Daydream Believer – Chapter One

by taitofan

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Author's note: I have a lot of thoughts about Crystal Tokyo. A whole lot. So I decided that rather than make some sprawling plot-driven thing, maybe I'd just go with shorter fics that are all in the same continuity. Some will focus on certain characters or couples, but they all go vaguely in order. Also, if you're against polyamory, this fic really isn't for you. …And the Starlights are always going to be girls in this, as there's no reason for them to disguise themselves as men anymore. If that's a deal breaker, you might want to reconsider this, as at least one of the Starlights is going to be important.

If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 01-28-14

Sometimes Chibiusa wondered if she had this romance thing all wrong.

Her parents were her biggest indication. They had what she could only describe as a romance full of miracles. No matter what happened—be it past, present, or future—they would find each other and fall in love over and over again. Neither time, nor other suitors, could get in their way, and heaven knew plenty of people had tried to woo both her mother and her father away.

Then there were the other sailor soldiers, who either sought monogamous comfort in each other, such as Haruka and Michiru, or stayed celibate in order to better serve their queen. Even Minako, who had mooned over more men than Chibiusa personally knew, hadn't been on a date in hundreds of years.

Soon though, all too soon, she was going to have to figure out what she was doing wrong and fix it. A princess needed a prince after all, and even if it would be a very long time before she herself ascended to the throne, she needed to be wed so her husband could be groomed to be the new king. Her mother was already trying to introduce her to suitable young men, though she was doing her best to pretend it wasn't for matchmaking purposes.

And there laid the problem—she didn't want any prince that her mother could possibly introduce her to. Sure, she wanted a kind man who loved her and would rule competently at her side, but there was not a man in all of Crystal Tokyo who held her interest.

But that might have been because there were two men in Elysian who had both owned her heart since she was a child.

"Small Lady, are you alright?" Chibiusa slowly came out of her musing and glanced down at the young cat on her lap. Diana wasn't exactly a kitten anymore, but she wasn't the size of her parents yet. Was that how other people saw her? Not a child, but still not an adult to be taken seriously? She was very old, in terms of years, but her body was that of an older teenager. She didn't think she was exactly the pinnacle of maturity, but she wasn't immature either. She knew what she wanted, and she'd given it more thought than it probably needed, but…

"Yes, of course. Don't worry, Diana."

…She couldn't help but think that when she finally told her parent of her wishes, they wouldn't find her desires to be sincere, but rather the fanciful dreams of a little girl.

"If you say so…" She knew Diana didn't quite believe her, but that was fine. It wasn't exactly true after all. But, given time… She would be fine. She had to be, because this was what she wanted more than anything in the world, and surely her parents would support her, even if it took time. They had to…

Right?

Chibiusa stood before her expectant parents, wondering if she could really do this. She had thought she could—she wouldn't have asked to talk to them privately if she hadn't—but now, with their eyes on her, she wasn't so sure.

'I need to,' she told herself firmly. 'I might not know how they'll take it, but I'll never know unless I try, right? Besides, this isn't just for me…'

"Mama, Papa… I've decided who I wish to marry." Her father looked weary at those words, and she wasn't surprised. No father wanted to see their little girl start her own family after all. Her mother on the other hand… Neo Queen Serenity looked absolutely ecstatic. Her eyes shone with the same excitement she'd had back in the past when she saw delicious cake.

"That's wonderful Small Lady! Oh, I'm so happy for you! Who's the lucky man who's stolen your heart? Is it one of the nice young men you met at the last ball?" She smiled at her mother's curiosity. It was rare times like this that she could see Serenity's teenage self shining though. Chibiusa was just glad she wasn't such a ditz anymore.

"Um, well… No, it isn't. But… You've met who I want to marry before." The queen raised an elegant eyebrow at the last part.

"Have I…? Who…?" Suddenly, her eyes widened in understanding. "It's Helios, isn't it? You always look so happy when he's able to visit!" Chibiusa took a deep breath and braced herself. It was now or never…

"Yes, I want to marry Helios. I've loved him for a long time…" Serenity's smile grew, and Chibiusa had to keep going quickly, before her mother spoke and she lost her nerve. "But he's not the only one. I want to marry Perle too."

Endymion, who'd been in bed injured for most of the Badiane ordeal, was rather lost. Serenity, on the other hand, surely could remember the young fairy boy who'd saved her daughter and her past self. Judging by the look on her face, she did indeed know who her daughter spoke of, but Chibiusa didn't like that faint pitying expression she wore.

"My dear…" She paused and looked at her husband, who only shook his head, as if to indicate he wasn't touching this one. "You know that you can't marry two men. It's against the law, and not even the royal family is exempt from that. Even if you truly love them both, you can only marry one."

"I know all of that." She tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. Didn't they think she'd thought this through? "But I've looked through the law books, and royalty is allowed to have consorts. I can marry Helios, and Perle can still be the king consort. It's marriage in everything but name, and no one in the court can complain because he won't have the power I will." She hated that fact, but she'd rather have Perle with her but without political power than not have him at all.

Of course, that hardly seemed to matter at the moment, because neither of her parents looked happy with her plan.

"Small Lady, you can't expect them to both be with you." She almost rolled her eyes at the very idea. Oh, if they only knew… "And what of their duties? I know your heart is leading you, but you must think of these things…"

Chibiusa had to bite her tongue to not say something she'd regret. Obviously, they just didn't understand. She'd simply have to explain it.

