Eternal

Chapter Four: Sailor Moon Super

Music

It was going to be their first Valentine's Day together, and Usagi couldn't wait.

They couldn't spend the day together, because she had school and he had class, but the entire evening was going to be theirs and they had every minute detail planned out. They would start off with a drink at the Crown, just because it was their special place and it meant something to them. Then they would go out for an incredibly expensive dinner, and then dancing, where they could act like the prince and princess they were. Then she'd take off her shoes and he'd lend her his jacket and they'd go for a long walk in the park under the stars, talking about anything and everything.

Instead, he was throwing roses at some random Daimon, and she was cowering behind a car nursing a wounded leg.

"Sailor Moon!" she heard Mars screech from the battlefield (which used to be part of the high street, but was now nothing more than rubble). "Get out here and finish it!"

Once she had crawled out and effectively dusted the adversary, she collapsed into a heap on the concrete.

Yes, her Valentine's Day had effectively been ruined.

xxx

"Hold still, Usako," Mamoru chided her, several reams of gauze ready and waiting in his hands. "I won't be able to wrap it properly if you keep squirming."

Usagi pouted – she was squirming because it hurt – but she did as she was bid and held still as the doctor finished patching her up.

She rolled her head to the right slightly and looked at the clock – eleven thirty. With a heavy sigh she threw her arms up above her head, before bringing them down so that they were crossed over her eyes. What an awful, awful day. She should be being spun around a dance floor right now, her pretty red dress swishing about her ankles as people commented on what a handsome couple they were and how well they danced together. Not lying on her boyfriend's couch while he attempted to close up the claw marks on her thigh.

It was so supremely ironic that this should be how they spent their first ever Valentine's Day together.

"Finished," she heard Mamoru say quietly, pressing a kiss to the covered injury like he always did.

Usagi didn't say anything. She was too busy living out the Valentine's Day that parallel universe Usagi was currently enjoying – the Usagi who wasn't Sailor Moon and didn't have to worry about Daimons and Pure Heart Crystals and crabby Outer Senshi …

Mamoru moved up behind her, lying on the couch and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry your evening was ruined," he breathed in her ear.

She mumbled something vague, burying her face into a cushion.

"I know it's not fair," he sighed, taking a hand and kissing the back of it. "Next year will be different."

"I say that to myself every year," Usagi sighed. "And nothing ever changes. Well, it does, but the situation always sucks."

"You've just got to keep believing that next year will be the year we get our day," Mamoru whispered.

"Next year," she echoed faintly. "Still …" She grabbed the hand that had been playing with hers, and brought it to her own lips. "At least I have you with me this year."

"And that's the most important thing of all, right?" he asked. "That we're together?"

Usagi hummed her agreement. "Of course. All I want is for us to be together. But still … it would have been nice."

"It would have," he sighed.

"Everything's always so pretty on Valentine's Day," she said wistfully. "All the lights and the hearts and the flowers … and everyone's just so happy. It would have been so perfect. Gorgeous food and music and the dancing … oh, I would have loved to dance."

Mamoru smiled against her shoulder. "I'd ask you now, only I don't think you should be up on that leg."

She snuggled closer to him. "I don't need to dance. You're right – as long as we're together. That's what matters."

"Well, we still have half an hour left of our Valentine's Day," Mamoru mused. "I can't give you lights or hearts …" He held out a hand to her and produced a rose from nowhere. "But I can give you flowers …" He then unlooped the star locket from around her neck, opened it, and placed it on the coffee table. "And I can give you music."

"Oh, Mamo-chan," Usagi sighed, shifting in his embrace so that she could face him. "I love you so much."

He sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you your perfect Valentine's Day."

"It is perfect," she insisted gently.

And then their lips met, as their music played on softly in the background.