Title:Bump in the Night

Author: Kamel

Pairing: n/a

Word Count: 1,810

GenreGeneral

Rating: PG

Feedback: Please and thank you.

Notes:

Summary:While enjoying one of her many magazines, Setsuna hears a noise coming from some part of the second story of the house, making her realize how grateful she is for her current life.

Taking a sip from her cup of green tea, Setsuna leaned back against the cushions of the comfortable couch and drew up her legs, buried behind the fashion magazine which arrived in the mail earlier that day. Haruka and Michiru had gone to bed a couple of hours ago and after spending most of the evening in the Gates of Time, Setsuna had been looking forward to relaxing in the living room. Granted, she had expected to remove before everyone had gone off to sleep, especially Hotaru, she hadn't seen her daughter in a while, but ironic enough, she had lost track of time itself. The thought brought forth a small chuckle from her as she set her cup of tea onto the coaster placed on top of the coffee table. Exhaling deeply, she flipped the page of her magazine, squinting her eyes to read the tiny font. The dimly lighted room was a problem that could have easily been fixed; all she had to do was get up and adjust the controller, but, at the moment, Setsuna did not want to get up, she was fine where she currently was and the squinting was not bothering her. Not much anyway.

Setsuna glanced up towards the brightly glowing green numbers on the old VCR player. It was well after midnight. If she went to bed now, there was a good chance she would be up tomorrow morning before Hotaru ventured off to school. She could surprise her little girl, give her something to look forward to after her lessons; they could spend the day together – the park, the arcade, or the mall, whatever the girl wanted. Setsuna smiled to herself, she was already planning out for an unsure tomorrow. Maybe Hotaru already had plans – a ten year old could have plans after school, right? It had been centuries since she was ten years old herself, of course she was having a trouble time remembering.

Hearing the sound of ruffling carpet, Setsuna immediately sat up. It sounded like it came from upstairs, was Haruka having difficulty falling asleep again? As it quick as it was, it went. It had been pretty faint, the culprit, whichever of the three, had been dragging their feet and heading down the hall. After spending what felt like an eternity alone in the deafening silence, the only thing the Gates had to offer, Setsuna could easily hear a pin drop from the other side of the house. Maybe she had woken whoever it was by her reading? Maybe the light wasn't as dim as she thought it was. Or maybe she was being a bit paranoid. The sound of shuffling pages couldn't possibly carry up the stairs and down the hall could it? And the same would be said about her dim light theory, but Michiru was a pretty light sleeper now that she thought about it. However, people did just wake up in the middle of the night, of course. Numerous times, actually. Many of those times, the person in question had no idea that their pleasant night sleep had been interrupted by their random, short awakening.

Though she didn't want to admit it, the time guardian wasn't use to being in a full household. She was use to the loneliness the Gates of Time had to offer. Granted, she was more than grateful to be part of a family now, she didn't miss being her sole companion for centuries. It was unbearable and most painful to even recall. She was grateful to be sharing a house with three people she deeply cared about, no matter how out of hand it got; she welcomed the insanity with open arms knowing full well she could be watching the silent Gates instead; she could be sitting alone in an empty palace instead of a somewhat silent household of roommates – the second option was much more appealing.

The time guardian reattempted to focus on her fashion magazine. The font, if it were possible, seemed even smaller. The little lighting provided by the desk lamp was definitely not enough to aid her in her reading. Maybe she should put off the magazine for tomorrow morning while Hotaru was off at school. Haruka and Michiru would be out of the house before Setsuna had to wake Hotaru for school. Her two roommates had to catch a flight, they had a concert to perform and wouldn't be back until the following Tuesday, she had noted, giving Setsuna the time desperately needed to spend with Hotaru. They needed more mother-daughter time to themselves, this was clearly Setsuna's fault – the Gates… but she was going to make it up to her hime-chan within the next few days, she was going to make sure of it. There wasn't going to be a dull moment between them.

