It's the small things Vivian loves. It's the short squeeze Celine gives her hand or the kiss Celine presses to her forehead. It's the small things which make Vivian fall even harder for the girl sitting next to her.

Celine turns to her. The girl's blonde hair has been cut short and Vivian thinks she loves it even more like this.

"I'm going to go make dinner, okay?"

Vivian nods her head yes and grabs a book to read. Celine smiles and stands up from the couch. She gives her wife a soft and chaste kiss and walks into the dining room of their small apartment. Vivian smiles as her fingers run over her lips.

It really is the small things Vivian loves most.

─────

Celine and Vivian are on the flight to their honeymoon. 

Vivian's fingers drum against the seat handle and her hands her sweaty. Celine turns to Vivian, her fingers immediately entwining with the other girl's.

"You okay, love?"

Vivian nods, though her breath is still shaky. Celine shakes her head slightly, no she's not.

"Vivian... what happened?"

Vivian's voice comes out as a whisper as she says, "I-I just... you know that I don't want to... you know?"

Celine has a hard time not bursting out laughing. Of course she knows Vivian doesn't want to take that step and Celine is perfectly fine with it. She knows that Vivian's body is one of her insecurities and even though Vivian is much more comfortable with her scars now, Celine knows that she isn't ready yet.

And that's ok with her.

Even if they never end up taking that step in their relationship, Celine is perfectly okay with that.

"Oh Viv," Celine smiles. "I'm ok with that. I know you don't want to, and that's okay."

Celine smiles again and squeezes Vivian's hand.

Vivian smiles too.

─────

"Hey Vivian, you think we should adopt?"

Vivian is stunned into silence. Celine grabs her hand, entwining their fingers together. And immediately, Vivian calms down. Perhaps it's because Celine's skin against hers still manages to send an electric shock through Vivian's spine. Perhaps it's simply because Celine is real.

Vivian isn't sure.

She turns to Celine. "I-I think that's a great idea."

"Really?"

Vivian nods. If there's anything she wanted more than to find someone she loves, it was to have children of her own. Vivian hopes she can be a better parent to them than her own were. 

Vivian smiles as Celine's brown eyes light up with joy.

─────

The two have come to an adoption center and finally, Vivian finds herself more at peace then ever. She's married to this woman who she loves more than anything and they're about to adopt a child... Vivian's happy.

She knows it.

Vivian enters the small office, Celine at her side. They sit down on the chairs as one of the people who work at the adoption center talk to them. They ask simple questions and Vivian and Celine answer honestly. At the end of it, the employee smiles and says that there's a good chance they can adopt a child from here.

That day, as Vivian and Celine walk home to their apartment, Vivian can't help but keep the grin of her face.

─────

Vivian remembers something today.

Something she thinks she'd completely forgotten.

Sarah.

Vivian remembers Sarah. Vivian can't help but smile as she thinks of the girl. It's been so long since she's thought of Sarah... and to Vivian, that says a lot. To her, it shows that she doesn't quite need Sarah anymore. Vivian had thought that she would never have anyone again. Vivian had thought that she would never stop pretending.

But she did.

And now, she has Celine. 

Someone real. Someone she loves more than anything and someone who has finally shown Vivian that it's all okay.

Vivian smiles. 

She tucks the memory of the girl away.

─────

Vivian and Celine bring home a young boy of seven today. A sweet little boy named Alex.

Alex was the child who Vivian and Celine immediately fell in love with. Alex's choppy brown hair falls in front of his eyes and his bright blue eyes seem to sparkle in the light.

Vivian and Celine lead the boy into his room. It's a plain old room with white walls and a white bed. It hasn't been decorated yet. Vivian and Celine wanted to do that with Alex. Make this decorating thing into something like a family bonding event... They have just brought home a son after all.

─────

"Hey Alex, do you want some ice-cream?" Vivian asks her... son. It's still feels odd to say that. 

She has a child of her own. Vivian giggles quietly. Alex looks up at the woman he's slowly learnt to call his mother. "Why are you laughing?"

Vivian chuckles again, "Because I have a wonderful little son," she goes to tickle him. Alex bursts out laughing as his mother tickles him, "Who I love so much."

Alex continues to laugh as Vivian smiles, tickling him on his stomach. Once Alex's giggles die down, he says, "You asked me if I can have ice-cream..." he trails off with a wide grin.

Vivian laughs, "I did. Do you want ice-cream?"

Alex nods vigorously. 

Vivian laughs again and ruffles the boy's hair. She stands up from the couch and takes Alex's hand. Alex smiles up at her, his two front teeth missing.

Vivian laughs again.

She really does love this little boy.

─────

"Vivian," Celine starts, "What do you think would've happened if we hadn't been working at the same bookstore?"

Vivian tilts her head and smiles softly. "I'm not sure, Celine. Maybe we both wouldn't be sitting here today."

Celine smiles and takes hold of Vivian's hand, pressing a soft kiss to the girl's knuckles. Celine hums quietly, "Well, I'm glad we are. I love you."

And those three words are all it takes for Vivian to capture Celine's lips with her own. Gosh, she loves this girl so much.

─────

Celine and Vivian had a fight today. 

