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“You love her, don’t you?” Miko asks.
The question is so blunt and unexpected that Ei chokes on her tea.
“E-excuse me?” Ei wheezes.
“Kokomi,” Miko clarifies teasingly, the twinkle in her eyes suggesting she’d been very deliberate with the timing of her question.
Ei glances away, not sure what the right answer here is, but…
She can’t lie to Miko. She’ll never lie to Miko, no matter what.
“I do,” Ei admits softly. “She’s a very special human, isn’t she? The way she’s worked her way into my heart, the way Makoto adores her, everything she’s done for us…”
“She is,” Miko agrees, voice just as soft. “I love her too, you know.”
Ei looks back at her wife and finds no trace of amusement on Miko’s face, only a gentle longing. The god bites her lip, then reaches out to take her fox’s hand in hers.
Ei isn’t always the best at people. Understanding what they’re thinking has always been a challenge for her, though with Kokomi she often has a silent understanding through their very similar inward-focused natures. But…
“You want to ask her to join us, don’t you,” Ei whispers.
Miko gives a tiny nod, and Ei smiles at her.
“I would love that,” Ei says. “…It’s strange, I never would have imagined I could ever want more than having you by my side, but…”
“But Kokomi is special,” Miko finishes, echoing Ei’s previous words. “Having her around feels like it fills a hole I hadn’t realized was there.”
“It does,” Ei agrees. She squeezes Miko’s hand and takes a deep breath. “We can ask her when she visits tomorrow… and we should probably have a date plan in place for if she says yes.”
“We can have Makoto stay with Yoimiya,” Miko suggests. “She and Ayaka are always happy to babysit.”
“It’s shorter notice than I’d like, but you’re right,” Ei says. “As for the date itself, though…”
“Oh, don’t worry. I have a picnic location in mind…” Miko murmurs, the smile on her face not at all reassuring. “So kind of Lumine to handle cleaning it up for me while she was here.”
Somehow, Ei gets the feeling ‘cleaning up’ whatever place Miko’s thinking of involved rather more than moving a few boxes around, but she supposes she’ll find out if the date actually happens.
“What about food?” Ei asks. “I could—”
“I’ll have the shrine maidens prepare something,” Miko interrupts, cutting her off immediately. “Don’t even think about cooking, my love.”
Ei wrinkles her nose in dissatisfaction. If Miko had let her finish Ei was going to say that she could have the Tenshukaku cooking staff prepare a nice meal, but she supposes the shrine maidens are probably just as good a choice.
…Ei is well aware that her own cooking is woefully inadequate fare for a date, unless one happens to be dating a bonfire or a garbage can. There’s a reason she used to eat raw meat when she was training alone in the mountains rather than attempt to cook it, after all, and it’s not just that she actually finds it quite tasty.
“Okay,” Ei agrees. “I’ll leave everything to you, then.”
Miko smiles, then a brief look of hesitation passes over her face.
“What’s wrong?” Ei asks gently. “Are you afraid she’ll say no?”
“Absolutely not,” Miko dismisses. “She’s as smitten as we are, it’s written all over her face every time she looks at us. No, actually… I was wondering… I know I’m the one who convinced you to dress as you do now, but…”
Miko falls silent, and Ei squeezes her hand again.
“Go on,” she urges softly.
“…But more and more, I’ve realized it’s not really you,” Miko whispers.
Ei can’t deny that. She’s never been the showy type, and it had made her uncomfortable at first to expose so much skin… but Miko had liked the view, and at this point Ei is very used to it. If left to her own devices she would still choose to dress differently, but it’s not like she’s got much in the way of fashion sense. If she were good at picking out a varied wardrobe on her own, her closet probably wouldn’t be packed full of copies of this single outfit that Miko had loved so much.
“…I want the one Kokomi sees when she becomes a part of us to be the real Ei, Ei as she should be,” Miko continues quietly. “Ei as she wants to be. So… If you still have any of your old clothes…”
“I do,” Ei admits softly. “Would you like me to start wearing them again?”
“If it’s what you want to do,” Miko confirms, squeezing her eyes shut.
Ei… does want to do that.
“Okay,” Ei agrees. “I will.”
Miko smiles at her and leans across the table to steal a kiss.
