Author's Notes:

I don't own Citrus or any of its characters, no copyright is intended.

This story is set after the events of another called 'Whatever The Future May Bring', so please go and read that story before reading this one so that you will be caught up on everything that has happened so far.

Italics - Means the person is thinking.

Summary for one-shot:

Set a couple of weeks after the previous one-shot Rinne is staying over for the night in Maiya's room, however as Mei and Yuzu think that the sometimes troublesome redheaded teen will be the only one they might worry about tonight, two unexpected visitors show up at their door and both looking to be in quite the distressed state over something.

While all of these are all one-shots this one will be the only one that has a continuation and leads right into the next one just so you all know.

This story contains 'Science babies', don't question it, just enjoy it. ^_^

Warning: This contains yuri (girl x girl) pairings, don't like? Don't read simple otherwise enjoy. ;)

...

It was already getting late into the evening when Mei, Yuzu and their two daughters had just finished eating their dinner together as they all still sat around the dining table in the kitchen and dining area, while everyone still had their empty plates in front of them, Yui talking with her two Mothers happily and Maiya casually chatting to her best friend 'Rinne' who was staying over for tonight.

This having been decided rather quickly, considering the fact that the two teens had been studying together for most of the day, and them not realising how late it had gotten as it was already getting really dark by the time they had decided to stop for a little while, so the dark haired teen had asked both of her Mothers if her redheaded friend could stay over at their house for the night since she didn't really want Rinne going back to her home in the dark by herself.

Rinne having refused at first saying that she was 'Fine on her own', but when Yuzu had heard that the young teen would be spending the night alone tonight since both of her parents were away on one of their 'business trips', the blonde basically wouldn't let Rinne say no to her older daughter's kind offer, being confident that they would all much prefer it if Rinne slept over for the night. While eventually the redheaded teen agreed after she saw neither her closet friend, nor her blonde Mother were going to just let her leave when it was already so late and dark outside.

Mei having wanted Rinne to stay over as well, as she also didn't like the idea of a young teen like Rinne having to walk home alone in the dark and then having to spend the night by herself, however she was a little weary of having the redhead staying over for the whole night since they all knew how troublesome she could sometimes be. But Maiya having reassured her Mothers that she would be sure that Rinne behaved herself for the night, Mei nonetheless still being a bit anxious about it all as she would occasionally glance over to her elder daughter talking with her best friend at the opposite end of the dining table, wondering just how things would go tonight.

Letting a deep sigh escape her lips Mei looked lost in her own thoughts as she propped herself up on her elbow, her sigh alerting the blonde sitting beside her and causing her to look to her wife and smile softly, resting her hand over Mei's free one and pulling her out of her thoughts in the process, widening her lavender eyes and glancing back to Yuzu she just giving her a small smile back when she saw that reassuring expression directed at her.

"Are you going to be sleeping in Maiya's room tonight, Rinne-san?" Yui piped up as she happily looked over to her sister and Rinne, smiling to them both, while Rinne simply just nodded back to the fair haired preteen.

"Yeah of course I am,"

She stated as this not being the first time that Rinne has stayed over for the night, but it had been a good while since she had eaten dinner with everyone, and then have a sleepover with Maiya like this. A slight smirk making its way across her lips at the moment, however the other teen noticing this as she spoke up and caught the attention of the other two now.

"But that doesn't mean you can bug me for the entire night, we're not staying up late just because you're sleeping over, alright," Maiya giving her close friend a stern warning, letting her know that she was being serious right now as she gave her a strict gaze, causing the redhead to just smile back to her with a bit of a nervous look as she had a feeling of how bad the consequences would be if she did decide to go against Maiya, which was something she hardly ever did.

"I hear you loud and clear, Mai-chan!"

Rinne replied as she gave a salute to Maiya, sitting up to attention like some soldier would, causing the other teen to just roll her eyes and smile while Yui chuckled in response. Mei and Yuzu both looking to their two daughters and Rinne and couldn't help but soften their expressions, smiling a moment later as Mei decided to just push those slight worries she was having to the back of her mind for now, trying to not think about them as she knew there likely wouldn't be a problem at all throughout the night, and even if something did happen then they could easily work through it together like they always do as a family.

