"How about this one?"

Mizuki hummed, examining the exquisite array of lilies that her brother had suggested. "I think Mom loves roses more, don't you think?"

"You think so?" Nariyuki crossed his arms, ruminating momentarily before nodding. "You're probably right. She does love anything that's related to romance."

The day was May 9th; universally most recognized as Mother's Day. The commemorative standard in Japan was marginally lower compared to other western countries, but even so, it was still considered a regularly celebrated holiday amongst most japanese families. Having recently transitioned into that said group, Nariyuki and Mizuki were currently browsing through a nearby florist shop in hopes of purchasing flowers catered towards their mother's taste.

Which was to say that it was a more thought-provoking task than Nariyuki had expected. It had been quite some time since they had last boughten flowers for such an occasion.

"I'm surprised we're even doing this," said Mizuki. "We haven't celebrated Mother's Day since you know...Dad left. Weren't you the one that said that we should avoid doing things that would remind Mom of him?"

"I know." Nariyuki replied. He had indeed been the one to have said that all those years ago. It had been a sorrowful time for the entire family and what he had been focused on more than anything back then was helping everyone get over their grief. "But...I had a change of heart after talking to someone yesterday."

At his words Mizuki eyed Nariyuki thoughtfully. She had a relatively good idea on who that person could be. Even with him being in his second year at university already, there were only a few people that her brother spent time with outside of his study hours.

"Well! Not like I'm complaining." She relented and proceeded to grab Nariyuki by the arm to pull him close. "Thanks to this, I now get to spend some private time with you! We haven't hung out like this since you started university. You're going to break your dear sister's heart you know?"

Nariyuki chuckled. "Really Mizuki? You're in high school now. Aren't you past the age of wanting to spend time with your siblings?"

"Of course not! There's always room for some lovely brother-sister bonding." She replied coyly.

"If you say so…" It'd be quite easy for other people to get the wrong idea at the display of affection, but Nariyuki was well used to his sister's antics by now. "In any case, thanks for coming with me to do this. I know it's extremely last minute. We're probably the only people silly enough to buy flowers this late into Mother's Day." He laughed to himself softly. "You have everything you need to make dinner tonight right?"

"Leave it to me!" Mizuki pumped her chest confidently. "I know all of Mom's favorite dishes like the back of my hand!"

"Mom, come on! We need to get home soon!" said Hazuki as she pulled her mother along by the hand.

"That's right!" Kazuki added on excitedly. "Nariyuki and Mizuki are probably ready with the surprise already!"

"Surprise?" Hanae echoed.

Hazuki poked her twin brother at the side. "You dummy! We were supposed to keep it a secret!"

"S-sorry...it just slipped out."

Hanae was extremely confused. First her two youngest children had begged her to take them to the park right before dinner, and now they were insisting on being back home by a certain time. The former action was expected, but cutting their playtime short in favor of coming home early certainly seemed out of character for the two.

"Are you sure you two are alright?" She asked somewhat skeptically. "It's not very normal for you guys to ask to leave so soon."

"W-were fine!" Hazuki assured. "We're just excited for the surprise is all-"

This time it was Kazuki who had his hands over his sibling's mouth to stop her from speaking. "What happened to keeping it a secret!" He exclaimed.

"A-ah! It's because you messed up first!"

Hanae couldn't help but let out a chuckle, shaking her head endearingly while the two young children bickered amongst each other. Now they were definitely behaving like themselves again.

"Come on, you two." She said as she proceeded to slide open the front door. "We're back now like you two asked. Let's get inside so I can start cooking dinner-"

"Surprise!"

Hanae jumped at the abrupt shouts from Nariyuki and Mizuki. The two were smiling at her cheerily, evidently prepared for her arrival as her attention shifted to their short dinner table. An array of colorful dishes were freshly prepared and presented on its wooden surface.

Kazuki and Hazuki came running in afterward. "S-surprise!"

"Late! So late!" Mizuki chastised the younger two. "How did you two mess it up?! We practiced this, remember?!"

Hanae, however, was too focused on the food on the dinner table to have even noticed the discrepancy. Oyakodon, Chawanmushi, Unagi, and Tamagoyaki. Was it just a coincidence that they all happened to be her favorite dishes?

"Mizuki...what's all this for?" She asked as she sat herself around the table. "I thought I told you I would take care of dinner tonight."

"What do you mean Mom? Of course I'm going to cook for you on your special day!"

"Special day…?" She repeated, confused.

Mizuki and Nariyuki looked at each other, and the younger sibling nodded. Nairyuki proceeded to bring something out from underneath the table and then held it out towards Hanae. The woman's eyes went wide in recognition.

A bouquet of roses.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom," said Nariyuki with a smile.

Mother's Day? Was that today? When was the last time that they had celebrated such an event?

