Chapter Text
“I want a divorce,” Sana said abruptly, two hands gripping the wheel. She and Momo had just gone out to celebrate their 14th anniversary of being together, but she couldn’t keep it in anymore. The thoughts had been swirling in her mind all night. Perhaps the timing was poor, but the words just spilled out of her mouth. Momo sat on the passenger’s side, face pale as if all the blood had left it.
“We were so young when we got together, I think there’s so much more out there for both of us, you know? I care about you but have we even really talked these past few months? Maybe years? I just can’t do it anymore,” Sana sighed as she finished. She signaled and turned into their neighborhood and looked over at Momo, who hadn’t moved in what seemed like forever.
“Are you going to say something?” Sana asked, glancing over. Before she could stop the car, Momo unbuckled herself, opened the door, and threw herself out of the moving car.
“OH MY GOD MOMO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!??!” Sana yelled as she stopped the car and jumped out to check on Momo. There was a small tear in Momo’s suit coat, dirt around the areas that had hit the ground, and a small scratch on her cheek as she looked up at Sana.
“I have always loved you, Sana. I’ve never stopped and I’m not sure I could even if I tried,” Momo said shakily, breaking down into tears. Sana collected her in her arms, tears also falling from her eyes. She knew this was something she needed to do for the sake of their relationship. If this was the right thing to do, why did it feel so wrong?
—
“Tzu? Are you ok?” Chaeyoung snapped her fingers in front of Tzuyu’s eyes, wondering where the girl had mentally gone. The two were seated at the dining room table doing homework, when Chaeyoung noticed that Tzuyu’s eyes had glazed over. She had called her name a couple times with no response.
“Oh oops just thinking too hard,” Tzuyu sighed as she answered.
Tzuyu and Chaeyoung had been friends since elementary school, and Tzuyu had been pining after the older girl for that long. Chaeyoung remained clueless to her affection, and it wasn’t entirely her fault, although Tzuyu could be more forward.
“It’s our senior year, what’s there even to think about?” Chaeyoung chuckled as she leaned back in her chair. Tzuyu let out a small puff of air as she watched the other girl run her hands through her hair.
“So much? Like college? And soccer? And the future?” Tzuyu placed a hand to her temple as she sighed, knowing that Chaeyoung was also on her list of worries.
“It’ll all work out, I’m not too worried. You’re too smart and too good at soccer to not have a good future. And if it comes down to it, I’m sure your moms will take care of you,” Chaeyoung replied, staring at the picture of Tzuyu’s moms on the bookshelf.
Tzuyu had been bouncing from foster home to foster home until she ended up here. She was a quiet girl, careful not to draw too much attention to herself so she could stay out of harm's way. Unfortunately, most people wanted a child who was outgoing and charismatic, and that didn’t quite fit her description. Time wore on and as she got older, people got less and less interested since they don’t like to adopt teenagers. One of her moms was the social worker on her case, and had always given her extra care, sneaking her treats when no one was looking. One day, she came in and told Tzuyu to pack her bags, and she’s been living with them ever since. It’ll be six years soon.
Suddenly, the front door swung open.
“Tzu, can you come help your mom real quick,” Sana yelled into the house. Tzuyu and Chaeyoung got up quickly and ran to the front door.
“Oh my god, what happened?” Tzuyu exclaimed as she ran to support Momo, placing her shoulder under her arm and walking her over to the couch.
“Well, your mother decided she wants a divorce! So I threw myself out of the car,” Momo grumbled. Sana returned from the kitchen with a bag of ice and started checking Momo for any other wounds besides the scratches on her face and hands.
“Wait what?” Tzuyu asked, eyes searching for answers as she went back and forth between the two of them.
“Sorry you have to see this, Chaeyoung, I’ll take you home in a minute,” Sana said as she bandaged up Momo, who was frowning now.
“There you go again, always worried about what other people think,” Momo mumbled, earning a scowl from Sana.
“You two are splitting up?” Tzuyu said, voice cracking as she tried to hold back tears. She loved the two of them so much, they had given her a home when no one else would. This was her world, her family. The idea of them getting a divorce hurt her deeply, especially when she had spent so much time looking up to their relationship. It was everything she had wanted. They were high school sweethearts, everything she hoped for herself and Chaeyoung.
“Yes, I’m so sorry, Tzuyu,” Momo said, tears falling from her eyes. She had always felt a deep connection with Tzuyu ever since she first saw her at office, and she couldn’t help but hurt knowing that she would have to witness yet another broken home. Momo had vowed to give her the happiest home, and here she was letting her down. The tears started falling again. Tzuyu wrapped her arms around Momo and the two cried together.
