Author's Note Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. I do not claim to own her characters, or their stories...I only claim possession of SailorHypnos and Morpheus. For more information, please contact me. Thank you.

Crystal blue eyes fluttered hazily, focused on the set opposite sleep was washing over them like a wave of warm, sultry ocean. Happiness overwhelmed her as she savoured the heat thrown of by skin against her own. For years, she had dreamt of this day..and now, it had come and gone, but she was all the more excited now, she had an entire lifetime to look forward to.

"Usako," the vibrations of his baritone sent thrills through her, "you look tired."

Usagi burrowed closer through the sheets, golden hair spilling down the pillows like a waterfall of precious molten metal. Her voice was barely a whisper, as if her volume might shatter the beautiful moment she was living. "Being your wife is every bit as wonderful as I dreamed..."

Mamoru's lips curled into a soulful smile, "you'll still be my wife in the morning..."

The words themselves caused her heart to jump, simultaneously exciting and exhausting her--she didn't need to be told twice, and as an obedient wife, she drifted to sleep.

Mamoru, too, was being pulled by the tide, resisting its force only to gaze at the moon he held tightly in his arms...so much had been against their union. But now, laying skin-on-skin in the soft linen sheets, his heart glowed radiantly as he thought of his happiness. In fact, it was nearly impossible to tell if the soft light that illuminated the room derived from the open window or the bridegroom's chest.
Stroking silken yellow hair, he reflected on the past and the toll it had taken on them--Usako's hair was flecked with a milky white...they were both growing so weary. They were born to herald the world into a new age, but their bodies were still human...and tired.

The future king shut his sapphire eyes, lulled into sleep by his queen's softly beating heart...

A faint flow warmed the darkness, pulsing gently as if it had a life force all its own. Indistinct shapes flickered, dancing as if engaged in some arcane ritual. Soft fluttering the beating of fleshy wings stirred a musky fragrance like ancient temple incense, heavy in one's nostrils but strangely soothing. Heavy fabric rustled somewhere beyond the reaches of the living light, the prelude to a song...a chorus of endless echoes, discordant voices and whispers of wind set to an accompaniment of bells and chimes and hydrocrystalphone...

...and suddenly, light.

The pipes gave a thus, interrupting the hiss of falling water, startling Mamoru out of his slumber--the shower announced, in a strange turn of events, that Usagi had awoken before him. Royal blue eyes narrowed as they were assaulted by sunlight. Perhaps it wasn't as early as he had thought...

Pushing back the luxurious linen, he stretched, running a hand through a thick jet mane. He simply couldn't get the dream out of his head...Rising, he crossed the room, opening the door to the steamy bathroom where his bride stood knotting the towel that hid her petite form. He smiled warmly, her delicate features temporarily chasing away his torment.

Usagi wrapped her husband in a warm embrace, her body still radiating heat from the water though her damp hair was cool and sparkling. "Oh...I was going to surprise you. I wanted to have breakfast ready before you got up..."

Mamoru couldn't help but laugh, "Why don't we go out this morning?" he suggested, receiving a slightly wounded pout from the tiny blonde, "You have an entire lifetime of cooking ahead of you..."

Behind a curtain of dripping hair, Usagi's eyes danced--or perhaps Mamoru was actually seeing the sugarplum faeries beneath..."Okay...I'll be dressed shortly."

Mamoru stroked locks dyed butterscotch with moisture, his body close though his mind was distant; his rest had not been peaceful. Somehow, through his dreams, he felt as if someone had been watching him, taunting him, almost...it was unnerving.

"...Mamo-chan?" Usagi whispered, gazing up at his empty expression, "...Are you all right?"

The man's eyes found her suddenly, focusing as if they had been searching for her all along. Why was he worried? His queen was here...and since their union was now official, all that could befall them was peace and happiness. "Yes," he smiled, "it's just a dream I had..."

"A dream...?" Usagi frowned; it seemed the roles had reversed, as it was more in her own character to be bothered by visions and feelings. "Do you want to tell me about it...?"

"...a temple?" Usagi swallowed a large chunk of waffle before continuing her barrage of questions, "like Rei's temple? Why would that bother you?"

"It wasn't Rei-chan's temple," Mamoru continued, patiently dusting a good amount of powdered sugar from his wife's blouse. "And it really didn't bother me. It was something in the temple..."

"Like a monster?" She suggested, sipping anxiously at her juice like a child trying to mask fear of a campfire tale.

The onyx-haired man laughed, "No...not a monster...I'm not sure what it was."

"Well if you don't know, and it wasn't a monster," Usagi shuddered slightly, "then why worry?"

The face across the table was serene and pure, untainted by anything save some sticky syrup and confectioners' sugar. She looked so sophisticated in the upscale café, her hair glittering with light, a shimmering halo of beauty...Ivy and orchids snuck tendrils inside open windows like hands desperate to touch the White Moon Princess and receive her blessings...

This was clearly one of the happiest times of his life, why ruin it with worry and concern? "Usako..." he smiled, taking her petite hand from across the table, "you will make a very wise queen one day."

This was a compliment Usagi did not expect--in the months since their final battle, she had poured invaluable time and effort into behaving like a lady, practicing to become a queen...to hear her lover say such a thing caused her heart to skip and her body to grow weak... "Oh, Mamo-chan..."

...but the soft twinkle of a cell phone cut her short, setting her back to the same old, easily-panicked Usagi. "That's probably Rei! I told her I'd meet everyone at the park to tie up some loose ends before we leave tomorrow...I'm late!" Frantically grabbing her purse, she stood.

"That's fine," Mamoru smiled, kissing her softly. "I'll just go back home and finish the packing." No sooner had he finished the sentence, his lovely wife flew past the hostess and out of the restaurant all together.

The bags were packed and ready for flight. The garments and toiletries inside would not leave the safety of their confines until the happy couple was checked into the honeymoon suite at their Hawaiian hotel. Mamoru yawned, taking a seat on the sofa--packing had been a lot of work, and he had been tired to begin with...Usagi probably wouldn't be back for some time...he could use the time to catch up on the sleep he had missed. Kicking off his house-shoes, he lay back, closing his eyes...

In the back of his mind, the visions played themselves out like a song on a loop. That's what it was, he mused sleepily, visual music...and again, he was helpless to their pull...

The pulsing light was growing faster, more frantic as the sound of wings grew louder--screams, like the shrill cries of harpies, as the creatures closed in. Angels, monsters, demons, whatever they were, they beckoned him forth. Incense filled the room...but another scent rivaled it; something sticky-sweet and viscous, dripping down his senses, coating them with molten sugar and hardening into a crystal cocoon.

Every breath seemed to rob him of life, his vision growing dim against the scent of candied poppies. The creatures grew louder, the din of wings and ethereal voices deafening…A beating of leathery limbs snuffed out the only source of light, though the cavernous room seemed even more luminous with the glow of a hundred eyes. --and then, he saw it: an ebony bed strewn with flowers, and a figure, drawn and bony, rising from beneath the floral blanket. It sensed him, clearly, standing wearily before him...cold fingers against his cheek sent a chill down his spine…and brushing cold lips against his own, the darkness overcame...