“I’ll go make sure everything will be ready, then,” Miko says. “Could you handle asking Yoimiya about watching Makoto?”
“Of course,” Ei says. “That’s no trouble at all.”
It would be a lie to say Ei isn’t nervous. This is a big step for them, and if Miko is wrong about Kokomi’s feelings there’s always the risk that it could ruin a close friendship that’s one of the best things in Ei’s life.
But Ei has faith in Miko, and she has faith in Kokomi. If Miko says Kokomi will say yes, she probably will… and if, by some chance, she does not, Kokomi isn’t the kind of person to be upset with them for asking or make things awkward.
And so, more than anything… Ei is excited for tomorrow to come.
“I’m here!” Kokomi announces as she lets herself into Ei and Miko’s chambers with the key they’d given her.
“We’ve been waiting,” Miko greets her, a softer smile on her face than Kokomi is used to seeing this early into a visit.
The Divine Priestess smiles back, then pauses and looks around in confusion — normally announcing her presence will be met with little Makoto practically flying into her arms, but today the cheerful child is nowhere to be found.
“Is Makoto out?” Kokomi asks, moving to join Ei and Miko on the couch where they’re sitting.
She instinctively snuggles up against the god’s side, enjoying the warmth of the contact and the firmness of Ei’s powerful body.
Ei is dressed differently than normal, Kokomi notes. It’s much a less revealing outfit, and something about it feels far more ‘Ei’ to Kokomi than what the god usually wears.
…honestly, as attractive as Kokomi has always found Ei to be, there’s something about her like this that’s far more alluring to the Divine Priestess than ever before. Keeping a blush off her cheeks would be a losing battle, so she doesn’t even try.
“They’re actually with Yoimiya and Ayaka right now,” Ei says, an unusually nervous note in her voice as she wraps an arm around Kokomi’s shoulders. “I know you were planning to see them, and they’ll be back tomorrow so you can spend time with them… but…”
“But…?” Kokomi prompts.
“Ei and I were wondering,” Miko murmurs, leaning forward to stare into Kokomi’s eyes from Ei’s other side, “if you might do us the honor of joining us on a date tonight. Makoto isn’t the only one who’s grown to love you dearly.”
Kokomi inhales sharply, barely able to believe her ears. She can feel her heart racing, her thoughts starting to turn inward to overanalyze Miko’s words—
“Yes,” the Divine Priestess blurts out, forcefully preempting what could have easily become a total shutdown by expressing her most honest desire, the thing she wants more than anything else in the world. “I would love to.”
The happy, relieved smiles that appear simultaneously on the faces of the women that Kokomi has come to love so deeply over the last few years tell her just how much this means to them, and just how big a risk they’d felt themselves to be taking by asking the question. Kokomi, who’s never managed to ask a pretty girl on a date in her life, can only admire the courage it must have taken.
“Thank you for asking me,” Kokomi whispers. “I’ve grown to love you both, too. I really would love nothing more.”
Kokomi had harbored a secret crush on the Raiden Shogun for years and years before she had ever met Ei, but she’d never been stupid enough to think it would amount to something. When Ei and Miko first welcomed her into their life as a friend and partner in pursuing a better future for Inazuma she’d been overjoyed, but never expected more than friendship to result from it — and she was fine with that. Ei and Miko had seemed to her like the perfect couple, and her silly little crush was just that of a military strategy-obsessed girl idolizing the most beautiful and brilliant general in the history of Inazuma, if not the entire world.
Falling in love with both Ei and Miko as she got to know them had never been a part of any of the intricate plans she’d laid out for how their friendship could go, but she wouldn’t trade the feelings she has now for anything even if they had been doomed to be unrequited. Learning that Ei and Miko feel the same way for her, that she doesn’t have to keep her adoration of them a secret hidden deep within her heart for the rest of her life…
There’s no way Kokomi could possibly force the giddy smile she’s wearing from her face.
“Miko said she prepared a date spot,” Ei says. “But she didn’t tell me anything about it, just that it will be a picnic.”
“Tell you about it? And ruin the surprise?” Miko laughs. “If we’re all ready, I had one of my shiki put an omamori there so that I could teleport us.”
“I’m ready,” Ei says.
