SAILOR MOON'S SUITORS (THE COURTSHIP OF PRINCESS SERENITY)

By SailorJane

Story Notes:

Once again, I DO NOT own Sailor Moon. It is owned by Naoko Takeuchi

This is a Yuri (Lesbian) story. Rated PG-13 for mild language and content, nothing too explicit.

This is a simple story I came up with. It takes place in the Silver Millennium, or The Moon Kingdom if you will. I'm once again using the characters' original Japanese names. This is an Alternate Universe pairing. Who will Usagi end up with? Well, you'll have to read to find out.

For this particular story, I decided to keep it relatively short, especially since ONLY LOVE CAN CONQUER HATE was so long, and also not delve into too much exposition.

Please review this at the end and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy!

PRINCESS JUPITER

Princess Serenity of the Moon waited outside in the courtyard of the Moon Palace. She stared at The Earth, running her gloved hand across her cheek; a sadness in her eyes. The man from Earth she planned to marry lived there. But because of The Moon's recently antagonistic relationship with its planet, it would never come to pass. She was forbidden by her people to have anything to do with The Earth. Such a shame. What a beautiful planet it was. As much as Princess Serenity wanted to go against her people's wishes, she knew that her influence as Princess, and future queen, came before her personal wishes.

It still didn't help that she had already turned 18 and was still not married. Traditional customs demanded all members of the Royal family married at 18. This was also integral to uniting the planets. She needed to find a partner, and fast.

She was only allowed to marry into Nobility. Most of the noble Gentlemen came from Earth, including Prince Endymion, who was her first choice. The Princess of the Moon being married to the Prince of Earth? It seemed like a match made in heaven. She liked Endymion as a person, though they had not shared any intimate moments in their short time together. But when Endymion admitted that their union was impossible on the eve of her 18th birthday, Serena's dreams were crushed. With no suitable Male companion from any other planet, her only option was a female. Princess Serenity did not consider this a negative; The Moon Kingdom's philosophy of love was based more on the person rather than their gender. And at this point, Serena simply wanted a companion who would love her, someone who could be a friend, not just a symbol of inner-planetary unity. However, her options were limited. The princesses of Uranus and Neptune were already married to each other, the Princess of Saturn had opted not to be part of the Lunar Nobility, and Pluto was having its own problems (The Lunar Court was debating whether Pluto was a planet or not.) That left Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury.

The young blonde heir to the Lunar throne would have to meet with the princess of each of these planets and decide who she would take as her wife. And it had to be done fast!

Princess Serenity knew Princess Venus very well; they were practically best friends. It would seem strange becoming intimate with someone she had practically grown up with, but Serenity considered her the one to marry. The union of the Princesses of Venus and The Moon seemed like another dream marriage. She wasn't sure if the Venusian was interested, or even available. Unfortunately, Venus was busy, and would have to meet her a few days later. In the meantime, Princess Serenity was encouraged to meet with the other Princesses.

She was well acquainted with Princess Mars, but the two of them didn't get along so well. Perhaps they could find some common ground. Having a spiritual Martian behind the Lunar throne could be beneficial to the culture. The two would meet the next day.

Serenity was probably least acquainted with Princess Mercury, the quiet book-worm. While they had gotten along fine in the short time spent with each other over the years, she didn't really see her joining together with the Mercurian. There were no plans yet for the two to meet.

Today, Princess Serenity was to meet Princess Jupiter. They knew each other well enough, she had helped the Lunar Princess with her Martial arts training. They hadn't seen each other in a long time.

"Your Highness," Artemis called out.

Princess Serenity turned away from the Earth to see her feline guardian standing before her. Sailor Jupiter stood behind with her arms folded.

"The Princess of Jupiter is here to see you," Artemis presented her name with such elegance, "Princess Makoto Kino, heir to the throne of Jupiter, the fifth planet from the sun. The daughter of-"

"All right, all right," Princess Jupiter interrupted him, assertively walking past the cat, "She knows who I am."

Artemis groaned and walked away.

"Good evening Princess Serenity," Makoto curtsied, rather ungracefully. She was beautiful, though her tall stature and muscles made look intimidating. Her brown hair was tied together in a ponytail.

Serenity laughed, "Good evening Makoto."

The brunette stood up and folded her arms. There was a frown on her face, "What's so funny?"

"Sorry," The Blonde princess kept laughing, "I'm just not used to seeing you in a dress."

There was a dress code in the Lunar palace: all female nobles were to be in evening gowns, complete with a choker and long gloves, which could not be removed for any reason. The Jovian's dress and choker were green, her gloves were white. The Lunar Princess' dress and gloves were both white. She was required to be dressed like this at all times, even outside the palace. Serenity enjoyed the formal gown, she loved safeguarding her hands in gloves, but the admiration was not always shared with other Female nobles.

"Yeah," Princess Jupiter looked at her gloves, "Not a fan of dressing up, the gloves are kinda annoying."

"Oh I love my gloves," The Lunar Princess picked up her gloved hands and gently caressed her face with them, "Yours are nice too."

"Meh," Lita shrugged her shoulders. She looked at the blonde, "You look good in them."

"Well," Serenity moved closer to her, "You'd have to get used to dressing up like this if you lived here."

