It had become a nightly ritual, checking on Chibiusa. One she had taken up after learning she was her daughter and one she secretly looked forward to. She would never admit it but she absolutely loved seeing the little girl so peacefully asleep, she was absolutely adorable.
Usagi crept down the hall, past her parents doorway and cracked open the bedroom that had been converted into the pink haired child's room. She smiled over towards the bed….and then the smile dropped. The girl wasn't in bed, her sheets were rumpled so she knew she had been there….but the window was open.
Usagi felt faint. Anything could have happened. It was well after midnight, Chibiusa was always asleep by then and she hadn't snuck out since before she they found out Usagi was her mother, sort of her mother….well not yet her mother. But surely that meant the little brat had to listen to her, surely Chibiusa knew she loved her and only wanted to keep her safe. They weren't even arguing as much anymore.
She moved over toward the bed and climbed atop it to glance down out the window. She couldn't tell if anyone had gotten in or if the girl had snuck out. She closed it on a bang and practically jumped off the bed. She didn't stop for shoes or a jacket, all her thoughts was on finding her daughter and making sure she was safe.
Her golden hair flew out behind her as she rushed out into the freshly fallen snow. There was a lot of it, her feet crunched and burned but she paid it no mind. She hadn't even stopped to close the door behind her.
"Chibiusa!?" There were no little feet prints in the snow, either she had been outside for a long time or someone really had taken her. Usagi was smart enough to search around the house first, she didn't want to jump to conclusions despite her body radiating with worry and her mind conjuring up the worst. "Chibi-Chibiusa!?"
"Usagi?" The small voice came from the front of the house. She turned and nearly collapsed at the sight of the little pajama clad child standing in the door way, inside the house, safe and sound even if a little confused.
The teenager threw herself on to the girl, dragging her reluctant form into a tight embrace. "Usagi what on Earth?"
"Don't leave your window open you ridiculous child." She didn't mean to scold her so harshly, she mentally cursed herself when the girl tensed beneath her arms. "I was so worried you had been taken." Tears streamed from her eyes and she buried her head in little Chibiusa's neck. Surprisingly a small hand landed on her back and patted awkwardly there.
"I just went to the toilet…." Came the sheepish reply, making Usagi laugh at her own silliness, she hadn't even thought of that option. "Its cold, Usagi."
"Ah, right!" Usagi pulled away and wiped at her tears as she pulled the door closed and locked it with them safely behind in the warmth. "Lets get you back to bed. I'll tuck you in." She smiled brightly, her fear for Chibiusa's safety put to rest but she still felt unnerved and her smile was stressed.
"Are you sure your okay?" The pink haired girl asked quietly as she followed Usagi back up the stairs and into her bed room.
"I….I just panicked. We have a lot of enemies and I thought…." Usagi trailed off on a sigh, she felt ridiculous. It was no wonder Chibiusa didn't respect her despite who she was to become. Surely the Neo-Queen Serenity wouldn't have flipped out over an empty bed and ran out into the snow. She would have checked properly. Usagi sneezed and flexed her toes. They were still cold actually.
"Your gonna get sick. Why did you run out into the snow without any shoes on?" Chibiusa climbed back in bed sleepily and let Usagi sit on the edge and tuck her in. Neither noticed Ikuko peering in through the cracked door, ready to intervene in case of another argument.
"I was worried about you."
"I'm strong I can protect myself." Chibiusa scowled. She wished Usagi had as much faith in her abilities as her mom did. She wouldn't have sent her back for training if she didn't believe in her.
"Chibiusa," The teen said softly, "I will always worry about you. Even if you can protect yourself. Even if all the senshi are there to protect you and your father and….it doesn't matter Chibiusa. I know they are all capable and I would still worry. Because if anything happened to you…" She broke off in tears again. It was ridiculous. She wanted to be strong for her child, she didn't want to look weak or emotional but just the thought of someone hurting Chibiusa could reduce her to tears. "Your my baby and I love you." She choked out.
Ikuko moved to push the door open, she didn't really want to interrupt the little heart to heart they seemed to be having but she didn't like to see her daughter cry either. She was also a bit confused about a few things they were saying. She couldn't seem to remember who Chibiusa's father was, so how did Usagi know? She stopped before she could get the door open wider, a little voice halted her progression and caused her to slip back to spy from the hallway.
Chibiusa had leaned forward in the bed and wrapped her small arms around the crying girl. "Don't cry. I'm alright nothing happened to me." It wasn't really helping and she didn't like to see Usagi cry. Her mom never cried. Not in front of her. "Momma don't cry." Chibiusa climbed into the girls lap and rested her head on Usagi's chest. She could hear the sudden intake of breath when she called Usagi mom. She wondered if she overstepped…..
"My baby…" Usagi whispered into her hair and clung tightly to her. She rocked on the bed with her daughter safe in her arms for a few minutes more until she calmed herself down.
Chibiusa reached up and wiped at the tears on her face making the girl scowl at herself. "I bet I never act this silly do I?"
Chibiusa played with the long blonde hair that would one day be silver and thought back to the earliest she could remember. "I ran away one day. Momma…you were really mad at me. But daddy said you were scared that I had gotten hurt. And that I made you cry a lot. You came and slept in my room that night. You even followed me to the bathroom!"
Usagi laughed. That would be something she would do, if she thought Chibiusa wanted to run away again, she wouldn't let the girl out of her sight.
"I- Achoo!" Chibiusa leaned back and stared at Usagi's red nose.
"You're gonna get sick if we don't go to bed now." Usagi smiled at her sage like tone. "You can… sleep with me if you want." She blushed as she offered but the blonde jumped at the whispered words.
She put Chibiusa into the bed and climbed in beside her before tucking them both under the covers with her arm under her little girl's head and the other on top of the covers around her waist. Chibiusa played with Usagi's fingers and stared shyly out the window.
"We're not opening it. I told you, you can't sleep with the window open. Besides it's cold outside."
"Its not that. I just miss my mommy and daddy. Sometimes. I mean….I have you but…" Her little voice trailed off. She didn't want to upset Usagi.
She was squeezed in a gentle hug before the blonde spoke. "I know it's not the same. But we are your parents Chibiusa and we love you the same. I know I'm not as mature… but I do love you just as much now as I will then."
Chibiusa turned in her mother's arms and snuggled up into her chest. It felt the same. Warm and safe. "I love you too, momma."
Ikuko was leaning heavily against the wall beside the half opened door to Chibiusa's room. She didn't understand anything she had just heard. She wondered were they playing house, Usagi and Chibiusa….was it…no it didn't sound like something they would do. They got along on the rarest of occasions and Usagi wouldn't have the patience to play with Chibiusa, especially not when she could be sleeping.
It was obvious something had happened tonight that scared Usagi. She wasn't sure what. She was sure she was going to have a long talk with her daughter in the morning. She had often had the vague suspicion Usagi had been hiding stuff from her. She was going to find out what.
She peaked in on the girls and decided morning was going to have to do. She couldn't bring herself to separate the already sleeping girls.
She turned and headed back to her bedroom. Her head felt all fuzzy and she was trying to get remember just how Chibiusa was related to her. She had thought they were cousins but she couldn't seem to remember just who her parents were… she sighed heavily. More questions for the morning.
A/N; My kids started watching Sailor Moon on Hulu. I remember I never cared for the way they went about Usagi's daughter from the future. I'm thinking I might write a few mother daughter pieces if there is some kind of audience for them. For this I'm not sure if it's gonna be a one off or if I want to add more to it. Also my mom always knew when I was up to something so I never believed her mother never found out she was Sailor Moon.