Disclaimer: I don't own Girl Friends. They belong to Morinaga Milk. please support her, by buying her work.

United at Last

Mari had gotten a full time job as a nutritionist and as such she had enough money to pay for a small two person apartment, so after some serious thought and consideration, she decided to move in with her girlfriend Akko. These events happened on the day she moved out officially.

Mari's father came with the last cardboard box, filled with Mari's belongings, "Now you're finally leaving us Mariko... Daddy is so sad." He started crying as he sometimes did, when he was concerned about his daughter.

His wife stared at him and shook her head before speaking, "Now now, it was going to happen sooner or later, I'm just glad that you got yourself a roommate." She gave Akko an appreciative glance, "Akiko-chan sure is a kind girl to be willing to move in with you, and help you move too." Akko's answer was to rub the back of her head and laugh sheepishly.

Mari got silent for a bit and blushed a deep crimson, she realized there would never be a better time than now, for what she was about to do, "A-actually, there is something I want to tell you, about Akko and I..."

Shooting Mari a quick glance, Akko got equally red and embarrassed, "W-wait, Mari? Right here and now?!"

She nodded in return, before she addressed her parents again, "The truth is... Akko and I, are lovers!" The mood dropped significantly, like someone had doused them all with a hose.

Her father was the first to speak, WHAT is the meaning of this?!" Mari winced slightly at his tone of voice, she had never heard her father sound so angry before, though she had thought about and anticipated such a reaction, just in case. He continued his ranting, "I will not tolerate this! My only daughter is NOT a lesbian!" He looked to his wife for added support against this abomination, yet she was strangely quiet with a thoughtful look on her face, when he didn't find any support, he began shouting incoherent insults against all lesbians.

Some of them made Akko flare up and she was about to smack him, when a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder, it was Mari with a sorrowful look on her face, who shook her head and instead decided to just end it all, "...I decided to tell you today, now that I'm moving away, so that my presence in the house, wouldn't cause you sorrow everyday... Let's go Akko..." and with that, Mari turned her back on her parents, got into the passenger side of the rented card and let Akko drive.

Their drive home was done in silence, Akko looked worriedly at her girlfriend, but Mari had an expressionless face, like she had no emotion at all. When they arrived, Akko insisted that they just go in and rest, but Mari just as strongly insisted that they get the boxes out of the car and inside right away, and so they did just that, they carried the boxes inside, and when the last one had been placed... Mari finally broke down and cried on the floor. Akko was already moving to give her a comforting hug, but just before she did, Mari made a howl of anguish and then gripped Akko as a lifeline.

"It hurts." Akko thought to herself, it was on many levels that it hurt, it hurt to see Mari like this, it hurt to have Mari gripping her this hard but it also hurt when she thought back to his words of slander.

They spent a few hours like that until Mari calmed down, then Akko gently led her to bed, no dinner, no brushing teeth, nothing, just get her to bed and let her sleep some of it out. Mari was pretty spent from crying and fell asleep as soon as the duvet covered her.

The next morning, Mari opened her eyes to see Akko's sleeping face in front of her, she couldn't help but smile a little before she kissed her princess good morning. She didn't wake up from that of course, so Mari giggled a little and decided to make breakfast in place of their missed dinner last night. When the aroma began to spread across the apartment, Akko began to stir, then sniffed and quickly got up and out of bed, going into the kitchen, where she saw Mari in an apron and she just couldn't help herself to go behind her and hug her from yelped as she was startled, but after she knew it was Akko, she leaned into the hug and felt content, when suddenly Akko asked, "Is this how it's going to be... Living with you... It's like a fantastic dream." and then she kissed the cape of her neck gently.

"It's not a dream, Akko. This is reality, us living together, is finally reality." Mari turned her head and pecked her sweetheart on the mouth, "Breakfast is ready by the way." Akko rushed to set cutlery and plates on the table and sat down.

