Disclaimer: I still don't have enough money to buy Sailor Moon, so they aren't yet mine. Just borrowing them again.

A/N: I'm about three months late, and there's no reason since this was written ages ago. Anyway, I like it, so I'm posting it now. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Loud music rocked through a dimly lit club, fading into the street outside. There was a fight going on near the entrance between the bouncer and one of the guests. Couples were making out in any and every possible space and were in various stages of undress. In the corner, a dark head was bowed. No one spoke to the person, lest they deal with a withering glare. Whispers of "He doesn't want to be bothered," and "He wants to be left alone," would be spoken all night, unknowing or uncaring that the person could hear them. The whispers were ignored anyway.

It was the beginning of 2580; just after midnight on New Years. No one knew where Sailor Mars had disappeared to – except herself. All day she had been alone. She woke up by herself after having a terrible dream; whether it was just a memory, a dream or a premonition didn't matter. She was too old to care about it regardless. Her lover was gone forever; lost to someone else's arms because of her stupidity. She could kill herself for it.

Mars drug herself to the bathroom and washed her face, barely resisting the urge to scrub out her eyes. She had resolved herself to her decision the previous night: she was going to change. A slim hand reached out to the scissors on her pearl-covered sink (for everything in the castle was made of the best materials) and slowly reached up, cutting off a large, dark lock. After sighing to steady herself, Mars continued hacking her hair off until it was a shaggy mess on her head. She shook loose the stray ends and took a long shower.

She stepped out and, uncaring for towel drying, went immediately to her bedroom. She shook her newly-cut, dripping wet hair, trying to get used to it; her hair had never dripped water into her eyes before. Opening her closet, Mars found the outfit she had decided to buy in the sake of starting over. It was a loose, black t-shirt with the words "Go hard or go home" printed in blood red letters across the front, paired with a studded leather biking jacket. Dark blue fitted jeans covered her legs and tucked into a pair of black and white high top converse sneakers. Not having the nerve to look at herself, she transformed into her senshi uniform (protocol required it be worn at all times while on duty) and, after sighing when she felt her hair fall down her back, she slipped into the hall.

It was only a matter of time before she ran into her leader – she had a knack for making each of her senshi as uncomfortable as possible, as often as possible. Whenever Mercury was thought to have had an intimate engagement, Venus was sure to mention it as many times as possible before her comrade could run away blushing. She would often criticize Jupiter's wild fighting style, causing her to stomp off in anger. When it came to the senshi of fire, Venus didn't have to say a word. Teasing didn't bother the Martian. Nor did relentless nitpicking and demands for perfection. No, Mars had perfected perfection at least 200 years prior, and had nothing for Venus to tease her about. What bothered the Martian most was Venus' mere presence; the alluring golden sheen of her hair and striking blue of her eyes were captivating to any normal person. For her ex-lover, it was pure torture.

None of the senshi were sure if Venus upset the inner senshi on purpose or not, but she was almost always walking around the castle, bothering one of them about something.

Knowing that Mars was not one to initiate a conversation, Venus confidently walked up to Mars and grabbed her shoulder, ensuring that she wouldn't teleport away.

"There's something different about you. What did you do?"

Mars tried to shake off Venus' hold, but had no success. "Nothing."

"You had to have done something. You're hiding something with magic."

"I'm not hiding anything. Go away." Mars once again tried to shake Venus' hand off her shoulder, and again had no luck.

"You are hiding something. Tell me what it is."

Mars didn't move and didn't say a word. So Venus didn't either.

Neo-Queen Serenity found them standing frozen where they were: Venus' hand was on Mars' shoulder, and they were stoically staring into each other's eyes not saying a word. "What are you two doing?"

Venus didn't move, but did answer her queen. "I'm waiting for Mars to tell me what she changed."

"I didn't change anything."

The queen nodded and walked toward her senshi. "You know, I'd greatly prefer if you two were considering an affair instead of being stubborn about stupid stuff."