A long time it seemed.

"You guys...you shouldn't have." She took the flowers, admiring the colors before laughing softly. "This is all too much, don't you think? We haven't celebrated this in years."

"Well, I believe it's about time we did. We wanted to thank you, after all." Nariyuki replied.

"Thank me?" She asked, thrown aback by the undue appreciation. "For what?"

"For being our Mom of course." The answer was so silly and obvious, yet it still managed to surprise Hanae. "For loving us with all of your heart and being the best parent that we could ever ask for. All these years you've been working so hard to make us happy. You're always there for us no matter what."

He looked at Mizuki, Hazuki, and Kazuki, who were all smiling in agreement.

"We love you, Mom."

She was speechless. Was it normal for her to feel so moved by such words? Hanae felt tears begin to form at the corner of her eyes.

The feeling in her chest felt nostalgic. One that reminded her of a time before everything had changed.

Though unlike the years before, they weren't the least bit sorrowful.

She felt proud.

Do you see this, Teruaki...?

Our kids have grown up.

Reaching out, she pulled her four children into her arms, all of them smiling as they accepted the warm hug.

"I love you all, too."

It was cool outside, or at least Nariyuki thought it was.

It was his preferred weather at this time of the night really. Lately, he found himself outside the house on their makeshift porch quite often just to appreciate the late summer chill. With how cramped it was inside it was only natural to want some fresh air.

The door behind him slid open, and walking out of the entrance was Hanae.

"You really like it out here, don't you?"

Nariyuki chuckled at the observation. "I guess so. I really like the breeze at this hour."

Hanae nodded in agreement.

"I'm still surprised you went through all the trouble of preparing a celebration after so many years." She said. "It was really sweet."

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I actually wasn't planning on doing it at first...someone convinced me."

"Oh?" She started. "A friend of yours? That person must really love her mom."

"You could say that." He let out an awkward laugh. "It was Furuhashi actually."

"Oh…"

Nariyuki nodded, smiling fondly as he retold the conversation he had shared with the girl the day prior.

One Day Ago

"Eh? You're not celebrating Mother's Day tomorrow?" asked Fumino.

The two of them were walking together in a nearby park following the conclusion of their evening movie date. Since the start of her second year at her university, Fumino had officially begun partaking in an internship as a research assistant in the school's astrology department. Fortunately this was one of the few weekends where she had time to come back home to visit.

"Well...we haven't celebrated Mother's Day since my dad was still around." He replied.

"Oh…" Fumino suddenly felt awkward for bringing up what appeared to be a sensitive topic. "I...didn't know that. So you don't celebrate it because..."

"My dad passed away around that time. Few days before Mother's Day, actually." He explained. "That year...my mom couldn't stop crying on the holiday, so I always thought it was best to not celebrate it since then."

"I see..." She said softly.

They continued walking side by side, silently, the conversation topic gradually being left behind as the duration of quiet persisted.

Or at least it would have been.

"Hey..."

"Hm?"

Fumino turned to face him. "You love your mom, right?"

"Huh?" Nariyuki blinked, thrown off by the strange question. "Of course I do."

"What do you love about her?"

He couldn't tell if this was a joke or not, but upon seeing the honest curiosity and seriousness on Fumino's face, he felt himself genuinely consider the answer to her question.

"I guess...everything really," he started. "She works extremely hard to always make sure that there's a roof over our heads. I've always been inspired by that...to do my best whenever I can because of her. She's too kind for her own good, always asking how I am, even when I probably look just fine. She tries to hide her pain a lot...to make sure that we don't worry about her...though I can see through it most of the time."

"I guess...in a way...she reminds me of you."

Fumino stared and Nariyuki instantly felt the embarrassment of his words catch up to him.

"I didn't mean that in a weird way!" He quickly tried explaining. "Obviously you two aren't the same person...I just mean that you two share some characteristics is all..."

"I-it's okay...I get it..." She reassured, but her blush told a different story.

An awkward silence fell over them.

One that didn't last very long.

"Do you think...she would be happy to hear all of that?" asked Fumino.

"Hear what?"

"What you love about her." She answered. When Nariyuki remained silent, Fumino continued. "I think...regardless of circumstances...having someone you care about tell you that they love you...I think that would make anyone extremely happy. Especially when they haven't heard it in a while..."

His eyes went wide at her words. He hadn't considered it in that way before. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time he had told his mom that he loved her? It wasn't that he didn't...he just never really felt like he had to. She loved him and he loved her, he always assumed that it was an unconditional fact. Which it was.

But had he ever told her?

"I think…" Fumino spoke up once again. "Mother's Day is the time of the year for children to appreciate and cherish everything that their moms have done for them. The reasons you love your mom...the reasons she loves you and your siblings. Even if your dad isn't here anymore...those feelings you feel for her…they don't change do they?"