Them all only sitting together at the dining table for a little bit longer, before Mei and Yuzu both stood up and picked all the dirty dishes up as Mei soon took them all into the kitchen, putting them into the sink to soak for now, while Yuzu looked back to their elder daughter and caught her attention a moment later as she called to the teen.

"Are you two going to get Rinne-san's futon ready for tonight?" the blonde Mother asked as she caused the three young girls to look back to her, Maiya and Rinne just nodding and smiling in response, before Yui quickly got down from her chair and came running over into the kitchen, beaming up to Yuzu as she did so.

"I can help with the dishes tonight since Maiya is busy with Rinne-san," she offered her help, clearly being more than happy to lend a hand as she often was when it came to doing housework, as was the same with Maiya when Rinne wasn't keeping her from doing such things that is.

"Thank you Yui-chan, you'd be a big help to your Mama and me,"

Yuzu smiled down to her younger daughter as she crouched down and ruffled her fair hair, causing the preteen to chuckle happily before they both walked into the kitchen to help Mei with washing, drying and putting away the dishes and cutlery from their dinner, while Maiya and Rinne had already gotten up from their chairs and started to make their way to the dark haired teen's bedroom together.

"Mama...can Misa-chan come round for a sleepover soon? It's been a while since she last stayed over after all," Yui caught the attention of her two Mothers as she looked up to Mei with a hopeful gaze in her lavender eyes, wearing a pleading expression at the moment, while causing both of her Mothers to just smile at their younger daughter wanting her best friend to come over for a sleepover, as Rinne staying over tonight had no doubt probably made her think about it.

"Of course she can Yui, just be sure to check with her Mothers first, alright?"

Mei simply answering with a nod to her younger daughter, causing the fair haired preteen to almost immediately light up and smile brightly in delight, before she nodded back to her Mother happily and continued on with helping to get all the dishes and cutlery washed, dried and put away for the night. Clearly she was looking forward to going back to school after the weekend and seeing her best friend again, as her two Mothers could easily guess what she was most likely planning to ask her the next time she would see and talk with Misaka. Yuzu and Mei both just smiled softly to seeing their younger daughter seeming so happy and excited over something that seemed so simple to them, when it clearly meant much more to her.

However their evening ritual of getting the dishes done soon being interrupted quite suddenly it seemed, as there were a few light knocks on the front door, followed by a couple of slightly louder knocks against the wood, this catching the attention of the three in the kitchen and causing them to all glance over to the entrance hallway. Yuzu and Mei looking to each other for a moment, as they were obviously wondering just who could be at their door while it was so late in the evening, the blonde just shrugging her shoulders slightly and putting down the plate she had just finished drying with the tea towel, before she turned and walked off to go see who had come to visit them at this hour.

"Now who could that be?"

The blonde Mother asked herself out loud as she left the kitchen and quickly made her way into the entrance hallway, walking up to the front door before she simply opened the door, still having a questioning expression on her face that seemed even more confused once she had seen just who was standing at their door right now.

Yuzu being certainly taken aback as she was greeted by Harumi and her daughter Misaka, while the two nervously looked to the blonde, Harumi giving her close friend a small smile and the eleven year old standing beside her Mother, a saddened expression resting on her face. Seeing the two standing at her door like this Yuzu was clearly wondering just why they had come here so late in the evening, and also why at the moment Matsuri wasn't with them.

"Hey Yuzucchi...we're not intruding on anything at all, are we?"

The brunette Mother asked in a polite tone, as it was obvious that she didn't want she and her daughter suddenly showing up like this to be a inconvenience at all for the blonde and her family, but Yuzu soon just shook her head quickly as she could easily tell something had happened, and wanted to know what that just might be.

"No, no not at all, what's happened?"

She gave her close friend a concerned expression and instantly wanted to just wrap her arms around her, to embrace and help Harumi with the clear pain she was hiding right now, as the brunette just chuckled weakly before responding after a short pause, a nervous gaze still being formed on her face and it seeming like she could break at any moment.

"It's a bit of a long story...do you have time to talk for a little while? We won't stay long I promise," Harumi giving another nervous smile to Yuzu as she had a hopeful look in her eyes, causing the blonde to not even think twice as she quickly nodded and invited the two inside, letting them both come in out of the cold and into their warm home.

"Sure of course, come in, come in,"

She replied, guiding Harumi and her young daughter inside as she closed the front door behind them both, before quickly leading them into the lounge and sitting them down on the sofa together, as she was being sure to let the brunette Mother know that she could take as long as she liked on telling her what had brought her and her daughter here, and there was no rush or pressure for her to worry about at all.

