Hi everyone. Here is the final part of the Follow your inner moonlight series. I know it's taken me much longer than I had promised, so I'm sorry for that.
Here is part 4, hope you enjoy, and thanks for sticking around. Dedicated to Christine. ;)
Follow your inner moonlight – Let your everything run free
Leadership is influenza. — John C. Maxwell
Or something like that… no, wait, was it inflation? No, it was probably infliction... maybe...
Anyway! Leadership! Important! Minako!
Today was the day she'd finally get her way. She'd get approval for her plan, start putting it into action, get praised from here to her home planet and get cake as reward if it was the last thing she'd ever do!
As the official leader of the Sailor Senshi and basically second-in-command to the king and queen of Earth (yeah, that's right, no big deal) it was her job to strategize their course of action for establishing the New Silver Millennium, new age of happiness and perfection that could not come soon enough. Her plan was awesome, flashy and totally efficient, so why the heck couldn't Kunzite see that?
"Miss Aino," he began, "we can't just have Jadeite project the king and queen's image over the world's sky to declare their rule, it would shock the population and send them into frenzy."
The eldest Shitennou was sitting on Mamoru's couch, his mouth set in a frown and his eyes closed while his fingers rubbed his temples.
If Minako didn't feel so sorry for his ridiculously handsome face, she would have smacked that oh-so-done-with-it expression off with her knee in one easy motion.
"It's the perfect plan!" The goddess of love and beauty whined, flailing her fists in the air like a frustrated 4 year-old. "Seriously, just think about it: Usagi and Mamoru dressed as Neo Queen Serenity and Endymion appearing in the sky with those pretty and 'hey we're cool'-looking faces of theirs, proclaiming the planet's now under their command because destiny and love and blah blah blah. How could anyone not be convinced by that?!"
Groaning, Kunzite buried his face in his palms and shook his head.
"What?!" Genuinely not getting why her idea wasn't receiving the support it deserved, Minako huffed, feeling a tantrum coming on and went to fetch herself a glass of water to wash away the aggravation. And maybe leaving the guy alone to think for a while would make him see the error of his ways.
In the kitchen, the blonde found herself leaning against the counter with a heavy sigh. This was so difficult; too difficult for her right now.
She couldn't work like this. Not with her ideas getting shot down one by one and that guy's every single muscle twitch distracting her from the job.
Just why oh why did she have to spend time with Kunzite like this? Why did Usagi and Mamoru have to go and pair the two of them up, out of ALL the other possibilities? She knew it was because they were both the leaders of their respective groups and whatnot, but couldn't they be given separate super important tasks to do? It wasn't like there weren't a ton of them for the taking. Maybe the universe was tired of being on her side all the time. After all, you didn't cheat death so many times and expected life to keep throwing you lemons at every turn.
Seriously, it would have been no issue if her memories from the past wouldn't spring up on her whenever she looked at him or heard his voice or inhaled his scent. It was bad enough that the love of her life had resurrected himself back into her world again, but actually spending time with him like this was proving poisonous to her sanity and it was practically tearing her apart from the inside.
It was the first time she actually cursed the fact that her memories of the past were the most vivid out of everyone else's. She didn't need this heartache right now… Scratch that, she didn't need this heartache ever.
Like, she was happy Kunzite and the Generals were back, she really was, but reconnecting with her long lost love, who for the record had never even addressed the matter of their past relationship even once, was a bit too much for Venus to handle right now, not while the rise of a new era was beginning to dawn.
She sighed and rubbed her tired eyes. "What on Venus am I gonna do?"
"Well, for one thing you could stop stressing yourself out so much," Kunzite's deep voice startled her and she found him leaning against the kitchen's doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Damn him, he looked so good standing like that.
Blushing, she looked away and pouted. "Did you come here to lecture me or did you finally realize my idea was genius after all?"
The corners of his mouth twitched as he stared down at her. "No, and sorry, no." He uncrossed his arms and buried his hands in the pockets of his very fancy, very fitted grey slacks.
Minako couldn't help but bite her lip as she surreptitiously checked him out. It was humanly impossible for her eyes not to be captured by those long legs, built physique or those damned three buttons of his black dress shirt that he seemed to never button up. It was a completely valid question whether he did that on purpose just to mess with her or if he actually felt the need to leave his neck business room to breathe.
"I came because you've been in here for almost twenty minutes and I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Oh." So he was worried about her? "Why would I not be okay?"
"Well, for one thing you seem to have not been getting enough rest recently, and I don't know if this is because you're spending too much time coming up with ridiculous, devastating plans or reading shojo manga." He looked at her pointedly and she inwardly cursed his overly observant nature.