Mars broke her unofficial staring match at that comment. "We would never consider an affair. Ever."

"Speak for yourself. I wouldn't mind one."

Mars looked at Venus and finally shook her hand off her shoulder. "I'm sure you wouldn't." Rather than teleporting, she walked out of the door, walking a little heavier and a little faster than usual for maximum effect. It took all her restraint to close the door normally.

Alone and on duty, Mars wandered the halls. Patrolling the castle was always a boring job, but it was the easiest way to avoid Minako and each of the inner senshi embraced the task gracefully. Mars didn't encounter another individual in the castle the rest of the day.

When she finally got off duty, she thought about returning to her room, but Venus would probably be waiting outside of her door for her return as she did before every celebration. Mars was not in the mood to deal with her.

Instead, she snuck out a back door of the castle, dropped her transformation, and walked, slowly, toward the rough side of town.

It was a matter of about 15 minutes before she reached her destination. There was a different smell to the air, the people looked and acted much more rough, and no one looked twice at her outfit. In the Hich City that housed Neo-Queen Serenity, her family, and her protectors, Mars would not fit in wearing what she was wearing. In the shadows of the next city, she was at home.

It wasn't her first venture into this part of town; far from it. She had first come out here with Minako when they were teenagers running away from life. The next time had been when she and Minako broke up the first time. That night she participated in her only bar fight. A man laid hands on Minako and Rei cut out his tongue with a broken bottle. Many, many nights were spent dancing and sweating with Minako, making Minako jealous, and being jealous because of Minako.

Mars first found her way back to this run down part of Japan when her and Venus finally gave up on their relationship. She was unsure if the place even still existed, but was elated to see her hideout in tact. The people she was around seemed much less excited. The fact that a Sailor Senshi - clad in uniform - had found her way out to the run down way of life they enjoyed was not a pleasant one for any of the night clubbing patrons. No one wanted to be bothered by law enforcement, especially not by the official law makers of the world.

When Mars returned, she was wearing a revealing black dress with red heels and had her hair piled onto her head in a sloppy ponytail. A lot of eyes graced her figure, but not a single person spoke to her. She was frustrated and there was a high level of heat radiating from her body. Anyone who got to close became uncomfortable; trying to touch the raging Martian might set a normal individual on fire. Wisely, everyone left the angry woman alone; she preferred it that way, anyway.

Tonight was her third night returning; the other senshi would be celebrating and she wanted nothing to do with the happy couples smiling and laughing and dancing and eating cake. She didn't feel like wishing anyone a Happy New Year or hearing the others' jolly cries of happiness. She didn't want to think about the future or good things to come. She wanted to be alone and remember all the pain she had been through in her life. She wanted to think about the pain she had caused others and the agony she went through at night. Mars was no longer a little girl who ran from pain and pretended to be happy. She was a grown woman who faced her pain head on and wallowed in it. She just wanted to wallow alone this time.

Mars - almost imperceptibly - nodded her head to the beat of the music blaring around her. Her dark eyes were fixed on a liquor spill not too far from her feet. She was sitting on a low stool she had stolen from the stage. It was usually used by the bass player for the local band, but they weren't performing that night.

Frowning, Mars stopped bobbing her head when she saw a pair of golden stilettos in her face. She didn't bother to look up; only one person could sneak up on her and that was the only person who would dare to talk to her.

"I never thought I would see you out here. Why are you here alone?"

Mars still didn't look up. She continued frowning at those golden heels, hoping they would either leave or catch on fire.

"Answer me!" Mars could feel the angry woman put her hands on her hips, but still didn't respond. Angry blue eyes lowered themselves in front of her face. "Goddamn it! Why are you so difficult?!"

Since she was no longer able to ignore the other woman, Mars finally acknowledge her. "Can you leave me alone?"

Venus moved closer. "I can, but I won't. What are you doing here?"

Mars crossed her arms and looked away. "I'm trying to be alone."

Venus sat on her lap. "Too bad. Everyone was looking for you."

