Prompt: Setsuna and Hotaru, "the birds and the bees"
Event: Cheerupemofic for teamvanessacloud
Real Parents
"Setsuna-mama, where do babies come from?"
Setsuna, who had been working on a research paper, stopped typing and glanced away from her computer screen, looking over at her adorable adopted daughter, Hotaru. Though appearing to be only about five years old in age, Hotaru was actually much older, having been reborn after the battle with Pharaoh 90. It often surprised Setsuna how much knowledge Hotaru somehow retained from her previous life as a sixth-grader, but apparently the mechanics of reproduction were among the things she had forgotten.
"Why do you want to know?" Setsuna asked.
"Some kids at the playground said that you, Michiru-mama, and Haruka-papa weren't my real parents," Hotaru said, her eyes glued to the floor. "They said three women can't have a baby together, that only a man and a woman can make a baby."
Ah, so that was it. Setsuna had known the topic would come up sooner or later, but she'd been hoping more "later".
"Well, it's technically true that conception of a baby requires the sperm of a male and the egg of a female, but that doesn't mean we aren't your real parents, Hotaru-chan." Setsuna closed the lid of her laptop and swiveled around in her desk chair to fully face Hotaru. "Come here, sweetie," she said. "Let's have a little chat."
Hotaru climbed into her lap, Setsuna wrapping her arms around her and kissing the top of her dark hair. "The truth is," Setsuna said, "you don't have just three parents. You have five."
"Five?"
"Yes, five. The three of us, and your biological parents."
Hotaru looked up, tilting her head to her side as she brought a finger to her chin. "What does 'biological' mean, Setsuna-mama?"
"It means they're the parents who created you."
"Oh. Then where are they? Why don't they live with us?"
Setsuna sighed. Such difficult questions, especially when Hotaru had yet to reawaken to her full memories as Sailor Saturn. She didn't want to lie to Hotaru, but she also didn't want to hide the truth from her, either. "I'm afraid your biological mama and papa are dead," she finally said, deciding not to elaborate any further than that. Hotaru didn't need to know the details leading to Keiko and Soichi Tomoe's deaths and the role she had unwittingly played. "After they died, Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama, and I decided to adopt you. Do you know what 'adopt' means?"
"Like when you adopt a puppy from the pound?"
Setsuna chuckled. "Yes, kind of like that. It means that we took you home and decided to love you as our daughter."
"Then the kids at the playground were right." Tears began to well in her violet eyes. "You aren't my real mommy..."
"Oh, Hotaru-chan... Being blood-related doesn't necessarily make someone a parent."
"Then what does?"
"Love," Setsuna replied. "Do you love us?"
Hotaru nodded. "More than anything!"
"And we feel the same way about you." Setsuna tightened her embrace, smothering Hotaru's face with kisses. "We love you so very...very...very much."
"Setsuna-mama!" she squealed, giggling.
"See? That's what makes us your real parents, okay? So don't let anybody try to convince you otherwise!"
"Okay! I love you, Setsuna-mama!"
"Me, too, my little firefly."
DISCLAIMER: "Sailor Moon" doesn't belong to me.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hope you enjoyed the story! Feel free to follow me on Tumblr! My username is kaleidodreams.