However before Harumi could really start to say anything at all Mei and Yui came walking into the lounge, clearly wondering just who had been at the door, only for the dark haired Mother to go silent when she saw the brunette Mother and her daughter both looking quite dishevelled, as well as very nervous still. Harumi greeting Mei as she gave her a weak smile, causing her to look back to the brunette with a questioning and also a bit of a worried expression in response, glancing to her blonde wife as it was obvious she was wanting an explanation for just what was going on right now with their close friend and her young daughter, but Mei figuring that Yuzu couldn't make anything any clearer since she was simply just as lost as she was at the moment.

"Misa-chan, what are you doing here?"

Yui asked with a pleasantly surprised tone in her voice, greeting her best friend happily as she walked up to her, noticing straight away that she didn't seem to be acting like herself at all and so she just held both of her arms out to her brunette friend, automatically causing her to widen her eyes and see the understanding gaze Yui was giving her in return. It being like some switch that Yui had just flipped somehow, as no sooner had the fair haired preteen outstretched her arms that Misaka immediately began tearing up, her bright blue eyes quickly overflowing as tears streamed down her cheeks and she started to sob loudly over her friend's shoulder, clutching on to the back of Yui's shirt while she buried her head into the older girl's neck.

The fair haired preteen just smiling softly and closing her eyes, showing that she didn't need to know what had happened just yet especially not since Misaka likely wasn't ready to talk about it all right now, so she just let her friend cry over her shoulder as that was what she clearly needed at the moment, while the three Mothers all smiled slightly to the two young girls embracing each other in order to give Misaka the comfort that she was certainly in need of it seemed.

It not being long before Misaka seemed to get all of her crying out, as she was soon calming down while still holding on to Yui, it being obvious that she didn't want to let her go just yet and the fair haired preteen just letting her cling to her for as long as she needed, just sniffling now the brunette preteen was starting to compose herself before Mei caught the attention of the two hugging friends.

"Yui, could you take Misaka into your bedroom for a bit please? We're just going to talk with her Mama Haru for a few minutes, and I'm sure she could use a drink right about now," the dark haired Mother suggested to her younger daughter, as she guessed her and Yuzu likely wouldn't get much out of Harumi about what had happened if the two young girls were with them still, plus it was practically crystal clear that Yui would probably know the best way to make her close friend feel better at a time like this. The caring preteen just nodding simply in reply to her Mother as Mei smiled to her, before she watched Yui just guide Misaka out of the lounge and into the kitchen, getting a drink for her and talking to her calmly all the while, the brunette just continuing to hold on to her friend for comfort still though.

"Alright, now what's going on here, has something happened?"

Mei asked, guessing that Harumi would find it easier to tell her and Yuzu about everything that had happened now that their young daughters had left, and were no longer in earshot anymore. Yuzu came to sit beside her best friend on the sofa, resting a caring hand on her shoulder while she was offering some much needed comfort to Harumi, the brunette soon just letting out a long sigh as she nodded slowly, pausing for a few moments to collect all her thoughts before she finally began telling the other two about what exactly had brought her and Misaka to coming here so late this evening.

"Well...Matsuri and I...we had a fight,"

The nervous brunette confessed, pausing between every few words as she had glanced away from the other two, looking down at her hands at the moment while it seemed what she had said just simply caused Mei and Yuzu to give her questioning expressions in response still, as they knew the other couple still often argued every now are again so thinking that this was all it was about didn't really feel like anything new at all, however both of the two other Mothers could tell that there was something much different from the norm this time around.

"Well okay...but you've had plenty of disagreements before right so-

"Not like this...it was different this time. We haven't had one this bad since before Misaka was born," Harumi cutting off Mei as she shook her head, mumbling out that last part in more of a low tone while she bit her bottom lip, and bawled her fists tightly not caring about the fact that her nails were digging into her palms at the moment at all.

Yuzu glancing to her wife with more of a worried gaze as they could both see just how distressed the brunette was right now, not being entirely sure how they would be able to help their close friend but for the moment they definitely needed to know more information about everything that had led up to Harumi coming here with her daughter so suddenly.

