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Utena tapped her fingers nervously against the table. She found a nice rhythm, and for a moment she allowed that to distract her as she tried to maintain it for as long as possible, drowning out the world around her. Then her mother cleared her throat, snapping Utena back to reality, and she stopped.
“Utena, dear, you know that whatever you say won’t change how I feel about you,” her mother told her, resting a reassuring hand gently over her daughter’s.
“I-I know,” Utena said, not really believing it herself. “Just… Kiwi will be here soon, I want to tell you both at once.” It had taken her all of her courage to come out just once, she wasn’t about to do it two separate times.
The doorbell rang, and Utena tensed and froze. “I’ll get it,” her mother said, and she left Utena to gather her nerves while she answered the door. Utena took several long breaths and slapped the sides of her face. She tried to convince herself that it would all be okay, that today wouldn’t change anything, but she knew that it would change everything.
“Utenaaaaa!” Kiwi hugged Utena from behind, startling her. “Thanks for inviting me over! A hotel would have been more private, but this is fine, too.”
“K-Kiwi, my mom’s right there,” Utena laughed. Kiwi’s carefree attitude helped to ease her nerves somewhat, but it also increased her fear of telling them… what she had to tell them.
Utena asked both Kiwi and her mother to sit opposite to her, and they respectfully waited as she breathed and relaxed, gradually finding her words. “M-Mom, Kiwi, I… I know you care about me, even if I don’t always deserve it, a-and I don’t want to disappoint either of you, but… there’s something that I need to get off my chest, and I just hope that you won’t… hate me…”
Kiwi waved her hand dismissively. “Puh-lease. I couldn’t hate you, even if you cheated on me! … Wait, have you been cheating on me?”
“No!” Utena cried. “But um, it does have to do with our… relationship…” Utena sucked in air, and then she loudly declared, “I’m straight!”
There was a tense silence, and Utena felt like ducking under the table and trying to melt into the floorboards. There was no response for a while, but she didn’t want to say anything further until they spoke.
Then, at last, Utena’s mother asked, with a horrified look over her face, “I’m sorry?”
“I’m… I’m straight, Mom…” Utena’s mother slammed her hand on the table, and Utena began to cry. “I-I’m sorry! It’s just how I am-”
“No you are not!” Utena’s mother declared, furrowing her brow. “You’re just confused! You’re… going through some kind of phase! Look at your room! All that Tres Magia merch! All those posters of naked anime girls! Your porn, for goodness sake!”
“That was… I thought I was gay, I… I really tried to be, I wanted to be normal…” Tears rolled down Utena’s face. “The truth is, I have a hidden stash of hot guy mags, and dick pics on my phone. When I see a hot boy, I get excited. I feel like I want a boyfriend, not a girlfriend.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Boys and girls do not date each other, it’s just… how would that even work?!”
“There are ways…” Utena blushed, feeling embarrassed to be having this kind of talk with her mother. “P-Primarily, the boy puts his… you know, in a girl’s…”
Her mother cringed. “Oh my god, that’s… that’s…” She looked like she wanted to throw up.
“H-How is that any different from two boys having anal sex, or two girls using a strap-on?!” Utena was starting to feel angry now. She had expected rejection, but her mother wasn’t even giving her a fair hearing!
“It’s completely different! For one thing, it isn’t natural!”
“Of course it is! It’s every bit as natural!”
“No! You…” Her mother held her head in her hands, processing everything. “You’re just rebelling. You just… You just need straightening out…” An awkward silence followed. “You know what I mean.”
“Hey, isn’t that a little much?” Kiwi asked, casting Utena’s mother a cold look. “Like, I get bein’ shocked an’ all, but she’s still your kid. You can’t force her to be summat she isn’t.”
Utena’s mother slumped her head, deep in thought.
“Um,” Kiwi began, staring silently at Utena, with her sleeve covering her mouth. “Utena? A-Are you sure you’re straight? You’re not like, bi, or anything?”
Utena’s mother huffed. “That’d be even worse. At least make up your mind about it.”
Utena shook her head. “I’m straight, Kiwi. Completely straight. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lead you on…”
“… Okay,” Kiwi said, putting on her best smile. “Thanks for comin’ clean, I’m sure it was hard… Heh, hard. Like cocks. Which I guess you like.” Utena laughed nervously.
“How are you okay with this?” Utena’s mother asked, shaking her head, and then she snapped her attention back to Utena. “Utena, dear, Kiwi is such a nice girl! I would be delighted if the two of you got married! Are you really okay throwing that away for-”
“Ma’am,” Kiwi said, “I appreciate it, but it’s not her choice how she is. I love her, which is why I want her to be happy. So I’ll accept her, however she is.”
Utena’s heart raced. Kiwi was acting so strong, so brave, but it was clear that she was fighting not to break down. “I’m so, so sorry, Kiwi. Thank you so much.”
Kiwi smiled, a hint of water forming in her eyes. “We’re still friends, right?”
Utena nodded. “Of course!”
Kiwi began to cry, and Utena reached over the table to hug her, patting the blonde girl’s back as she let out her tears.
“Utena…” Utena’s mother was calmer now, but she still maintained a look of disappointment at her daughter. “W-What about Korisu? She’s just a child. How are you going to explain this to her?”
“Same way you’d explain a gay couple,” Kiwi said, wiping her tears as she and Utena returned to their seats.
Utena’s mother bit her lip. “What about children? I wanted to be a grandmother one day, but now…”
“S-Straight couple can have children, too, you know.”
