Title: "Just One Day"

Fandom: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

Prompt: 1104 (Hold Your Breath)

Character/Pairing: Brigid/Mizuno Ami, Zoisite; Zoisite x Ami

Rating: T / PG-13 / Teen

Word Count: 1,433

Summary: "Just one day," he'd say. She knew there would come a time she'd regret listening.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Authors Notes: Silver Millennium. vbabe1 has this Z/A pic on dA titled "To Protect Important People", and I'm like 99% sure that – when she said what I used as the epitaph in the description – she was referring to her own life and not waxing poetic like I made it. But given the context of the picture, and how it all sounded, there was just…fic happens, ok?

"Just One Day"

"It's amazing what I can do in one day by forgoing all important things.

…I'll regret it. I know."

vbabe1 on deviantART

The pile of charts on her desk isn't getting any smaller.

And people are starting to talk.

But, in a twist from the usual events, he's snuck away just for her…and he can be rather persuasive when he tries.

His lips are against her neck as his fingers thread through her own, making her drop her pen as he tugs them away from her paperwork.

"Pay attention to me," he entreats without having to say the words. "I came all this way. Just for you."

She could accomplish so much if she just stayed and did her work. Focused on the important things that needed focusing on. She'll regret it later, she knows, when she's scrambling to meet her deadlines and Luna is looking for the report she hasn't gotten to yet and Artemis has broken the console yet again and…

But in that moment, he is intoxicating, and she thinks he can be considered an important thing, too.

– V –

Before him, she had never played hooky.

She was the studious one. The serious one. Committed and dedicated to her work. The concept of 'playing hooky' was alien to her, just as the term 'mental health day' could not be found in her lexicon. People depended on her, and she could not let them down. It was her duty. Her responsibility.

He is her weakness.

"You're getting as bad as Serenity," she chides when he enters her study. He is on his knees beside her, worming his way between her and the desk in order to rest his head on her lap. His arms entwine around her middle, and he sighs when a hand drops to tangle in his curls.

"You don't come with her anymore," he nearly whines. Her lips quirk at the petulance in his voice, though her breath catches in her throat as he nuzzles against her. "I'm beginning to experience withdraw."

"You can't withdraw from a person," she says matter-of-factly. He pushes her chair back and stands, just enough to be level with her head so he can quickly peck at her lips.

"Can't you?" he asks. She sighs against his lips as he kisses her again. "Just one day, mo chara. Endymion's had these fountains installed in the north gardens, and I've been dying to show you."

"My work…" she protests, but they both know it's half-hearted at best. Somehow she's never been able to say no to him.

"Will still be here tomorrow," he coos. "Come with me. Please."

She still has so much to finish, but somehow…she's never been able to say no to him.

– V –

He fills her life with firsts.

He is the first time another person honestly perplexes her. When they first meet, she is certain he is nothing but a common soldier. Perhaps slightly more skilled, as he is introduced as one of Prince Endymion's personal guards, but a soldier nonetheless. She's had enough experiences with soldiers to know he won't surprise her. Until he does.

He is her first fight. She is level-headed, cool, calm, collected…and he can frustrate her so dizzyingly that she forgets herself entirely. She's never shouted at someone so violently before, and he has the nerve to just laugh at her with unbridled joy – and it only incenses her more.

He's her first kiss. She stops yelling long enough to demand just what is so funny, and before she can prepare herself or deflect his advances he's holding her face and kissing her soundly. Her face feels as hot as Fuchi's flames when he pulls back.

"I'm sorry. Truly I am," he laughs, still smiling at her, "but do you realize how bright your eyes get when you yell like that? You're gorgeous."

It's also the first time anyone has told her that. Beautiful, sure – given her station, given who she is, it's almost expected that she be considered beautiful. But gorgeous? And said so earnestly, by someone who has nothing to gain from the compliment?

"You're a puzzle, Brigid," he sighs before he kisses her again. She thinks she can understand why Hathor is always chasing after the palace guards now. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to loosen up. I am enthralled by you, and I would love for you to drop the niceties so I can actually get to know you."

He is the first time she thinks, just maybe, life could have meaning beyond serving her Princess. And that terrifies her.

– V –

She has too much work to finish when Serenity approaches her that evening. There are at least two more reports to edit to send off in the morning, and she still hasn't gotten to reviewing the experiment results Luna had asked her for the other day. But Serenity is nothing if not determined, and the thought of seeing the Northern King again is more appealing than those reports. Serenity doesn't have to really try before she's joining her on the planet below.

There's a little voice in the back of her mind bemoaning the sleep she'll lose because of those unfinished reports.

The way his eyes light up when she steps into the moonlight is worth it, though.

– V –

And it goes on, for months. Somehow it all balances out, and her sisters find no end of amusement in how flustered the usually stoic princess has become.

She has responsibilities. Obligations. Duties.

He has her heart.

And, as it goes, she has his – and it's enough that, when Queen Serenity and Luna spy them dancing together at Serenity's birthday ball, they only smile and forgive the occasional missed deadline.

Because she's found love, and they are keen to see her so happy.

– V –

"Just one day, mo chara," he coos in her ear, and it's always one day. Just one day, he'd say, and she could never say no.

Except this time she must. This time, matters are too pressing – too important – to dismiss for later. No matter how enticing he is.

"Zoisite, no," she says, shrugging away from him as she tries to study the screens before her. They cannot wait. He can. He must.

"Please," he whispers, his lips dancing along the shell of her ear. She shivers, and his lips curl in a grin. He is certain he is wearing her down. "Just a few hours. I must return tonight, and I cannot say when I will be able to come back. Give me the afternoon, a stór."

It's a dirty trick, and they both know it. As is the look he gives her when she turns her head, his green eyes beseeching and teasing all at once. That playful look is always her undoing.

"Which is exactly why I can't, love," she sighs. "Endymion needs these reports for your mission. If your party went out unprepared and something happened, I would never forgive myself."

"You're just going over them to make sure we didn't miss anything," he says. "We are as prepared as we can be, Brigid. They have already been reviewed. Beryl is a trusted advisor of the King – I have faith she would not lead us astray. I will leave for the far North in the morning, and I will return…not soon enough, which is why you should spend your afternoon with me. I will miss you, a stór."

She'll regret it, she knows – she usually does – but still she gives him those hours. She spends her afternoon getting lost in him, and it's too soon when he must slip away with one last kiss and a promise to return. Her work is still there waiting for her when she goes back to her study, her skin still flushed from his ardent attentions.

– V –

There is one line in the report, barely a blip hidden amidst the technical jargon and numbers and figures reporting the status of things in Terra's far North. Slightly elevated levels in the dark energy readings they had been monitoring, which had remained constant for over a year as the Shadow slept.

She would have seen it, had she not been so thoroughly distracted.

"Just one day," he had begged, she thinks bitterly as Prince Endymion hands her the missive Zoisite's scouting party had barely managed to get out before…

She can't stand the tears in Serenity's eyes as her Princess watches her. She hates the wary way Endymion regards her, as if he knows…

Just one day. A few hours.

She had known she would regret it.

She usually does.