"Mommy. How can someone have three parents?" Abigail asked her mom after she picked her up from school
"What?" The mother asked, not sure what she'd been asked.
"There's this new girl in my class that says she's got 2 mommas and a papa and they all look after her" Abigail responded.
"Oh. Well what happens is that sometimes a momma and a papa fight so bad they don't want to live together anymore. When that happens is not uncommon for the papa and the mama to find someone else to be with. But sometimes momma and papa have a kid and they have to take care of them even though they're not together anymore. If your new friend is in that situation she then lives with her papa, who found himself a new person to be with, and sometimes sees your friend's momma so she can be with her." Abigail's mother responded, cringing inwardly at the fact she just had to explain to a 5 year old what a divorce is.
"Oh, so that's how she can have three parents?" Abigail asked.
"That's right. What's her name? Maybe we should have her over one day"
"Her name's Hotaru"
Next day-Pick up time
Indeed today there was a new parent at pick up, and what a parent. He was tall, handsome, the most beautiful set of eyes any of the women there had ever seen and to top it all off, he came to pick up his kid in a bright red car that was the jealousy of the fathers that were present.
"Haruka-papa!" A little girl with short black hair came running up to the man, who picked her up in his arms and spun her around in the air.
"Hey, Princess! How was your day?" The man asked lovingly as he carried his daughter to the sports car.
"It was great! It was super fun!" The little girl joyfully said as her father tucked her in a special sit in the back of the sports car while all the other parents stared at them; the mothers with sad faces that a man like him was taken already, and the men jealous of their fellow tribesman with the amazing car.
"Where was he my whole life?" A standing by mother said near to Julia, Abigail's mother, as the blonde, handsome man drove away.
"He's the father of the new kid. Unfortunately he got divorced and none of us heard about it. He's once more out of the market" Abigail's mother said a half-jokingly, for even though she was in a happy marriage, she didn't found it wrong to be jealous of another girls luck for having that man as husband.
"There are truly lucky ones, aren't there?" The other woman responded as she sighed.
"There are indeed" was all Julia found in herself to respond.
Next Friday
The women at the pickup line were very enthusiastic to see the blonde father arrive; ever since the first time he was spotted every woman there couldn't avoid being a little enamored with the tall man who came for his daughter in the sports car that had made him the envy of every father in the school.
And they were quite disappointed when the girl that belong to said man ran up to an aquanette woman that had been standing there for a while now without talking to anyone, being a new sight there for the fathers to look at.
"Michiru-mama! You're here!" Hotaru ran to the beauty while the fathers in the back groaned and told themselves that of course that guy was going to have a beauty like her as his wife.
"Of course I'm here. You know I don't like it to leave it all to Haruka and Setsuna. I want to be there for every moment." The aquanette said as she took the small girls backpack and start to walk with the little girl hand in hand.
Two Weeks later-Wednesday
The parental community in the school had been playing a small guessing game about whom would it be today that picked up the girl with the short, black hair. Ever since the aquanette's apparition, there had been a little variety as to whom would show up at pick up time.
Julia decided that either case, those people need to socialize bit more in the school.
But her plans were foiled when neither appeared at the designated time the school classes were over. Instead a woman with long, dark green that looked black at first sight, silky hair and maroon eyes in pantsuit was there.
"Setsuna-mama! You came!" Hotaru ran as always to the embrace of the woman and Julia mentally slapped herself for forgetting Hotaru's parents were separated.
"Hey, it was my turn to see how this placed looked like. And besides we didn't wanted for Haruka to spoil your appetite with ice-cream like every other time" The woman identified as 'Setsuna-mama' said to the little girl as she lead her to a modest, more normal car.
"How did you know?" Hotaru asked as she looked in awe at the tall woman.
"I'm a sorceress and I saw you being feed with a triple chocolate ice-cream cone the other day in my magical mirror with Netflix" The woman clearly joked, yet kept a straight face as she talked to the little girl.