"How bad would you say exactly?"

she questioned nervously, feeling a little unsure whether she actually wanted to hear the answer or not, after all Harumi was known for putting up with a lot from her wife, so considering the fact that the brunette had been the one to leave and need to spend some time away from Matsuri was already quite surprising, since things would normally be the other way around when their arguments had gotten out of hand in the past.

"Yuzu...I told her 'I wish I had never married her'," was how Harumi answered which not surprisingly had caused the other two to look taken aback, as they very quickly were realising just how serious this 'fight' between their two close friends might have been.

"Okay yeah...that sounds pretty bad,"

The blonde just nodding and looking more anxious to Mei, as she was clearly unsure of just what they could do to help, this being the first real time in a long time that the other couple had fallen out this badly. The three of them all going silent for a few moments, but this not lasting long as soon Mei spoke up again, having caused Harumi to actually look back to her finally.

"Okay, just how exactly did this all start?"

Deciding to take things slow and start from the beginning, Mei still spoke in a calm and collected tone, hoping that this would all start making sense eventually now that they had a rough idea of just what they were dealing with, it being more than obvious that things between the other couple likely wouldn't be fixed as easily as they had been in the past.

Harumi just seeming to be thinking to herself for a few moments, working out how she would explain all that had happened to the other two, before she soon just took a deep breath and nodded to herself, "Well...you see for a while now Matsuri and I haven't really been agreeing on things when it comes to pretty much anything to do with Misaka growing up, whether it be about her future education, how her social life is currently going, how much independence we're giving her and all kinds of things like that," she started to tell the other couple just where this had all stemmed from originally, seeing that both Mei and Yuzu were following along fine, as they just nodded to the brunette every so often to show that they understood all that she was telling them, staying quiet as they let their close friend just continue on from where she had left off.

"Anyway Matsuri kept saying that we should give Misaka more independence, and even though I disagreed and believed she has enough for an eleven year old girl who is still only in elementary school, she went against my wishes and let our daughter go down to the shops alone to pick up a few things that we were running low on in the house, and while I guess that was fine really..." pausing and looking like she was hesitating for a moment, keeping Mei and Yuzu in suspense, while it was obvious that they were wondering just where this explanation of Harumi's was going, and what it could be leading to.

Them not having to wonder for very long though, as the brunette carried on soon afterwards, "But when she came back to the house she was crying and really upset about something, of course we were both worried about what had happened to her as she soon told us that when she was on her way home from the shops, she was standing at the crossing and had seen that there were no cars coming so she was just about to walk across, only to have a damn sports car come speeding out of nowhere which would've no doubt ran her over if she hadn't have moved out of the way fast enough," she explained as her distressed feelings were now beginning to rise inside of her once again, all of Harumi's emotions she was having before when the fight between her and Matsuri was happening were starting to flood back to her, while the other two Mothers both looked surprised, and concerned for their friend's young daughter after hearing what exactly had caused all of this to happen.

"That's scary, was she okay when she returned home?" Yuzu questioned as both her and Mei were starting to see just why this particular argument between Harumi and her wife had gotten so out of control, after all when the life of their dear daughter was involved it was no wonder that they often clashed over it so much really.

Just shaking her head slightly Harumi went into more detail as to what had happened after their frightened daughter had returned home crying, "Not physically at all...but...it was clear the whole ordeal had shaken her up quite a bit, she was crying for practically hours and didn't really calm down until it was late in the evening. So I talked to Matsuri about how that incident showed that it wasn't safe to let Misaka go to the shops by herself just yet, but like always when it comes to our parenting of our daughter she disagreed with me and things just kept escalating from there, before long we were screaming and shouting at each other, we both said things we didn't mean, and soon had alerted Misaka. As you could imagine us fighting had upset her even more so I decided to take her for a walk to calm her down, and also hopefully Matsuri and I would cool off while we were away from each other as well for a bit, then when we were walking past your house she asked if we could pay you a visit, and I figured there wouldn't be any harm in staying for about half-an-hour or so. Plus I thought Yui might be able to cheer Misaka up...and you two already know what happened from there," she finished her rather long story of everything that had led up to where they currently were now, sighing once she was done explaining and just leaning back against the sofa cushions, as she seemed to be a little more relaxed since she had gotten all that off her chest, although it was easy to see that she was still holding back certain thoughts and feelings at the moment.

