Alone Together
One Month
Alternate Story Line

October 9
The Soul Bond

***Usagi's POV***

Morning came early on the island. As soon as the sunlight shone through the smoke hole in the cave Usagi usually woke up. And ever since the jellyfish had stung her, Mamoru automatically popped awake the moment she did. They both knew they had a lot to get done that day. They needed to fish, trek back across the center of the island to gather fruit, collect wood and water, and Usagi had a major sewing project.

"I think we should wait a day to cross the island," Mamoru said in a quiet voice. "You've got a sunburn and we both need clothing. Why don't we do the fishing today and you can work on that while I collect some wood and boil the water. I also have to open those coconuts."

"Make sure you save the water from them. Pour it into one of the water bottles and we can have it to drink later. I don't mind putting off the trip for a day, but we can't wait too long. We have no idea when that storm is going to move."

They both finished relieving themselves and moved to the water to rinse off. "I know. It seems pretty stationary. I wonder what's causing it."

Usagi shrugged. "I've never been on a subtropical island before. I have no idea what would cause weather like that." She wiped her forehead and then leaned over.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

She shook her head. "I don't really know. I feel a little dizzy this morning. I did yesterday too, but it passed pretty fast. It was only for a minute."

"You might be getting too much sun," he said. Lighting forked wildly out over the water.

Usagi nodded. She thought there might be another reason, and it was seriously upsetting her. She'd never had dizzy spells before, but between not having her thyroid medication, being injured, a lack of food, and the very real possibility that she was…

Cutting off her thoughts, Usagi stood back upright and smiled. They went back to the cave and ate some of the smoked fish for breakfast. They had one of the nashi pears as well and then they hurried outside.

Usagi and Mamoru picked up their makeshift fishing poles. They walked to the rocky outcrop together and sat to wait for a bite. Her mind wandered, and she couldn't help thinking about the dizzy spells. Added to the spotting and the date they had been placed on the island, she was unable to keep hiding the truth from herself. She was getting more and more sure that she was pregnant.

Mamoru had found a clam to use for their bait and it didn't take long to get a nibble. They each caught a fish, though neither knew what sort of fish they had caught. They found seaweed and wrapped them before skewering them and putting them over the fire to cook.

They had plenty of other chores to catch up on. Usagi began to wash dishes while Mamoru collected and purified water. Then he went to collect firewood while she sat down to work on her sewing project in the soft grass.

It was easier to simply keep the fire burning than to relight it each time they wanted to cook, and it provided warmth, light, and safety at night, so they needed fuel for it. They had to go further and further from camp as time went on, though this afternoon there seemed to be plenty of new driftwood, that in a few days' time would help their cause.

Usagi pulled the parachute out of the pack and unfolded it. It was made of a shimmery blue material. She wasn't sure what type of fabric it was, but it was huge. It unfolded into a large rectangle that curved at the edges. Usagi stole one of the pairs of first aid scissors and cut one of the sections off. There was enough material in that section alone to make several outfits for them both. She folded it and cut it in half.

As she worked on her project she continued to think about what would happen to both of them if she was pregnant. She wouldn't be able to finish high school and work at the same time. Mamoru already had a part time job on top of his high school classes. She didn't know how much his apartment cost him per month, or how much his tuition was at the private school.

She checked on the fish several times, but when Mamoru was done collecting wood he told her to focus on her project while he worked on some things of his own. He promised to check the fish regularly. The last thing either of them wanted was to waste food. Everything was precious here.

She smiled as she made a new version of clothing for them. She cut out material for a drape dress. The process was simple. She measured how long she wanted the dress to be, and how much she wanted covered, then she folded the material over and checked how big she needed to make the hole for her neck and the straps for her shoulders.

With a sigh, she went back to her thoughts. Unless her parents helped her, she was afraid she might have to give the baby up for adoption. It broke her heart, but she didn't know what else to do. She would never be able to harm their child. As much as she wanted to raise the baby with him, she couldn't guarantee help, or that her parents would even allow her to marry him.

Usagi laid the folded fabric out on the table, which Mamoru pulled up for her, and carefully cut a small half oval over the fold, creating the neck hole. She tried putting it over her head and when it was slightly to small she widened the hole. She chose which side was going to be the front and turned it into a 'V' neck. She cut the sides of the fabric, so it fit her shoulders and made those lines go down straight for about ten inches. Then she turned the scissors and cut to the edge of the fabric on each side, leaving an inch of fabric long enough to tie together at the sides. She cut the rest straight down as best she could.

Her heart was aching at the thought of losing the chance to be with Mamoru or their child, but as she looked up at him, busy trying to create a fishing spear, she knew she had to think about what was best for both of them as well as the baby. A baby needed parents that could afford food and a place to live. Parents that weren't working two jobs each just to meet those needs.