"No, really. How did you knew?" Hotaru showed not to be as innocent as she seemed
"You had it all over your clothes the other day and Michiru complained about it since she had laundry duty" Setsuna said and Julia was very confused as to how Hotaru's family worked.
"But I didn't had any chocolate drops! I checked!" Hotaru said as she got in the car and Setsuna closed the door behind the little one.
"Then how come Michiru couldn't shut up about it once we tucked you in?" Setsuna replied as she drove off.
"Hey mommy!" Julia was brought back to her own world by her daughter.
"Hey Abby! How was your day?" Julia asked, returning to her own world.
"Fine. Hotaru invited me and Rodrigo to play at her house for a while and said you could come if you wanted to!"
'And I'll get to see what's going on here' Julia said to herself mentally.
Friday
Julia became the envy of her group of friends in the school as she became renowned quickly as the parent that would see the new family in school that had everyone talking about them in their natural habitat.
And it was her lucky day too because Haruka was here today to pick up Hotaru.
"So. I presume you must be Julia" The handsome man said taking a classical bow that looked old fashioned and quite fitting of a movie about royalty.
"Oh, Hi! Haruka, right?" Julia said dorkishly as she could barely fight a blush from coming to her face as the blonde was so near to her in his full splendor.
"The one and only. At your service" Haruka said, once more taking another bow, yet this time it wasn't that much of a bow and more of a gentle, marked nod.
"So, is your place far?" Julia said, using her chance to talk to the mysterious figure that was the chit-chat of the women of the school, female teachers included.
"Julia" Haruka said with a wide grin on his face "You didn't stroked me as that kind of girl. I'm sorry to tell you I'm married."
Julia couldn't help to laugh quite energetically as she tried and failed to hide the blush that had finally crept up to her face.
"Oh God" Julia said after getting a grip on her face "That was a good one"
"As your husband's taste in women" Haruka once more flirted and got another blush from Julia.
"Where are we going?" Julia was barely managing against Haruka's flirting skills.
"Not far from here. We could walk, but why walk when I can show off my car?" Haruka said proud of his car.
"Haruka-papa!" Hotaru came up with a boy and a girl behind her "This is Abby and this is Rodrigo. They're the friends I told you about" Hotaru introduced her classmates.
"Hi" Abby shyly said to the tall man that was Hotaru's papa.
"Hola!" Rodrigo said quite more confident
"Hola! Como estas amiguito?" (Hello! How are you, little friend?)Haruka said in what sounded to Julia like a good, barely accented Spanish, but she really didn't knew.
"Bien, gracias! Y usted, señor?" (Fine, thank you. And you, sir?) Rodrigo asked, a little amazed that the man talked back to him in his first language.
"Que señor? No soy tan grande! Dime Haruka" (What sir? I'm not that old! Call me Haruka) Haruka answered quite cheerfully.
"Aren't you full of surprises?" Julia said surprised of Haruka.
"Comes with the line of work I had. Either that or you have to be followed around all the time" Haruka answered as she lead the kids to his car, which now had 3 seats for children in it.
"We'll be ridding that?" Rodrigo finally said in English.
"Yup. Pretty cool, uh?" Haruka said proudly, sharing the excitement of the little boy.
"And where am I sitting?" Julia asked as she helped the kids into their seats.
"Well, you can drive behind me or you can sit on my lap and hope the cops won't pull us over" Haruka once more teased Julia who couldn't help but grin at the comment.
"I'll drive behind you. Would hate it if I got you in trouble with the cops" Julia wanted to add 'Even though clearly it's illegal to look as good as you, handsome' but refrained from doing so.
"Well, then it's settled" Haruka said as he got in the car and sat, waiting for Julia to get hers started so they could be off.