"Mama, I have thought of these things. Not only that, but the three of us have discussed many things at great length. They both have the ability to appear in my dreams, remember? I see them every night! At the same time. Trust me, I don't doubt for a second that they both like the plan I told you." She wisely left out the things the three of them did in her dreams other than talk. That was a discussion she planned on never ever having with them. "As for duties… Perle isn't the only protector of children's dreams, so that's not an issue. And since Helios is a priest under Papa… If Helios becomes the next king, a new priest will take his place in Elysium."

It all made perfect sense to her, as well as to her lovers. Helios had some concerns about leaving Elysium alone, but there weren't any threats at the moment, and the man he had in mind to become the next priest was very competent. Perle didn't even have an issue with the arrangement. There were many fairies like him in the world; they wouldn't miss just one going to start a family.

"…I just don't think this is a good idea."

Chibiusa frowned as her father nodded silently at his wife's declaration. Were they even listening to her? Her mother wasn't even going to give her a reason why?

"What's wrong with it?" She asked as calmly as she could. She had to be mature about this… "It's legal, Helios is qualified to be a king, we all want it, their jobs are in good hands… What else is there that could make this a bad idea?"

Serenity didn't answer at first. She glanced at her husband, and then turned back to her daughter. Her eyes didn't seem to hold any joy in them anymore. Suddenly Chibiusa's mind was filled with whispered words she'd hear from her mother's guardians when they thought she wasn't around. She remembered how tense her mother got when the princess of another world came to visit, bringing her own guardians with her. So, those whispered rumors were true…? She had no doubt that her parents were very much in love, but…

If Serenity's heart was big enough to love two people, then the fact she was holding her daughter back just made Chibiusa even more frustrated.

"Small Lady, I know you must think this is a perfect idea, but in the end—"

"Just because you chose to ignore what your heart wanted doesn't mean I should have to too!" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Part of her regretted them instantly, but more than anything, she meant them with all her heart. "I love Helios and Perle, and even if you don't approve, I will be with both of them. I'm not a child! I won't make the same mistakes you did!"

As her mother's eyes welled with tears and she fled the room, her bewildered husband close behind, that guilt was finally settling in. She'd crossed a line that she didn't know anything about. So much for showing how mature she was…

But if her mother was really in love with both her father and that woman from Kinmoku as all of the guardians said she was, why was she so against this? All Chibiusa could assume was that since it hadn't worked out for her, Serenity didn't want her to go through it too. But even that didn't make any sense unless her mother hadn't been paying attention to a word she'd just said.

…Or, perhaps, if she hadn't explained it enough.

Within moments, Chibiusa was running out of the throne room. She could still salvage this situation… At least, she hoped that she could.

It hadn't been hard to get her father to leave her alone with her crying mother. Even in the past, his love's tears tended to make him uncomfortable. With a promise that she'd make everything right, she was left in her parents' bedroom. She took a deep breath to calm herself, then sat on the large bed beside Serenity.

"…Did you ever tell Papa that you love Miss Seiya?" Serenity didn't say anything—not even to deny her daughter's assumptions. She merely shook her head. "Then how do you know it couldn't have worked with all of you?"

Serenity still didn't say a word, nor did she look at her daughter. Chibiusa wasn't giving up that easily though.

"You know, at first I was really scared. I've loved them both for so long, and I thought that was wrong. But they both love me too, and once they realized what was going on…" She smiled at the memory of them meeting her in her dreams that fateful night. "It took time, but now they love each just as much as they love me."

"…Seiya only likes women." There, there was her opening. She just had to jump on it.

"So? If she loves you even half as much as everyone makes it sound like, I'm sure she'd be happy to share. And Papa loves you so much! I know that if he knew you were unhappy—"

"But I shouldn't be unhappy!" Serenity wasn't crying anymore, but her voice was still shaky. "I… I have the man I've loved through time and space and death. That should be enough. I shouldn't… I…"

"Oh Mama," Chibiusa murmured, leaning over to force herself into Serenity's arms. Serenity didn't think twice before hugging her firmly. "Who cares about shoulds and shouldn'ts? You love them both, so it wouldn't hurt to try. And… I love Helios and Perle, and they both love me and each other. We've got it under control Mama, we really do. We just need you and Papa to approve. I know I said before that I don't care, but I do. I really want you to be okay with it…"

Serenity's grip didn't loosen a bit as she held Chibiusa. She wondered what her mother was thinking, and she knew that Serenity was indeed thinking hard about what she was going to say next. Chibiusa hoped it was something good, but she had made her mother cry, so if it wasn't, well, she understood.

"…You're sure no one gets left out?" Chibiusa nodded, glad her mother couldn't see the flush that grew on her face. Oh no, no one got left out in their relationship at all. "How quickly can Helios and Perle get to the palace? We should start wedding plans soon, before Minako finds out and tries to take over everything."

Chibiusa only barely kept her composure. It was very hard not to jump up and dance around the palace when she finally had her mother's approval. Then again… Maybe maturity could be overrated sometimes.

"I'll tell them tonight!" she cheered, pulling Serenity off the bed and spinning them around. Serenity was smiling again, twirling around with her daughter as if nothing had been wrong in the first place. They laughed and hugged, and it didn't take long for Endymion to come in and find out what was going on. When Serenity told him about the marriage, he seemed to tentatively accept it, knowing that at least Helios could be trusted. When Serenity didn't mention anything else, Chibiusa didn't say a word either. That wasn't her business, and she'd meddled enough. Now she was going to have a wedding to worry about anyway.

For the first time in a long while, Chibiusa was sure that everything between her and her lovers was going to be perfectly fine.

And with a little luck, maybe everything would be okay for her mother too.