Nodding at the idea, Setsuna flipped her magazine back to the cover and tossed it onto the coffee table to be read later. Upon standing up, she finished off her cup of tea as she walked into the moonlit kitchen quietly, quiet as a feline. If she managed to wake any of her roommates, she would feel guilty. Everyone had an early morning tomorrow and she didn't want to be the reason behind anyone's crankiness – even though Haruka was generally always cranky in the morning, it one of those laws of the universe. Haruka could get all the sleep in the world the night before, but she would still be unreasonable in the morning, it was simply how things worked and they had all gotten use to it – which reminded Setsuna, was the pot of coffee set for tomorrow morning? It would be bad enough for Haruka to be cranky, but it would be even worse if the cranky Haruka was without her morning cup of coffee.

She placed the empty tea cup into the vacant sink and double checked the coffee pot. Yes, everything was in order. Good. Glancing at the digital clock of the microwave informed her she had enough time for a quick, short bath before finally going to sleep herself. She would have to be up early enough to grant herself time to make Hotaru's lunch because she doubted Haruka and Michiru could before leaving for the airport, but taking a bath now would probably wake one of the three sleeping roommates. Perhaps she would have to put off the bath until Hotaru was off at school tomorrow as well. She was looking forward to her afternoon of relaxation; she was looking forward to spending the early evening solely with Hotaru even more. They were going to have dinner at a small café, she had concluded. Being in a popular restaurant would make Setsuna feel uncomfortable. She wasn't use to being in an area with many people; she didn't take pleasure in big groups for obvious reasons.

"Okay," Setsuna murmured inaudibly to herself, gazing around the kitchen and living room one last time before taking the stairs upstairs to retire to her room. She closed the door behind her before flipping on the light switch. Her shoulders slumped slightly and went to her vanity mirror at once. The woman took a seat in front of the mirror and pulled the bun out of her long, dark green hair. A slender hand picked up her static free brush which had been a gift from Michiru. It had proven itself to be a very useful gift. If any of them had to hear another wise crack from Haruka about the state of the time guardian's hair, it could have been catastrophic. Smiling faintly at her reflection, Setsuna pulled her hair over her shoulder and began to comb through it. Coming across any knots, she would wince slightly and tenderly work them out, dreading re-combing her hair when she would wake the next morning. Placing the brush back down on the vanity set, Setsuna gave herself one last look into the mirror before climbing into her comfortable bed. She pulled her maroon colored blankets up to her chin and flipped the switch to the nightstand off, casting the room into darkness before curling up against her pillow.

Now that she was finally lying down, Setsuna was able to truly relax. She eased into her soft mattress, her soft pillow and warm blanket. She sighed heavily into the sheets as she settled down. Her garnet colored eyes drooped to a close. She was comfortable, dreading the morning that would be upon them in a few hours. The ringing silence was familiar to the time guardian, but this silence was nowhere near the same silence of the Gates of time; this silence was peaceful. It soothed her knowing the three people she cared dearly and deeply for were all sleeping barely a hallway away. Or so she believed. Half sleep, her guard had finally fallen. She didn't hear the crack of a door opening down the hall or the ruffling of feet dragging across the carpet.

"Setsuna-mama?"

The soft voice belonging to her sweet little princess was what woke her from her sleep. Groggy, Setsuna forced herself back up to gaze towards her bedroom door. It took a moment for her eyes to focus on the small figure standing at the doorway. She gave her daughter a small, faint smile. "What are you doing up, hime-chan? You have school in the morning," she said quietly.

Hotaru leaned against the wooden door frame with a tiny frown. "I couldn't fall asleep, can I sleep with you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she picked at the sleeves of her light purple pajamas. The child waited for her guardian's nod of approval. The frown had quickly been replaced with a smile of her own as Setsuna pulled back her blankets and patted the empty mattress space next to her. Hotaru stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, and ran over to the bed. She climbed up and curled against her Setsuna-mama's warm body. The time guardian wrapped her arms protectively around her hime-chan and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

Spending centuries alone… watching over the Gates of Time… experiencing visions from the past, present and future that made her feel extremely helpless in many situations… This short moment, holding Hotaru close to her body, the both of them comfortable and at rest, made it seem all worth it. She had a family – as out of the ordinary as it probably seemed, it was rightfully hers.