Slipping the new dress over her head, she tied the sides. It was very simple, and her sides were a bit exposed at the hips, but it was much more coverage than she'd had with the grass. She cut the dress relatively short, so it wouldn't cause problems going to the bathroom.

She knew she had to make the right choices, which meant that soon she was going to have to talk to Mamoru. Soon she was going to have to tell him what had happened. And she needed to get home. She needed prenatal care if she was pregnant. Vitamins and things she couldn't get here on a deserted island.

Usagi made more of a wrap for Mamoru. It ended up looking a bit like a Scottish kilt when she was done, though it wasn't plaid. It would wrap completely around his waist once, and then come back to the other hip. She had to call him over to measure the length on him, but soon she was satisfied. She was able to make him two wraps with the remainder of the piece from her dress. The kept long strands for ties with that as well and sewed pockets with the scrap fabric, using needle and thread.

Her focus turned to Mamoru's dream of becoming a doctor. He wanted that future badly. She wouldn't let him give it up, no matter what, but she desperately wanted their baby. She wondered if he would be willing to talk to her parents with her. Maybe he moved in with them, they could both finish school and each have a part time job.

When she had finished Mamoru's clothing, she called to him and gave him both sets, before taking her new dress off and using the last of the scrap fabric to add little apron pockets to the front to carry anything she needed. Putting the dress back on was simple. She wondered if she looked alright but didn't want to ask.

A chill wind came up off the ocean and even through the fabric of her new dress her nipples puckered. It hurt, even burned a little. With a gasp, she covered them with her hands and turned from the wind. The storm was apparently driving the temperatures down.

She folded up the remaining fabric and put it away. Unfortunately, she didn't see the scissors caught up under one of the pieces and cut her palm open. Swearing quietly, she hurried to wash it, crying a bit at the pain. The cut was deep, and she was worried about an infection.

***Mamoru's POV***

Mamoru looked up when he saw Usagi rushing by him towards the basin at the bottom of their waterfall. She was holding her hand up and away from her body carefully. He hurried to catch her. Her hand was bleeding.

He grabbed it quickly and closed his eyes, focusing on the need to heal her. He sent the golden sparks through her hand and into the rest of her, searching for any other sicknesses or injuries. With a start he realized he could sense the imbalance in her thyroid. He focused there and began the process of healing, reminding himself to check back on it later.

Something caught his attention though and he frowned, realizing her hormones were still out of balance. He searched for the cause and found a tiny life in her womb. He wasn't sure how she would react to the news, so he kept his mouth shut for the moment. He wanted to make sure they were in a comfortable place when they talked about it, not while her hand was covered in blood.

Usagi gasped at him when the golden sparks faded away. "Wow," she whispered. "I don't remember you healing me before. Was it the same?"

He nodded. "Except it was my tears."

"Tears?" she asked, rinsing her hand and then turning to look at him.

He nodded. He wasn't ashamed of crying. Usagi wouldn't judge him for it. "When I started to lose hope. I couldn't find the communicator. You were getting sicker and weaker, and there was nothing else I could do. I prayed to the kami, but I couldn't hold back anymore and so I laid my head on you and cried. Then I saw the sparks and you were healing. You looked so much better after that I finally felt like I could sleep."

"I didn't know it was that bad," Usagi said in a quiet voice. She wrapped her arms around him, the soft fabric of her dress rubbing against his chest. "I knew I was sick. At one point I was trying to tell you I loved you, but I couldn't even talk before I fell back asleep. But I guess it never occurred to me just how bad it was."

Mamoru could only nod. He couldn't speak, so he just held her.

They ate lunch after Usagi finished cleaning up the supplies she'd used. They kept the table right on the grass under the trees and knelt to eat. He wished for pillows, so they could sit more comfortably, but shook his head. They were together and healthy. He needed to stop wishing for things and focus on what they had.

He noticed Usagi was very quiet and introspective during their meal, and even after, as they settled to do a bit of English practice. After a while he realized Usagi wasn't really paying attention and he let her be, going to the cave to get the spear he had been working on.

He continued trying to make the prongs that would actually spear the fish. It wasn't an easy task and he was worried he wouldn't make them correctly. Nearly an hour passed as he worked but Usagi stayed where she was, sitting down, staring off into space. It almost looked as though she were about to cry. Putting the spear down, he went to her.

***Usagi's POV***

"Usako?" Mamoru asked. "Are you okay?" He sat next to her, putting a hand on her for comfort.

Usagi nodded, then shook her head. She didn't know how to tell him what she had realized, and she was afraid that when she did tell him he would be upset. Or worse, that he would give up all of his hopes and dreams for her. She sniffled and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" he sounded worried.

"I'm…" She didn't know what to say. How could she put this into words? The pain in her breasts when the chilly wind hit her had told her all she needed to know. Added to the cramping and spotting and to the dizzy spells she'd been having it was almost certain.

