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It was past 2 am, but Setsuna was still up, reading, when she heard the little knock at her door.
“Yes, Hotaru?”
Hotaru pushed the door open slowly and stared at Setsuna with her wide eyes. “Nightmare,” she said quietly. She didn’t offer any further explanation and Setsuna didn’t ask for any.
“Come here, you can sleep with me tonight,” Setsuna said, already clearing a space for her daughter.
To her surprise, Hotaru shook her head. “No? Do you want me to come and sleep with you?” Hotaru’s bed was small, and Setsuna was tall. It would be cramped. But she didn’t mind.
Hotaru shook her head again. “Very bad nightmare, Setsuna mama. Everyone has to protect Hotaru! Haruka papa and Michiru mama too!”
Setsuna smiled gently. “I promise I can look after you. Haruka and Michiru are asleep and we don’t want to disturb them.”
Hotaru stubbornly shook her head and stamped her foot. “Everyone. Together. Protect Hotaru.”
“Ok, well why don’t we go and see them for a moment? But let’s be quiet ok?” Setsuna stood and taking Hotaru’s hand in hers, they walked to the master bedroom.
Setsuna hesitated outside the door. All she wanted to do was to show Hotaru that they were sleeping, so that she could take her back to her room, but she didn’t want to open the door without any warning. You could never be too careful when it came to Haruka and Michiru.
But as she was still deciding what to do, Hotaru took it upon herself to start knocking at the door. The door was open in a moment, and a very concerned Michiru quickly drew Hotaru up into her arms. “Is everything ok, darling?”
Hotaru started nodding and then shook her head. “Nightmare! Michiru mama has to protect Hotaru!”
Michiru smiled at Hotaru and kissed the top of her head. “You can sleep tucked in between Haruka papa and me.”
“No!”
“No?”
Hotaru frowned. “Yes! Yes but also -” she pointed towards Setsuna - “also Setsuna mama!”
Setsuna spoke up quickly. “No, it’s fine, Hotaru you stay with -”
“There’s always room for you, Setsuna,” Michiru teased.
Flushing slightly, Setsuna followed Michiru and Hotaru in.
Haruka had woken up by then, and she smiled sleepily at their little daughter. “Couldn’t let papa have her sleep, hmmm?” She said, as Hotaru jumped on the bed and straight into her arms. Haruka gently stroked Hotaru’s back and pulled her close to her.
Michiru settled in behind Haruka and they shuffled over so that Setsuna could snuggle in on Hotaru’s left.
“Not my fault! There was a bad monster in my dream!”
“A bad monster hey? Next time tell it if it ever tries to hurt you that Haruka papa will come and take it down. It’s no match for me.”
“Next time me not by myself. Because everyone’s here!”
“Exactly, I’ll punch it out, and Setsuna will swipe it with that huge rod she has and Michiru mama, all she has to do is glare at the thing and trust me it’s gone…..you don’t need to worry…” Haruka mumbled, as she drifted off to sleep again.
Michiru had wrapped herself around Haruka and she reached over and gently placed a hand on Hotaru’s cheek. “You’re safe here, darling.”
Hotaru pulled at the front of Setsuna’s nightgown. “Cuddle Hotaru,” She demanded, and Setsuna did.
And then they were all there, all cuddling, all warm and close, their love wrapping itself around Hotaru and each other. “Safe,” Hotaru proclaimed, and then, smiling, she fell asleep.