Author's notes: Please be advised that this piece contains female-to-female sexual contact, where the consent of one character is dubious at best and nonexistent at worst. Proceed with caution.
Sailor Saturn began to wonder exactly why Queen Serenity had deemed this training exercise necessary. The senshi had found themselves on the dark side of Phobos, trapped in swirling dust storms and largely running on constant adrenaline pushes from the constant fear. Sailor Mars was right… This place did things to you.
One by one, the senshi had been shuttle-lifted from the surface of the unforgiving satellite of Mars. Sailor Moon had fallen first to a nasty ambush from who-knows-what; even Mars could not, or would not, state what the creatures were. Jupiter had developed an infection from an unnoticed, unattended laceration that had probably been received in the ensuring battle with those… things. Uranus and Neptune had nearly turned on each other from a lack of sleep, and a brief battle between lovers had caused the queen to pull them from the environment. She'd nearly pulled the plug on the entire exercise, but Sailor Venus had convinced her otherwise. Sailor Pluto had scavenged some poisonous berries that had taken both her and Sailor Mercury out of the exercise before Mars had gotten the opportunity to warn them. Fortunately, the Martian had been able to forage together the ingredients for the salve to make the antidote, but the Plutonian and Mercurian had been taken for better observation. Sailor Saturn, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus found themselves alone on this desolate wasteland.
The trio curled together in an airy, lean-to that had carved itself naturally out of rock; the senshi had done without shelter or decent sleep in weeks. Each of the three had accused the other two at some point of seeing what wasn't really there. Of course, with Mars, no one was sure if what she was seeing was really there or not, but exhaustion was blocking the natural gifts of each girl, so it stood to reason her abilities were blocked too. Saturn sat up and watched with a pang of jealousy as her commander cuddled the fire maiden closer. The pair had been together longer than she had been alive, but she couldn't seem to shake her crush on the deeply-spiritual Martian. She supposed that, like Setsuna, she'd be forced to deal with a forever-unrequited love. Perhaps that was the price Setsuna had paid to adopt her? Surely the curse could be broken after nearly two hundred years, right?
Saturn shook her head. Mars would never see her as more than a child, although she had aged and grown into a woman, much the same as the rest of them. She was three hundred years younger, true, but she was taller than Mars. She attracted as much male attention as Venus had at this age, or any age, really. But still, she would have to relegate the feelings for the older woman to the back of her mind.
The wind picked up outside; Saturn wondered when the enemy would return. She didn't have to wonder for long.
Venus and Mars eapt to their feet from a dead sleep as a small explosion rocked the Martian moon. "Get next to the wall and be ready to run!" Venus commanded the others sharply. A hulking creature, easily massive to a point that the senshi had never experienced, lumbered up the side of the planet. "Just run!" Venus called, and the three took off. Saturn nearly tripped with each step the mountainous creature took. The ground shook beneath the soldiers' feet like miniature quakes. Saturn closed her eyes and willed her body to run faster. A startled cry and Sailor Mars' most venomous yet fearful tone of voice cut through her senses.
"Minako!" The young girl skidded to a stop and turned around, in time to see Mars gather her lover into her arms. "Run!" Mars' eyes as now-leader were not to be trifled with. Shocked back to reality, Saturn obeyed the command that she was sure was directed at her despite the squabble between the lovers going on behind her. She heard snippets of "leave me" and "like hell I will" as Mars struggled to keep herself and Venus moving.
"Here!" Saturn shouted, pointing out a secluded cave. The mammoth of a creature would not be able to reach inside this one, as it could've the previous shelter. Surely they could rest until Venus could be shuttle-lifted from the face of this gods-forsaken place. Mars nodded and ducked in with her injured lover. Saturn skidded in behind her.
"Mars here. I need a medical evac. Venus. Broken leg, multiple lacerations."
"Roger that, Mars. We'll have her out in half an hour. You have to defeat that thing."