"Usako, whatever it is, you can tell me," he promised. "I love you. I want nothing in this world more than to be with you."

"Mamoru, I think I might be..." the word stuck in her throat. She ran a hand over her belly, unable to make her message any clearer than that.

"Pregnant? I know you are. I felt it when I healed you earlier." Mamoru smiled. "It'll be okay. I know it's earlier than either of us would have wanted, but it'll be okay. I don't know yet what you want to do, but if you want to, I'd like to get married and raise the baby together."

Usagi stared at him. She hadn't even begun to hope for this. "Are you sure that's what you want? Babies are expensive, and a lot of work. We both have school, so it would only be part-time jobs, unless I drop out. I mean, I really want to keep the baby, but if there's a couple out there who can't have children..." The thought of giving her child away hurt, but she would if it was what was best for all of them.

"Usako, we don't have to worry about money. My parents were quite wealthy, and they left me everything. It's been growing interest since they passed."

"I didn't know that. You work, so I assumed you didn't have much." Usagi admitted.

"I work because I wanted to earn credits for college." Mamoru explained. "Usako, do you want to marry me?"

"I do," Usagi said, and kissed him. "I love you Mamo-chan."

"I love you too." Mamoru nuzzled at her neck. "Do you want to keep the baby and raise it ourselves?"

"Yes," Usagi said, and nodded her head. She wanted that more than she could express, but she was also terrified. Would she be a good mother? Would she be able to perform her duties and protect the baby too? Would she be able to fight while she was pregnant?

"Thank Kami-sama," Mamoru murmured, and kissed her. "We will find a way for both of us to stay in school. If your parents can't or won't babysit, we can hire a babysitter for school hours."

"Are you sure?" Usagi asked, hope filling her now.

"I'm very sure," he said quietly. "We can do this Usako."

Usagi nodded, and he pulled her close, kissing her temple. She leaned against him and looked out over the sea. She smiled at the glint of sunlight on the water. The storm still raged in the distance.

He loved her. She loved him too. And that was enough. That was all she had ever wanted or needed from him. Just love. Plain, pure, simple. They were going to have a child together. Be a family.

She smiled as she remembered their first day on the island. They hadn't argued. In fact, they hadn't had a single argument the entire time they'd been alone. Of course, once they were back in Tokyo she would be proper again, but for now, she was free.

Knowing he was Tuxedo Kamen had erased the one real worry she'd had about entering a relationship with him. He could protect himself, she knew. Though there was still part of her that worried and wondered if he would be safe, even now. Perhaps it was because she loved him so deeply. She'd dreamed of him, so many times.

And she also knew she wanted to be with him.

Mamoru reached out and took her hand in his own. He was also staring at the storm on the horizon. Even from their position they could see water spouts and lighting and the crashing waves.

"You look so beautiful sitting here in the sunlight in your pretty blue dress. I like the color" he added.

Usagi couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks. She smiled at him, feeling a little shy, but he wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her close.

He looked down at her, his eyes glinting with emotion. "Usagi, you mean everything to me. I love you. I want to be yours and for you to be mine. I need you in my life."

She pushed him down, so he was laying on the grass and climbed over him so that she was straddling his hips, looking down into his face. "Chiba Mamoru," she said, in her most stern voice. Then she giggled. "I love you too." She bent and kissed him again. "And soon," she promised, "I'm going to marry you."

With a happy whoop he rolled her so that she was on her back and he was laying on top of her. "Make it soon," he whispered, and took her mouth in a passionate kiss. He licked along her bottom lip and she opened for him. Their tongues met and played together, their bodies fit like a puzzle piece locking into place. Their hearts thundered in time. When he pulled back to breathe he lifted himself enough to present her with a gift.

He held in front of her a rose, it wasn't red, or white, or really any color. It resembled a fire opal, with different colors glinting from a pearlescent surface. She reached out and touched one of the silky-smooth petals in awe.

"What kind of rose is that?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I just made it. But I think I'm going to call it a MoonRose. In honor of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen." He grinned and gave her a kiss. He laid one hand on the ground and closed his eyes. A series of vines crisscrossed up the trees around them with tiny roses budding and opening along them.

"For you Usako. Because you are everything I didn't even know I needed." His look was shy, and she couldn't help but kiss him.

"I feel the same way Mamo-chan. I couldn't imagine my life without you now. If I lost you..." she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I know," he murmured, and then he was pushing her back into the grass and kissing her. "I would die too."

Neither questioned that type of devotion. They simply understood its existence, and that without the other they could never be truly whole.

His hands went to her sides and he toyed with the straps that held her dress together. "I want to make love with my fiancé," he said.

"I want you too," Usagi whispered, meeting his eyes. Reaching for the ties, she started working on them, but he stopped her.

