Cats And Rabbits

I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.

Nine:

"Mina, have you met my cousin Kunzite?"

"Err... Yes, Endy, we have met."

Darien fought down a triumphant smile at the slightly guilty look that crossed Kunzite's face as he introduced Mina to him. "You've met! Oh dear me, have I been neglecting you, my darling Mina?" He was gratified to see Mina shift uncomfortably.

"Oh Endy! How could you ever believe that you were neglecting me?"

Darien neatly passed Mina off to one of his long haired cousins, he could hardly believe his good luck. Apparently while he hid with Bunny in the drafty store room the most trying of the Princesses had bonded with his cousins. They were still out to hunt Prince, but they could sometimes be contented to stand around conversing with the Shitennou.

As he slipped out of the ballroom he contemplated the virtues his cousins possessed for attracting women. It must be the long hair; it was the only virtue that most of his cousins shared that could be considered attractive. He paused as his eyes fell on Jadeite and Princess Mars; perhaps it was something else entirely.

He cast one final glance over the party, searching for a blonde that he hadn't seen at all that evening, and continued down the hallway.

"Drew?" Andrew De'Franco was certainly a blonde that Darien hadn't seen all day, but he was not the one that Darien had begun searching for. One look at his friend, however, told Darien that his blonde minx would have to wait; Andrew was slumped on the floor, half hidden in an alcove.

"Your majesty."

Darien blinked. His friend had never called him Endymion, the dejected formality with witch Andrew spoke said volumes. "Let's go have a drink at the Bell, Andrew." Darien tried to keep his tone light even as his eyes narrowed in concern.

"I've given up drinking."

"Since when?" Darien demanded.

Shrugging, the blonde man's answer was non-committal, "I'm not sure."

"You've got to be kidding!" He felt all of his exasperation from the day boiling up again; all he had wanted was to go spend sometime basking in the light of Bunny's smile, now he had to deal with his newly sober friend. In truth, Darien had no clue what to do with this new teetotaler; they had always gone to the Bell and Ox at the first sign of morose thinking.

"Don't worry about it, your highness. I'm sure you have more important things to attend to."

"When have I ever abandoned you?"

"But you would."

Darien sighed, squatting down in the hall way with his friend. Bunny would have to wait.

Sailor Mercury paused wide eyed, with her hand frozen on the door knob. "There is no Sailor Moon."

"Indeed there is, and she demands that you stand with her."

The blue haired woman turned cautiously, she couldn't seem to compose her features into a courtly mask. "No one in their right mind would make such a claim." She whispered. She had meant to hiss the words threateningly, but she knew the awe in her voice before she heard it. She knew the last part of the statement, even as she struggled against it. No one in their right mind would make such a claim, unless she was absolutely certain.

Bunny knew it too; she stood poised as she watched the other woman struggling with herself. Every inch of the blonde said that she was cool and collected.

One of the only things that every planet in the solar system had in common was the legend of Sailor Moon. The legend had been unfulfilled for so long that only the royal families remembered it and even among the royalty it was more of a bed time story; it was a romantic myth that no one took seriously.

"Who?" Sailor Mercury finally squeaked.

"The Princess."

Bunny saw the wheels turning behind Sailor Mercury's eyes, only two conclusions could be drawn. The first was that Bunny herself was the Princess and thus Sailor Moon; the second was that Bunny was authorized to tell these things by the princess herself.

"So be it." Sailor Mercury nodded to the blonde woman who stood across from her. "The Planet Mercury will stand with the Moon, I will bring Princess Minako of Venus to state her planet's intentions."

Bunny nodded, tossing the door's key to the Sailor Scout. "You may speak to the Mare Serenitatis."

Sailor Mercury arched one eyebrow, but said nothing further. She had hoped for something more, something to indicate who the blonde in front of her was.

"Don't forget to drop your transformation."

Sailor Mercury winced, she had been about to open the door and step into the world as Sailor Mercury. The blonde had flustered her enough that she had almost told the Universe that she was Sailor Mercury, when previously she could count those who knew on one hand.

The smile dropped from Darien's face as he turned a corner and had to dodge the very flustered looking Princess Mercury. He tried to smile and bow, but the blue haired woman rounded the corner and rushed down the hall. Darien glared after her; he had never been so affronted by a Princess.

He tried to shake it off, he had something to do. He hadn't wanted to waste his time in idle chatter with a besotted princess anyway.

Darien began pacing the hallway, hoping to remember where he had come across Bunny reading. It was the only place he had any hope of finding the blonde, otherwise he could only tear the palace apart looking for her. If she was hiding in the store room again things would be easy.

After a few minutes his impatience got the best of him; the element of surprise be damned, all he wanted was to dump the petit blonde in his lap and talk to her for hours. He began opening doors, one after another. At first he would open the door, slip into the room and look around; but soon he resorted to opening the door and sticking his head in. It wasn't until after he had moved on that he realized that there had been a person in one of the store rooms.

Darien grinned, and back tracked.

There she was; seated primly on a box, staring sadly out of the misty glass window.

