Chapter Text
Anthy took a deep breath. The air was still, emanating an aura of trepidation. Utena was looking at her, one could practically hear the gears in her head spinning as she looked Anthy over.
”So what are you doing now?”
It took several seconds—that felt like hours—for Anthy to admit that she had been almost single mindedly looking for her. It was a task that consumed her energy more than anything else and gave her a new identity; eschewing the Rose Bride for a woman on a Quest. It bought her to the sudden realisation. Now what?
”So what have you been doing?” Anthy asked, filing her mental questions away.
”Other than caring for my daughter and/or cleaning up after her? Furiously finishing assignments for school, annoying my coach and doctor so I can get back into sport and getting my second caseworker fired.”
Anthy blanched. There had to be a story there. Caseworker? Fired?
“Do tell, just don’t spill too much tea while your at it.”
”What does that even mean? Anyway, I was assigned as caseworker after I was admitted as well, you show up, fourteen, eight weeks pregnant with a stab wound through your abdomen the doctors assume the absolute worst. Then after finding I had no next of kin apparently it was insane. I was stuck on bed rest while healing from the wound. I was apparently very high risk. I was monitored so much. I was told I was lucky. One inch to the left and I would have lost the baby.”
Anthy winced. How the hell did Utena forgive her, knowing that she almost killed Hotaru?
“They got me my first case worker a couple of days after I had been admitted to hospital. I don’t remember much about our first meeting. Think I was still in shock about finding out about Hotaru the day before! She was nice, she got me set up with hospital school services then helped me get this place and figure out what to buy for the baby. Sadly, she had to transfer when I was eight months along. So I got a new caseworker. She didn’t like me at all, and thought lowly of the other young mothers. She said she’d take Hotaru away from me after she was born if I made one wrong move.
Well when she was born, it was pretty well known that she wasn’t totally Japanese. I refused to tell the father, so my daughter has my name. We are the last two Tenjou’s in Japan. Apparently that was my one wrong move. She threatened to take my baby away. I rang every single doctor and nurse I could saying that she wanted to take away the Tenjou heiress. Money talks I guess, and a good name can get you anything. She was fired that day. My new one Kira-san is nice. I’ve only had her for three weeks though.”
Anthy tried to make heads and tails of that statement, eyes widening. She nodded, head moving up and down slowly. Communication, at least when it was blunt and honest, had never been a strong point. She changed the subject yet again, proving the aforementioned point.
”Where do you go to school now?”
”The local one: Yamako. It’s tiny compared to Ohtori and really different, like there isn’t really that cliquey hierarchy. There is only two classes of third years, and most actually sent me gifts when I left on maternity leave. The teachers sent assignments.”
They both giggled at that. Hotaru started to squeal, squirming about. Utena picked her up and she immediately quieted.
“She’s a bit active. If she has to stay in one place for too long she goes insane. She probably can’t wait to start crawling.”
“Hmm, I wonder why...”
”Anthy!” It was the first time that Utena hadn’t stumbled over the name. Anthy supposed that meant that they were friends now. Real friends.
”A-Anthy...” Utena said her name again, this time with a tremor in her voice. Her body language was uneasy, what could have caused her change in mood? “W-would you like to hold H-Hotaru?”
Anthy nodded. Utena’s nerves made sense now. She shakily told her how to place her arms as she moved the baby into them. She seemed to calm down as the infant simply cooed in Anthy’s arms, staring up at her with the same blue eyes as her mother.
The answer to the now what suddenly came to her.
She had found Utena and she had let her in. Just like Utena had found her in the coffin.
Their fingers twined together unconsciously. Their minds were in sync.
“Can I go to Yamako with you?”
”Can you come to Yamako with me?”
The answer was of course yes. Hotaru looked at her mother and aunt quizzically, probably wondering what the teenagers could be laughing about now. Chu Chu pretended his teacup was a wineglass, babbling a toast about a new life then downing the dregs.
Anthy agreed. A new life it was.
Three hours on the phone later Anthy was enrolled as a third year middle schooler. The fact that the transfer papers magically had come in the mail halfway through the call was just a coincidence and the glowing report from the Chair was totally true.
Now she had to find a place to live. Utena offered to vouch for her with any landlord and offered her couch for the night. Anthy took the offer gratefully. Well, the couch half. As much as their relationship was tracking, she still had many months to catch up on before the bed-sharing stage.
After they had cleaned up Utena was straight to study mode, scribbling rapidly through a translation worksheet before moving on to maths. Anthy kept Hotaru “amused and not in vomiting distance” of Utena. She could guess the story there.
As her cooking skill still had learning curve she ordered takeout for dinner. There was little mealtime conversation, Anthy was practically eating faster than Utena and Chu Chu demonstrated his ability: being a living black hole.
It was odd how domestic it was.
They both started school in two weeks. Utena called it their honeymoon. It was a joke, friends can joke like that.
Anthy retorted that their anniversary better be good.