"Defeat it?! Are you insane? That thing is as big as the Martian temple at Syrtis Kaiser!"
"Mars, it was your woman that convinced the queen not to end this until that thing was gone."
"So you're telling me that…that thing was our objective the entire time?" Mars did not receive a response and glared at Venus.
"Hey," the blonde defended, "I had no idea! I figured whatever demon she'd had dropped here from Nemesis would be… manageable!"
"You're unreal, Minako!" Saturn couldn't help but feel her heart shrink and swell at the same time as Mars spoke. "You make us stay out here for weeks without proper food or sleep. You're putting our health at risk, as well as the defense of the Kingdom. Are you insane?"
"I think that title belongs to you, Rei! How dare you risk yourself just to save me! I gave you a direct order, and you disobeyed. Do you know what the punishment for that is?! Just because I'm your lover does not mean I will go easy on you!"
"No, you have to be crazy. You're the leader. How dare you insinuate that I should've let that… that… monster kill you!"
"Rei, Minako! The evac ship will be landing shortly, and the monster is gone for now. Can we just relax a few?" The senshis of love and passion both sighed, and Mars pulled Venus closer to her.
"Of course you know," the commander started, "that I expect you and Saturn to continue the mission without me." Mars jerked back, angry.
"Are you insane? If the whole group of us couldn't defeat it, what makes you think Hotaru and I can beat it alone?!" Venus merely smiled as she detransformed.
"I have faith in the two of you, Rei. I am not calling off this exercise until we are all injured and evaced out, or it is defeated." Mars was absolutely quivering with frustration, but Minako kissed her cheek and winked. "You two can kick its ass." Of course, Saturn and Mars both knew an indirect order when they spotted one. The two black-haired women exchanged a glance, and Mars sighed, even more angrily. Sailor Saturn just slumped against the rock wall.
"Fine," Mars spat, trying to keep the acerbic quality from her voice. She drew her lover into her arms; one again, Saturn couldn't avoid the pang of jealousy that pierced her heart. The trio sat, still, waiting for help.
Twenty minutes later, the drop ship landed relatively close to the cave. Sailor Saturn lifted her glaive, ready to serve as escort. Minako's arms wound around Mars' neck; the fire senshi's arms supported her weight in kind. Saturn could read the exhaustion on Mars' face.
As the rear gate to the shuttle dropped, Saturn stood guard, watching Mars transfer Minako to Artemis' strong, capable hands. Another pang of jealousy shot through the senshi of silence; she knew Mars would never care for her with the same affection she was showing Minako. All too soon, the drop ship had launched, leaving the two dark-haired women on their own with a giant, hulking demon somewhere in the wasteland. Mars turned her attention to the younger woman.
"Hotaru… I'm tired. Let's just get this over with. If we can pin it down, we can combine our attacks at this thing's head. If we take out the head, we take out the monster. Sound logical?" Saturn merely nodded in response.
Back in the cave, Mars sighed and placed a gentle hand on Saturn's shoulder. "Get some rest. I'll keep watch." A tired smile broke out over the younger woman's features, and she promptly laid down and drifted off.
Sailor Saturn was not sure how long she had been sleeping, but a miniature quake rocked the cave and Mars' strangled, surprised cry jolted her to her feet. She rushed out of the cave, glaive ready, in time to see Sailor Mars sail through the air and hit the side of the cave. Bright, red blood leaked from the three slash marks in the front of her sailor fuku, as she struggled to get to her feet. "Cut through its left foot!" Mars cried as she started running, offering herself as bait for the distraction. "Mars… Flame… Sniper!" The creature roared back in pain as the flaming arrow pierced its eye.
"Silence… Wall!" Mars nodded. With the enemy pinned in place, Sailor Saturn swung, cutting cleanly through the enemy's left ankle. "Now! Mars!" The senshi moved together as one; Mars drawing another strike, and Saturn swinging at the enemy's head.
