Ami was setting the table when she heard a knock at the door.

"Ami, I think Ms. Kino is here!" She heard her mother shout from the kitchen.

"Alright, I've got it mom!" She replied back to her mother. She made her way to the door and opened it to reveal her green eyed lover standing in the hall with a bouquet of lilacs.

"Uh… hi." The Guardian of Thunder said, visibly nervous despite her best efforts to hide it.

"Hey, come on in." Ami said, leading her into the apartment. Before they got too far in, however, the bluenette whispered up to Mako, "You look nice." Prompting a blush from the taller girl.

"Thank you. You look nice too." She whispered back, "You ready for this?"

"Yeah, I think so. You?"

"Yeah… yeah, we've got this." The green-clad girl said in a clear attempt to psych herself up. Ami was glad to see it, though. She had worried Mako would be in a much worse state.

The girls made their way to the table, where Ami's mother, Saeko, had stepped out of the kitchen to greet her guest.

"Hello Ms. Kino, it's a pleasure to finally meet you!" She said, warmly welcoming Mako into her home.

"Thank you for having me. And please, call me Mako." The brunette replied, "Oh, and these are for you!" She said, handing Saeko the flowers.

"Oh, thank you dear, they're lovely. I'm gonna go find a vase for these, could you help Ami finish setting the table? Dinner should be ready in just a few minutes."

"Oh, of course!" Mako shot back, eager to please.

…

Before long, the three women had helped themselves to a portion of the rice dish which Saeko had made, and seated themselves at the table. As their apartment only housed two people, and their opportunities to eat together were rare, the table in the dining room was smaller than most. Thankfully, there was enough room for Mako, however she felt the need to be extra careful to ensure her long legs did not accidentally kick one of the Mizuno women.

"Great, another thing I need to worry about." The brunette thought to herself as she pushed her food around on her plate. She had been able to eat at a decent pace, largely motivated by her desire to not offend Ami's mother, but the knots in her stomach kept her from being able to truly 'dig in'.

"So, Mako." Saeko began, instantly grasping Makoto's undivided attention, "Do you have any plans for what you want to do after high school?"

"Oh, well, actually I'd like to go to culinary school." She shot back honestly, before taking a minute to fully process what she had said.

"Wait, what if she thinks that's impractical? She probably wants Ami to marry some nice boy she meets at Medical school, and here I am telling her I want to be a chef?! Dammit, I'm blowing it already!" Mako thought, mentally chastising herself.

"Oh, that's interesting." Saeko responded, "Maybe I should've let you cook dinner for tonight."

"O-oh, well I was thinking of bringing something, but Ami said not to worry. B-but I can definitely cook something next time!"

"Wait, is it too presumptuous of me to just assume that there'll be a next time? Gah! This is worse than when Ami tried to teach me how to play chess!"

"That would be lovely." Saeko said sincerely, "So what do you wanna do after you finish culinary school? Try to be the next world famous chef?"

"Oh, no, nothing that big. And actually I'm not even-"

"I told you, Mom, she wants to open up a bakery." Ami said. Mako wasn't sure if she felt rescued, or if Ami had just dug her a deeper hole.

"Oh, yes, that's right." Saeko said, preparing another bite of food, "To be fair, you told me that a while ago. So, is that still what you want to do, Mako?"

"Uh… well…" Mako didn't know what to do. Should she lie and say she wasn't that committed to it? Ami's mother didn't seem to mind, but what if that was just a front? Maybe if she told her the bakery was just a childish dream and that she was actually looking at other options her mother would respect her more. "Well actually…"

"No. I can't lie. If this is gonna work she has to like me for who I am."

"... It's been my dream since I was a little girl." Makoto said softly.

Saeko sprouted a small smile upon hearing this, "It's good to have dreams. Goals to strive for. Keeps us from being complacent." She said before taking a sip of her drink.

"I… I think I answered that right?" Makoto thought to herself before returning to her meal.

…

Ami had only cleared about half of her plate. The reality of what she was about to do was beginning to fully set in, which dealt a large blow to her appetite. She could tell Mako was feeling it too, as she was also eating slower than normal, but seemed to be powering through it more effectively than Ami.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Her mother asked, shocking her back to reality.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." She replied.

She turned her focus back to her plate, but quickly adjusted her gaze towards Makoto. When Makoto looked back at her, Ami mouthed one simple word: "Ready?"

Makoto paused for a second, looking back down at her plate. This sent a chill through Ami. Was Mako not ready for this? Was it truly too soon? Should she have given her more time to prepare?

This cavalcade of questions was brought to a halt when Ami felt a hand atop her own. Snapping back to reality she saw that Mako had turned her attention back to her, and was delivering an affirmative nod.

"Well… now or never, I guess."

"Actually, Mom… Mako and I have something to tell you."

"Oh? What is it dear?"

With that, Ami stood up and prompted Mako to do the same, before taking the taller girl's hand into her own.

"Mom… Mako and I… we're… she's my…" Ami stammered, not quite able to get the words out.

"I'm her girlfriend, Mrs. Mizuno." Mako finished for her other half.

"Yeah. We've been dating for about two months now and… and I'm sorry for keeping it from you but I just wasn't sure how you would react and… yeah..."

There it was. The truth was out there. Now all Ami could do was wait for a response. The silence which hung in the room was deafening. Thankfully for the Guardian of Water, however, it didn't last long.

"Oh, so you two finally made it official? That's wonderful!"

With this, both girls' eyes shot up from the table and towards Ami's mother.

"Wait… I… what?" Was all Ami could manage to say.

"I've known about your feelings for Mako for some time, honey." Saeko said gently, "But, I figured you would tell me when the time was right."

"Wow… I…"

Saeko stood up from her chair and pulled her stunned daughter into a hug.

"I love you, honey. And nothing could ever change that." She said before releasing Ami from the hug.

"Wait, so you're not…"

"The only thing I am, is happy for you. Okay?" Saeko said, to which Ami simply nodded in response.

"So wait…" The Mizunos heard, causing them to turn towards Mako, who had slumped back into her chair, "Was I the only one who didn't know?!" The brunette exclaimed in disbelief, prompting a laugh from both Mizuno women.

Yay, good for Mako, Ami's mother approves, but... is that the full story? Guess you'll have to read next chapter to know for sure.

Please let me know what you guys think! Reviews are much encouraged and greatly appreciated!

And come back next time for chapter 5.