"Well, first off, I'd appreciate if you didn't call my plans ridiculous, thank you very much. And second, it's really none of your business when and how much I sleep and what I do when I don't," Minako huffed and crossed her arms stubbornly. "A great leader's courage to fulfill her vision comes from position, not passion. — John Maxwell. Us leaders don't have time for sleep!"
She was surprised to hear Kunzite laugh. It was a damn charming laugh, but what of his wasn't? "It's the other way around, Miss Aino. It comes from passion, not position."
Minako felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment. It did make more sense the way he put it.
"And you do have time for sleep. In your position, you probably need it more than anyone. The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. — Ray Kroc. If you're going to burn yourself out before the real fight even starts, then you've accomplished nothing. If there's one thing we need, it's Sailor Venus, leader of the sailor senshi, to be at the top of her game, ready whenever to inspire and direct her comrades to work with love and passion, which is where I believe your true talents as a commander lie."
Her smile reflected the warmth his words sent to her soul. "Are you sure that's how that quote goes?" Her voice had become soft and subdued, unlike the beating of her heart.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure." Kunzite responded with a smile of his own, one he did not show to many, but was so charming and kind she could easily lose herself in if she surrendered to it. "Miss Aino-"
"Minako." She hurried to correct. If she heard him call her 'Miss Aino' one more time she would go and apply for a name change. It just didn't sound right.
His jaw tightened. "Minako." She couldn't tell if his smile was forced or not, but finally hearing her name come from those lips, in that deep, deep voice had her weak in the knees.
He cleared his throat and fully entered the kitchen. Making himself busy with rummaging through the cupboards for who knows what, he continued. "I know you have a lot on your plate right now, you seem to always do, but please don't think you're in this alone. You're not the only one shouldering responsibilities here - where the hell are those glasses?"
"This one," Minako stuck her finger out to point at the cupboard above her head.
There was a pause, both of them staring at each other for a moment until Kunzite unclenched his fists, exhaled through his nose and moved to get a glass from where she had directed.
He approached her wearily, and because she knew he was wary was why there was no way in heck she would be moving an inch from where she stood.
"As I was saying, I know how you feel," he kept going, clearly intent on hiding his discomfort with lots of talk and chatter. Minako couldn't help but smirk at how easily she could still read him.
The moment he approached, her nostrils were assaulted by the soft scent of his cologne - Armani, damn him - and her mind began to cloud with feelings she knew couldn't be good for her.
"I know how difficult the position of leader is. I have my own hands full enough with those three idiots and our overly enthusiastic king." He raised his arm to open the cabinet, doing all he could not to touch even a strand of her hair. "I can only imagine how difficult it must be with your seven girls and the bundle that's Usagi to boot."
"Yeah," she smiled. "It's difficult having a bundle of curiosity for a princess after all."
Kunzite froze mid motion and he barely managed to catch the glass that had slipped from his hand before it crashed on the floor. His breaths were coming in roughly as he stared down at her smirk.
There was no going back now, Minako thought. To heck with insecurities and constant pretending. If they were ever gonna address the massive millennia-old elephant in the room, they might as well just get it over and done with right now. She had never been the patient type anyway.
"Miss Ai - " the Shitennou started.
"Mi - Na - Ko!" She cut him off immediately, now facing him fully. There was no anger or frustration in her, just quiet expectation.
He blinked rapidly and his mouth opened, hung for a while, then closed right back again.
"Yes?" she pressed on, trying to literally pull the words from his dumb mouth.
"I - uh - " Kunzite stuttered, a regular wonder indeed, while his eyes spun in their sockets, searching for a means of an escape he would not find.
"You what?" Minako had actually begun tapping her foot now.
His brow had gotten sweaty and he kept backing away, with her in close pursuit, until he hit the counter with his butt and found himself stuck between it and her unwavering frame.
They stared at each other for a while, she on offense while he was playing a weak defense. If this had been American footbal, she would have been an NFL lineman while he'd be a chubby middleschool running back who got forced by his dad to join a sports club to get his mind off of video games and anime girls.
He cleared his throat. "A-about your plan…"
"Oh for heaven's sake!" Minako lifted her hands up in exasperation before throwing caution to the wind and grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt.
She pulled him down to her level, closed her eyes and raised herself on her tiptoes to smack her lips over his own.
Minako felt his entire body stiffen and for a moment feared she may have gone too far. If so, she would properly apologize later, but right now she was going to take full advantage of the moment and get what she had been wanting, needing, for those damn long thousands of years.
It wasn't her first kiss but in no way could she call herself an expert, so she cautiously moved her lips against his, tasting and exploring as much she could as best she could.