They ate Mari's newly made breakfast in joy, afterwards they took a shared bath, that still involved a little blushing, got dressed and then decided to work on putting their stuff on it's place, it wasn't that they needed to do it now, but Mari felt she had to use her hands or she would dwell too much on the day before, she found chores to be therapeutic. Around noon, they decided to take a break and get a light lunch, after eating that, they sat in silence for a while, when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Mari went to the door to find out who it was, only to be hugged by her mother in the doorway, quite fiercely, "I'm so sorry about yesterday, Mariko. I'm really sorry, I was simply surprised, I don't mind you and Akiko-chan to be together, you must believe me!" Mari stuttered and was lost for words, Akko on the other hand, looked sceptical at Mari's mother, and frowned, Ms. Kumakura saw this, waved at Akko and said, "Come here, Akiko-chan, group hug." Akko reluctantly did so, "I'm really happy for you girls. Why don't we get some tea and you can tell me all about it." Mari decided to go brew some tea, slightly relieved to be free of that bear crushing hug. Once the tea was done, they all sat down on the couch, sipped some tea, when Mari's mother began to ask, "So... how long have you two been dating?"

Mari began talking, "Officially, we have been dating since that field trip we were on in high school."

"Oh my. so long ago." Came the reply from her mother, who had put a hand to her cheek.

"But my feelings started long before that..." Mari couldn't help but blush when she said that.

"Is that so. please tell me about it Mariko." This was a part of her daughter's life she didn't know about, and she wanted to learn about it.

Akko looked at Mari with great interest, "I want to know too. You haven't told me just how long you have loved me." She took her hands and made begging eyes.

"Mari really couldn't resist Akko when she was like that, not to mention she was the one who brought it up herself. She took a few moments to gather her memories and then she began, "Well... I guess it started, back when you apologized for getting me to cut my hair."

"Wa... That's like almost when we first met! Did it really start back then?" There began to appear a slow flush on Akko's cheeks.

Mari also blushed, but for a completely different reason, "You stripped me to my underwear and pushed me down on your bed! Then you began apologizing, how was I supposed to understand it any differently than that?"

"I didn't give it any thought, you know how little it mattered!" Akko began defending her actions back then.

"I do now! how was I supposed to know it back then! You have literally taught me everything there is to know about casually hanging out with friends!" But Mari had her argument ready and wasn't stumped by Akiko's answer.

Akko thought about it, then blushed in embarrassment, "I guess for you it really did seem like something different."

Mari calmed down again, "That was what sparked my interest, the initial spark at least. Everything else can be considered Akko's divine ability to flirt subconsciously."

"You're saying embarrassing things again Mari..." Akko went totally red.

"But you are! You made us go from strangers to lovers in roughly a year, Subconsciously! And... after that one time, each time we hugged, or you held my hand, my heart would skip a beat and then start beating really fast!" Mari completely forgot that her mother was present and just spoke her mind fully.

"Wa... All that time?!" Akko was stupefied, this was totally beyond her wildest imagination.

"Yes, and it just kept escalating the more it happened, until that day I kissed you. the day we were supposed to go to that mixer, the night you taught me to drink Kahlua milk." The very instant that she said that… she knew she had said too much.

"Mariko..." Mari's mother interrupted them in a disapproving tone, "Don't tell me you have been drinking while you were underage?"

"Ahh...I'm sorry mom, but that one time, I had a single glass of Kahlua milk with Akko, it was just the two of us, and it was only one glass." Mari quickly tried to defend it, though perhaps it was to stay on her mother's good side through all this.

"...I guess that's alright then, you have to learn it at some point, and if it was under such safe conditions, I'm sure nothing bad could have happened." Her mother nodded in approval.

"...Actually I kissed Akko in her sleep ...Right before I kissed Akko that night, my mind was filled with thoughts, about how I wanted us to be together forever, so you wouldn't have to be lonely anymore, Akko." The instant that Akko heard that, she immediately flung her arms across Mari's neck and buried her face there.

Mari was really embarrassed and began stammering Akko's name, when her mother giggled a little, "You two are really such lovebirds, it reminds me of my own youth."

Akko was so embarrassed that she separated from Mari again, and Mari spoke, "Geez, I'll never get to the end of this, if you two keep interrupting me..." Mari wasn't really sulking, but she did want them to stop.

Her mother thought back to those days when she remembered something, "Actually Mariko, You acted like you were in love just after you cut your hair, I mused to myself if you had a boyfriend at the time."

"R-really? Did I really act like that?" A confusing look arose on Mari's face.

