A/N: There won't be an update next week, Friday the 6th, because I'm starting a new job and will be too exhausted. Just a heads up!
Mom took a deep breath and closed her eyes, looking like she was silently asking for patience. Then she sat us both down at the kitchen table and brought us some tea and cookies before she sat down, too. She folded her hands and said, "Let's hear it. Now is the perfect time before your father and brother come home. I want all of the details, don't leave anything out."
I exchanged a look with Seiya. "Hear what?"
"Well, if you plan on keeping this baby then you better have a plan worked out. Children are very expensive, Usagi, and you're not even out of high school yet. Not to mention, you've also got an extracurricular activity that takes up a lot of time." She gave me a meaningful look. "Have you considered how you're going to pay for everything? What you plan to do with the baby when you're at school or otherwise occupied? I know you seem to be very set on having and raising this child, but I want you to think seriously about other options. I'm not sure you're ready to handle this level of responsibility."
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing in her face. In one way or the other, I'd already been caring for a child for the past year. First I'd dealt with Chibi-Usa, and then Chibi-Chibi. I doubted a baby could be much harder to deal with than a kid who was being hunted by the Black Moon Family. "I'm not giving this baby up for adoption, Mom. I don't care if I have to drop out of school to make things work for us, I'm keeping her."
"That's exactly what I was afraid of," Mom said, fixing me with her best expression of disappointment. "And that's what makes me think you're not ready for this. You can't drop out of school. What kind of work would you be able to get? How would you ever support yourself, much less a baby?" She shook her head. "I'm going to talk to your father, but I really think that -"
"Okay, hold on," Seiya interrupted. I glanced over at her in surprise and realized that she was angry. "I hope you realize that this is exactly why Odango didn't want to tell you. I encouraged her to tell you because I thought it would be better if you knew, but now I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I shouldn't have." She reached over and took my hand. "She's not going to be alone on this. For one thing I have plenty of money, and I earn more every time a fan buys one of our C.D's or that movie or comes to our concerts. I can support all three of us without Odango ever needing to work."
"Seiya..." I whispered. I didn't know why that came as a shock. Seiya had already proven to me that she was willing to do whatever it took to make me happy. Coming from Kinmoku, money meant very little to her, Yaten and Taiki, particularly since as she'd mentioned they made a lot of it.
"And what happens if the two of you have a fight someday?" Mom asked skeptically. "You're only sixteen years old. It's fine to say that you'll be together forever now, but you have no idea what happens when you have a baby. The stress it puts on you. I know you think you love my daughter. I know you want to take care of her. But it's not right for Usagi to depend on you."
Seiya's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you suggesting that I would abandon my princess?"
"Whoa!" I said, holding my hands up before Mom could respond and make this situation a thousand times worse. "Mom, I appreciate what you're trying to say. I really do. And if it were anyone else, I would be right there with you. But this is different. Even if Seiya and I were to decide that we're not working out as a couple, I will never be alone. She'll always be there for me. I know that now." I squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "I'm not crazy about being completely dependent on my friends, but for right now if that's the best option I have then that's what I'll do."
Mom had that look on her face, the one said she thought this was a really bad idea. "Have you thought about what the public will have to say? They're going to assume Seiya is the father."
"We've already discussed that," I said, which was sort of true. We hadn't actually decided on anything yet, and I'd hesitated to broach the issue again. I didn't know if Seiya would ever want to live as female. If she did, that would present an obvious problem if she claimed to be the father. Not that it was really anyone else's business but mine and hers, but the public wouldn't be willing to see it that way.
"I'm perfectly fine with them assuming that, and if Odango decides that she wants me to put my name on the birth certificate I would be honored," Seiya said calmly. I could tell that she still wasn't over the whole abandonment thing because she added, "After all we are engaged, so it would make sense for them to jump to that conclusion."
"You're what?" Mom cried.
"Seiya asked me to marry him and I said yes," I explained. "And actually, since we seem to be putting everything out in the open, Seiya's not a man. She's a woman."
Mom's mouth was opening and closing soundlessly. She watched, speechless, as Seiya unbuttoned her shirt just enough to display the special wrap she wore to keep her breasts contained. "I've thought a lot about whether or not this would be an issue," Seiya said, but she was looking at me. "I don't think it will be. I'm okay with living as a man right now. It's what I'm used to on Earth. Someday in the future, once the fuss over the Three Lights dies down, maybe I'll change. But this will be easier, and I don't mind."
