Kiyoshi Tomoe- First Born
Chapter Three- Too Old for Noogies and Too Young for Kisses
It was noon before Michiru Kaioh came into Hotaru's bedroom to wake the young girl up. "We're planning on a trip to the beach."
Hotaru stirred around in her bed. She could hear Michiru speaking, but wasn't quite understanding what she was saying. "Why?" she mumbled. She opened her eyes and saw Michiru turning the knob on her music box. Her eyes closed once more, wanting to return to her dream state.
"Come on now. Everyone's going to be there." Michiru said. The music box begin to play a peaceful melody.
"Where?" Hotaru asked. She forced her eyes to open again, but Michiru wasn't insight. She let them fall back thinking she had left her to sleep when something smacked her in the face. Hotaru shot up in bed, "What? What? Where?" She looked around frantically and saw Haruka smirking from the entry. Hotaru looked down on her bed to see her black and purple striped bathing suit laying there.
"Oh." she said, grabbing the bathing suit and getting up.
"Were you planning on sleeping all day?" Setsuna asked, walking in.
"Come on now. Leave her be." Michiru said and guided the two adults away from Hotaru's room. She came back and shut the door. "We'll be waiting downstairs. We're all packed up."
"Oh... Okay." Hotaru said. She looked down at her bed sadly. She ran her hand on the soft victorian style purple and white sheets. Did she really have to get up? "Everyone will be there." the words echoed in her mind. Hotaru snickered at an impostures thought. Neo-Queen Serenity was bound to be there.
"Oh, how adorable!" Hotaru squealed. And quickly jumped up out of bed. She scrambled to put her bathing suit on and then grabbed her camera out of her top drawer. A shimmer caught her eye. She looked back down and saw tucked under some drawing supplies a picture. She pulled it out, a warm fuzzy feeling swept over her heart, and then an ache.
"Chibiusa..." she frowned, as she ran her hand over her face. "The best friend I ever had, but will not know of our friendship." She carefully placed the picture back in her drawer and closed it. She grabbed her flip-flops out from underneath her dresser and slipped them on. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated wearing flip-flops, but the last time she wore her good shoes to the beach she ended up not being able to get the sand out of them. She had to trash her favorite shoes, she was not about to do that again.
"Hotaru dear, are you ready?" Setsuna called from outside the door.
"Yes, Setsuna-mama." She grabbed her coverup, and went out of her room.
After a short while, they arrived to the beach. Hotaru envisioned herself taking Chou to the beach and playing with her in the water. She smiled to herself. Setsuna reached down and placed her hand on Hotaru's shoulder. She stopped her for a moment and let everyone else go ahead.
Hotaru wrinkled up her forehead, "What's wrong, Setsuna-mama?"
"You're my daughter. And I don't want to see you get hurt. I can tell when you are thinking about Chou-"
"Don't you think about Megumi?" Hotaru cut in.
"I do, but I don't let it become obsessive. It's good to think about the future, but if you become too obsessed with it you are going to miss out on something." Setsuna gestured to the beach where everyone was already setting up.
Neo-Queen Serenity was attempting to chase King Endymion. The other's were in a hysteria of laughter. Hotaru tried to understand where Setsuna was trying to go with this. Suddenly, an older man walked up and slinked his arm around Setsuna. She kissed him gently on the side of his face. "Think about it." Setsuna said and the two of them walked toward the beach leaving Hotaru standing there, alone.
Hotaru was trying very hard to understand what Setsuna was trying to accomplish there. She took out her camera and decided to get a snapshot of it. Maybe she could study it later and figure it out. She shook her head, thinking that sounded a lot like something Ami would do.
"This your crowd?"
"What?" Hotaru looked to her side to the boy from her class standing there. "Oh, it's you. Yeah, this is my family."
"That's a lovely family you've got there." Ikurou stated, his eyes hinted melancholy
"Thanks." Hotaru said. "Well, I have to-" she looked around, but he was gone. "That's weird." She breathed in deeply, taking one last look at the picture she had taken of her huge family, before going to join. Hotaru walked up and placed her camera in Michiru's bag. Michiru and Haruka were already laying out in the lawn chairs.