He stared at her. Hard and long. So long that Fumino appeared to get the wrong idea.

"S-sorry!" She said embarrassed. "I didn't mean to say that what you're doing is wrong! I understand why you're doing what you're doing...it's just that-"

She was silenced by the sudden act of Nariyuki hugging her, wrapping his arms around her tightly and burying his face into her shoulder.

You really are amazing.

"Thank you, Fumino." He said softly. "I think I'll be celebrating it after all."

Fumino stood frozen, astonished by the sudden swing of events, but eventually she found herself giggling to herself, and returned the hug in earnest.

"I'm glad."

Present

"Wow…" Hanae breathed.

Nariyuki chuckled. His reaction had been something along the same line.

"So when can I expect the wedding?" She asked cheekily.

He sighed, feigning annoyance. "You always have to bring that up, don't you?"

"Well of course. You're my son after all, and why wouldn't I when your girlfriend is such a wonderful young lady who cares for you very much."

At that, Nariyuki smiled. His attention shifted to the sky, and he noticed the surprisingly large number of stars up there tonight. His mother joined him at his side, placing her arms onto his shoulders.

I wonder if she's looking at them right now too.

"Was Fumi-chan really close to her mother?" Hanae asked.

"Yeah…" He smiled. "She was."

"I guess...she must be feeling pretty lonely right now then."

Nariyuki perked up at his mother's statement. It almost sounded as if she was suggesting something, especially with the knowing look that she was currently giving him.

He thought back to his and Fumino's conversation, recalling what the girl had told her.

'Mother's Day is the time of the year for children to cherish everything that their moms have done for them.'

'The reasons you love your mom...the reasons she loves you,'

'Whether they're here anymore..."

'Those feelings don't change do they?'

He suddenly felt extremely stupid for not being able to see it sooner.

"You're probably right…"

Fumino was looking at the stars.

From the balcony of her home, the myriad of celestial bodies had opened itself up to observation tonight, and the cloudy days that were prominent earlier in the week were beginning to take its leave. It felt like the sky was blooming in luminescence particularly bright for this particular night, constellations of every kind making its appearance.

She had been focused. Silently searching. Intensely absorbed, right eye staring through the lens of her telescope, in timorous anticipation.

She always seemed to be looking for it at this time of the year. Frankly, she was always looking for it no matter the time of the year, but today was special.

It was Mother's Day afterall.

Fumino ruminated this as her phone vibrated, and she sighed, removing herself from her survey. Finding her mother's star was a lot more of a challenge than her usual astrology research, especially with the old telescope model she owned. It wasn't enough to observe all the details of the more younger and distant stars that would probably fit the bill.

Well...there was no rush. She hadn't expected to have found it so easily.

Though admittedly, it was a bit disheartening.

She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone, and read the name of the message sender.

It was from Nariyuki.

Instinctively, she smiled.

Unlocking her phone, she opened the LINE app, and attempted to read what Nariyuki had to say, but was surprised to find a picture instead of a message.

It was a picture of her.

Looking through a telescope…

...on the top of her balcony.

She whipped her head to right below, and as she suspected, Nariyuki was standing there at her front door with his phone out, waving at her.

"N-Nariyuki?"

"I didn't want to startle you." He said. "You seemed rather focused up there."

"Jeez…" Fumino shook her head affectionately. "Somehow I'm a little bit more creeped out by what you did instead. How long have you been waiting down there?"

"Not too long. But you look really cute when you're so focused on stargazing."

She blushed hard at the unexpected and forward compliment.

"Is your dad home?" He asked, pulling her out of her daze.

She shook her head. "He was earlier, but he left for the university again. He always likes to work on his research at this hour." She tilted her head curiously. "Did you want to ask him something?"

"No...not really. I wanted to come see you, but honestly...your dad is a bit intimidating." He admitted with a nervous chuckle. "Half of the time I come over it feels like he's glaring at me."

Fumino laughed brightly at that. "You know he likes you right? He's just socially inept. You don't need to worry about it really."

"I sure hope so."

She quickly let him in through the front door, and they met again on the top of the balcony, this time with an extra chair adjacent to her for him to sit next to.

"I was just looking at the stars with my Mom before this actually," said Nariyuki. "I figured you were doing the same."

She smiled. "I guess you know me too well. With a clear night like this, it's almost impossible not to." She chuckled and proceeded to ask the question at the forefront of her mind. "How was everything? Did your surprise go well?"

He nodded. "It was great. Thanks to you."

She looked away shyly. "I didn't do anything really…"

"I would heavily argue otherwise."

Fumino again felt her cheeks warm. Nariyuki was being particularly assertive tonight. Not that she minded, but she couldn't stop herself from getting flustered by it.

"I guess…I just know how much you love your mom." She said softly. "It's pretty obvious how much she cares about you too. I just figured...that everything would be alright."

