to pay for one, she along with Honoka and Maki were sure they were reading the number wrong.

The biggest risk that the three had to face was with Honoka. Rather than continue along to try and become an idol like most had thought she would, the ginger had instead chosen to continue into her family's business. While that itself wasn't bad, the real scare came a few years down the line. Honoka announced to Kotori and Maki her desire to improve the business by moving the store to a better location and expanding their selection. While both had their concerns, the two were very supportive of the ginger's decision. They were her support as she presented the idea to her parents, eventually earning their approval. Both Kotori and Maki invested part of their earnings, which was not yet stable at the time, to help make everything happen. It was a slow and careful process, but toward the end of the first year after the move they were experiencing the rewards in spades. In fact, the store became so successful they needed to start hiring help so they weren't handling all parts of the store themselves. The hires were mostly just for the front, as many of the orders were sweets from the original menu, which were all family secret recipes.

Once their careers had stabilized, and having successfully maintained their three-way relationship up until this point, they decided they were ready to take the next big step together. They decided to get married, already so willing and ready to commit the rest of their lives to each other. They didn't make it a huge occasion, only inviting a select number of family and friends. But it was all they could have ever wanted. Not too long into their marriage did they feel ready to take the final step together, and raise a family. There were some initial concerns, but with the right amount of funding, they managed to find a way around them.

As Honoka was the one that had brought the three together in this way, both Kotori and Maki saw it only fitting that they each bare one of her children. Kotori had Hazel, with Maki having Lily the following year. Though, that never stopped Kotori or Maki from treating both girls equally, despite not having given birth to one or the other. The two were raised together, joined by the similar traits they had from Honoka as their parent, while still being unique with a mixture of their respective other parent's looks and talents.

While she was going through and enjoying her birthday celebrations, Kotori had run through each of these thoughts along the way. It was a truly incredible thing to be able to look back on. So many things she never thought would have happened to her in her wildest dreams; made possible through people she now had the pleasure of calling her family. And even now she was feeling so blessed to have them by her side.

Things started off with dinner, an assortment of Kotori's favorite dishes. Only a little bit of feeding from Kotori's lovely wives got to happen before the combined protest of their daughters brought it to an end, only for the two girls to reach over the table and attempt to feed Kotori as well.

Almost immediately after dinner were the gifts. Hazel and Lily had combined for their gifts, which consisted of an assortment of sewing supplies. They also got a lot of replacements for Kotori's set, knowing their mother's current set was close to its end and she was in need of a new set. Both girls were a little upset they didn't end up making anything themselves, but through Kotori's reassurance and appreciation at how thoughtful their gift still was, they seemed satisfied with the result.

Honoka and Maki said that the dinner was one of their two combined gifts for Kotori. The second sent so many feelings through Kotori at once, starting from when Maki uncovered the piano keys all the way through the end of Honoka's last line. It had been a long while since the last time she could remember Maki playing the piano and Honoka singing. Yet it was still amazing now as it was back then, and Kotori couldn't help but fall for the emotions that her wives and planned to have her feel with their song.

Eventually the time ticked late enough for Hazel and Lily to feel sleepy. Kotori went to send them off to bed while Honoka and Maki took care of cleaning up. The three met up in their own room after they completed their tasks. Kotori knew they weren't quite going to sleep themselves yet, though it wasn't for the reason she was guessing.

"So… we lied earlier," Honoka confessed. "There's actually one more gift for you tonight."

Kotori raised an eyebrow. "Is it that kind of gift?"

Honoka shook her head. "Not quite."

Kotori felt a hand grab hers, turning to see one of Maki's hands linked with hers. "Do you remember a few weeks ago, when we were doing those things while Honoka had to work a little late?"

"Which wasn't fair," the ginger added on the other side.

Kotori chuckled before nodding to the redhead. "Yes, why?"

Maki patted her own stomach. "Guess what we're going to be having in the future."

Kotori could only stare in slight disbelief as she let the information sink in. "Maki-chan… You mean…"

"That's wonderful news," Honoka said happily. "Congratulations."

Finally realizing it was true, Kotori wrapped Maki in a tight hug. Maki struggled a little in playful protest before Kotori finally released her. "Anyway, because of that I won't be as involved tonight as I'd like to be. Though, Honoka is probably more than happy with filling in my part."

"Hehe, of course," the ginger agreed.

Kotori could only nod before their final activity for the night began. It wasn't this kind of play that Kotori needed to feel loved and appreciated. It wasn't this that brought them together. But it was through these intimate exchanges that helped push them forward to the future. They had two examples of that in Hazel and Lily, and now they had another on its way.

Hey everyone, nobodD here!

So 9.12 is Kotori's birthday! Make sure to show her some love for her part in beginning µ's and shaping the series we all love!

I know one of the first things that probably came to mind when you saw this was "why these three together?" Well to be perfectly honest, there's no real good reason. They are my top 3 favorite µ's, so of course I was going to write them together at some point. Even if they aren't the strongest ot3 there could be, I'm still proud of this little piece. I hope that you guys enjoyed it as well.

That's all I got to say. Hope to see you next time~