Slumber Parties

The weekend came by quickly. Téa and Lopmon were cleaning up their house for when their guests would arrive. Emily and Gatomon came over to help out. The party wouldn't start until the next few hours, but the girls knew that if they worked together, everything would be ready. Téa's mother decided to go shopping for some more snacks for the girls. When Mrs. Gardener first saw Lopmon, she didn't mind her at all. She liked the little rabbit and was happy for her daughter for having a companion. She was even happy to see Gatomon and liked her as much. The story of Téa's adventure in the Digital World was a little much to take in at first, but Mrs. Gardener was amazed and warmed up to Lopmon and accepted her as a part of the family.

After cleaning up, the girls started baking treats like brownies, cookies, and macarons. They knew how much Serena and the others loved to eat sweets and so they made sure to bake plenty. After mixing the ingredients for the brownies, Téa took the mixer apart and gave one whisk to Emily. The girls gave their whisks to their Digimon and the cat and rabbit began licking them like they were eating ice cream.

"Thanks for coming over early to help out," Téa told Emily and Gatomon.

"You're welcome," the blonde said. "We didn't mind at all." Then she remembered. "Did Duke tell you he was having a barbecue next weekend?"

The brunette nodded. "He even said we could bring our Digimon."

"I was thinking of inviting the Sailor Scouts," Emily was saying, "but it's not really up to me. Since Duke is the host, I'd have to ask for his approval. Besides, knowing how charismatic he is around girls, it may not be a good idea."

"Those are good points," Téa said in understanding. Duke had met the Sailor Scouts at one point and he did act all charming around them. The girls were a little irritated at first, but they were able to warm up to him.

"But the rest of our friends will be there too," Emily added. "Maybe with a little luck, the girls will be more focused on Yugi and Joey and me and you and they'll also be just as focused on the Digimon."

Lopmon finished licking the brownie mix. "Well, like you said, Emily, first you'll need to ask Duke if it's okay for the Sailor Scouts to come over and join the barbecue."

Téa nodded, then she looked at the clock. It was only 3:30. "We've still got plenty of time before we bring the girls here. My mom will be back soon too. Maybe in an hour or so, we can go to their world and bring them over."

The blonde and the Digimon liked the sound of that. To pass the time, they waited for the treats to bake. It wasn't long until Téa's mother came through the door with grocery bags filled with popcorn, soda, flavored sparkling water, chips, pretzels, and ice cream. The girls helped to put the groceries away.

Once everything was all set, Téa and Emily left the house to go pick up their friends. They went to the Secret Garden and passed through the door to the world of the Sailor Scouts. The first stop was Serena's house. Serena came out with her sleeping bag and a backpack full of clothes and manga books. Rini was packed up too. She was going to sleep over at the Kaiba estate. After hearing the news about Rebecca and Leon getting their own Digimon, she thought that this presented a golden opportunity.

They stopped by the other girls' houses. They were packed with the same essentials such as clothes and hygiene products and pieces of entertainment. Well, Amy brought most of her textbooks, Lita had a few snacks, Raye brought along some of her favorite music discs, and Mina brought along some of her favorite movies. Amara, Michelle, and Trista were ready too. Now that everyone was all gathered, they could return to Téa's house. So they returned to the Secret Garden and took the door back home.

Before joining the girls, Raye decided to escort Rini to Kaiba's estate. She wouldn't be there for long, but she hoped that she'd at least have a chance to see Kaiba for a while. They came to the front door, which was immediately opened by Mokuba. The raven-haired lad eagerly greeted his friends and invited Rini to his room. When Kaiba saw Raye, he was surprised. He hadn't seen her in weeks.

Watching the two young ones go about their excitement, Raye laughed. Then she looked at Kaiba. "Hello, Kaiba."

"Hello, Raye," he returned. "Just dropping by to drop off Rini?"

"Well, I was also hoping I'd get to see you at least while I would be," she replied. "The others and I don't see much of you guys these days."

Kaiba smiled warmly. "Well, you know how it is. I got a company to run and we got our duties as heroes like you and the girls do."

Raye nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I know how it is." She gave a small laugh. "Oh, Kaiba, gosh, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you."

"It's great to see you too, Raye." And they began smiling at each other.

Raye cleared her throat. "Well, I just wanted to say 'hi', so I guess I should be getting back to the others now." She picked up her supplies. "I'll be back in the morning for Rini, if that's all right."

The brunette lad nodded. "I'll see you then. Have fun." He looked out the window and watched her walk off. He had to remind himself to return to her world one of these days.

Raye found her way back to Téa's house. Right now, the girls were getting organized and settled in. They also began admiring Gatomon and Lopmon, petting them and hugging them and wishing they had their own Digimon.

Back at the Kaiba estate, Leon and Rebecca arrived, carrying their Digimon in their arms. Rebecca was holding a green sprout named Tanemon and Leon was holding a round white Digimon with rose colored limbs, ears, and a tail. His Digimon was Xiaomon.

When Mokuba opened the door for them, he was excited to see their Digimon. He immediately brought his friends to his room, where Guilmon was playing with Rini. The pink-haired girl and the red dragon were amazed and excited to see the new Digimon and began playing with them.

During both slumber parties, everyone was just having fun. They were dancing and singing to music, looking through manga books, playing video games, watching movies, eating snacks, and telling stories about their latest adventures. Rather than talk about her adventure in Paris, Emily decided to just join Téa in sharing their adventure in the Digital World. The girls were also excited to hear that Emily had her own farm for Eevee in the Pokémon world and thought about how great it would be to go on a Pokémon journey. Leon and Rebecca couldn't wait to introduce their Digimon to the rest of their friends. They decided that after the slumber party, they would go to the village in the feudal era and meet up with Shippo, Kohaku, and Rin.

After hours of partying and playing and having fun, everyone was getting tired and ready to go to sleep. They made themselves comfortable and got into their sleeping backs and fell asleep.