"What do you think we'll do if they don't accept us?"
Nishikino tapped Minami on her forehead. "What's that now?"
"What are we supposed to do if our daughters don't want us to be together?" Minami suggested, her voice nearly squeaking out of fear of the very idea.
"Hmm...I don't know..." Nishikino frowned and looked thoughtful on the subject.
"I don't think we could just ground them and then be done with it." Minami shuddered.
Nishikino stroke the other woman's shoulder. "Well, what DO you think we should do? Do you think we should break up again and end our relationship for good, just because our daughters think it's wrong?"
"I don't want to do that." Minami winced at the prospect. She pressed herself even harder against her lover's chest.
"Kids these days can cause a lot of trouble for their parents and not even realize it," replied the redhead, sighing heavily.
"We did talk about how Kotori and Maki would probably be willing to accept our relationship, they're both good girls, but if they don't...then..."
Nishikino kissed Minami on her ear.
"You sure worry a lot when we're together, but you like putting up a serious front for your students and for Kotori. Let's calm down. I'm...I'm sure it will be fine. We just need to explain everything so there's nothing left to hide, and then they won't be feel like we're keeping secrets anymore. The fact that we hid it in the first place is what they would probably be most upset with in the first place."
"Y-Yes, you're right. Of course! I was going to say that myself!" Minami flushed a little. "That must be the answer...!"
"Right," Nishikino smirked, rolling her eyes.
The two women sat quietly for a few moments to let the silence calm them. Their heart-beats gradually slowed back down, but their minds still remained as frantic as ever. Minami reflected on her past with her daughter, and she began to realize some things she didn't feel particularly accomplished about. Kotori was her first child, her only child, her beloved child...but she couldn't recall as many happy moments together after childhood than she would have liked.
"Do you think we could have been better mothers to them?" Nishikino must have possessed some minor form of telepathy, because she suddenly asked aloud exactly what Minami had been thinking at that moment.
"Maybe...maybe I had been too afraid to act too close to Kotori, after my husband..." Minami cut herself off, but she took in a deep breath and continued, "I had tried to give her that scholarship to that foreign school because I knew she would do well there, and because I knew how much she loved fashion and designing clothes, it would have been the best for her academically. Yet I didn't even consider how it might tear her away from her friends. Surely she hated me some for that."
"No way, there's no reason to hate you for that; hell, you were going above and beyond as a parent. If anything, I'm the bad one here. Maki is a smart girl who knows how to take care of herself, but I let my job keep me out of the house and away from her for years. We get along, at least on the surface, but there's a lot of things she never told me, like how she was apart of that whole idol group at school. There are far worse mothers out there, and we gave our daughters everything they wanted, but there's always a few things parents regret not being able to do for their kids. So, no, I don't know for sure if we could have been much better mothers, but do you think that will come into play whether or not our daughters will accept us?"
Nishikino followed it up with a sigh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thrown out a question like that all of the sudden. I'm letting my mind wander too much."
Minami nodded, chuckling a little. "Trust me, I can't shut my brain up; I'd rather face Kotori right now and come out than sit here with nothing to do for another few minutes...well, can I just say one thing, before we zip our lips for good?"
"Yeah?"
"I really love you."
Nishikino smiled as she buried her face into Minami's hair, and she could have gladly stayed there for the rest of her life. "I love you too."
Kotori had been watching Maki very carefully ever since they had gotten on the bus home. Although the redhead seemed totally engrossed in her phone, it was quite clear, from the way she kept fidgeting and playing with the touch-screen, that her mind was anywhere but on the webpage she had opened up. It made sense, though; Maki was a rather innocent girl, everyone in Muse knew this, and to suddenly have the revelation sprung upon her that her mother was in a homosexual relationship with the mother of one of her friends had to have been hard to swallow. Incredibly hard. In fact, Maki nearly got them thrown out of the fast-food joint with her initial reaction. She was flipping out, but not for long, when she realized she was making a scene. Up to this point, nothing more had been said.
Now, though the girl was eerily quiet, Kotori could only imagine what sort of storm was festering behind that cute, flustered face of hers. However, if she could have said it, Kotori would have deemed Maki the lucky one here, to be learning about this from a trusted source. At least she hadn't walked in on them making out, like Kotori herself had.
"Maki..." Kotori started to say.
"Kotori, can you tell me just one thing?" Maki asked, her eyes still pinned to her phone.
"What?"
"How long did you know about all of this, and why didn't you tell me sooner?" Maki's head whipped up to stare the other girl directly in the eye.
"I-I really didn't know, Maki! I would have told you as soon as I could have if I had known, and that's what I did! I only found it out earlier today, just before I called you!"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes! I...I walked in on them while they were kissing." Kotori started to blush.
Maki's face was no less red in the cheeks. "Oh my gosh...geez, mom, how could you forget to look the door..."
"My mom wants us to all get together and talk about this, to set things straight."
"Darn right we're going to set things straight!"
"Maki, just what do you think about your mom right now?"
The first-year pulled back, blushing even harder, and shifted nervously in her seat. "W-Well, I don't know right now. I want to talk to her first, okay?"
"Yes, I know what you mean," Kotori had a lot of questions for her mother as well.
As soon as the bus arrived at their stop, Maki leaped to her feet and nearly took flight with how fast she ran out, tossing a handful of change for the ride. Kotori hurried after her.
"Where's your house?" Maki called back.
"It's a little further up the street, but Maki-!"
"I have to see this for myself!"
"Maki, wait!"
The redhead eventually spotted Kotori's house, and so she ran up the steps, opened the door, having expected it to be unlocked in the first place, and darted into the living room. There, she discovered her mother and Kotori's mother snuggling on the couch. Maki's face paled. It was true. The way they embraced each other, two adults who were only friends would never have held each other like that. Their hands were entwined, and Maki's mother was in the middle of planting a kiss on Kotori's mother's head. There was no more evidence she needed than that. Kotori had not been mistaken and she had not been lying. Maki's mother and Kotori's mother were certainly in a romantic relationship. Maki could tell, because she had seen the other girls in Muse act the same way with each other before.
Maki promptly fainted on the spot.
"Ah! Maki!"
"Maki!"
"What? Maki? Is she okay?"
"Maki! Wake up!"
Kotori and her mother exchanged stares, but the silver-haired teen found she couldn't look her mother in the eye for very long.
"Hey, mom,"
Minami breathed out. "Hello, Kotori. Thank you for coming back."
