[Yuuki is waiting. The butterfly flutters along side Ai during her trek back to their apartment, specks of light trailing in its wake. Yuuki doesn't need the tiny familiar to know when her daughter nears, however. Her presence is unmistakable. Coming to a halt after pacing the hallway, her head turns toward the door when she feels her linger on the other side of it.
Rather than wait for her to come in, Yuuki moves forward to fling the door open herself.
On the other side Ai stands, holding the potted plant Yuuki had given her, as well as a journal. She left with only these few items... it pierces her heart all over again. But she barely has time to register her belongings however, as her eyes immediately find Ai's. Concern and upset is clear, and Yuuki's eyes are swollen from more than a few shed tears.
Unlike Ai, there's no hesitation in her actions. Throwing her arms out, Yuuki squeezes her eyes shut while she drags her daughter into a tight embrace.]
I'm so sorry.
[Tighter still, but not to crush. Feeling tears burn her eyes, Yuuki swallows past the lump in her throat, unwilling to release her for a second.]
I'm so sorry, Ai. [To hurt her. To forget her. No matter what games Marina plays, how could she? She isn't a good mother. All of this is new to her, and Yuuki herself is only seventeen years old, coming to grips with the fact that her daughter from the future exists with her here now. But she never uses it as an excuse. And she tries. Heaven knows she tries, and all she wants is for the girl wrapped tightly within her arms to be happy]
I love you. [Reassuring, confident, and with no hesitation. It's plainly spoken, her voice cracking as she buries her face in against her neck.] Above anything else, I love you so much. [Her most important and precious thing.
It doesn't matter that Ai's from her future, or that everything is still so fresh for them. She's a part of Yuuki and a piece of someone she's loved so dearly all her life. She's a beautiful, strong, and confident young woman. Yuuki admires her, and finds strength seeing all of what she's become. That no matter that Yuuki's struggled so much in the past, there's this beautiful, wonderful person who has turned out so right.]
You're what I can get out of bed for every day. You're the reason that I have a future to look forward to, even when I'm terrified of the things I know are to come. You make me the happiest of all, and I don't ever, ever want to forget that.
[Never in a million years. Teeth clenching, she shakes her head against her, grip never lessening.]