Mei and Yuzu just glancing to each other as they were staying silent for now, looking like they were both just taking in all that the brunette had said and weren't exactly sure if they knew any way they could help out their two close friends just yet, but it looking like they wouldn't be getting that much time to dwell on it all. As before either of them could offer up any advice to Harumi their young daughters had returned from the fair haired preteen's bedroom, and had soon caught the three Mothers attention when they spoke up suddenly.

"Mama, Mom, can Misa-chan sleepover tonight?"

Yui asked in a polite and also kind of nervous tone, hoping that her Mothers would say yes, however both Mei and Yuzu looked to their younger daughter with concerned expressions, as they thought it was sweet that their caring daughter wanted to give her best friend more of the comfort and support she needed at the moment. But the two of them not being sure whether they should let Misaka stay over, since they were already having Rinne spending the night here, and it was quite likely that Harumi would decline such a kind gesture anyway.

It seeming like they were right after all as the brunette Mother stood up from the sofa, coming to stand in front of her young daughter now while she leaned down a little, and rested both of her hands on Misaka's shoulders, "Sweetie you can't stay here, we need to go back home," Harumi speaking to her daughter in a caring tone, but causing her to just shake her head in response, making it clear that her mind was already made up.

"No I don't want to go back home, you and Mama Matsu are just going to start fighting again if we go back now, I want to stay here with Yui-chan tonight," she stated in a determined voice as she caused her Mother to look taken aback for a moment, thinking that her daughter was just being stubborn at first, but when she saw a look of obvious anxiety in her bright blue eyes, she guessed that the young girl had been though a lot today and there was no guarantee that if they did return back home her and Matsuri wouldn't get into another heated argument at some time during the night like Misaka feared they would.

And so Harumi just giving her daughter an understanding expression, before she glanced back to Mei and Yuzu with a bit of a pleading gaze directed to them both, "Do you two mind if Misaka stays over tonight? I could take her to stay at my sisters instead if it's too much trouble," the brunette Mother suggested as she didn't want to be any more of a inconvenience then she and her daughter already had been so far, causing the other two Mothers to look to each other for a couple of minutes, them seeming to be agreeing on the same thing as they soon nodded in unison, however Misaka interrupting them before they could say anything at all.

"But I don't want to stay at Auntie's, I want to stay here-

"Hey it's no problem really; of course you can stay here for tonight Misaka," Yuzu cut the young girl off before she could continue her protesting, as she gave a caring smile down to her younger daughter's best friend, causing the two preteens to both look pleasantly surprised, while they had hopeful looks in their eyes.

"Really, you mean it Mom?" Yui asked as she caused her blonde Mother to glance back over to Mei for a moment, almost as if she was seeing if she would get her approval, while the dark haired Mother just nodded back to her wife in response with a slight sigh.

Nodding simply Yuzu caused the two young girls to light up and smile brightly to each other, clearly being excited about their sleepover tonight, it being easy to tell that they were already planning out what they would do together, "You can sleep in my bedroom with me Misa-chan, I'll get a futon out for myself and you can have my bed for the night," the fair haired preteen said as she sounded pretty certain about her decision, even though her friend protested against it a moment later.

"Why don't you stay over as well Taniguchi-san? I'm sure after all this has happened you and Matsuri could likely use a night apart from each other," Mei surprisingly suggested as she caused for Yuzu and Harumi to look taken aback to her, not expecting her to be the one to purpose something like what she just had, but it seeming like she was certainly sure about it.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to impose even more than I already have on you two like that, I'll just stay with my sister for the night, I'm sure she won't mind really," the brunette shook her head as she composed herself, refusing Mei's kind offer straight away, as it was true she didn't really want to go back home either and have to face her wife tonight, but then she didn't want her two close friends going above and beyond for her when they were already doing so much for her by letting her daughter stay over for the night.

However the other two Mothers clearly not wanting to take no for an answer it seemed, "You're not 'imposing' on us at all Harumin, and plus this way you wouldn't have to worry about troubling your sister at all," the blonde reassured with an understanding smile to her best friend, showing that she had composed herself and although Mei having offered for Harumi to stay as well was still quite surprising to her, she agreed with the idea and figured she would have likely suggested the same thing if her wife hadn't beaten her to it.

