Fourteen Days with my Family by Hotaru Tomoe.

Chapter Five: Wednesday I.

Disclaimer: Still don't own any of the characters.

Finally! I thought that the sun would never come out again. Guess we don't have to build an ark after all.

The morning sun poked through my curtains as I awoke this morning. The weather promised to be really bright and warm for the rest of the week. So it was an ideal day to wash Haruka-papa's car.

After a quick shower, I put on a simple T-shirt and shorts and went downstairs. Everyone but Setsuna-mama was sitting at the breakfast table. As soon as I walked in though, everyone got quiet. I guess I was a little steamed yesterday. Setsuna-mama came in and gave me a worried look as she passed. I smiled at her and asked her to sit so I could say something. Hoshiko looked at me and then quickly looked away with a sad look in her eyes. Time to apologize I guess.

"Mama, Papa, Mama, Hoshiko, I would really like to apologize for yelling at you yesterday. I had a really bad day, but that was no excuse to take it out on any of you, especially you Mama and Hoshiko. I should have watched where I was going. I'm sorry." I bowed and smiled at them.

"That's all right Hime-chan, we forgive you. Mr. Tanaka's behavior was inexcusable, and falling down the hill couldn't have been fun." Michiru-mama said.

"Not to mention being covered with mud, rained on, and nearly being blown up." Haruka-papa added.

"And having us land on you like a ton of bricks." Setsuna-mama said.

"You are not hurt then?" Hoshiko asked.

"No I'm okay, thanks Hoshiko." I replied as I went over and hugged each of them. Soon we were sitting down to breakfast and discussing our plans for today.

"Setsuna and I were going grocery shopping basically." Michiru-mama said.

"And Firefly and I were going to clean up the car a bit, and maybe we'll head for the park later. Does that sound good to you, kiddo?" Haruka-papa asked.

"Sounds great Papa, what about you Hoshiko?" I turned to Hoshiko who had to swallow a mouthful of toast before replying. She smiled and took a sip of orange juice.

"I was wondering if you and Haruka needed any help." She replied.

"Hey, the more the merrier I always say." Haruka-papa said with a grin. Michiru-mama glowered at her as the rest of us sighed. "Anyway, you might want to change into something more suitable." Haruka-papa nodded at Hoshiko's blue spring dress.

"Is this not suitable?" Hoshiko asked as she looked down at her dress.

"It's suitable for going out to the mall, but it may get wrecked when you get it wet. A t-shirt and shorts would be better it's a bit warm outside." I told her indicating what I was wearing along with Haruka-papa's blue tank top and shorts.

"I understand I will change after breakfast thank you." Hoshiko replied with a smile. Just then the phone rang and Michiru-mama went over to answer it.

"Hello? Oh hi Ami. How are you?" Michiru-mama paused and listened. "Yes she's all right. Sets and I were just going to get some groceries while Hotaru, Ruka, and Hoshiko wash the car." She paused again and giggled a bit. "No I don't think we can help with either problem, although if you want Ruka to scare them off I guess we can come by soon." Pause. "Okay, thank you for calling Ami. You too. Bye." She hung up and came back to the table smiling and shaking her head a bit. "Poor Ami."

"Cousins are driving her nuts I take it?" Haruka-papa asked. Michiru-mama nodded.

"Yes, they are a bit too demanding as far as houseguests go. Nothing seems to be good enough for them. Yuriko (Ami's Mom) is almost out of patience herself.

"Sounds like they could use a little help then. Maybe we should invite them out with us on Saturday?" Setsuna-mama wondered aloud.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Haruka-papa said, as she grinned in a way that made us a bit nervous.

"On that note, we'll be heading for the store now. You mentioned that you had some dry cleaning that you wanted done?" Michiru-mama asked Haruka-papa.

"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me Michi." She kissed Michiru-mama on the lips then went upstairs while Setsuna-mama and I gathered the breakfast dishes. Hoshiko headed for her room to change.

A few minutes later Haruka-papa returned with the sports coat she had been wearing yesterday and handed it to Michiru-mama who started going through the pockets.

"I already did that." Haruka-papa said.

"I know you did dear, but it never hurts to double-check." Michiru-mama found something and held up a few coins for us all to see. "See what I mean?" Haruka-papa made a face and held out her hand. Michiru-mama smiled sweetly and pocketed the change. A look of disappointment flashed over Haruka-papa's face, which prompted Michiru-mama to smile and kiss her again. I made a show of rinsing a plate off to cover the gagging noises I made while Setsuna-mama just shook her head.