Tenoh-Kaioh-Meiou Household
Their house was in the nice part of town that was super expensive to live in since it was a suburban-like neighborhood in the middle of the city, with huge houses that seemed to be from the Victorian era. Julia had to admit that she wanted to know how come Setsuna drove a modest car considering she most likely could've gotten more out of the divorce arrangement.
But then she remembered that it appeared they all lived together. Maybe Setsuna and Michiru got along and she sometimes stayed in the house with them? She would have to wait and see.
As they parked and got the kids out of the car, the aquanette came out from the huge, wooden door that was the front door of the house with a tray of cookies, which had to be admitted, smelled pretty good.
"Hey kids! I made these for you. Hope you like them" Michiru said with a smile on her face that took off years from an already young-looking face.
"Thank you, miss" the kids said in a choir as they took some and left chasing Hotaru, telling them she would show them her room.
"Hey, there good looking. Did it hurt when you feel from the heavens?" Haruka flirted with Michiru in a tone that sounded almost natural to him now.
"No. It hurt the morning I woke up with a ring on my hand and a paper that said we were married, though" Michiru answered as she approached the blonde and kissed him, tenderly at first but quickly turning passionate as Haruka placed his arms around Michiru's waist and brought her closer to him.
Julia cleared her throat, a little uncomfortable at the sight of the loving couple forgetting they had an adult guest in the house and a bit jealous of Michiru´s luck.
"Oh, Hi! I'm Michi. You must be Abby's mother, Julia" Michiru extended her hand to Julia, who took it and realized it was the softest hand she had ever shook.
"So said the nurses after I gave birth" Julia joked a little and got a chuckle from the couple.
"So, want to come inside? I don't feel like getting a tan right now" Haruka said, remarking the clear skies and the shinning sun above them.
"Sure" Julia's mother said and was led into what had to be the nicest house she had ever been in.
The decorations seemed old, but there were a lot of paintings in the wall that looked very expensive and quite honestly, worth of a museum's collection. The house smelled nice and the furniture matched the whole place perfectly. Julia honestly asked herself how these people could be real.
"Hey, Sets. It's meet and greet time!" Haruka called out for whom Julia assumed was the dark-green haired woman she had met the other day.
A door being open and later on shut closed was heard and soon enough Setsuna appeared and greeted Julia, yet this time Sestuna was in a plain t-shirt and jeans.
""Hey, thanks for coming" Setsuna said a little dry-sounding, which earned her a little scowl from Haruka and Michiru.
"Setsuna, come and mingle with the guests. Don't lock yourself in your room with your knitting kit" Haruka said to the recently appeared woman, who pouted at the blonde and replied "It's not a knitting it! And It's my work, mind you!" as she crossed her arms and left indignated.
"Alright, alright, sorry" Haruka apologized and Julia really was wondering what was going on. Michiru didn't even reacted when the woman appeared, and Julia wondered more and more how things worked here.
She was lead to the living room, which was stacked with things that didn't quite fit between each other: There was a violin and an atrium with some music sheets on it in a corner, nearby was a classical piano while all over the wall there were what looked like trophies and medals along with picture of Haruka with lots of people from all over the world.
In the living room's various coffee tables were pictures of the 4 individuals of the family in diverse activities, like being on the beach and so. What got Julia's attention were the pictures in what looked like the main decorative table in the living room.
It was a very short, yet large crystal table packed with photos in diverse color and shaped frames; they were very confusing and at the same time quite telling of a weird story. It began with a picture of Michiru and Haruka in high school looking uniforms, went on with a wedding picture and a picture of them in what looked like Canada and then went on to picture of a baby Hotaru being held by Haruka, who was flanked by Michiru and Setsuna.
"Complicated, isn't it?" A voice startled Julia from her thoughts and she turned around to see Haruka looking at her with a one-side grin on her face.
"A little" Julia knew she got caught staring and decided to fall on the rhetorical sword.
"Michi and I have been together since High school and since at the time it wasn't legal here, we had to take a trip to Ottawa for an official recognition of something all of our friends knew was real" Haruka said taking a sit near Julia.