Her mother shook her head. “That’s not the same. You have your own children, with your own genetics. Your child should be adopted; there are so many children out there that need homes…”
Utena gripped her arm, looking away from her mother. She battled with herself, like there was something she wanted to say, but wasn’t sure how to say it. She felt Kiwi’s foot kick hers and looked over, receiving a supportive nod, and she bit the bullet. “… Then what about me?”
Her mother raised a confused eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“… I… I know the truth, Mom,” Utena said. “It’s actually part of what made decide to finally come out to you. I… I know that I’m not adopted. That I’m your daughter.”
Utena’s mother now looked like she was about to panic, her face paling. “N-No, I swear, you’re adopted, Utena.”
“I always thought it was odd how alike we looked, and when I was looking in the attic for the manga I put up there, I found them. My baby photos, as well as my birth certificate. I’m your biological child, which means that you… with a man…”
“Enough!” Utena’s mother shot out of her chair and raised her hand, and Utena flinched. She realised what she was doing, and she slowly sat herself back down, lowering her trembling hand, looking more shocked than when Utena’s had come out. “I-I’m sorry, Utena, I-” She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to Kiwi, who offered her a look of sympathy and understanding… and reassurance.
‘We won’t judge you,’ is what the face said.
Releasing a sigh, Utena’s mother confessed everything. “I was young. I wanted to be… different. I wanted to rebel. So, I experimented a little. I… slept with a man, and when my friends found out, they all turned their backs on me. Worse; they bullied me. My parents stopped talking to me…” She began to cry, and Kiwi held the older woman to comfort her. “I was mocked and ostracised at school, I was called such… horrible things, such as ‘normie’ and ‘heterofag’. It was more-acceptable to say that back then. People would draw penises all over my desk and ask if they made me wet. Men kept their distance, afraid I was going to assault them or something! And when I was old enough, my parents kicked me out of the house…”
“Mom, I’m… I’m sorry,” Utena hung her head in shame. “I didn’t mean to bring up such painful memories. I had no idea…”
“I don’t want you to go through the same things I experienced, Utena. I know your friends are nice, but you have no idea how cruel the world can truly be.”
“But I… I can’t deny who I am,” Utena said. “I’m a cock-lover. I want to feel my partner’s sperm filling my womb, creating new life inside of me.”
Her mother wiped her tears away, but more came in their place. “I… I think I need more time… but I don’t want to lose you…” She continued to cry, and as Utena was about to climb out her seat, she quickly added, “I love you, Utena.”
“… I love you, too, Mom,” Utena responded, circling the table and hugging her mother.
“I will always love you, and you will always have a home here. This is just a lot for me to take in. I’m sorry.”
Utena smiled, feeling safe in the comfort of her mother’s chest. Her mother didn’t pull away, stroking Utena’s hair softly. “Thank you. And thank you for hearing me out.” Utena turned to Kiwi. “I want to tell the others. Will you… be there with me?”
Kiwi nodded. “Obviously!” She took Utena’s hand, who smiled warmly in response. “I’m sure they’ll be totes cool with it, but I’ll stick with you if it makes ya more comfortable.”
“Yes, it will…”
Utena’s mother slumped back in her chair, releasing a heavy sigh. “When you said you had something to tell me, I thought it was that you and Kiwi were engaged, or maybe that you were part of Enormeeta. I wasn’t prepared for this.”
Utena and Kiwi laughed sheepishly as they scurried away up to Utena’s room, where they proceeded to open up a portal to Nacht Base.
Some time later
“Stop right there, Enomeetaaaaaaa!” Tres Magia arrived to stop Enormeeta from… Well technically, they hadn’t done anything yet, they were just floating in the air. But they were doing so menacingly!
“Ahhh, you finally arrived,” Baiser taunted, tapping her crop against the palm of her hand.
“It’s been five seconds, bitch!” Sulfur yelled.
“Enough talk!” Azul summoned her sword of ice, and Tres Magia got into formation. “Today, we will-”
“Waaaaaait,” Leoparde said, holding up one hand. “First, Baiser’s got summat she wants ta say. Don’tcha?”
Baiser murmured, fidgeting with her crop. “What was that?” Sulfur asked. “Speak up! I can’t hear ya!”
“I’m… I’m straight,” she said, hiding her face behind her hands. “I’m straight! I like boys!”
“… O-Oh.” Sulfur twirled her hair around her finger, unsure how to respond. She glanced at her teammates, who seemed equally flustered and confused. “That’s okay? Like, what’s the problem?”
“Just, I want you to understand that the things I do are just part of my job. They’re not representative of how I feel towards you, sexually or otherwise.”
Azul nodded. “Understood, and I commend you for being so brave.” She clapped, Magenta and Sulfur joining her. “And just to be clear, we’re still going to defeat you, but only because you are a villain, not because you’re straight!”
Baiser nodded. “I understand. Thank you for not treating me differently.”
“Hey, guys?” Leberblume said, checking her phone, “We’re getting blasted hard on Titter right now. People are accusing us of being heterophobic, for having the only straight girl be on the villains’ side.”
“Take that up with Vena,” Matama groaned, making great use of her only line.
“Well,” Magenta began, “Maybe we could swap girls? One of us could go to your side, and Baiser could join Tres Magia.”
Leoparde stepped forward, baring her fangs. “The fuck you just say?!”
“Hold up,” Baiser said, blocking Leoparde with her arm, “Let her cook.”
“Nope,” Leberblume said. “Now the other half are mad that we’re not letting the straight girl be a villain, so we’re still heterophobic.”
“What do they want?!” Sulfur roared.
“Aaaaand we’re getting cancelled.”
Baiser tilted her head. “What does that m-”