A/N: Apparently when I write short stories, my chapters are kinda short too. Getting another double today as this one is only 800 long. Sorry the end is getting closer but I feel terrible making you wait all this time for 800 words lol

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The door crashed against the wall as Minerva rushed through it. She beelined straight for the bar and poured herself a whisky.

"Love?"

"I failed," she whispered, slugging it back with a wince, feeling every awful bit of shame bubbling under the surface of her skin. "I -"

"Easy," Kate whispered, wrapping her arms around her. "Easy."

Minerva poured another but Kate took the tumbler from her fingers and Minerva broke down. Kate turned her and held her against her shoulder.

"Whatever is the matter?"

"I should have told her!"

"Who?"

"Hermione," she whispered. "I should have told her about you. About us. I should have -"

"Calm yourself," Kate said gently, manoeuvring them to the sofa. "Take a deep breath."

Minerva did as she was told. Kate had always been the only one who ruled over her, only because between then there were no secrets. And nowhere to hide. And endless love.

"What happened?"

"She snuck off the grounds. I thought she was meeting a boy, a man. I told her to be careful, at the very least. I didn't," she sighed shakily. "I didn't want to tell her no, but I need her to be -"

"I doubt you'll ever be able to tell that girl no," Kate quipped and earned a withering look.

"She told me that wasn't what she was doing. I didn't believe her at first. You know how it is after war," Kate grinned at her but Minerva didn't return it. "She certainly put forth a convincing argument to have me believe her."

"And what was that?" Kate asked gently.

"She came out to me," Minerva muttered, bewildered. "Just like that. Like it was nothing."

There was a long bout of silence as Kate let her feel everything she was feeling. She adored that about her wife, adored the gentle, accepting nature she had. She wished she could be more like that, both with herself and those around her.

"These days, I'm sure it feels like nothing. Society isn't what it used to be, love," she muttered, wrapping her arms around her. "And she doesn't have the baggage you, and to an extent, I, carry. She grew up in a liberal, free-thinking household, in a world where it is becoming more and more acceptable to be who you are. And then, she fought in a war that was literally all about oppressing people who were thought to be less? I'm not surprised she discovered, in herself, what was important." Minerva pressed her face against Kate's neck. "And, in the end?" she kissed Minerva's forehead and Minerva sighed at the love she felt in it. "In the end, she has you in her corner. And you are, undoubtedly, her ultimate hero. Why wouldn't she feel comfortable enough to tell you."

"I failed her."

"Why?" Kate asked gently. She loved that about Kate too; the way she challenged her gently, rather than tell her she was wrong.

"Because I didn't tell her!" She stood with clenched fists, angry at herself for her weakness. "I didn't tell her about you, about me! I could have told her," she glared at her hands. "I should have -"

"Calm down," Kate said, interrupting her before she'd really begun. "She was comfortable telling you because she feels comfortable around you. She trusts you. It doesn't demand reciprocation, love, even if you trust her! If you aren't ready, then you aren't."

"I am ready," she countered. "I am keeping my wife a secret. It feels dishonest!" She looked up at Kate, begging with her eyes to understand. "It is dishonest."

"To you, love? Or to her?"

"Both," Minerva whispered, all the fight going out of her. "To all of us. I want to show you off to the world. I want to walk into a Ministry ball, with you on my arm and know that everybody is jealous of me because I have you. I want to take you to dinner in Diagon Alley, or Hogsmeade, or Banchory. I want to be able to bring you to dinner in the Hall and nobody bats an eye. I don't want to feel so afraid of people knowing that about me, but most of all, I want her to not feel so alone. I want her to be able to come to me when she needs something, instead of just taking care of it herself. I want -"

"To take care of her," Kate muttered, getting up. "To love her?" Minerva bit back a sob and leant fully against Kate's body. "It's okay not to know how to do that," Kate muttered.

"I want you to meet her. I want you to love her, like I do."

"I already do, love," Kate chuckled. "And when you're ready I'll be so happy to meet her, but don't rush on my account. If you want to wait until she's graduated, I understand and support you."

"That's not for another eight months."

"Minerva," she sighed. "You don't have to fix the world's ills in one go."

"I don't need to fix the world's ill, Kate, I just want to fix her's."

"I know, love," Kate whispered in her ear. "I know."