"Alright! I'm going now!! Bye Mom! Bye Mama!!"

"Try and have a good day, sweetie!"

"Knock em' dead, Tiger!"

The door slammed shut due to an excited 14 year old.

The two parents stood in silence for a moment before looking at each other.

"After years, I still can't believe this happened..." Natsuki mutters, walking around the counter and hugging Sayori from behind and resting her chin on the shoulder of the girl of now equal height. Sayori was still taller by a miniscule amount, really.

"A lot of things have happened over these few years, you're gonna need to be more specific, honey bun."

"Her...I'm talking about her."

"Sakura..?"

"Yeah..."

Sayori huffed a bit, thinking back to when this all began.

...

...

The two were 21, and had been living together since that one fateful day. Papa was still rotting in jail, everything was just... Finally happy.

Until she showed up...

A scared little girl at the door... Hungry, bruised, and absolutely lost. When Natsuki first laid eyes on Sakura, she saw herself.

She took a double take. A triple take... Yes, this child was really, actually at their doorstep...

Thet stood in silence, looking at each other...

Sayori was at work... Her scheduling because of that stupid ass manager, called for Sayori to be out late until nearly 10 at night. Working at a 24/7 Cafe was not something Natsuki would call fun, but it was something that Sayori was determined to stick to...

This kid though... She didn't look any older than like... 13...

"I-I'm sorry... I'll... I'll leave..." A broken voice shattered Natsuki's train of thought.

"N-no!" She cried out. The child jumped and froze, glancing back at Natsuki. The pink haired girl just realized she had yelled at an obviously abused child... She cleared her throat, swallowing her pride for just a moment. Pride didn't matter here right now.

"Kid you're... You're from a... You're from a bad place... Aren't you..?"

The child just nodded... Natsuki's blood boiled, and Sayori was 75% of her impulse control, sooo...

"Take me to your home."

"W-what?! No! I'm..! I'm not going back there!! Father and Mother are still there!!"

Natsuki died a bit on the inside...

"...Both of them..? Both of them do bad things..?"

Another nod... Natsuki's expression hardened.

"Kid, trust me. I know I'm a stranger, but I've gone through the same deal..." Natsuki knelt down to eye level. "Take me to your home. I'm gonna teach your parents a thing or two about taking care of a child..."

The kid stared at her, conflicted on what to do. After a bit, still, she shook her head

"I... I don't wanna go back, not right now..!"

Natsuki huffed, frowning. No helping that then...

"But...did you really..?" The girl asked.

"Yeah..." Natsuki murmured, thinking back to her own father figure. Her stomach churned... He got what he deserved. "I really did..."

Natsuki slowly extended her arm, offering a hand to the kid. "Come on, kiddo. Let's get you cleaned up. You look like hell.. I-I mean... Uh.. A mess... Yeah, a mess..."

The girl had flinched when she heard the cuss word, but after a moment to consider, she reached out and took Natsuki's hand, and the two went inside.

Over the course of a few hours, Natsuki had the girl clean herself up while she herself whipped up a hot meal for this kid, thinking about what to do with his whole situation... She couldn't ever reasonably send this girl back out into the wild...

She's already done something so brave...

A part of her wondered where the girl exactly came from. She didn't seem like a familiar face, and working as a cook for a Bar & Grill usually let her see a handful every day... She huffed, finishing up the batter for the couple's favorite comfort food.

Pancakes. Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

The sparkle in the girl's eye when she came downstairs was... It was heartbreaking...

The food was gone within the span of 5 minutes. Natsuki watched her eat with a pang of familiarity. This girl was relatable. Too Relatable.

After the meal, the girl glanced off to the side, looking around for someone before seemingly remembering where she was and calming down a bit.

"U-uh, thank you for the food, miss..."

"Natsuki. I'm Natsuki."

"Oh...thank you, Natsuki! It was very good!"

"Hey kid, can I ask you a handful of things? You don't have to answer them if you don't want to, I'm just..." Natsuki rubbed the table a bit, finding the grain in the wood intriguing right now. "Curious on a few things is all..."

"U-uhh... O-okay."

"Can I go ahead? Are you sure?"

"... I... Yes..."