“Me too,” Kokomi confirms.
Miko snaps her fingers, and the world changes around them. It’s nothing like the times Ei has teleported Kokomi with her, which usually involves an instant of bright light and the rumble of thunder. For one thing, it’s far more… pink. They’re briefly shrouded in swirling sakura petals so thick that Kokomi can’t see anything past them, and when they clear…
“…Where are we?” Kokomi asks, looking around.
It seems like a cave of some kind, and enormous tree roots descend from above them. Clusters of sakura blooms can be seen all around, lending the place a soft glow even without considering the distant light from what appears to be a hole in the ceiling, and electro crystalflies flutter peacefully around.
“Miko…” Ei sighs. “These are the roots of the Sacred Sakura, aren’t they? So when you said Lumine cleaned it up for you, you were referring to the purification ceremony…”
“That’s right,” Miko says, the wicked smirk on her face suggesting that the purification ceremony in question was probably more along the lines of when Sangonomiya Shrine had contracted Lumine to handle things down in Enkanomiya than just having Lumine do a dance or chant a prayer.
Kokomi would pity the traveler if the girl didn’t so visibly enjoy being sent into bizarre and dangerous situations. From what Tsuyuko had told her, Lumine had been practically dancing with excitement after returning from acquiring the Bloodbranch Coral. For a homebody like Kokomi, that kind of attitude is completely incomprehensible… but she supposes it’s a good thing someone enjoys it or nothing would ever get done.
“It’s a beautiful place,” Kokomi says. “How do you normally get in here?”
“Through that, of course,” Miko replies, gesturing at the hole in the ceiling. “None of us are fans of crowds, so I wanted somewhere private, where it could be just the three of us.”
…Kokomi finds herself glad that Miko was able to just teleport them here. She’s not terribly fond of heights, and the idea of trying to jump down from there seems extremely risky… but the other priestess’s reasoning and consideration in choice of date spot has her smiling widely. This really is an ideal date location, in Kokomi’s eyes — beautiful and far from any crowded areas.
They settle themselves on a blanket Miko manifests, and then the kitsune brings out a large basket.
“There’s something for everyone in here,” Miko announces grandly as she begins unpacking the food.
Kokomi watches as Miko reveals butter crab, kitsune udon, bird egg sushi, tri-color dango, sakura mochi…
“Did you make all of this yourself?” Kokomi asks as she picks up a roll of the sushi to nibble on.
“She said she was going to have the shrine maidens make it,” Ei contributes through a mouthful of dango.
“So she did, then,” Kokomi concludes. “I don’t think Miko spends enough time at the shrine to ask them to do anything.”
Miko’s pout is absolutely ferocious, but Kokomi notices that rather than voice a denial the other priestess just shoves an especially large piece of fried tofu into her mouth. The silence is as good as a confession, and Kokomi can’t help the giggle that spills from her lips.
“Oh, Miko,” Ei sighs. “Why didn’t you just tell me you were going to make the food yourself?”
“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Miko sniffs. “This was all prepared by a shrine maiden. As the Guuji, I outrank any silly little shrine maiden. You don’t see me taking orders from the Yashiro Commission, do you?”
No, Kokomi has to admit, she does not. It’s true that the Guuji’s position places her in the highest slot on the hierarchy above even the top Yashiro Commission officials, unlike an ordinary shrine maiden who would be required to obey their instructions. But even so…
“You are still ‘a Miko’ aren’t you?” Kokomi asks archly, delighting in the glower she receives in return.
“This was obviously a mistake,” Miko grumbles, but there’s no heat in her tone. “Ei, the fish we caught is bullying me. Can we throw her back?”
“Of course not,” Ei denies immediately, pulling Kokomi into her lap and wrapping her in a hug before the Divine Priestess has time to come up with her own comeback. “I’m far too attached to her already… and your ego could use a bit of deflating every now and then, anyway. If you ask me, that’s a bonus.”
Miko scoffs, but moves closer so that she can cup Kokomi’s cheek and play with her hair.
Wrapped in Ei’s powerful arms, the god’s strong body against her back preventing any escape… With Miko’s beautiful face and curvy body leaning in towards her…
Kokomi thinks she’s probably in heaven, something confirmed when first Miko and then Ei brush their lips against hers in gentle kisses.