Neo-Queen Serenity gave a sudden squeal and ran past Hotaru to greet someone who had apparently appeared behind her. "Shingo!" she tried to embrace her younger brother, but her stomach got in the way. Shingo laughed, and wrapped his arms around Serenity as best as he could.
"Shingo, its been so long since we've seen you last." Ami Mizuno said.
"I know. I just couldn't miss seeing my sister in her pregnant state." he grinned mischievously. "I never would have thought that Usagi my clumsy, older sister would turn out to be a princess- Well, Queen now."
"Thank you for coming. It means so much." Serenity said. "I wish mom could have made it to my baby shower." her eyes glistened with tears for just a moment, but quickly shook it off. Shingo smiled at his sister, she truly was strong. He resented calling her a crybaby sometimes, but she would always be his sister. "Oh, I don't know if you've met Setsuna, Michiru, Haruka, and Hotaru." She turned around pointing to each of them. Shingo followed, nodding as Serenity introduced them. When she got to Hotaru his eyes lingered on her for a moment, he extended his arm out.
"I remember her." Shingo said. "She was Chibiusa's friend."
Hotaru nervously took Shingo's hand. She had rarely communicated with him back in the past, but the way he had looked at her made her feel tingly inside. Shingo flashed her smile and released her hand.
Setsuna noticed Shingo's soft gaze as he couldn't keep his eyes off Hotaru. Hotaru was nervously playing in the sand, making little sand drawings. Setsuna smiled warmly, "Do you like instrumental music, Shingo?" He averted his eyes off Hotaru to Setsuna. His cheeks going slightly pinkish. He didn't respond to her though. "Michiru Kaioh is having a recital at the Tokyo Theatre next weekend if you'd like to come. Hotaru will be there."
Hotaru's face turned beat red, but she kept her focus down on the sand drawing. Now drawing more feverishly. Shingo replied, but Hotaru couldn't make out what the words were. She stood up promptly, and begin to walk out toward the ocean. Neo-Queen Serenity waddled after her in attempt to accompany the girl. She finally caught up to the girl, who was knee deep in the ocean.
"Hey Hotaru." Serenity said, with a warm smile.
Hotaru looked up at Serenity, her face a faint pink now. "Hi." she finally said back. Her chest felt tightened. Serenity was going to try and play matchmaker now. She turned back to the vast ocean, watching as the waves rolled over on one another. There wasn't a strong current.
"It's probably awkward for you to see me carrying your best friend." Serenity said.
Hotaru breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, a little bit, but she won't really know we were best friends."
"When she's eight she'll understand how much you meant to her. You have eternity, sweetie." Serenity said. "Things may be weird as she gets older, but I promise you, you'll be even better friends as the two of you age together."
Hotaru smiled. "I guess that's something to look forward to." She winked, "In about twenty or so years."
Serenity laughed, "I didn't say it would happen over night, but remember she still went to you for comfort and support in the past. There's still a friendship between the two of you."
Hotaru's smile faltered a bit, and her eyes glossed over. She tried to hide her worry from Serenity, but she had caught it. She put a comforting hand on the younger girl, "It's alright. The future isn't set in stone,"
Hotaru smiled, but for some reason she had a feeling the thing Chibiusa was hiding from them couldn't be avoided. She hadn't known all the details, only that there was an attack, and that King Endymion had disappeared in that attack. It saddened her to hide such details from the Queen.
"Oh! She's moving!" Serenity said, and snatched Hotaru's hand placing it on her stomach. "Right there. Do you feel it? She must be practicing her Sailor Kick!"
Hotaru laughed. She felt the movement of Chibiusa. Her eyes sparkled, "That's...amazing."
"It has been amazing. I love when Ami does the ultrasounds. It's a miracle listening to her heartbeat." Serenity explained.
Hotaru absentmindedly placed her own hand on her stomach. She wanted that feeling. She looked up at Serenity curiously. Serenity looked down at the petit girl, "What are you pondering?"