"How old are you?"

"I-I uhh..! ...12, ma'am..."

Natsuki held in any reaction. 12?! The girl was fucking 12 and she was going the the hell of BOTH parents being shit heads?!?

"Just Natsuki's fine, kid."

"Oh..uh..right...of course..."

"Could I get your name..?"

"...S-Sakura...Sakura Kiani..."

"Okay... Sakura..? Thanks for trusting me... I know your parents are..." Natsuki held her tongue "...Buttheads, but... Trusting a stranger takes a lot of stupid courage and a desperate situation..."

Natsuki knew that feeling all too well... She glanced at a clock nearby and read out 7:28 in the evening...

"My girlfriend's gonna be at work for a few more hours, but just so you know, I do live with someone, so..." Natsuki just wanted the girl to know so she wouldn't have to be too freaked out when the front door unlocked itself.

"Girlfriend..? But... Aren't you a girl too..?"

Natsuki rubbed her forehead. Great...

"Uh...girls can love girls too, you know."

"They can..?"

"Mmhmm. There's a more complicated talk about it that but it's not for right now. Just know that girls can love girls, and guys can love guys. It doesn't always have to be boy girl, but it usually is and it kinda sucks."

The kid just nodded, trying to absorb this information... Natsuki sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"You want any more food, Sakura..? I don't mind whipping up some more for you."

"I-I uh... I don't want to be trouble..."

"Don't worry about it! Cooking's my passion!"

"...I...yes please..."

Natsuki couldn't grin any wider.

...

Sakura found herself completely overwhelmed with this household. Nice person, and on top of that, nice food!!! And the house didn't smell like alcohol!!

What really caught her off guard was what their TV could do with this thing they called a 'console'... It could, like, play those silly TV shows that Father watches all the time... But like, she could actually play and interact with the characters?!

Natsuki watched the girl play Wind Waker on their Wii while leaning back and sighing through her nose. On one hand, she was happy this girl was so trusting of her. On the other hand, what the heck are they gonna do with her...

She didn't even know what video games were for crying out loud!! This girl lived a terrible sheltered life. She wouldn't be surprised if this girl was home schooled too or something, given her lack of knowledge about almost anything outside of her house.

Natsuki could see a bruise on the girl's right forearm from where she was sitting... Just what happens at Sakura's home..? Natsuki looked away. She didn't need to think about this kind of stuff again. Not now.

The door made some noises and Sakura jumped, almost instantly hiding behind the couch while the door opened.

Oh...

"Hey Cupcake!" Sayori chimed out, seeing the pinkette on the couch with a fresh character started up on the screen. "Oh, playing Wind Waker again?" She sniffed... "Aww, you had pancakes without me??"

"...Sayori, there's...someone you need to meet..."

Sayori's face almost instantly deflated, hearing Natsuki's tone. Natsuki winced...

"S-she's just..." Natsuki tripped over her own words and just sighed, defeated by herself. "Sakura...come on out, Sayori's my girlfriend, she's nice... Don't worry..."

"Sakura..?"

The 12 year old in question peeked around the couch and Sayori blinked.

"...Natsuki, that's a kid..."

"...Yeah, that's Sakura."

"Oookayy, uhh..."

"Hey, kiddo, Sayo and I are gonna head upstairs for a bit, can you handle yourself?"

"I'll be good!"

Natsuki winced hearing that mantra over and over again in her head, but nodded.

"I trust you." She mused softly before getting up and heading up stairs, Sayori not too far behind.

The door shut behind them

"..."

"..."

"I'll be honest, I was expecting you to start asking questions like mad, Sayo..."

"...I'm not mad, or upset, or anything..." Sayori hummed. "I'm just confused..."

"That girl, Sakura, she showed up at the door at like, 6:45 or something, and she was terrified... The girl went through... She... I can relate to her a lot. She's been through some stuff..."

"Ohh... You... I get the idea..." Sayori shuffled, sitting on their bed. Natsuki joined her and they laced their fingers together.

"...I don't know what to do..."

"...Are you scared, Natsuki..?"

"...You can really read me to a 'T' can't you?"

"Your tone."