"I don't believe this," Mom said faintly. "You're pregnant. And engaged. To a woman."
I exchanged a look with Seiya, wondering if I'd finally broken her. "Um, yes. That's right."
"Your father is going to have a heart attack," she muttered, and I just knew that she was thinking about how this was going to look to our family, friends and neighbors. Image was really important to my parents. It was one of the reasons Mom used to drive me crazy when it came to my crappy grades, and why she'd been so supportive when I started dating Mamo-chan.
"Mom, listen. It's not going to be that bad," I said as gently as I could. I waved off the disbelieving look she shot me. "No, really. Not many people know Seiya is a woman. Everyone else thinks she's a guy. Sure, I got pregnant when I was only sixteen. But as far as they're all going to know, it was to a young rock star who's going to marry me. Surely you can find some way to spin that in a positive light, right? You've got to admit, it could be a lot worse."
"I don't have to admit anything," Mom said, narrowing her eyes at me. "You're dumping this on me faster than I can process it, Usagi. I mean, my god. Here I thought the biggest thing I had to deal with was the fact that you were Sailor Moon, and now I have all this to worry about!"
I bit my lip, uncertain of how to respond to that. Because she was right, in a way. All of these secrets had been piling up and now I had no choice but to deal with them as best I could. That meant I was putting a lot of strain on the people I cared about most. I knew that no matter what Mom said, she did love me. But I also knew, could tell just from the look on her face, that everything I had told her would change the way she thought of me permanently. I was no longer the silly little kid to her and I never would be again. In many ways, I was sure that I was a disappointment. Even putting aside the whole senshi business, this wasn't what Mom had wanted for me.
After a couple of minutes, during which Mom just sat there shaking her head, I cleared my throat. "I know you're disappointed in me. But I can't change how things have ended up. This wasn't how it was supposed to be." I swallowed against the hot sting of tears, and immediately Seiya's hand gripped mine that much tighter. "I can't look back, Mom. I can only move forward. If that's too hard for you... if you'd rather I didn't come around for a while... I understand."
Mom sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She looked tired. "A couple of days," she said.
My stomach wrenched. I hadn't wanted her to take me up on the offer. "Okay."
"Usagi... Come here." She patted her knee. I hesitated for only a few seconds before I pushed my chair back and ran around to the other side of the table. I let her pull me down onto her knee and hug me. It felt so good to be wrapped up in her embrace. She stroked my back and said, "I'm not angry at you. Disappointed, yes. I wish you'd made better decisions in certain things. I need a few days to wrap my head around this and figure out how I'm going to tell your dad. But it doesn't mean I don't love you anymore, or that you're no longer welcome here. After all, you're going to be having my first grandchild." She tried to smile, and even though she couldn't quite make it I loved her even more for having made the attempt.
"You'll love her," I promised, knowing that I spoke the truth. Chibi-Usa had faded from the minds of my parents and Shingo. They didn't remember her anymore. As far as they knew the attic was simply a spare bedroom, and neither of them had any idea that it had ever housed two children. Whenever Mom saw a picture of her and asked, I just said she was a relative of Mamoru's and left it at that. But I still remembered seeing Mom and Chibi-Usa cooking together, or her and Shingo playing video games, or Dad helping her with homework. She was already a part of our family, Mom just didn't know it.
"Her?"
I stopped. I looked over at Seiya, who stared back at me with wide eyes. Big help that was. I settled for shrugging and laughing weakly. "Well, yeah. I guess I'm just hoping that the baby is a girl. That's all." I suspected that letting Mom in on the fact that I knew for sure that the baby was going to be a girl would be pushing things just a little too far.
"Right," Mom said slowly, but if she doubted what I'd said she chose not to bring it up. She gave me one last squeeze and then I slid off of her knee, sensing that our welcome had been just about worn out. It stung, but she'd handled everything tonight a lot better than most people would've. I really didn't give her enough credit sometimes. She stood up and hugged me again, kissing me on the head, and then - to my surprise - she walked over and hugged Seiya tightly.
Seiya was too shocked to respond, so she just stood there until Mom let go. Mom gave us both a sad smile and saw us to the door. As soon as it was shut behind us, I asked, "What did she say to you?"
She looked back at me and said, "She asked me to look after you two."
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