"When Chibiusa went back to the past all those times...and after she left, did you want to- Uhm,"
"Have her in my life every second of the day?" Serenity asked. "I have to tell you the truth, I was a little nervous about what would happen when I would become pregnant with her." She snickered as a past memory of her in college popped back into her mind. "King Endymion found me one day with a pillow stuffed under my shirt. At first, he thought I was becoming self-conscience about my looks, but when he realized I was envisioning what I'd look pregnant with Chibiusa he quickly became flustered like a little girl. He didn't know what to think."
"I want so bad to have one of my own." Hotaru said.
Serenity cupped the younger girls' face in her hands, "You're still young sweetie. Enjoy your life first."
"But I just want to hold Chou again in my arms. When I first saw her I was frightened, but I knew something was up. She was so scared, she threw up on herself. I knew exactly what to do though. I just want to feel wanted, and she needed me and I needed her." Hotaru shared. She breathed out. It felt wonderful to get that out into the open. "Mine was one of the youngest..."
"You'll have plenty of experience with kids then." Serenity joked. "I'm sure Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru, and even Rei, Ami, Makoto, and Minako will need you to watch their little ones at some points."
Hotaru giggled, "Picturing Rei pregnant is just as funny as if Haruka-papa were to ever get pregnant. And no thanks on Makoto's kid. I enjoy my sleep."
Serenity chuckled lightly, "Looks like Makoto is just out of luck when that child is born."
Hotaru looked at her questioningly.
"Everyone's already said the same thing." Serenity explained. "Makoto is dreading it a little bit."
"I would too, but she had a wonderful aurora to her. So it will all work out." Hotaru said, and looked back at Makoto.
"Yeah, they all did. Even Rei's little fireball." Serenity replied.
"Hey." Shingo said, running out to where his sister and Hotaru were standing. He kicked up some water on accident, getting Hotaru and Serenity a little bit more wet than what they were. His gaze stopped on Hotaru for a moment, he shook his head, "We're about to eat. Come on, it's your favorite time, Usagi."
"Hey dweeb." Serenity said, swatting at him, but missing miserably. He ducked from her hand and took one swift kick, splashing water on the two of them, and took off back up the beach. Serenity tried to run after him, but her pregnant self couldn't run for very long. She waddled the rest of the way. Hotaru placed her hand on her chest. Her heart was pounding. She shook her head, trying to ignore the feeling. She walked up to where the others were.
Haruka wrapped her arm around Hotaru, "Noogie!"
"Papa!" Hotaru squealed trying to get away. "I'm too old for Noogies."
Haruka let go, stepping back as if she were hurt. "Fine. Fine. Too old for noogies. I see how it's going to be." She grabbed Michiru, the same way she had grabbed Hotaru and proceeded to give her a noogie. Michiru wiggled around to where she was facing Haruka. Haruka looked cautiously at her. Michiru's lips brushed teasingly against Haruka's getting her to stop the noogie-fest. Haruka let her grip go, and Michiru took her arm and twisted it behind her back.
"Hey! That's not fair. You tricked me." Haruka whined.
"I'm too old for Noogies and your too young for real kisses." Michiru said and walked back to her chair.
Haruka stood there dumbfounded. An impish look spread across her face as she saw Michiru vulnerable again. She went to run over there, but found Michiru getting ready to make a move. Setsuna grabbed the blue-haired girl from behind. Haruka smiled brightly, and ran over to her with her arms in front of her. Her fingers went into the blue haired girls' sides, sending her legs kicking. "Tickle. Tickle. Tickle." Haruka said.
Setsuna placed her right foot further behind her to keep her support. Michiru was putting up a tough fight. "Stop- Haruka!" she said between gasps of laughter. Hotaru giggled to herself. She grabbed her camera from Michiru's bag and snapped another picture. She looked at the finished product, and smiled to herself. Setsuna just wanted her to enjoy her family at this time. She sat back on the blanket. Soon they would be starting their own family, and Hotaru knew she would miss them once that started. She had a feeling Setsuna wouldn't be living with them forever. They would soon be moving to the Palace. Each of their quarters were being prepared now. It was only a matter of time.