"Yes you did, I don't think you were conscious of it then." Ms. Kumakura sure seemed to have fun.

"...So, you're saying I fell in love at first sight?" Mari asked earnestly, while Akko was doing all sorts of weird poses, presumably to prevent tackling Mari to the ground, and do various inappropriate things.

"Yes, your father was very worried about you in those da.." Mari's mother quickly put a hand to her mouth when she realized just what she had said.

Mari was hesitant to bring it up, but she just had to have clarity, "...Is dad still thinking the way he did yesterday?"

"...Yes... though I'm going to make him change his mind, by forcing him to eat inedible food, I'm the chef in the house and when he wrongs me, he will get punished. I didn't do it yesterday because I didn't want to make your brother suffer and he will be at a friend's house all night. Remember this tip Mariko, the chef in the house reigns supreme. I'm sure you're the one who cooks in this place." Ms. Kumakura made her point clear, that should Akko ever wrong Mari, her punishment would be her meals. Akko gulped a little when she imagined that, and decided to always be on Mari's good side, not that she wanted to do otherwise before this, but... just in case.

Mari laughed a little, but then got to thinking a little, "By the way Akko... when did you first realize that you loved me?"

"...You're asking such embarrassing things Mari." Her girlfriend was blushing more and more.

Putting on a stern face, Mari pinned Akko with her eyes when she spoke, "I had to answer, so it's only fair."

"...Okay, you're right... I first realized how much I loved you, was when you talked with your ex-boyfriend on the phone. right before he stood you up." Akko blushed in remembrance of it.

"You had a boyfriend Mariko?" Mari's mother was really shocked, never had she thought that she would hide something like that.

Mari held a hand up in front of her mouth, "Ah! yeah... I had a boyfriend right around Obon before that school trip, I was only dating him out of pity... self pity that is. I figured that I could never be with Akko, so I decided to try and change whom my feelings were for, and I went out with Harada-kun as a result."

Ms. Kumakura began to recall those distant memories, "Harada? as in the guy you gave chocolate in grade school?"

Mari was stuttering, she hadn't counted on her mother to know that, "W-why do you remember that?"

"It was the first time my little girl had given anyone chocolate, of course I would remember it." Ms. Kumamura giggled to herself, really treasuring how embarrassed her daughter had become.

"...Okay... I only gave him chocolate because Mayu-chan was too timid to give him some all by herself." Looking at Mari, Akko thought that she understood Mari even more.

Hearing that name also kicked in memories of Mari's childhood in her mother's eyes, "It sure has been a long time since I last saw her, I wonder what became of her."

"Ah...Actually we text each other pretty often now. We met each other when I was on a date with Akko on Christmas Eve." Mari realised that, that was another blunder on her part.

Her mother sighed, "talking about this with you, makes me realize how little I know about you Mariko... to think that you hid so much from us... it makes me both sad and mad. It's like I don't even know you... my own daughter. Please promise me that you will share your life with me from now on, okay?"

"I promise, mom." mariko hugged her mother tightly.

her mother got up, "now that I'm here, I might as well help you unpack and settle in."

Later that night, Mari's mother had concocted a dish with all her frustration and venom in it, "Eat up!"

"B-but..." He looked at the food before him, something about it screamed 'don't eat me' at him.

"I said, EAT UP!" Ms. Kumakura was miffed right now, "When you don't want to listen to reason, your stomach must take the consequences."

He ate up, and to his surprise it was actually rather good, so his initial concern was eased and he enjoyed his meal...until an hour later or so, when his stomach suddenly felt like running away from him. at that point he occupied the toilet for quite a long time.

His wife stood outside, shouting insults at him, "do you feel that?! That's how our daughter's stomach felt when you destroyed her mentally. Are you proud of yourself yet?!" He slept on the couch that night, as just one last abuse of power, that his wife had over him.

that night, alone on the couch with a stomach that didn't feel like it wanted to be a part of him, he lied awake, and thought about what he had done… and looking back… he was ashamed of himself, and so he wept himself to sleep.

Finally done, this got a little longer than I imagined, and frankly it's two or three ideas stitched into one.

I'm frustrated over the fact that neither Akko nor Mari's parents have a given name. This is just Chapter 1. I think there will be 4-5 chapters of this. so look forward to that.