Hey guys! I hope you've all enjoyed the last couple of chapters 3 This is the longest story I've written in a long time, and i'm doing everything I can to keep it from getting overcrowded, while still reaching the end goal I have in mind. I hope you continue to enjoy it :3

I do not own MM!

I laid sprawled out on my bed, scribbling away in my journal, adding to the poems I had been writing for a while now- Since I had started the book around 7 months ago, I had it nearly half-full now, and I smiled to myself at my progress on it. I hadn't let anyone else look at them besides Ms. Ardonne, who suggested I take up the artistic outlet, but I had a feeling that soon I would be comfortable enough to show them to a certain someone.

Almost as if on cue, my phone rang, playing the tell-tale ringtone that I had picked out for Yoosung. I rolled over, reaching for it on the bedside table, answering the call, holding the phone to my ear.

"Can you read minds?"

"Huh?" His voice was audibly confused, and I laughed softly to myself, leaning back against the pillows.

"I was just thinking about you, and you called. Pretty sure you can read minds."

Yoosung laughed, and I closed my eyes- I could almost see him before me, his shining smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling happily at me.

"Well I don't know if that counts on my end, cause I'm always thinking about you, so..."

"Okay, true," I closed my journal, setting it aside, my heart fluttering as he giggled, "So, why'd you call?"

"Oh," His tone changed, the previous playfulness that was emanating from his voice completely gone, replaced with hesitation and nerves, "Well, um.. I was wondering if you'd like to, uh, come to dinner with me.."

"Of course I would. But why do you sound so nervous about it?"

"Well... My... My mom is coming. She... Wants to meet you," He took in a slow breath, clearly anxious about the idea, and I waited patiently for him to gather himself, "She found out I'm with someone... The only thing is, she doesn't know that I'm with a guy."

I felt a small pit form in my stomach, my anxiety beginning to swirl- Was he ashamed of me? Was he afraid to tell his family about us? My thoughts were interrupted as he spoke again.

"Don't take that as me being ashamed of you, I'm- I'm not. Not at all. I'm just... I'm nervous. She doesn't know about me not being straight, and it's just a bit scary. It's not that I'm ashamed of you, so please don't worry about that."

I let out a soft breath, shaking my head slowly as I raked my fingers through my hair.

"You sure you don't read minds..?"

"Mm, I just felt like you might worry about that, or that you might get caught up in your head and worry about it. I don't want you to worry about that at all. I could never be ashamed of you. I love you," Yoosung sighed softly to himself, "I'm just... I'm scared. It's scary."

I nodded slowly, playing with the hem of my shirt softly, nursing my bottom lip with my teeth, unsure of how to help in this situation. I've never had to go through the process of coming out to my parents, so I couldn't understand how Yoosung was feeling right now.

"Are you sure that this is okay? Like, are you sure you want me to meet your mom?"

"Of course I do!"

I jolted a bit at the urgency in his voice, my hand releasing its grasp on the bottom of my shirt. I listened to his quivering breaths through the phone- I could tell he was trying to calm himself down.

"My mom has always been a really kind person. I'm probably nervous for nothing, honestly- it's just... I don't know how to explain it. It's nerve-wracking. I don't know how she will react, because I always used to talk about having a girlfriend, and how I'd treat her, and she taught me how to treat a girl- It's just going to be a little scary for me... But I want to do this. I just.. I need you to stand by me, okay?"

I nodded, closing my hand into a fist, wishing desperately that I could slide my hand into his own to give him comfort.

"Of course."

We neared the restaurant, stopping about a block away, Yoosung holding my hand in shaky fingers, taking a moment to gather his breath, leaning his forehead on my shoulder, collecting himself. I rubbed his shoulders softly, kissing the side of his head comfortingly, reaching under his chin, tilting his face up to look at me, his violet eyes laced with worry. I ran my thumb along his chin softly, keeping his gaze, rubbing my nose against his own.

"I'll be beside you no matter what."

Yoosung forced a smile onto his face, trying to be strong, squeezing my hand softly. I returned his gesture with a weak smile of my own, both of us continuing on the path towards the restaurant. We walked inside, and I watched Yoosung's face as his eyes scoured the room, his body shivering as his gaze laid upon who must have been his mother. He lead the way, towing me behind him, sitting down beside me across the table from her, his shoulders slumped forwards, his hair falling softly into his eyes. The woman before us, Mrs. Kim, smiled at us gently.