“I’m going to take Chaeyoung home but we can talk when we get back, ok?” Sana said, standing up. Momo and Tzuyu were too busy sobbing, and Chaeyoung had left to go get her things. Sana’s heart ached at the sight before her. She loved Tzuyu so much, but she just didn’t know what her future with Momo looked like anymore.
As Sana and Chaeyoung walked out the door, Sana’s shoulders felt heavy. Why couldn’t she just make it work? Be content with what she had? It’s not like she had a bad life. A certain someone lingered in her mind, but she shook the thought away. She stood there outside her car, letting her thoughts run wild.
“Um Mrs. Minatozaki? Your car is still locked,” Chaeyoung stuttered, a small blush on her face.
“Ah, yes, sorry,” Sana mumbled, clicking the button on her keys.
“It’s ok, Tzuyu spaces out like that a lot, too,” Chaeyoung replied with a small chuckle.
Tzuyu. She felt the worst about doing this to Tzuyu. She had talked to her sister about this already, and she had been wary but supportive, mostly because of Tzuyu. They all baby-ed her a lot, but it was always out of love. In this moment, the way Tzuyu’s puppy eyes had looked up at her and asked if they were splitting had almost convinced Sana to not do it.
She hadn’t been thrilled when Momo had come home with a teenager, especially when they were just getting settled into their life together, but Tzuyu was perfect. She was thoughtful and kind despite what she had been through. She came into their family and filled a position Sana didn’t know was empty. Her personality complimented hers and Momo’s so well, she brought balance to their small family unit.
“I’m sorry about your divorce,” Chaeyoung whispered, hands fidgeting with the edge of her skirt.
“Oh, you don’t need to apologize. It’s hard but I think it will be ok. Will you watch after Tzuyu for me, please?” Sana asked, tone a little lighter.
“Yeah, anything for you. I mean, Tzu,” Chaeyoung responded quickly, face scrunched. Sana just nodded, lost in thought thinking about the fact that she had just imploded her family, her world.
—
“Two vodka sodas, please,” Nayeon said as she leaned on the counter. The bartender just nodded and began preparing the drinks. This was her usual spot, hanging out at the bar, picking up girls, and never seeing them again. She didn’t do relationships, it was too messy. Nayeon had tried once and the girl had left with her best friend, so she decided to throw herself into meaningless sex. It was the only reasonable solution, in her mind. And she was clear with her intentions, so if anyone got hurt, it was on them.
The bartender handed Nayeon the two drinks. She nodded and looked around, like a lion looking for her prey. She had been doing this for a while as a way to let off some steam, and now she knew how to get just about anyone into bed with her. A certain blonde girl caught her eye, so she decided to walk toward the table with two girls. Strutting over in her navy suit, top buttons undone, tie loose, she knew she looked hot.
“So, the bartender told me to give these to the prettiest girls in the room. I’m Nayeon,” she said with her signature smirk, setting the glasses in front of them. The girl with the brown hair and big eyes was definitely shamelessly checking her out. The blonde girl was a little more wary, but that wasn’t something Nayeon was scared of.
“I’m Jihyo, and this is Mina,” the brown haired girl gestured to herself and then to the blonde girl.
“Nice to meet you both. What brings you out here?” Nayeon gestured to their surroundings.
“We were just about to go, actually-“ Mina said as she started grabbing her things, locking eyes with Jihyo to signal their exit, but she didn’t seem to be responding.
“ You were about to go home to see your girlfriend, I was going to stick around and see if I could find some trouble,” Jihyo said, eyes locked on Nayeon’s as she bit her lower lip. Mina sighed as she packed her things up and closed her tab.
“You sure you don’t want in? There’s more than enough of me to go around,” Nayeon laughed, masking a small amount of disappointment until she felt Jihyo pulling her closer by her tie.
“You think you can handle me?” Jihyo smirked, feeling like she had caught the girl off guard.
“Oh, I like a challenge,” Nayeon replied as she tilted Jihyo’s chin up, lips millimeters apart. The air between them was thick, and Mina was starting to feel weird being there.
“Well I’m going to go uh Jihyo be safe ok?” Mina quickly walked out the door and headed to her car. As she checked her phone, she noticed she had 20 missed calls and 40 missed texts from her girlfriend. It was going to be a long night.