"Let me, please?"

With a simple nod she answered, and then felt the straps come undone. He pulled the front half of her dress over her head before untying the string in his own wrap and setting it off to the side.

A moment later skin met skin and it felt right and beautiful. They explored one another, touching and tasting as they moved together in the soft grass, which seemed to grow thicker and softer under her back. He spread her open and stared at her, before bending his head for a taste of her womanhood. She moaned under him, lifting her hips to encourage the exploration. Fingers entered her, and she screamed in pleasure, her own fingers diving into his thick silky hair. He brought her to orgasm, crying his name out.

She wanted to feel and taste him too, and so she rolled him over and took him in her mouth, touching and teasing him until he rolled them back again and moved up her body, torturing her nipples with teeth and tongue.

"Do you want this Usako? Do you want me?" he asked, his voice coming in pants.

"Yes, always. Please Mamo-chan. Please." And he entered her with one long, slow stroke, filling her completely. Neither noticed the breeze that flowed over their skin, but they heard a gentle tinkling music on the air and saw the mix of silvery golden light closing over them. As their bodies met a small dome of that same light covered them, shielding them in an ancient form of protection.

Ribbons of light encircled the lovers as they met, parted, and met again. Two ragged souls were healed over and mended, half of his for her, and half hers for him, so that they were one, forever. She sighed as they closed together. In unison they spoke. "I possess and am possessed. Forever mated and unified with you. I will protect and cherish, hold and succor until my dying breath."

The ribbons continued to circle around them, sinking into their skin as they connected the two lovers. She could feel his need as though it was her own, and their passion rose as her need was amplified in his mind, and his in hers in a loop that grew and grew until they exploded together.

::I love you Usako:: His voice spoke into her mind.

::I love you Mamo-chan:: she returned with a tired smile.

All at once their past life memories entered them, flashing images of their time together on the Earth and the Moon, the lives they had known, and the war they had fought. She had been a princess on the moon, he a prince on the earth. Serenity slid into Usagi, Endymion into Mamoru, no more than memories. Their time was over, and now was for the two who had finally found one another. Both panted, finding it almost painful. Mamoru rolled slightly to the side and pulled her into his arms again, wrapping her in his embrace. And finally, they slept, lying there in the grass, peacefully. Soul-Bonded once more.

The storm circling the island faded away to nothingness.

***Mamoru's POV***

When they woke from their impromptu nap, Usagi groaned and refused to take her chest away from his. He frowned, unsure what to make of the action.

"What's wrong?" he asked, hoping it was nothing he had done.

"My nipples hurt," she whispered.

"Was I too rough?" he asked, worried.

She shook her head. "No. It started earlier. The storm is causing chilly winds and it makes them ache."

Mamoru lifted his head to look at the storm on the horizon, and gasped. The storm was gone. Completely. It took him several long minutes to speak.

"Look," he whispered.

Usagi lifted her head and peeked. She gasped, and then frowned. One hand came up to cover her mouth. "Oh no!"

"What?" He looked around for danger and found none. He sat up and pulled her into his lap. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized where the storm came from, and why it wasn't acting like a normal storm."

He frowned, waiting for her to continue.

"Mamo-chan, the storm started right after I got stung by the jellyfish." He nodded. He already knew that. "It continued until the minute our Soul-Bond reforged." He nodded again. Then gasped.

"I made it?" he asked, shocked.

Usagi bit her lip. "You were so angry, but you've been keeping it hidden so that you could take care of me. How much do you remember of being Endymion? I remember Endymion had control over any and all elements on earth. Wind, rain, lightning, water. Everything."

Mamoru frowned. He had to figure out how his emotions were linked to his powers and learn to control that. Control himself. He'd always prided himself on his self-control. He barely remembered his life as Endymion, but pulled at the memories, bringing them to the surface.

He'd been taught as a young child in his past life. He'd known how to access all the elements, and how to heal, how to create life from nothing, how to fight, how to protect. He was just barely touching the surface of his powers. By his current age, Endymion had already known how to teleport, read people's memories, and had thirteen years of sword and combat training. He had a lot to catch up on if he wanted to help defeat the Negaverse.

He'd never been as frightened or as angry as he'd been the past few days. He knew that was a major part of why his powers were out of control. He would have to focus on the one bright thing in his life to keep calm. He thought maybe they should have a signal. Perhaps she could raise an eyebrow or something to remind him. He was determined to learn how before they went back to civilization.

"I need to make sure I don't hurt anyone when we go back to Tokyo," he said quietly.

"I'll help you," Usagi promised. "We can talk to each other in our minds now," she reminded him. "You can just talk to me if you get really upset."

He nodded, thankful to have her. They both got up and pulled their clothing back on. Going inside they had a meal of fish and fruit and then he took her to bed. He wanted to show her again and again, just how much he loved her.