"Are you all right Hotaru? You do not sound well." Hoshiko asked in concern as she walked back into the kitchen. She now sported a red T-shirt, blue shorts, and white socks. Her hair was tied back in a long ponytail.

"Oh she's fine. It's just something that comes and goes every once in a while." Haruka-papa said while glaring at me. I just kept quiet at this moment.

"All right, we're off then. Have fun today!" Michiru-mama called out as she and Setsuna-mama headed for the door.

"See you later." Setsuna-mama added.

"Don't buy the whole store." Haruka-papa cautioned with a stern look.

"You're no fun." Michiru-mama pouted as she gave Haruka-papa a last kiss and me a peck on the cheek. Setsuna-mama gave me a kiss on the cheek and hugged Haruka-papa. Both of them gave Hoshiko a hug and soon they were gone. Haruka-papa saw them off and then pulled her car out to the front driveway before coming back inside.

"All right, let's get all the stuff for cleaning the car and get busy." Haruka-papa exclaimed with a clap of her hands. Hoshiko and I got our shoes on and went into the garage to find the buckets, soap, sponges, squeegees, and vacuum cleaner, while Haruka-papa got the hose. Soon the three of us were gathered by Haruka-papa's car where she started to give instructions. She would work on the body of the car, while Hoshiko did the windows. Myself, being the smallest, lucky me got to vacuum the inside and clean the dashboard.

More than a few people have accused Haruka-papa (including Michiru-mama when she's really mad at her) of loving her car more than the rest of us. I can assure you that it's not true. She loves to work on her car a lot because she feels that a well maintained car will last you a lifetime. As she put it one time, 'I love my car a lot, but I love my family more. Besides there are certain things I can do with my family that I can't do with my car, like read to it, take it out for ice cream, bug it unmercifully, and in Michi's case make love to it.' Suffice it to say that effectively ended that argument, much to our embarrassment, not to mention Rei's, Makoto's, Ami's, Minako's, and Usagi's, who had been bugging Haruka-papa about it that day. I can also tell you she slept on the couch that night.

Anyway as we worked, it started to get steadily hotter outside and we were all feeling the affects, especially me, who was working in an enclosed space. Haruka-papa called a break.

"I'll go get a few Cokes while you two rest here, and then I'll finish the inside, okay Firefly?" Haruka-papa asked with a smile.

"Okay, thanks Papa." I replied with a smile.

Hoshiko and I sat under a tree by the driveway to cool off. It must have been nearly 25 degrees Celsius by now and we were both sweating profusely. I looked up at Hoshiko who was leaning her head back a bit with her eyes closed, rivers of sweat on her face. "How are you doing?" I asked her.

"I am fine. It is rather hot, but I have survived far worse than this." She replied as she opened her eyes and gave me a reassuring smile. She wiped some of the sweat away than looked at me again. "May I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

"Why do you call Haruka your 'Papa'?"

I had to sit and think about it for a moment. "Well it's kind of silly really, but when they first took me in, I was a baby. Then I accelerated to the age of 4. When I first saw Haruka-papa with her short hair, suit, tie, and trousers, I thought it was my Papa, my real Papa, and so I called her Papa. She smiled and asked me to call her Haruka and I called out 'Haruka-papa!' She tried to correct me several times, but Michiru-mama said it was cute, and the name stuck. But she was the one who gave Setsuna-mama her nickname."

"I imagine she was a little annoyed at that." Hoshiko remarked with a giggle.

"She was at first, but she got used to it. She confided in me that hearing me call her Setsuna-mama made her day that much brighter." I replied.

"I have noticed that you usually call them 'Mama', 'Papa', and 'Mama' now." Hoshiko pointed out. I nodded.

"I just felt that we'd grown together as a family and that there was no need for the nicknames anymore, at least between us. I still use their nicknames when we're out together, and it saves a little confusion when I introduce them to others. But at home, or with the rest of our family, the other Senshi, I call them Mama, Papa, and Mama."

"Does it cause any confusion?" Hoshiko asked.

"Oh yeah, it does sometimes." Haruka-papa replied for me as she sat beside us and handed out the bottles of Coke she carried. "We get confused sometimes, as do some of our guests, but we've adapted. We love our Hime-chan to death." She put an arm around me and I put my head on her shoulder. "I think koneko (Usagi) summed it up best; 'Haruka, you, Michiru, and Setsuna are the bricks in your family. Hotaru is the mortar holding you together."

