Hi everyone!

This is quite a short update, I felt like I wouldn't do everyone justice if this chapter hadn't been released soon after the last one.

Chapter 30: In Between Duties

"Care to swing by for coffee?"

Her feet took its course like it was automatically carrying her, rushing toward the front of his house making her head spin. Maybe it was the alcohol? But she had coffee already. She rang the doorbell, momentarily forgetting his house's security code. And as if he was just waiting for her, the door swung open quickly, the raven-haired starlight's one arm pulling her close to him for a demanding kiss, and securing the door with the other.

Moving toward the nearest wall, he pinned her momentarily, as they continued to kiss, her hands entangled into his jet black hair. His hands moving underneath her shirt across her soft skin but strong and lean core, he kissed her with such urgency that the senshi of the sky had not caught up to his pace. Gasping for air, she broke away from the kiss.

Lips falling on to her neck, he breathed in the sweet, lingering fragrance from her, before planting wet kisses behind her ear and down to her neck. Haruka leaned backward, her arms clinging around his neck for support because her knees had nearly buckled.

This wasn't how she had foreseen her night would go, but that one intense kiss in the afternoon was enough to set her desire for Seiya ablaze, unable to quench it. His every action seemed to consume her. And rapidly, helplessly, she was falling deep.

She had nearly forgotten what it was like to be in love.

"Seiya…"

She sighed, softly whispering his name breathlessly, as the raven-haired starlight's kisses dropped lower toward her chest. At that, Seiya could not contain it anymore, picking her up from each side of her legs, making the senshi of the sky let out a deep, husky moan. Both now feeling the undeniable lust they had for each other, each betrayed by the growing heat from the center of their hips. He captured her lips once again with his, his tongue furiously fighting with hers, bringing her to his kitchen.

Placing her gently on the dark granite kitchen countertop where the coffee had just finished brewing, he felt her slender hands tug at his shirt where it was tucked. Taking the hint, they both nearly tore it off, letting it fall to the ground. It was her turn to trace kisses along his jawline down to his chest before he pulled her up to him for another impassioned kiss. He now worked through the buttons of her sleeveless shirt, exposing a pair of full, perfect, round breasts, cupped by a delicate, sheer, white lace bra, with intricate patterns on its lace.

He broke away from the kiss, appreciating what was in front of her, before diving in between her breasts, inhaling her scent, kissing her, devouring her, causing his tall blonde neighbor to let out a mix between a gasp and a moan, her voice an octave higher than usual. His every move driving her a bit closer to the edge of pleasure and insanity.

Inwardly, Haruka thanked Michiru for the lingerie advice.

The deep aroma of freshly brewed coffee reached Seiya's senses, making him pause and smile into the tall blonde's chest. It had been brewing since the time he came home from the date.

"Coffee?" a sided smile on him as he teased, looking up at her.

"Later," she growled a mix of annoyance, need, and command interlaced written in her tone and on her face, as her grip on his hair tightened. Letting out a deep rumbling laugh, he happily obliged. With one sweep, he pulled her shorts and underwear, throwing them to the couch as he continued his kissing journey from her chest, down to her stomach, and further down to his intended destination.

Blinking sleepily and feeling a slight headache, she started to remember where she was. Soft lights outlined the room that had a deep gray ceiling and dark cement colored walls. Most of the pieces in the room were very industrial—simple and stripped back dark wood, black metal, leather, and copper pieces. An abstract painting of what seemed to be the shape of a red butterfly hung in one of the walls.

The raven-haired man beside her had spooned her throughout their slumber, her back against his sleeping form, legs entangled with his, the midnight blue velvet sheets barely covering them. His arm had secured her waist close to him and she could feel like breathe on her nape. There was a soft, nagging sound that slowly roused the ash-blonde from her sleep. As the sound began to register, she recognized what it was: her communicator from the future was beeping downstairs.

A wave of nausea washed over her as gasped, quickly sitting up, jolting the raven-haired starlight from his sleep. It was like a rude awakening from a very beautiful dream—that she still has to face the future fights and fight the fear that had been enshrouding her. Eventually, she would have to face her own failures. She scrambled to get up, making a mad rush for her henshin wand downstairs.