"Yoosung, why do you look so nervous?"

Yoosung shifted in his seat, squeezing my hand under the table, and I attempted to reassure him by rubbing my thumb soothingly over his knuckles. He took in a slow breath, looking up at his mom slowly.

"Mom, I... This, is Saeran. Saeran Choi, my.. My boyfriend," His mom didn't flinch as he continued, her smile still as gentle and pleasing as ever as she watched him explain, his gaze fixed to the table, "I know I didn't tell you that- well, that I wasn't straight- I always wanted a girlfriend, and I had never even considered the possibility of liking men, but I met Saeran and things were just... Different. He's different."

I blushed softly as he continued, shifting my gaze as I locked eyes with Yoosung's mother, his hand still squeezing mine under the table, his leg shaking nervously.

"I was really scared to bring it up, because I wasn't sure how you'd react. It's nerve-wracking, I guess, especially when I thought I was straight for my whole life up until roughly 6 to 8 months ago," He laughed softly under his breath, "Actually, more like up until a year and a half ago. I think I liked Saeran as soon as I saw him, I just didn't know what that meant. I hope that... I hope that you don't look at me any differently." He bit his lip softly, finally looking up, his body tense.

Mrs. Kim shook her head slowly, laughing softly to herself. She tilted her head at Yoosung, flashing him a dazzling smile- now I know where he got that from.

"Yoosung. I completely understand how confusing it is to come to understand these things, it takes time- and no matter what, I would accept you. You're my son," She reached across the table, placing her hand over his free hand, and I felt the one that I was holding release some tension at the gesture, "and I love you. I'm always on your side. Relax, okay?"

Yoosung blushed sheepishly, nodding slowly, a soft smile on his lips.

"Thank you, mom."

She nodded pleasantly, turning her gaze to me, her eyes twinkling. They were a dark violet, much darker than the bright violets of Yoosung's eyes, but still just as warm, and just as inviting.

"So Saeran, tell me about yourself! I only found out about Yoosung being in a relationship a few days ago, so I don't know anything about you."

The warmth from moments before was immediately stripped away, my body suddenly growing cold. I felt knots curling their way into my stomach and throat, filling up my lungs, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. I pressed my back against the seat, recoiling on instinct, and Yoosung placed his hand on my shoulder, rubbing it soothingly, and I turned to him, my eyes wide with panic, my body visibly shaking.

"Saeran, take deep breaths. It's okay, you're okay. My mom is really understanding. You don't need to be scared. Just like I told you earlier, I was scared and nervous over nothing." He smiled in an attempt to reassure me, but the onslaught of panic rippling through my body refused to cease. I closed my eyes tightly, clenching and unclenching my free hand, desperately trying to stop the fear, the fear I knew was biased, and unfair, because Yoosung's mother was different, I could see that, she wasn't like my own. She wasn't like her.

I let out a shaky breath, my vision blurry as I opened my eyes, my breathing thin and raspy. Yoosung rubbed my back slowly, whispering soothing reminders in my ear that he was there, to breathe slowly, that everything was okay. I jolted slightly as a cup of tea was placed before me, my gaze creeping upwards, meeting Mrs. Kim's, who smiled patiently at me.

"Chamomile. I ordered it for you- it's good for helping calm the nerves."

I looked back at the tea, my stomach flipping still, my head pounding. I looked back up at her, blinking slowly, and the corners of her brows came together, genuine concern written on her features- the same honest, raw emotion I'd seen on Yoosung's face the first time he ran into me.

"Take your time, dear. It's alright."

I nodded shakily, bringing my hands to the cup, slowly taking a sip, closing my eyes as it warmed my throat. I looked over to Yoosung, his hand still resting on my back, and he leaned in, placing a soft kiss on my shoulder. I smiled softly, feeling my anxiety slowly reduce, breaking off into smaller, more manageable pieces. I put down the cup, letting out another slow breath, staring into the liquid before me.

"Sorry.. About that.. I get stressed pretty easily, unfortunately." I looked up at her, and she nodded, smiling at me again, urging me to continue. I squeezed the teacup in my hands, focusing on the warmth surrounding the cup, allowing the heat to keep me focused, and not stray from the reality that I was safe.