I looked up at Haruka-papa in surprise I had never heard her mention this before. She smiled and kissed me on the forehead.

"Usagi is a wise young woman." Hoshiko stated.

"That she is. That she most definitely is." Haruka-papa replied, looking wistful. I made a note to call Usagi later and thank her.

The three of us sat quietly and sipped at our Cokes until we were done and Haruka-papa told us it was time to get back to work. Half an hour later we were nearly finished when we heard the phone ring from outside. Haruka-papa grunted and went inside to answer it, leaving us to finish up.

As we were doing the finishing touches, I looked over at Hoshiko. She was examining her work critically, making sure she hadn't missed anything. In my heat addled mind, I thought that she was being a little too serious and I thought I should do something about it. So I flicked some water in her face.

"Hey! Do not do that!" She exclaimed as she wiped a few drops off the rear view mirror.

"Yeah? What are you gonna do if I don't?" I replied, flicking more water at her.

"Stop it!" More water.

"Make me!" Much more water.

"Fine! I shall!" She declared as she threw a wet, soapy sponge in my face.

"So that's the way you want to play huh?" I shouted and threw my sponge back at her.

"Hey! If you're going to do that, step away from the car!" Haruka-papa bellowed from the kitchen window. We stopped throwing things and cleaned off the car.

"Thank you!" Haruka-papa shouted and slammed the window shut. We tided up, put the hose away and were heading into the garage when a wet sponge bounced off my head.

"Hoshiko!" I shouted as I whirled around, only to get a face full of water.

"I believe the phrase is 'Gotcha!" Hoshiko crowed. I growled and threw my sponge at her, causing her to shriek, drop her empty bucket, and run out of the garage with me and my nearly full bucket hot on her heels.

She sprinted into the front yard and nearly ran into a low branch. She turned around and that's when I ran up and doused her with the bucket. She screamed as she was well and thoroughly soaked. I dropped the bucket and fell over laughing. She glared at me than began laughing herself, and soon she was on the ground as well. Soon we were both trying to catch our breath.

"Are we even now?" I asked her between breaths. She was an absolute mess. Her hair was plastered to her head, and her shirt was soaked. I wasn't much better. Granted having shorter hair then hers had a few advantages.

"Yes I would say we are even." Hoshiko gasped. Then she smiled and extended her hand. "Truce?"

"Truce." I smiled and took her hand, which was when Haruka-papa struck, nailing both of us in the head with a blast of water.

"Papa!" I sputtered as I turned to face her. She was standing there with a carbine-sized water gun in her hands, a pistol tucked in the waistband of her shorts, and a big grin on her face. "Thought you could have a water fight without me eh?"

"Run away!" Hoshiko and I shouted as we scrambled to our feet and tried to run away as fast as our legs could carry us. Yeah right, me trying to run away from Haruka-papa the track star. Hoshiko was having slightly better luck then I was.

"Keep her busy! I need to get something!" I shouted to her as I ran towards the house.

"Hurry please!" She cried. I heard her screaming inside the house as I ran to get a few things. When I was done I ran back outside to see Hoshiko running at me, Haruka-papa right behind her."

"Catch Hoshiko!" I called and tossed her a big water gun. A very big water gun with a lot of pressure and capacity. She was grinning evilly as she caught and examined it. I walked up with a second rifle and handed her one of the water pistols I had as well. Haruka-papa had stopped dead in her tracks. Hoshiko and I smiled at one another and turned to face Haruka-papa and commenced blasting. She was soaked instantly I'm happy to say.

"AAAAA!" Haruka-papa shouted as we attacked her. She tried to fight back but she had run out of water, and had lost her pistol. She held up her hands in surrender.

"Um, truce?" She asked with a hopeful look.

Hoshiko and I looked at each other. "Nah!" We took aim.

"Feets do your stuff!" Haruka-papa cried as she turned and ran. We laughed and ran after her. I thought I saw a familiar van pull up as I ran, but put it out of my mind as I was too engrossed in the hunt to stop and look.

We tore around the corner of the house and stopped dead as Haruka-papa was waiting there with the hose in her hands and a high pressure nozzle attached. "Now who's got whom?" She crowed. Hoshiko and I both swallowed hard.