Not small was her relief when Kunzite finally relaxed in her grip and tilted his head to return her kiss, his surrender making her smile happily against his mouth.
They didn't call her the goddess of love and beauty for nothing. She would have congratulated herself too were she not too busy feeling gooey and out of her mind the moment his arms surrounded her frame and pressed her close to him.
"Christ…" Kunzite breathed as he removed his lips from hers in search for air. They were both flushed and panting in each other's embrace, wide-eyed and dangerously staring at each other.
They didn't speak anymore; their mouths were put to much better use than that.
His tongue didn't even need to search for entrance, Minako had already parted her lips in invitation and mewled appreciatively when their tongues met somewhere in the middle. Her hands had since assaulted his silver mane and were tugging at his hair strands, devoid of self-control or control over him.
Suddenly, Minako felt her feet leave the floor, her body spinning and her butt slamming down on a hard surface in quick succession. She opened one eye to see Kunzite had lifted her onto the kitchen counter and positioned himself perfectly between her legs, smirking as he bit down on her lower lip. Holy hell, it was so out of this world all she could do was whimper weakly in his arms.
It was safe to say she had not been the only one who had been holding back all this time. Now that the barrier was broken, the General never looked and felt so unhinged and alive, and neither had she. It was as if they had rid themselves of a million shackles and were now free to roam wherever they wished, whenever they wished and always with each other.
"Tell me you love me," Minako muttered into their kiss. "Tell me."
"I love you," he replied without reservation, his words earnest and passionate as was his nature.
"I love you." He said it again, removing his lips from hers to kiss her on the cheek. "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." He punctuated each sentence with a kiss, first on her jaw, then on her chin, neck, clavicle, lower and lower and lower.
Just as she was beginning to lose her mind completely, she heard something that made her whole body go rigid.
"Usako, please come on", Mamoru's whisper came from the doorway and Minako's eyes snapped open to find him trying to desperately pull a grinning Usagi away from the kitchen.
"Crap…"
"Hi Minako-chan!" Usagi shrill of a voice slapped her in the face and she felt Kunzite become a statue in her arms.
Slowly, the Shitennou turned his head to look at his blushing king and queen, one from embarrassment, the other from barely controllable excitement.
Minako felt sorry for the guy as she watched him close his eyes and slowly pull away from between her legs and the counter. Minako wasn't happy about being caught, but she couldn't even imagine the level of mortification the ever stoic Kunzite was feeling at being seen by Mamoru in such a situation.
He helped her get down from the counter, neither party saying a word as the two straightened themselves and their clothes out.
Looking at Usagi's glowing face, Minako couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile.
"Okay, let's have it. Let it all out"
Her cue given, the bubbly blonde immediately exploded into a series of squeals and giggles, mixed in with the occasional 'Oh my god's and 'I'm so happy's and 'Took you long enough's.
Mamoru, on the other hand, just stood there, smiling silently, but Minako caught him give an approving nod to his general, who cringed, but nodded in appreciation.
After the whirlwind that was Usagi calmed down, the four of them returned to the living room and dropped on the couch, feeling abnormally tired.
"I thought you guys were going to be away for a while. What happened?" Minako asked the newlyweds and was surprised to see them smiling conspiratorially at each other.
"Yeah, about that - Usako got sick on the way to the beach so we drove to the nearest hospital to have her checked out. Oh it's nothing serious, don't worry," Mamoru explained when he saw the worried expressions on their guardians' faces.
"The truth is," he continued, a faint blush spreading on his cheeks, "I think we might be pregnant."
Pause.
"Oh. My. GOD! OH MY GOD!" Minako shrieked and jumped up to catch Usagi into a suffocating hug while Kunzite rose from his seat and shook Mamoru's hand, both of them grinning from ear to ear.
"We need to call the others! We need everyone here stat!" Minako flailed and started digging in her purse for her cellphone. "Where is everyone?! Rei should be at the temple, right?"
"Yes," Kunzite replied, "and Jadeite went to visit her."
"Of course he did," she smirked as she began scrolling through her contacts. "Are Makoto and Nephrite still setting up her shop?"
"As far as I know. I'll call one of them now." He took his own phone from his pocket and made the call.
"Usagi you call Ami through her communicator. She and Zoisite are working under the Crown today, cell signal is bound to be bad for them down there."
"Aye aye captain!"
Smiling and bouncing on her feet with excitement, she glanced at her elated king and queen, soon to be parents of a beautiful, pink-haired little nightmare, and then at Kunzite who caught her eye and returned her smile with a loving one of his own.
"Somehow," she muttered to herself as she pressed the 'Call' button next to Rei's name "it feels like today was the best day ever."
And that brings an end to "Follow your inner moonlight." Thank you for reading!