Purple eyes darted to the golden clad woman, giving her a quick appraisal. Her golden hair was completely loose, hanging wildly around her frame, covering what her dress most decidedly did not. Her dress was tiny, tight, golden and silk. Venus wore a small golden necklace with a blue stone hanging between her breasts. Mars' eyes got caught there. Venus caught her gaze and smirked. "See something you like?"

"You still have it."

Venus looked down at the small stone laying against her chest and smiled. "Of course. I have everything you gave me."

Mars looked away and didn't say anything.

Venus studied the other woman's profile curiously. "What made you cut your hair?"

"You."

"Me?"

Mars looked at the other woman. "Yeah. You."

Venus waited for an explanation, but Mars gave her nothing of the sort. Rather than pressing the issue, she moved on. "I think it looks good, but I can't say that I would want you to keep it like this forever. Is this what you were hiding from me this morning?"

Mars reclined and rested her back in the corner. She crossed her feet at the ankle and closed her eyes. Again, she nodded to the music roaring around her. Her eyes shot open when she felt warm, wet lips against her own. "What the hell?!"

Venus moved to a more comfortable distance. "Stop ignoring me. I'm not going anywhere and you're not going to ignore me while I'm here."

"Stop kissing me! You're married!"

"I was married. I'm not married anymore. I've been trying to tell you that."

Mars raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Since when?"

Venus frowned and looked at the floor. "Since about a month ago. I didn't tell anyone else because I wanted you to know first."

"Why would I want to know?"

Blue eyes peeked up at Mars through blond hair. "Because you've been waiting for me to say that for the past 70 years is why."

Mars rolled her eyes and scoffed. Venus turned, straddling the older woman's waist. She leaned forward and pressed her lips against the Martian's for a second time. Mars returned the kiss, but looked unaffected when they parted.

"Are you trying to tell me you didn't wish I was in your bed and not his the entire time I was with him?"

Again, Mars scoffed. Venus kept talking. "I know you missed me. That's why you kept running away from me. What I want to know is why you pushed me away in the first place. What made you run from me? And why would you push me to him?"

Venus' proximity prevented Mars from looking away, but she steadfastly refused to answer. "I'm not going to have a staring match with you tonight, Rei."

Mars pushed Venus away from her body and sat up. "That's not my name."

"I can't very well call you what I usually do right now. It'll cause too much trouble. At least you're speaking to me."

Mars closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall again.

"Rei. Rei, answer me. Why did you run from me? Why did you push me away?"

Mars still didn't respond, so Venus pinched her leg. The Martian winced, but still didn't answer. "Goddamn it! Rei!" Venus pressed her body as tightly against Mars as possible and wrapped her legs around Mars' back. "Answer me or I swear to Kami I'll fuck you right here."

Mars wasn't sure if Venus was bluffing or not, but she didn't want to answer, so she didn't. When she felt the blond's hand in her pants, she grabbed her wrist. "Stop it. I don't want to talk about it and I don't want to get involved with you again."

Venus crossed her arms. "Rei, you were - ARE - my best friend. I don't care if you don't want to be, I don't care if you hate me. I don't care if you wish I would self-combust right now, I'm not going to leave you alone until you accept the fact that I care about you."

Mars really did wish Venus would self-combust, but since that was impossible and she was too loyal to set her leader aflame, she chose to stand instead, picking up the smaller woman.

"Put me down!" Again, Venus was ignored, but for once, she didn't mind. When they were outside, Mars put her down and cold air hit her legs. Venus pulled down on the tiny bit of fabric she was wearing in an attempt to cover herself and find warmth, but it was in vain. January in Japan was always freezing and she was practically naked.

Venus skipped hurriedly behind Mars, trying to keep up with the woman and not having much success. Mars was taller with longer legs and was wearing sneakers. She saw the Martian turn a dark corner and quickly turned following her. She ran smack into the arms of her old lover; meeting her lips almost immediately after.