"YAAAAAAA!" Haruka-papa bellowed as she squeezed the trigger. At the last instant, Hoshiko grabbed me and pushed me to the ground, the jet of water passed over our heads by inches.

"AAAIIIEEE!" Someone screamed from behind us. A very familiar someone.

Hoshiko and I looked up wondering what was going on. In front of us, all of the color drained from her face as she dropped the hose. Hoshiko and I looked at one another, swallowed hard, and slowly turned around.

Behind us was Michiru-mama. A very wet and very angry looking Michiru-mama. She was wearing what looked like a brand new dress that she wanted to show Haruka-papa, a dress that was now totally soaked. Beside her at a relatively safe distance, Setsuna-mama stood there with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide open in shock.

"Um, hi Michi." Haruka-papa said with a nervous laugh. Hoshiko and I quickly crawled out of the line of fire and were soon cowering beside Setsuna-mama. Michiru-mama just stood there, fists clenched at her sides, as she glared at Haruka-papa.

"Err, that's a nice dress you're wearing." Haruka-papa said lamely. I thought I saw steam coming out of Michiru-mama's ears as her face got even angrier. The three of us were quivering with fear. I think given the choice between fighting a yoma and facing an angry Michiru-mama right now, we would have fought the yoma. With sticks.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry?" Haruka-papa asked. We tried to burrow into the Earth.

"HARUKA TENOH!" Michiru-mama bellowed, making our ears pop.

"Eep!" Haruka-papa squeaked as she turned and ran, Michiru-mama hot on her heels. We chased after them, at a safe distance thank you, and found Michiru-mama at the base of the largest tree of our yard. She was running around the trunk shouting for an axe or a chainsaw while shouting upwards at Haruka-papa.

"Haruka Tenoh you, you, ooh! You'd better stay up there if you know what's good for you. In fact you'd better get comfy you're staying up there until the founding of Crystal Tokyo!" With that, Michiru-mama stormed into the house and slammed the door shut behind her.

"I think we'd better put the groceries away." Setsuna-mama remarked. Hoshiko and I just nodded dumbly. We helped bring the groceries in and helped Setsuna-mama put them away after a quick shower and change of clothes.

When dinnertime rolled around Haruka-papa was still in the tree and Michiru-mama was still in her room so the three of us made dinner. We set out plates for the two of them and hoped that they would come down and be nice to each other again.

A few minutes later Michiru-mama came downstairs, either the smell lured her down or she was tired of moping in her room.

"That smells wonderful everyone, looks great too. I'm starving, will it be ready soon?" She asked as she looked at everything and nodded in approval.

"Yeah it will be soon Michiru-mama. Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine Hime-chan, don't worry. Has Haruka come down yet?"

"No not yet." Setsuna-mama replied.

"Was your dress ruined?" Hoshiko asked.

"No I can wash and iron it. It'll be fine." Michiru-mama assured us. "I'm more worried about poor Haruka."

"I'm so glad to hear that." Haruka-papa announced as she walked into the room. She was a sight to behold, let me tell you. She was covered from head to toe with leaves, dirt, and other stuff. And she was still a bit damp from earlier.

"Oh you poor dear, you're a mess." Michiru-mama cried as she went up to Haruka-papa and started fussing over her. "Go upstairs and clean up, dinners almost ready."

"I know. I could smell it outside. I'll be back in a few minutes." Haruka-papa smiled and went upstairs while Setsuna-mama, Hoshiko, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. Several minutes later we were all seated at the table enjoying dinner as one big happy family again.

"Haruka, I'm sorry for yelling at you and for saying the things I said. You kind of startled me with that hose." Michiru-mama said.

"And I'm sorry for soaking you like that I was aiming for these two." Haruka-papa replied, indicating Hoshiko and me.

"It looked like you three were having a lot of fun." Setsuna-mama remarked.

"Yes I had a lot of fun today. More fun than I have had in a very long time. Thank you Hotaru, Haruka." Hoshiko smiled at the two of us.

"Our pleasure." I replied.

"Next time you want to have a water fight let us know." Haruka-papa added.

"Oh please!" Michiru-mama exclaimed as she dropped her fork. "You call that water fight? You amateurs don't know what a good water fight is! If you want a water fight, I'll give you a water fight!"

We just stared at Michiru-mama, none of us particularly sure if we really wanted to take her up on her offer.