"You two really are too kind, but where would I even sleep?" Harumi continuing to protest as she was just coming up with excuses now, knowing that the other couple didn't have a guest room of any sort, and already had guessed that they wouldn't let her just sleep on the sofa in the lounge, but Yuzu already seeming to know what to say in reply to her best friend.

"We've got plenty of futons, so you can sleep on one of them in our bedroom, or you could have the bed if you would prefer, Mei and I wouldn't really mind sleeping on a futon for the night," she simply answered as she gave another smile to Harumi, glancing back to her wife while she just nodded in return, seeming to agree with all that the blonde was saying at the moment, the brunette going to deny the generous offer once again only to be cut off before she could say anything at all.

"Or she can stay in my room," they all heard a unmistakable voice speak up, causing them all to look to the doorway and really not being all that surprised to see Maiya and Rinne standing by the door, as they both gave the others nervous smiles as it was obvious they knew all about what was going on right now.

"I thought you two were getting Maiya's bedroom ready for your sleepover?" Mei asked as she wondered just when her older daughter and her best friend had left Maiya's bedroom, as well as how much they had both heard, soon finding those two things out it would seem while her teenage daughter replied to her in still quite the nervous tone.

"We were...but we came to see who was at the door, and when I saw that it was just Misaka and her Mother I was going to go back to my bedroom, however Rinne here wouldn't leave and so we ended up overhearing everything after Yui had taken Misaka into the kitchen earlier," the dark haired teen simply explained as she gave a nervous chuckle to her two Mothers, while they both gave a smile back to their older daughter, thinking it was sweet that she wanted to do something nice and offer her room for Harumi to sleep in for the night, but that would mean that the two teens wouldn't have anywhere to sleep tonight.

"That's very kind of you Maiya, but where will you and Rinne-san sleep?" Yuzu questioned as she expected her older daughter to come up with some sort of answer that she quickly made up, but it was surprisingly Rinne who replied to the blonde a moment later, with a confident tone in her voice.

"Well I have this idea that us two as well as Yui and Misaka can all sleep in the lounge tonight, we could grab all the futons plus lots of pillows and blankets and lay them all out on the floor, we could watch a couple of movies and even have a few snacks and drinks for us all. It can be like a big 'slumber party' for the four of us," the redhead suggested her idea with a smile, as Maiya just nodded with a smile as well, causing Yui and Misaka to both beam and look to their Mothers with pleading gazes, the two of them being certainly excited about this idea of Rinne's she had come up with.

"Honestly Harumin, I don't see how you can say 'no' to that idea,"

The blonde looking impressed as she folded her arms and smiled slightly, while her and all the others just looked to Harumi with hopeful expressions as they all just wanted to help the brunette Mother in any way that they could, and they all believed letting her stay with them for the night to let her know she had them there for support and comfort, if she needed it at any time at all was the best way to do exactly that.

Hesitating for a couple of moments Harumi saw that all the others really were trying to do something nice for her by letting her stay over like this, and truthfully although she didn't like to admit it she agreed that Rinne's idea did sound pretty perfect after all, so she soon sighed deeply and looked away from all the hopeful eyes that were on her right now, nodding her head finally in response.

"Fine, I'll stay over as well, but just for tonight, okay?"

She warned as she gave the others a bit of a stern stare, as they all just nodded to her in reply, before she couldn't help but smile as all of the young four girls cheered happily and high-fived one another, while Mei and Yuzu just sighed with relief and were glad that their close friend had agreed to stay with them 'just for tonight', as they believed she would definitely benefit from it in the morning.

"Come on you two, let's go and get the lounge all set up and ready for tonight," Rinne said to the two younger girls, causing them to both nod excitedly, before they ran off to go and grab everything for tonight and gained an eye roll from Maiya, who just chuckled slightly and then turned back to her two Mothers when she heard Mei calling to her a minute later.

"Remember to not stay up too late tonight, okay?"

She instructed to her elder daughter, as she felt she was the one that could be trusted the most to not have them all stay awake for too long, since they all pretty much knew that Maiya was probably the most responsible of them all, while she just simply nodded to her Mother with a smile before she soon followed after the other three.

Having left the three Mothers to just smile to one another at watching their daughters smiling and having fun even though not the best of situations had brought them all here together, Mei and Yuzu soon changing the subject and staying away from talking about the troubles that Harumi was having with Matsuri, and instead just catching up for a little bit while watching their daughters and Rinne getting everything ready in the lounge together for their slumber party tonight.