"Right...yeah...I am..." Natsuki looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not sending her back out there... She needs shelter and food and a place to actually call home... She's only 12, Sayo... Only 12..."

Sayori just hummed, gently squeezing Natsuki's hand.

"A-and... I'm worried that I'll end up like..."

"No." Sayori cut off her girlfriend's train of thought. "No. You're not ever going to be like him. I know you won't..."

"...I know you still have nightmares of him..."

"...I...yeah, I do..." Sayori leaned against Natsuki, her tone flat. "But really... Don't think you're like him... You're much better... Way better... Please don't think you're like him..."

"...I won't try to let it get to me."

"That's all I can really ask for, I guess, huh?" Sayori hummed softly, rubbing circles into the back of Natsuki's hand with her thumb.

"...Do you think we can let her live here..?"

"...Do you think we can handle the inevitable court case..?" Sayori replied, looking up at Natsuki.

Natsuki paused a bit, thinking some things through...

"...Do you think we'd make good parents..?"

Sayori let out an amused huff.

"I'd say you've already done a perfect job... I just hope I can match you."

"Aw, don't say that! I'm sure you'll be a really good parent too! No self-deprecation, remember?"

"Right, right..." Sayori gently moved her head, kissing Natsuki gently on the lips.

"...It's almost like we're married" Sunshine mused cutely. Natsuki just scoffed

"Puh-lease, we can't even afford that kinda stuff."

"I know, I know, but...really, you're the one I'd want to tie my life to... Now, and forever more..."

Natsuki felt her heart turn to mush...

"Hey, stop being sappy."

"Whaaa?? But it's trueee!!"

Natsuki cut off Sayori with another kiss.

"...You don't need to repeat stuff I already know, Sunshine..."

Sayori became a blushing mess, gently gripping Natsuki's hand tighter. Natsuki huffed, satisfied in her victory.

...

...

"Hey, Mom?"

"Yes Sakura?"

"Can you help me with this math problem??"

Sayori sighed, walking over to the kitchen table where a confounded child was sitting at, taking a frustrated bite out of a cookie.

Oh great... Factions... She hasn't had to look at these in a long time but now...

"Oh gosh... It's been forever... Uhmm... You're just adding factions, right..?"

"Mmhmm!"

Sayori pulled up a chair and sighed, staring at the paper...

"...Can I steal a cookie?"

"...Only if you help me solve this! Mama made these..!"

Sayori couldn't help but giggle. "Oh then they're totally worth suffering over math..." She mused jokingly, getting a giggle out of Sakura too...

Natsuki was at work this time. It was just about 4. Natsuki would get home around 5, and Sayori would have to leave for her own work at 6. It was a busy household and Sayori really hoped Sakura was happy, despite how busy the both of them are.

An hour passes and the house is filled with a cry of victory.

"Math suuuucks!!"

"Yeahhh!!!"

"Can I get my cookie now, Sakura?"

"Of course!"

Sayori eagerly took the treat and bit into it. Natsuki's cooking is... So... So good...

"Gosh, I move her cookies so much..." She mused with a full mouth.

"You better!"

Both Sayori and Sakura turned to face Natsuki who was just taking off her shoes.

"Welcome home, Honey bun!!"

"Glad to be home, Sunshine! How's little Tiger here doing??" Natsuki walked over and gently ruffled Sakura's hair.

"Mom and I just finished my math homework for the weekend!"

Natsuki let out an exaggerated sound of surprise. "Sunshine?? Doing math?? Absolutely unbelievable"

"Hey!! That's mean!"

Sakura giggled, watching her parents interact with each other. She's been living here for almost 2 years now. At 14, she now knew a lot more about the world and how it worked. She knew her favorite parents were what was called 'lesbians'. She knew about the whole 'birds and the bees' thing, albeit, that was the awkwardest conversation she's ever had. She knew she liked girls, but she kinda liked boys too? Sakura knew it was okay to be unsure. Though she didn't like being referred to as young by any stretch of the imagination! She was 14! A budding young adult!

Life wasn't perfect here. It was never perfect in the first place, but...

She wouldn't ever trade this for the world.

These two were her parents now.

Not them. Not anymore.

Sakura is content.

Everyone is content.