"You sure you're transforming naked? I mean, if you needed to detransform afterward…." he called out, holding his head as he sat up. The wind senshi however, seemed to continue to retrieve her things that were scattered across Seiya's living room. Haruka rushed back into the room, just as he was able to put on some clothing.

"You're right about that," she said lowly, a glint in her eye as she grabbed her lingerie from the nightstand. Finally able put on all of her clothes, she set to transform, henshin wand on one hand. He took a hold of her wrists, gently detaining her for a moment, making her turn to him. His expression was dead serious as they both struggled for control.

"Seiya, I don't have the time key. Setsuna's going to be here in any second now," she said through her teeth, annoyed at what she felt was meddling.

"I know," he said calmly, still looking deep into her eyes, reading her. Seeing the fear and doubt that still was in her. She looked away, not wanting to show him the vulnerability that she knew was already seeping through her expression.

"Haruka," he said firmly, but softly, loosening his grip on her before grabbing the shoulders. The senshi of the sky chanced a look at him.

"You're going to come home to me after this. There's still the present after this." He gave her a reassuring smile, doing his best to encourage her without much clue on what's going in the future.

"Yes, there is the present after this fight," she whispered, returning a small smile. Having someone to go home to sure does feel quite reassuring. If the present is a way to fight and undo her mistakes in the future, and Seiya was in the present, then maybe, things might just go okay.

"I mean, we haven't even started drinking that coffee from last night," he added, making both of them laugh briefly, remembering the night that they just shared a few hours ago. Haruka pulling him down by the collar of his robe for a kiss on the lips, still holding the henshin wand in her hand.

It beeped again, causing both to break away from the kiss. Someone from the communicator attached to it was speaking.

"Uranus, are you okay? I've been ringing your doorbell for a while now." It was the senshi of time., her voice laced with worry.

"Uuhh… Hai hai. Just give me a second, I was in… um, in the bathroom," the senshi of the sky pulled away from the raven-haired starlight, transforming into Sailor Uranus.

"You kn"— she started saying.

"Yes, I know the drill, my love," he smirked, making a face, turning to open the doorway to his home.

A very surprised Setsuna was standing at Haruka's doorway, detransformed. Eyes wide, but not entirely surprised at seeing Seiya, she scanned him from head to toe: He was wearing a pair of dark blue pajamas, a deep green robe with no shirt inside, revealing his perfectly sculpted torso.

"In here, Setsuna," he winked, revealing Sailor Uranus who was half hiding behind him, a shade of red on her cheeks.

"Oookay, I did not expect that," Setsuna looked at her nails, blushing as well, casually entering the house before transforming. And sure, the olive-skinned woman didn't, because even if she held the time gates, she doesn't know everything that has been happening to the senshi. Not especially new decisions obviously have recently been made.

"Well let's go then, Sailor Uranus," the senshi of revolution said, clearing her throat, trying to regain composure from what had just been accidentally revealed to her.

"Pluto, I…" Haruka started.

"I don't want to know," Pluto nearly sang, giving the ash-blonde senshi a side-eye that obviously said otherwise.

"I'll bring her back safely," the olive-skinned woman added, nodding at the leader of the Starlights in front of her.

An amused smile on him, Seiya nodded back. "Thank you, Setsuna. If we can catch up casually with Uranus one of these days, that would be great."

"Yes, definitely. We shall."

The two outer senshi held on to the garnet rod. And with a flash of light from the garnet rod, they disappeared into the future.

As they did, Seiya walked back into his living room, his eyebrows furrowed. He had read into his neighbor's eyes—aside from the feelings that he could read from her, there was something that seems to have clouded her judgment about herself. He felt like it was something that he had seen before Galaxia. Opening a small drawer from the coffee table. In it was a communicating device from Kinmoku. As he sat down, he started typing onto it.

"Hey Taiki, Yaten. How are you guys doing? Do you remember what Slayer had encountered before? I think it's here. Hope to hear from you soon." Sending the message to the stars, he closed the device and hid it back into the compartment, deep in thought.

In the series, Pluto was not allowed to leave her post except for grave danger. For the purposes of this story, let's assume that these rules have been relaxed since Galaxia's defeat and that she's allowed to leave her post on certain occasions.

Slayer is not part of the Sailormoon series but is a character that will be briefly mentioned in this story.