Mars pulled away first, and walked away from Venus, leaving the stunned woman standing at the end of the alley. The blond composed herself when she felt the cold air hit her legs and quickly ran up to Mars' side. "What the hell was that?"

Mars looked at her, passion burning in her eyes. "Why did you get a divorce?"

Venus didn't blink. "Because I love you."

Mars smiled and pulled Venus into a crushing embrace. She whispered into her ear, "That's why I let you go. Before you weren't sure you wanted me."

Venus buried her hands in Mars' hair. "I was always sure I wanted you."

"You wanted him. I could see it in your eyes."

Venus smiled. "But-"

Mars looked into her eyes seriously, but held her close, keeping her warm. "Mi-chan, you would have never been satisfied if you hadn't gotten a chance to be with him. I didn't want to be the reason you were unhappy."

"You know I would have rather married you, right?"

"Then why did you marry him?"

"Because you wouldn't marry me! We were together for over 500 years and you never even mentioned marriage."

"We were fighting each other the first 100 years, we were building a nation for the next 200, and the last 200 you were looking at Ku-"

"Don't say his name. I don't want to talk about him. I don't want to talk about fighting or any of the bullshit that kept us apart. I just want to know if we can be together now."

Mars smiled. "You're in such a hurry."

"You're damn right! I haven't seen your tits in almost a century!"

Mars laughed for the first time in years. "You always were a pervert."

Venus smiled. "I still am. But before I fuck you so hard you forget your name, I have to do something."

"What on Earth could that be?"

Venus lowered herself to one knee (not quite touching the ground because she was in the middle of an alley) grabbed Mars' hand, and kissed the back of it. "I have to ask you to marry me. I'll be damned if I let you let me run off and marry someone else ever again."

Mars laughed again and pulled Venus back to her feet. She wrapped her arms around the blond's small waist and pulled her close. She reached up and tucked some of Venus' hair behind her ear. "I swear I won't let you run off with anyone else ever again, but I'm not letting you propose to me in the middle of an alley."

"Rei, I'm serious. I want to get married. Right now."

Mars laughed yet again. "Where? Who can marry us now? It's New Years and we're in the middle of the most run down part of Japan. In an alley."

Venus shrugged. "I don't care about details. What matters is that I love you, you love me, and we're going to be together for the rest of our lives. Find us a priest, Rei!" She started jumping up and down in place.

Shaking her head, Mars picked Venus up, bridal style and teleported them to her bedroom. Venus blinked, but didn't have a chance to speak before she was thrown onto Mars' soft mattress. Mars' lips crashed onto hers and her hands clutched at the back of the other woman's shirt. Venus blinked again when Mars suddenly stood from the bed and walked to her dresser.

Mars reached in and grabbed something, but Venus forgot all about that when the older woman took off her shirt and dropped it to the floor.
Mars put her hands in her back pockets, essentially hiding what she grabbed from view. She walked back to the bed and kneeled beside Venus. When Venus sat up and looked at her questioningly, she presented the small box she had retrieved from her dresser. She opened it, revealing the small ring inside. It was a golden engagement ring. In the center was a large diamond, accented on each side by a small blue sapphire the same color as the stone hanging from Venus' neck.

"I didn't marry you before because I had no idea how to take care of you. I didn't know how to keep you happy or how to trust you. I was unsure about our future and I was scared of something taking you from me. I knew the guys were going to return and I knew you would fall for him again. I just didn't know how much of a part I would play in that. I never should have pushed you away, and I'm sorry that I did. I was stupid. But if you can forgive me and love me again, I promise that I'll never fuck shit up like that again."

Venus laughed, torn between crying and jumping for joy. She chose instead to slip down onto Mars' leg and kiss her senseless. "If you can promise to never fuck shit up like you did, then I can promise I'll be more trustworthy."

The two laughed and kissed and ended up on the bed, content to be together.

I've been gone forever and haven't written a one-shot in over a year, I think, so here goes nothing. Let me know what you thought.

Thanks for reading.