Vivian finds herself quietly crying in Alex's room. 

Alex, who is now ten years old walks inside his room only to gasp. He runs over to his mother. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Vivian looks down to see Alex standing next to the bed. "Oh nothing, sweetie. Your mommy and I had a fight, that's all."

Alex tilts his head slightly and runs out of the room, his little feet taking him to the room his two moms share. There, he finds Celine pacing around, her face buried in her hands.

"Mommy, Vivi is crying!"

Celine turns around to face her son looking up at her with his big blue eyes. She kneels down and sighs, "Okay, sweetie. Thanks for letting me know."

Celine stands up and dusts her jeans. She sighs, she hates it when they fight. Walking out of the bedroom, she knocks on the door of Alex's room. "Hey Vivian, can I come in?"

A muffled yes comes from the other side and Celine opens up the door. Walking inside, she closes the door and tells Alex to just sit tight for a while. Alex nods and walks over to the couch. He plops down and grabs a comic book from the table. 

He hopes his moms won't fight again. 

He doesn't like it so much.

─────

It's Alex's eleventh birthday today and Vivian couldn't be any happier. Her son, is running around the house, playing with the puppy he got as a gift. Alex had been bothering Vivian and Celine about getting a dog for the past year and finally, they gave in. 

Vivian smiles as Celine wraps her arm around Vivian's waist. Vivian chuckles as she looks at the puppy, who has golden fur... Golden hair. 

Sarah... Vivian shakes her head. It's a memory long forgotten. A memory she doesn't need anymore.

Celine turns to her, "What happened?"

Vivian just shakes her head again, "Nothing... just remembered something."

Celine nods and Vivian doesn't say anything as Celine pulls her closer. Vivian turns back to her son who is crouched down next to his dog who is drinking water. 

Alex looks at his moms and asks, "What can I name," He stops, his eyebrows knitting. "Is the puppy a a girl or a boy?"

Celine laughs, "Well since I'm pretty sure dogs don't have they/them pronouns, it's a girl, Alex."

Alex nods in acknowledgement. He's grown up knowing that there's nothing wrong with having a different gender or sexual orientation. He's grown up knowing that he can be himself. Alex smiles and pets the dog, "What can I name her?"

"What about Alice?" Vivian says as Celine grins.

"That's your friend's name, right? The one who..." Celine trails off. They haven't told Alex that Vivian had been abused in her childhood, so Alice was just another friend of his mom's. Not someone who helped Vivian when no one was there for her.

Vivian nods.

Alex's eyebrows furrow again. His moms really think he's stupid or something. He's seen the scars of on his mom's stomach before, on her wrists... He isn't sure exactly what happened, but he knows something's up.

But, if his moms haven't told him, maybe it's something best left unsaid.

Alex grins and looks from his parents to his puppy, "Alice it is, then."

─────

"Um, guys..." Alex trails off as Alice barks from beside him. He pets her golden fur and though she's grown up a lot in the past five years, she's still the cute little puppy he got as a birthday gift.

Vivian and Celine look up from their food and smile at Alex. Vivian motions for him to continue, "What's up, Alex?"

"I'm non-binary but I prefer he/him pronouns and I am oh so very gay." Alex splutters out as Celine smirks.

Celine puts a piece of pasta into her mouth and glances up at her son. "You like that boy, Mark, don't you?"

Alex's ears go red.

"Wait a minute," Vivian turns to her wife. "You mean the Mark who's Alex's best friend?"

"And the boy who's stayed over multiple times, yeah."

Vivian turns to Alex, her mouth wide open. She has an almost betrayed expression on her face. "And you didn't tell me?" She pokes her son in the shoulder, "You little shit, next time you won't even tell me when you start dating him."

Alex's ears go even redder, but he smiles. His moms really are the best.

─────

There are tears welling up in Vivian's inky black eyes. She sniffles quietly but a huge smile breaks across her face. Her little boy is graduating — She turns to Celine who nods and smiles as well.

"I know, I know," Vivian smiles at Celine, kissing her wife for just a moment before Alex springs them apart with a "Boo!"

"Moms, you guys aren't allowed to kiss at my graduation!" He says as Vivian sticks out her tongue at him.

"But you and Mark can kiss as much as you want, right?"

Alex's ears go red as his boyfriend appears behind him. Mark's wild red hair is out of place as usual and it gets even messier as Alex ruffles his hair and gives him a peck on the forehead. "We can, actually. It is our graduation, after all." Alex winks at his parental unit who chuckle.

Celine turns to Vivian, "He really is a little shit, isn't he?"

Vivian bursts out laughing but nods. Her son really is an idiot.

─────

Vivian sighs with joy as she sits on the couch, just like she did all those years ago when Sarah had said she wanted them to get married.

It seems like all that happened millennia ago.

Now, as Vivian sits her on the couch and she watches the rain patter against the window... And as Celine sits down next to her, giving her a quick kiss and as Alex and Mark snuggle up on the other couch and as the movie starts rolling — Vivian truly believes that a new chapter in her life has begun. 

She's still with Celine, yes. She's still happy for Alex and Mark, yes. But in this chapter, Vivian thinks that somehow she's going to feel even happier than before.