"Bunny!" He felt her name leave him in a rush, like a prayer of thanks.

She turned, sadness in her eyes as she looked at him. "I'm sorry."

"No." He didn't know what she meant, but the look in her eyes pulled at his heart strings. He would have said anything to make her smile. "Don't be sorry." He had crossed the room in three strides; squatting down next to the box he took her small hands in his. "Don't be sorry for anything, Bunny."

"I'm sorry."

He rose, moving slowly, still grasping Bunny's hands in his.

"Dance with me, then." He grinned, pulling her up into his arms. "I'll forgive you anything if you dance with me." He had both arms around her waist, not the best form for dancing but it allowed him to keep her close. He started to rock gently back and forth, humming a waltz as he rested his head on top of hers.

"Forgive me life." The blonde whispered into his shirt. She took a deep breath, relishing Darien's completely masculine musky smell.

Darien grinned. "Never." He gently kissed the top of her head. "If I forgave you for living it would mean your life had been contrary to mine, but it has only brought me hope and happiness." He paused, considering. "I love you, Bunny." He heard her gasp and felt her stiffen almost imperceptibly. "I found a friend when I expected only misery. I found a woman who can think for herself when I expected only airheads. I found a woman who doesn't defer to me, even though I'm above her station. I found love. I found you."

"Darien." Her voice sounded strained, broken even.

"Stay with me, Bunny. Stay here as my soul mate. Stay with me." She started to move away, but he tightened his grip on her waist. "Stay with me."

There next moment seemed to stretch out for an eternity; they had stopped moving, the weight of the Prince's request bearing down upon them. Darien stood with his heart in his eyes while Bunny stared at his chest, her imagination flying to a happy future with children and love.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say yes, wanting love. "It can't work." Darien's grip sagged, and she tore away. She moved to the window; standing with her back to the Prince she was shocked that the dreary weather outside mirrored her mood. "You are the Crown Prince of the Earth, and I'm..." Her voice broke.

"You are a maid."

"I'm Lunarian." Silence reigned between the two, draping misery over them. "It can't work."

Darien turned away, running one hand through his hair in frustration, and began to pace. Once again he felt the bars of his gilded cage around him. He growled as he paced, never looking at the girl by the window. "I'll abdicate."

"No you won't."

"Why not? I don't want to be King, I don't want the responsibility or the power. I'm obviously not fit for the job, since I love you. And to top it off, I don't care about the people." He spoke to the boxes, afraid that if he looked at her she would see that he could never do it. Afraid that he would have to admit it to himself.

"That may be true, but you still love your parents too much to disappoint them so." The blonde spoke to the window, unable to meet her love's eyes over her deceptions. "Besides," There was a faint smile in her voice as she continued. "I think you do care, and you will be an amazing King."

Darien stopped moving, no one had ever said that to him before. He turned slowly; waiting for the young woman to laugh at her excellent joke, hoping that she would do it soon so that it would be less painful. "Really?"

"Really."

Darien turned back to the boxes again; he rammed a fist into one in irritation. "If only you were a Princess!" Why did the only woman who understood him have to be the one that he couldn't have.

"It still wouldn't work." Bunny sighed, wiping tears off of her cheeks. It was ironic that the Princess of true love would marry Darien and force three people to lose love. "If I were the Princess I would be your worst enemy, the embodiment of everything you hate and fear. If I were the princess you would use me, and cast me aside. Even if I were the Princess, we would have less than we have now."

Darien felt something feral stirring deep with in him; he released a throaty growl and crossed the room. With out thinking he took the petit blonde in his arms, leaned her back, and kissed her. For a moment she resisted, surprised, but then she gave in to the passion.

They finally broke away, gasping.

"Stay..." Darien gasped. "Stay as my lover, since you can't stay as my wife."

Bunny shook her head; it was hard to do with his taste lingering in her mouth and her heart pounding in her chest. "I love my home, and my people. I can't." Bunny started to move toward the door, aware that if she spent much more time with the Prince she would agree to something that could never work. "I can't." She murmured, more for herself than him.

"Fight for it."

Bunny turned, meeting Darien's eyes for the first time. "What?"

"We'll have a tournament. If I win you stay, if you win you can go."

Bunny was shaking her head before he finished speaking. "It's my life, Darien, not something you can wager in a bet. It's MY life."

"No wager then, just for fun." Darien tried to grin, he knew he failed. "Let me try to regain my honor, you beat me so soundly last time."

Bunny nodded and slipped out of the door.

I'm sorry it took me so long to update, I've been busy. I know it is no excuse, but that's all I've got. I've been working on the overall plot for this story, and I must say I like the way it is going to go; I hope you do too. So, tell me what you thought of this chapter, the good and the bad. Thanks for all of the reviews, the last chapter between Ami and Bunny was one of my favorites to write. You will get your reasons for the Lunarians wanting to protect the Earth, but not in the near future it comes at a specific point and I'm not going to change that for you guys, sorry. I'm using Maria as the parliament/congress on the Moon, but it comes from Lunar Maria (singularly Mare, the large dark basalt plains on the moon). - LS