Phobos began to quake once more as the creature roared an agonizing death cry and crumbled to dust. As the last ashes blew away, the trembling of the planet ceased. Saturn leapt into the air, ecstatic that they had completed the mission. Mars smiled, but before Saturn could completely turn to begin speaking, the now-commander fell face-first into the dust.
"Rei!" The wind picked up and ash obscured the young woman's vision. "Saturn here. I need an evac immediately! Sailor Mars. Extent of injuries unknown, but probably heavy blood loss and multiple lacerations to the chest and stomach. The mission is otherwise complete."
"Is there any way you can keep her sheltered and safe, Saturn? A crazy storm just began and I have nowhere to safely land the drop ship."
"Artemis!"
"It can't be helped, Saturn. I think this is probably the demon's final stand. Luna says the storm looks like it should pass quickly. You just have to keep her safe for a couple of hours."
Sailor Saturn cried out in frustration and nearly flung her communicator across the barren wasteland. With a heavy heart, she scooped up her unconscious commander and trudged back to the cave to take stock of the injuries.
Mars looked horrible. Back in the cave, terror had kicked Saturn into action. She'd immediately began tearing off strips of her own fuku and using them as makeshift bandages on Mars' deepest gashes. Her stomach turned as she tried not to look at the steadily-darkening drip from Mars' stomach. Her concentration was shattered when a soft "Minako?" reached her ears.
"No. Hotaru. Mars, hold still."
"Mina, it hurts." Saturn bit her lip and looked Mars in the eye. The older woman's eyes were empty, hollow. Saturn realized they were unfocused and unseeing, and she felt her heart start to break. Mars continued to babble nonsense, mostly in Martian. Cautiously, the younger scout removed a tattered glove and held her hand to the other woman's forehead. Mars was positively scorching. Saturn recalled reading somewhere that the average Martian's body temperature was about two degrees higher than anyone else from the solar system, but there was no mistaking the easy fever Mars had above normal, even for a Martian. While Saturn knew she was certainly not Ami when it came to these matters, she also knew a fever when she saw one… Especially since this one was coming from delusions and probably stemming from the infected gashes on the other woman's body. Mars mumbled something in Martian as Saturn withdrew her hand, and then those wide, violet eyes closed in a grimace. "Minako, I'm glad we married," the delirious woman muttered in Lunar Common Speech.
Sailor Saturn rocked back with such surprised she detransformed. When had Minako and Rei gotten married?! Surely the queen would've announced this occasion! Cautiously, Hotaru removed the glove of Rei's left hand and checked for the Venusian symbol for marriage. When she saw no simple, gold band, she frowned. Was Rei's delusion really so off? Hotaru cradled the babbling woman's head in her lap and tried to recall the Martian symbol for marriage. She could remember Rei explaining that Martian law did not permit rings to be worn on the dominant hand, lest they cause issues in battle. She also remembered that gold was scarce enough on Mars that most Martian bands were made of a metal that Hotaru could not quite remember the name of. It was an alloy of some sort, and rather than being worn on the third finger, the Martian wedding band was worn on the middle finger of the non-dominant hand.
"Wait a minute…" Hotaru mumbled to herself, recalling Mars' bow draw. Rei was left-handed. The younger woman sighed and gently tugged Mars' other glove off. Surely enough, there was a thin band of Venusian white gold on the third finger of Mars' right hand. The senshi of silence tried to recall the last moments she'd seen Minako, and her heart sank further as she remembered the dull band of plain metal, fastened about the middle finger of Minako's left hand. Somehow, the duo had gotten married, kept the solar system out of their business, and reversed the wedding band traditions of their planets while still adhering to their own, all without the others noticing.
"Kiss me, Minako," the feverish woman in her lap demanded.
"Hotaru," the younger woman correct. Mars did not respond, and Hotaru found herself searching the other woman's face. Mars was completely delusional right now. She could… and only she would know.