"To be honest, right now, I'm not doing much of anything... A year and a half ago, I was taken from.. Well, a traumatic experience. I won't go into detail, but I've been recovering since then, and I still am. All I've been able to handle doing is help my twin brother and his wife's toy company. I help program the AI for the robotic toys that they produce, and help build the toys themselves. I don't have the skill set to do anything else, really, especially dealing with people..."

"Well, that sounds impressive in itself, dear."

I blushed softly, taking another sip from the tea. I could see Yoosung smiling at me fondly through the corner of my eye, warmth pooling in my chest once more.

"Thank you... For the most part, though, I've just been.. Taking everything at my own pace for my health... But, I probably wouldn't even be as far as I am now, if it wasn't for your son, Mrs. Kim." I looked up at her, holding her gaze, desperately trying to prove my sincerity.

"I love your son. I love him so much. I will do everything I can to get to the point where I can support him properly, and take care of him forever. I'm not there yet, but I will work as hard as I can to get there, so that I can be. I want to do everything for him, and give him everything. But right now, all I can give him is me, so," I squeezed the teacup in my hands, letting out a shaky breath, "So I hope you can come to accept me."

I looked slowly to my side, my heart swelling as I saw Yoosung staring at me, tears welling in his eyes, his mouth covered with his hands, his cheeks flushed pink.

"Saeran..." His voice was full of awe and love, shaking slightly as he spoke. He reached out one of his hands, lacing his fingers in mine, a teary smile on his face. I smiled back at him, squeezing his hand in mine, turning back to his mom, who gazed at me with a look of reverence.

"Ever since he was young, I was sure that Yoosung would be fluid in his sexuality. That was never a concern of mine, so long as he was happy- my biggest concern was how impressionable he can be," She smiled at Yoosung, who hung his head towards the table, a silent act of acknowledgement of this trait he possessed, "I was afraid that the first person, or anyone, that he ended up dating, would take advantage of him- so I can't tell you nearly enough how happy and pleased I am that he found someone like you to be his significant other." She reached across the table, taking my hand in hers, and I felt warm shivers trickle up my arm from her touch, not in a displeasing way- it was comforting, soothing.

The way a mother should be.

She smiled at me, running her thumb over my hand softly, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiled.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, dear. Mental health is valid, and sometimes the mind can take a long time to heal- that's nothing to feel inadequate about, or ashamed of. I have seen a change in Yoosung over the past year, and we have you to thank for inciting that change," She squeezed my hand in hers a little more firmly, beaming at me proudly, and I felt tears sting the backs of my eyes, my chest tightening as she continued, "You should be proud of yourself. And of course I accept you, Saeran. I would be happy, and honoured, to call you my son."

My hand flew up to my mouth, my head bowing down, squeezing my eyes shut as the tears spilled over. My shoulders began to quake softly as I sobbed silently into my palm. She let go of my hand, moving around to my side, pulling me into a gentle hug. I wrapped my arms around her neck, burying my face into her shoulder, my tears staining her shirt as she rubbed my back.

"Th...Thank you... So much..."

She shook her head, holding me tightly, still rubbing my back soothingly.

"No, Saeran, thank you."

I sobbed into her shoulder, not even caring that we were probably causing a scene in the middle of a public restaurant, not caring that it probably seemed strange to everyone around us- all that mattered to me, right here, right now, was this feeling of feeling of absolute vulnerability I was experiencing, and for the first time, I wasn't afraid of it. I was overcome with the sheer velocity of her acceptance of me, of my demons, of my darkness, the comfort of her presence overbearing in the best way possible.

I pulled away, wiping my face on my sleeve, smiling weakly through my tears. Yoosung wrapped his arms around my waist, placing a soft kiss just below my eye, and I laughed softly, blushing gently as Mrs. Kim sat back down across from us, looking at us fondly as she laced her fingers together before her on the table.

"So," She chuckled under her breath, "Shall we order food?"

GAH I love the idea of Mrs. Kim being a sweet motherly influence for Saeran cause poor bb never had a good parental experience and i just UGH yes ok.

I've never tried writing a scene with a mom, so I hope that this came across well. Trying so many new things with this fanfic. Gah. Love it all though.

~Pixil-8