"Right," Makoto looked uncomfortable. While the dress complimented her, Serenity had always found Jupiter to be more… well, masculine. The blonde strangely found that attractive. Princess Makoto of Jupiter may have been an aggressive figure, but she was in fact an amiable person. That's what was most important, and having a strong Jovian beside her would be a plus. Perhaps she could, in fact, be Princess Serenity's future wife.

"You wanna take a walk with me?" Serenity offered her friend a hand to hold.

"Sure," Makoto smiled and took her gloved hand in hers as they walked in the courtyard admiring the stars. She looked up to Jupiter, realizing how far away it was; a simple white dot in the night sky. "So," she hesitated, "You're looking to marry soon right?"

The Jovian Princess wasn't wasting any time cutting to the chase. Serenity was hoping they could talk some more. She enjoyed Makoto's conversation. "I should have been married already," The Moon Princess frowned, "At least that's what my mother and fellow noblemen say."

"Do you WANT to get married?" Makoto asked very matter-of-fact like.

Serenity thought about the question, her eyes still lost in the stars, "It's not about what I want, it's about what's best for the Moon Kingdom, for the entire Solar System."

Princess Jupiter looked doubtful.

"Does," Princess Serenity hesitated looking at Jupiter, "Does Jupiter have rules regarding marriage?"

"Not really," Makoto shook her head, "Unless, of course, the Lunar Queen demands it." She looked right at Serenity.

The blonde stopped and held the brunette's hands, "Mako-chan," She looked very nervous, "What are your feelings about being my bride? How would you feel about living in the palace with me, being the power behind the throne? Us spending the rest of our lives together?"

Princess Jupiter's eyes vacillated. She was known as the toughest fighter in the galaxy, but she seemed really scared to talk to Princess of the Moon. "Honestly," Jupiter began. She was almost shaking before she finally confessed with her eyes closed, "I'd rather not."

Serenity dropped her head hearing this disappointing news. She liked Jupiter, and hoped this would be the end of her search for a soul-mate.

"I'm sorry Usagi," Makoto grabbed her shoulders. She stuttered realizing her faux-pas; few people called the Princess by her first name, "I, I mean," She let go of her shoulders and bowed, "Princess Serenity."

"It's fine Makoto," Usagi looked at her, "Call me Usagi."

"I mean," Jupiter was at a loss for words, "I, I like you Usagi. You're great and all, but I," She sighed in disappointment, "I don't know how to explain it."

The blonde jumped to a conclusion, "Do you not like girls?" If this was the case, she would be very surprised.

"No, I do like girls," Jupiter confessed. Usagi's disappointment was apparent, "And don't mistake me, I think you're beautiful, one of the most gorgeous girls in all the stars. I'd be lying if said I haven't fantasized about taking you to bed."

Usagi's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know how to react to this.

"I mean uh," Jupiter chuckled nervously. She then calmed herself and sighed. Her long legs walked away, her eyes once again lost in the stars, "It's more than that. I've trained my whole life to be a soldier for Jupiter; for the whole galaxy. I never saw myself as royalty, sitting on some throne in a fancy dress and gloves, ordering servants around and recruiting other people to fight my battles for me."

Now the Jovian princess was beginning to make more sense. Serenity understood and walked to her side.

"I'm sorry Serenity," Jupiter looked to her and corrected herself, "Usagi." She held her hand. "To be away from my home for so long, away from my people. I don't know if I can do that."

"I understand," The blonde replied, "I mean it would be difficult, but I'm sure we could work it out if you wanted to stay on Jupiter."

"Nah," The Jovian said in a disappointing tone, "It wouldn't be fair to you. Being separated from your wife for long periods of time, I wouldn't have it." She looked back at her and held her hands again, "But I live to serve my Princess. If you offer me your hand in marriage, I'll accept it."

Makoto really was a good friend. She was willing to give her life to Serenity. Usagi wanted her friend to be happy. So, the blonde sighed and gave her friend a smile, "Don't worry Mako-chan, I won't force this on you."

"But you have to marry someone," Jupiter reminded her, looking guilty.

"Don't worry," Serenity was optimistic, "I still have a few other suitors to check out." She held onto the taller friend and smiled, "You're a great friend Mako-chan."

The two of them shared an innocent kiss on the lips. Nothing especially intimate. Princess Jupiter smiled.

"Are you seeing any other suitors today?" She asked.

"Nope," Usagi answered in a cute tone, "Although," her tone dropped an octave, "I have to go to Mars tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to that!"

Makoto laughed, "Oh yeah, Princess Mars. Good luck with that."

"Thanks," Usagi frowned.

"Well," The Jovian smiled, "I don't have to leave for a while. You wanna hang out tonight?"

"Sure!" Usagi smiled again, "You want to go to the ice-rink? You can show me your moves?"

"That could take a long time," Makoto joked, "But okay."

"Hey!" Usagi laughed, "Don't make fun of me, I'm gonna get enough of that with Mars tomorrow!"

"Sorry!" Makoto joked and held onto Usagi's hand as they walked towards the Ice-rink. She then stopped and held her hands out, "But um, can I take these damn gloves off?"

Princess Serenity smiled and shook her head, "Sorry. Rules are rules."

Princess Jupiter groaned.