What the hell was she thinking!?
Yet those empty eyes beneath her never closed, and they had not spoken again. Rei was clearly waiting on her lover—wife, Hotaru corrected herself—to kiss her in whatever world she was in.
Impulsiveness was really a bitch, when Hotaru thought about it.
The fire of Mars' elevated body temperature stung against her lips; Hotaru wondered what had driven her to kiss this woman, this one woman in the universe she wanted, but who was also a very married woman, despite Hotaru's having known of the marriage for less than ten minutes. Hotaru shifted so she was lying next to the older woman, and Sailor Mars sighed contentedly and finally detransformed. Her arms wound around Hotaru's waist, and she mumbled something into the chest of the other woman. Something Venusian. Hotaru really wished Rei would pick a language and stick with it, given that she herself only spoke Lunar Standard Speech and the High Saturnian dialect of her planet's tongue.
Rei let out a soft groan of pain and nuzzled Hotaru's chest. "I want," she started in Lunar Common, but finished it in a strange mix of Martian and Venusian. The two languages sounded beautiful together. Martian had a lilting, musical quality to it, and Venusian was based as much on tones of words as the words themselves. They almost sounded like Rei had breathed a song rather than a request.
Hotaru hummed quietly. "What's that, Love?" She whispered softly; she was starting to savor this moment where she could just… pretend. Pretend it was everything she'd ever wanted.
"Make love to me, Minako." Hotaru's heart stopped. She had to draw the line somewhere. It had to be here. This had gone on long enough.
She couldn't stop herself as she kissed Rei again, a little more forcefully this time. This is wrong, looped through her mind, stuck on repeat, but the unrequited love the soldier of Saturn felt would not let her stop. I shouldn't be doing this, she thought again as she gently pushed aside Rei's clothing. The priestess moaned quietly as Hotaru's fingers trailed down her chest, carefully avoiding the worsening wounds.
Hotaru chanced a glance outside of the cave. The sandstorm was raging wildly; Artemis would not be able to retrieve them anytime soon. With that, the senshi of silence stopped thinking and seized the one chance she'd get to make love to the woman she'd fallen for.
Nervous fingers slid up Rei's sides, gently tracing over her rib cage and trailing lightly over her breasts. Rei's eyes fluttered closed. Hotaru ignored the sensation of burning the other woman's fever left her with. Gently, the taller woman kissed the priestess' collarbone; Rei let out a soft, breathless, "Minako."
Shame stung Hotaru's eyes as her fingers dipped beneath the loose hakama Rei wore as part of her uniform. Of course she doesn't want you… she'll always want Minako. The younger scout shook her head, trying to force the thoughts away as Rei gasped with the sudden feeling of delight. Hotaru shifted her weight and kissed the priestess soundly, doing her best to swallow each and every one of Rei's gentle cries.
All too quickly, it was over. Rei's nails dug into Hotaru's shoulders as a stifled "Minako!" cut through the cave. Wearily, the priestess had kissed the other girl's hair and fallen back into a deep sleep. Hotaru laid down next to her, wondering what the hell had possessed her to take advantage of the other woman. Rape her, her mind betrayed the truth. If Rei was in her right mind, she'd never consent, and Hotaru knew it. She couldn't stop the tears that fell hot down her face; she could only try to suppress the emotion in her voice as her communicator chirped to life.
"Hotaru! We'll be landing in ten minutes right in front of the cave. Have Rei ready to go. Ami is on board and ready to treat the wounds she can."
"Roger," Hotaru replied weakly. "Mission accomplished."
She'll always want Minako.
Author's notes: Just be aware, I hate myself for this. I couldn't get it out of my head after scrolling for a prompt in an unrelated fandom. I stumbled across a prompt reading "Saturn/Mars, dub-con." My brain just would not shut up until this was written. In any case, I'm not sure what to think of this. Leave me a review and let me know what you think.