...

A couple of hours later everything was set up in the lounge for the four young girls, meaning that Harumi could now go and get ready for bed in Maiya's bedroom as she thought it would be better for her to have an early night, and maybe try and sort out what to do about her and Matsuri in the morning after she had gotten some much needed rest. Having changed into some pyjamas that Yuzu had given to her to wear, she was now just texting her wife and sitting up in the bed, feeling more than grateful that Maiya had lent it to her for the night.

Yuzu coming in to check on her best friend as she slowly opened the door, looking a little concerned when she walked into the room to see Harumi having a troubled expression while she looked to her phone screen, before she soon noticed the blonde had come into the room and so just put her phone away, giving a small smile to Yuzu in response to her smiling to her caringly.

"I was just messaging Matsuri to tell her Misaka and I were staying with you and Mei tonight," the brunette nervously stated as Yuzu came to sit beside her on the bed, nodding and giving a slightly hopeful look to her friend in reply.

"What did she say?"

"'Do whatever you want',"

Harumi simply repeating what her wife had texted back to her only a few seconds ago, having guessed that Matsuri was still mad about their fight, but the brunette still finding that she felt downhearted by the fact that things were likely going to be tense like this between them for a while, until they would hopefully find a way to make up and get past all this.

"Well at least she replied to you, that's a good sign right?"

Yuzu smiling nervously as she was trying to give Harumi the confidence she needed to try and work through her troubles with Matsuri, but not really knowing what she should say in order to help the brunette, since she had only seen her this distressed a few times before now, not knowing exactly how she could try to lift her friend's spirits at the moment. Just shrugging her shoulders in reply Harumi sighed a little as she rested her head in her hands, running a hand through her long brown hair while she caused the blonde to look more concerned for her, resting a caring hand on Harumi's shoulder and catching her attention now.

"You do want to make up with Matsuri...right?"

She asked the brunette as even though the couple hadn't fallen out this badly in years, she hoped they would still be able to work through it all just like they always have done in the past, while Harumi quickly turned her head to the blonde as she looked a little taken aback by Yuzu's question, but soon composed herself as she guessed she still probably seemed pretty mad at her wife currently.

"Of course I do, I love her and I don't want us to keep arguing over how we care for our daughter like this, also I know what happened with Misaka and that car wasn't really her fault, but I am still mad at her for letting our daughter go through that all by herself. However I shouldn't have let myself get so angry, I mean I called her 'an irresponsible Mother' and said that 'sometimes I wish I had never married her since she was always acting like things weren't a big deal at all with serious matters like what had happened to Misaka earlier today'," obviously feeling bad for some of the things she had blurted out to her wife in the heat of the moment when she was arguing with her earlier, knowing that Matsuri wasn't completely at fault for what had happened, and truthfully she likely shared some of the blame as well really.

Nodding in response Yuzu just let Harumi get all of her feelings out, listening to her say all that she needed to without interrupting her at all, as she could see that her best friend didn't really need any advice right now, instead she just needed a shoulder to cry on and that's what the blonde was trying to give to her in support.

"I just hope she can forgive me for saying all that stuff to her," sighing deeply Harumi looked away from Yuzu as she bit her bottom lip, and held back the slight tears she felt welling up inside her eyes, while the blonde just gave her an encouraging smile and pulled her into a caring embrace, holding her close and rubbing her back in hopes of comforting her better.

"I'm sure she will, after all this is Matsuri we're talking about here, so no doubt she knows you didn't mean a lot of those things you said to her, and besides she probably said some things that she regrets now as well," she stated in a confident voice, as she caused Harumi to just soon nod into her shoulder and hug Yuzu back tightly, while the two of them sat in silence for a little bit before the brunette broke the quiet and spoke in a low tone.

"I really can't thank you all enough for all this," smiling nervously Harumi felt like she was incredibly lucky to have close friends like Mei, Yuzu and their two daughters doing such kind and caring things for her and her daughter, being surprised that Rinne had wanted to help out too while Yuzu just shrugged her shoulders slightly and nodded to the brunette.

"There really is no need to thank us, we just all want to be here for you and your family whenever you needs us, after all I'm sure you'd do the exact same for Mei and me," the blonde simply smiling as she caused Harumi to nod back to her in reply, before she gave her best friend another comforting hug and soon left her to get into bed and hopefully get some rest for tonight, so that she could wake up tomorrow and feel more confident about fixing things with Matsuri, along with Yuzu and Mei's help if they ended up needed it at all.