"And you were right. It made her happy." He said with a grateful smile. He shifted his gaze to the sky. Pondering. A few moments later his expression turned serious. "I actually came over because I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Fumino repeated, confused. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Maybe not directly...but for someone like me who is fortunate enough to still have my mom around on Mother's Day, it was a bit insensitive of me to say that I wasn't going to celebrate it in front of you." He smiled sadly at her. "I offended you, didn't I?"

"W-what?" She exclaimed, genuinely surprised by the comment. "Of course not...I told you already, remember? That I understood why you did what you did." She quickly reached out to grab a hold of his hands, wanting to get rid of the unwarranted guilt on her boyfriend's face as soon as possible. "You didn't offend me, Nariyuki...I promise."

He squeezed back appreciatively, and their eyes met silently.

"You miss her don't you?"

A silent pause. One that was needed as Fumino took in his question.

There was really only one right answer.

"I do."

He smiled, appreciating the honesty.

"I've always had my family." He started, letting himself be truthful as well. "My siblings. My mom. Even after my dad passed away, we've always been able to hold each other up. I really am lucky to have all of them."

"But for you...you were alone. You didn't have anyone for so many years. And yet...when I first met you...you were kind, always caring about others. Earnest. I never would have thought that you had nobody to go home to. But even with the little support you had, you continued to hold onto your dream as hard as you could."

He held her fingers tight, in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"You're so strong, you know that?"

They gazed into each other's eyes for what felt like an eternity. There was no breeze anymore. No branches swaying. No bushes rustling. Not even the smallest chirps of crickets. Just quiet. Simple. Timid.

It was Fumino who looked away first.

"I wouldn't really call myself strong…" She said, laughing softly to herself. "I used to cry myself to sleep all the time. I had so many nights where I couldn't stop missing her no matter how hard I tried."

"I actually stopped crying as much...after I met you."

Nariyuki had no response to that other than hushed silence.

"My mom told me one last thing before she passed away," she continued. "I always thought it was silly...that what she told me would never happen to me. At the time, all I ever wanted was for her to stay with us."

She looked up at the stars, believing that her words were being heard out there by the woman somewhere.

"She told me that no matter how hopeless things may seem, no matter how sad I'll be from missing her...that everything would be okay. Because one day...I would meet someone who would always be there to support me."

She looked to him with a knowing smile.

"Someone that I would fall in love with, with all my heart."

Nariyuki felt Fumino's fingers intertwine with his.

"That's why I know that everything will be okay. That even if I haven't found her star yet. Even if there are nights where I miss her. I know that she's watching over me without a shadow of worry in her eyes."

"Because she knows that I found that someone."

Fumino moved closer, and Nariyuki was well aware of it. His heart pounded, eyes enraptured by the girl in front of him.

"Everyday being with you has made me so happy. Because of you I was able to be close to my dad again. Because of you I found the strength to stand on my own again."

"I don't think there's a world where I'll ever stop feeling this way."

Time seemed to slow. Their faces were inches apart.

And with it, Fumino let her heart speak.

"I love you, Nariyuki."

It was his undoing.

Closing the gap between them, he pressed his lips to Fumino's softly.

Everytime it felt like a new experience. Sensations of joy and ardor. A passionate ballad as he poured all of his affection into the gentle and tender act.

Whatever world is out there waiting for us...

I won't ever stop loving you too.

They broke apart with their foreheads touching. The look between them, evident of nothing else but mutual adoration.

"You're going to be an amazing mother one day, you know?" He said to break the silence.

"W-what?" Fumino replied dumbfounded.

His mind panicked.

'You idiot! Now that's just going way too far!' He yelled at himself in embarassment.

"A-ah! Sorry! I didn't mean to suggest anything by that!" He explained desperately. "I m-mean I g-guess I am...but it's probably way too e-early for me to be s-saying that kind of stuff, isn't it…?"

Fumino stared wordlessly, wondering to herself if she had really heard everything correctly just now.

Suddenly, she sputtered out a laugh, one that grew in mirth and joy. Gleeful tears were leaking from the corner of her eyes, and all Nariyuki could do was blink in response, finding it rare to hear the girl laugh so heartily. Eventually, his lips curled upward, and as natural as it seemed, he found himself laughing along with her.

It was moments like this that made everything so colorful.

A minute passed and when the merriment finally died down, Fumino rested her head on top of Nariyuki's shoulder and cuddled up close.

It had been a wonderful Mother's Day.

"I'm sure you'll be an amazing father as well..."

A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter! It was a blast as always.

I have a lot of ideas for future chapters, but if any of you guys have any prompts to suggest, I'd be happy to hear them. Feel free to send me a PM or leave a review.

Again, thanks for reading, and Happy Mother's Day!