"Wasn't legal?" Julia asked not really comprehending that part of the explanation.
"Gay marriage. The trip did taught me that Canada is a beautiful place with breathtaking views instead of the general assumption I had it was a country under 5 feet of snow." Haruka said, changing his voice from a man-sounding one to a female one that strangely fitted him.
"Gay marriage?" Julia was more confused with Haruka's explanation.
"Haruka's a woman. She's in the boy's school uniform because her parents convinced the school's very liberal principal that it was for the best if he just let her cross-dress to school" Michiru said as she entered the room and Julia's mouth fell open in surprised of the news.
"Are you really going to do this now?" Michiru asked Haruka, ignoring Julia's reaction.
"She's going to ask sooner or later how is it all three of us live here" Haruka responded plainly.
"So wait. Then who are Hotaru's parents?" Julia asked not minding one bit the other women's conversation.
"Setsuna's father married after becoming a widower when Setsuna was 4. He remarried a woman with a daughter of her own. Setsuna's half-sister is the mother" Michiru explained.
"But why does she call you her parents?" Julia was at the same time, very confused and starting to make sense of the situation.
"That's Setsuna's private life to discuss. You'll have to…" Haruka started to tell Julia when she noticed Setsuna right in the entrance to the living room.
"And to think you were the one that wanted to home school Hotaru because you were afraid how the other parents would react" Setsuna said, a small smirk in her lips.
"I guess I'm not that paranoid anymore considering Hotaru likes to talk about us a lot and yet nothing has happened." Haruka answered.
"If you should know; Hotaru's parents are dead. Her mom died in childbirth and a drunk driver killed her father on his way to the hospital. With our parents on their way out from this world, I was next of kin." Setsuna said but Julia still couldn't piece one detail and since they were being open she felt like asking.
"But why do you live all together and raise Hotaru?"
"Because we wanted kids but we can't adopt, I won't let Michi get knocked up by some sperm donor and Setsuna's a friend who was in need of someone to help her look after a newborn" Haruka took a turn in the rhetorical microphone.
"Haruka was earning six zeroes or more in as a Formula 1 driver and offered her help. We decided to live all together since they had the space. And I'd like to make this very clear: I do contribute with Hotaru's maintenance" Setsuna added.
"So you just decided to live together to help Setsuna raise Hotaru? No legal problems?" Julia asked before she could catch herself. They had already revealed a lot of their personal lives and she just went and snooped in a bit more.
"Why would there be? Setsuna just happens to be living with us. Hotaru's not really our kid. The school lets us pick Hotaru up since Setsuna cleared us to do so with them. And it's not illegal to name someone you're not related with as your next of kin in case Setsuna becomes incapacitated to take care of Hotaru"
"Sorry, its just it's a bit of shock. All of this. The entire parental community thinks you're a man" Julia told Haruka, who smirked a little at that remark "And that you're a lucky bastard that has everything, while Setsuna is the ex-wife that gets Hotaru on weekends"
"She wouldn't be that lucky to marry me in the first place" Setsuna said still standing in the door.
"No. I'm luckier than that, having a sea nymph to wake up to every morning" Haruka replied while glancing at Michiru, who blushed at the comment.
"I do hope you don't mind our kids being friends. They seem like they could be very good friends" Setsuna stopped Haruka from whatever she was going to do to keep Michiru flustered.
"Oh no. My sister's name was Jonathan until a few years ago; I'm happy for you two but…Formula 1 female driver?" Julia said looking at Haruka.
"The funny thing about that: The people in the driving pits only care if you win, and the men that read the racing magazines don't read the articles, not when there are semi-naked ladies on top of expensive cars in the next page." Haruka got up and extended her hand to Julia "Haruka Tenoh. 5 times World Champion."
A/N: Please leave a review. I'm new to writing for this fandom and I'd like to know if everything was good by its standards.