“I suppose she is far too cute to give up,” Miko murmurs softly. “That would be a regret I’d carry for the rest of my life.”
The obvious sincerity in Miko’s voice has Kokomi tearing up. It’s really not fair for the normally-playful kitsune to act so serious only when it comes to her love — how is Kokomi supposed to be anything but endlessly touched?
“I would, too,” Ei whispers, pressing a kiss to the top of Kokomi’s head.
“Sappy old women,” Kokomi sniffles, rubbing at her eyes. “Save it for after we’ve finished eating, at least…”
The laughter she receives is accompanied by Miko lifting another roll of bird egg sushi up to her mouth.
“Eat up, little fish,” Miko orders gently. “I’ll feed you every bite.”
…Kokomi could object, could point out that she’s a big girl who’s fully capable of feeding herself…
…or she could enjoy being hand-fed by one of the two most beautiful women in the world.
Kokomi opens her mouth obediently and lets Miko feed her. She’s not an idiot.
“I’m hungry too,” Ei mumbles.
Kokomi and Miko break out into simultaneous laughter as their eyes meet.
“Okay, okay,” Miko assures her, bringing butter crab to Ei’s mouth even as she continues to feed Kokomi. “I’ll feed you too, you giant baby.”
Ei’s adorable pout makes Kokomi laugh so hard she almost chokes. She’s not sure how Ei manages to combine being beautiful, handsome, and cute into one incredible package like she does, but the myriad sides she has make loving her all too easy.
“I’ll feed you, then,” Kokomi murmurs.
She draws on the power of her Vision to pull Miko’s bowl of udon close enough that she can scoop it up. The kitsune’s chopsticks would require a little more dexterity with her element to grab than Kokomi has, but she is a master of shaping and solidifying water — it’s trivial for her to form a new pair out of moisture and use those to begin feeding Miko.
It’s a strange, silly, and awkward way for them all to eat, but it has Kokomi smiling uncontrollably. Part of her had been unable to picture the ways in which dating Ei and Miko would actually change their relationship, and she had been a little nervous about that, and about how the fact that she’s never dated before might cause problems… but what she’s quickly coming to realize is that dating them won’t change their relationship at all, and that Kokomi might not be quite as lacking in dating experience as she’d thought she was.
Oh, there are some wonderful new elements to the relationship — Kokomi very much likes the kisses, and she’s looking forward to everything else that will no doubt come with them — but the way they feel about each other, the way they act towards each other…
This kind of silliness is something they already would have done. The teasing they’ve engaged in is nothing new, but as fun as always. It’s not Kokomi’s first time sitting in Ei’s lap wrapped securely in a hug or having Miko’s beautiful form so close that it makes her heart want to beat its way out of her chest.
They have, Kokomi thinks, probably been unofficially dating since mere months after Makoto’s birth… and that means Kokomi has about five years of dating experience under her belt. There’s nothing to be afraid of — she knows her place in this relationship, knows the ways she can support Ei and Miko and that they can support her.
The only thing that’s actually changed is that they’ve all voiced their feelings for one another, and that’s the most positive change Kokomi could have ever imagined.
“I love you both,” Kokomi whispers.
“And I love the both of you,” Miko returns gently.
“Kokomi… Miko…” Ei murmurs. “Our family is my everything. I love you.”
Kokomi’s throat closes up as tears begin to fall from her eyes. In front of her, she can see that Miko is in no better a state, and the kitsune wraps her arms around Kokomi so that the Divine Priestess is enfolded in a hug by both of her girlfriends.
‘Our family.’
The simple way Ei had included Kokomi to that extent, to the point that she’s already family…
Those words alone make Kokomi feel happier than she thought she’d ever be.
‘Our family.’
Ei, Miko, Makoto… and Kokomi. Three mothers to the most adorable child in the world.
Thinking of it in those terms has giggles breaking through Kokomi’s tears.
“Makoto is going to be so happy,” she chokes out. “Remember when they suggested we should all get married so I could be their mama too? Maybe they’ll take credit.”
Ei and Miko join her in laughter, and Kokomi knows to the bottom of her heart that being a part of this family is everything she could have ever wanted.