Author's Note – I wrote this when I was thinking too many thoughts. As a warning, this fic does contain a small dose of Rei/Usagi. And, no, I am not a diehard Mamoru/Usagi fan or a hater of Rei/Usagi; this is just some of my musings concerning time travel. Enjoy.
An Affair to Remember
Sailor Pluto watched the flow of time roll and sway, watching idly as the universe created itself and the time that came before that before lolling on to things that have not yet happened. As she guarded the Gates of Time she spared a glance at the night Usagi became a murderer.
It seemed like every other night. Usagi is spending the night with Rei; Rei is teasing her and Usagi is pouting. Somehow or another Rei ends up on top of Usagi, sitting on her stomach and refusing to let her up. Rei is tickling her sides and Usagi is howling. She's laughing so hard that tears are running down her eyes. And then, there it is, the moment when Usagi takes another human life. All of sudden the mood changes from playful to surprisingly tender. They're looking into each other's eyes and they know, they just know, that nothing will ever be the same between them.
'Usagi should have left right then', Setsuna lazily thought to herself. But she didn't; instead she kisses Rei. She continues to kiss Rei. But Usagi's worried even as she kisses the dark-haired girl. She's afraid that Chibi-Usa might not be born, afraid that she's already killed her by kissing this girl. But Chibi-Usa is not the one she should be worried about.
Sailor Pluto is time; the body that houses that intangible river, Setsuna Meioh, is merely the personification of it. She knows how the river flows. Regardless of whether or not Usagi chooses Rei over Mamoru, Chibi-Usa will be born. It isn't Fate, there is no such thing as True Love and there is no prophecy that a child will be born to Mamoru and Usagi. But Chibi-Usa will be born. When Chibi-Usa went back in time she altered the future forever. She has to be born otherwise she cannot travel to the past, and since one cannot change the past, she must be born. And if Usagi leaves Mamoru for Rei, then there is only one solution.
Sailor Pluto shifts her gaze farther into the future. Usagi refuses to leave Rei and return to Mamoru, even if it means giving up her future as Neo-Queen Serenity and her daughter Chibi-Usa. Sailor Pluto watches herself putting time back in its place. She watches herself kill Sailor Mars. It is pitifully easy. Mars is a good soldier, powerful, but she is no match for time. Usagi grieves but it was for the best. She knows it was for the best. Pluto watches as Usagi cries in Mamoru's arms. Time flows and their love is rekindled. Chibi-Usa's future is secure.
She turns back to look at the night when Usagi became a murderer. She silently watches as it slips from the future to the past. The deed is done; she has doomed Rei. It is true that Sailor Pluto could have left the Gates and warned Usagi and Rei. But she isn't Fate. She does not dictate what a person can and cannot do. She is time and when time becomes broken she fixes it. No matter the cost.
Fin