...

Meanwhile in the lounge the four young girls were all dressed in their pyjamas (both Rinne and Misaka having borrowed a pair of pyjamas from Maiya and Yui), getting ready for their slumber party all together as Maiya and Rinne were picking out a couple of movies to watch, while Yui was busy covering her futon in blankets and pillows and Misaka was sitting up in her bed for the night, kind of staring off into space at the moment as she was lost in her own thoughts it seemed.

"Rinne I already told you we can't watch any scary movies, we'll get into trouble if Yui and Misaka end up having nightmares after all. Plus you and I aren't even old enough to watch those sorts of movies, just where did you get them from anyway?"

"I have my ways,"

The two teens trying to decide on which films they would be watching tonight, as Maiya knew they had to pick movies that all of them could watch together, however Rinne not really having brought any 'age appropriate' ones it seemed in the bag she had brought with her from her home earlier in the day. The dark haired teen just rolling her emerald eyes to her best friend, before she just turned away from her and instead called to Misaka, catching the preteen's attention and causing her to look back to her in response.

"Misaka, are there any movies here that you would like to watch?" Maiya asked with a smile to the younger girl as she gestured towards the pile of DVDs on the floor; however Misaka seeming to have other things on her mind right now as she didn't answer at first, before she just shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Oh um...I don't know...whatever you guys pick will be fine with me,"

She answered, as she faked a smile to the two teens and looked away from them afterwards, causing them both to glance to each other with concerned expressions, as they could tell something was troubling the brunette at the moment and guessed it likely had to do with all that had happened today with her two Mothers.

"What's wrong Misa-chan? It's okay, you can tell us,"

Yui spoke up, as she had taken her attention off of making her bed and also seemed to notice the distance gaze her best friend had in her bright blue eyes at the moment, giving Misaka an understanding expression while the other two just nodded to the brunette with reassuring smiles, causing her to pause and think before she sighed slightly.

"I was just thinking about my Mamas, after all I've never seen them argue like that before, they just kept shouting and saying really mean things to each other. So I was wondering...if they would be able to work it out and make up...or if they'll just keep fighting like this," the brunette explained the thoughts that she was having at the moment after a short a pause, her voice going really quiet when she finished what she was saying, while causing Maiya and Rinne to glance to each other again as they were unsure of what they could say to reassure the younger girl, however Yui luckily seemed to know exactly what to say to give her best friend the hope that she needed right now.

"Of course they'll be able to work it out. Right?" the fair haired preteen glanced over to her elder sister and Rinne, hinting at them to agree with her as they both seemed to quickly catch on and nod back to Yui in reply.

"Yes Yui's right, after all they always work out their problems in the end...don't they?"

Maiya agreed as she and Rinne just nodded to the other two girls, giving Misaka reassuring smiles while Yui came to sit beside her best friend, resting a caring hand on her shoulder before the brunette just soon widened her eyes and let a small smile form on her lips, looking to the other three's comforting faces and just them alone causing her to feel a little bit better.

"Yeah you're probably right, thank you guys...I really don't think I would be able to get through this without you all being here for me," she stated in a low tone, feeling her eyes filling with tears again but simply just wiping them away when Yui pulled her into a tight hug a moment later.

"That's what friends are for after all,"

Simply replying with a softened smile Yui held her best friend close as Misaka just nuzzled into her, and soon felt a warm sensation spread throughout her chest, while Maiya and Rinne came over to both join in the caring embrace, the three of them all hugging the brunette and being glad to see her smiling again. The four of them hugging in silence for a little bit longer before they all decided on what movies they would watch together, and soon settled into their futons with lots of snacks and drinks so that they could enjoy the films they had picked out, and then would likely be lying down to get some much needed rest, hopefully feeling ready to face whatever would happen tomorrow together.

...

Hope you all enjoyed the seveth one-shot in this sequel series and the next one (which will actually be the last one in this series) should be up in about a week from now just you know.

I was going to post this yesterday as normal but just didn't have enough time to, so here it is now instead. Look forward to the last chapter in this series next week by the way. :)

Thank you all for reading by the way. ^_^

Killerchainsaw ;)