VI. Sognando (Dreaming)
TW/CW: some slight sexual content
Princess Neptune closed her eyes, resting her head on Princess Uranus' shoulder, and snuggling close into her sighed. She inhaled slowly, taking in the spicy citrus scent from Uranus' neck, before sighing in content. She heard the rumble of a chuckle in Uranus' chest before feeling a pair of lips press against her forehead.
"The Queen will be looking for us soon," Princess Uranus said, moving to wrap her right arm around Princess Neptune's shoulders, pulling her in closer.
"Just a few more minutes," she quietly answered.
"We really shouldn't have snuck off."
"It's not like you put up a fight," Princess Neptune said, reaching her right hand up and toying with the neckline of her dress, lightly trailing a fingernail along her cleavage. Princess Uranus took a hold of her hand and rubbed the glittering aquamarine gemstone set in a ring on her right ring finger. Princess Neptune moved her hand around so that hers lay on top of Princess Uranus', their fingers slipping in between each other's. A matching cobalt ring was seated on Uranus right ring finger.
"We should move these to the other hand," Princess Uranus whispered.
Princess Neptune opened her eyes, before slowly sitting up. She turned to face her partner, reaching up and placing a hand on her cheek, curling her fingers in her short blonde hair at the nape of her neck. "What'd you say?"
Princess Uranus laughed before leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together. "You heard what I said."
"I know, I just want to hear you say it again."
Princess Uranus moved closer, their lips lightly touching. "We should wake up."
"No!" Princess Neptune shook her head. "No, I don't want to," Princess Neptune said. She tightly gripped Princess Uranus' dress by her left hip, holding her close. She again buried her face in her neck, inhaling deeply. The spicy and citrus scent was quickly fading. "Not now."
"Michiru, it's time to get up."
Michiru squeezed her eyes tightly before slowly opening them. She turned her head when she felt a hand reach out and brush some of her hair out of her face. She looked up as Kasumi came into focus, a regretful smile on her face.
"You tell me to try and get some sleep and then you don't want me to," Michiru whispered. She reached up and rubbed her eyes before turning over on her side.
Kasumi reached out and rubbed Michiru's back, letting her nails trail alone on her porcelain color skin. "You told me to let you sleep, not to let you dream," she pointed out. "Was it the same one?"
"No, it was one of the better ones." Michiru grabbed a spare pillow and held it tightly to her chest. She buried her face into the fabric and breathed deeply.
"I could tell," Kasumi answered. She then snickered as Michiru held the pillow tighter. "Would you like me to give you some alone time with your pillow? Or rather your hand?"
Michiru sat up and pushed the pillow into Kasumi's stomach. "Don't be uncouth," she ordered, fighting a smile. Kasumi nodded once before frowning as Michiru turned and covered her mouth, attempting to hide a yawn.
"You need to slow down on the astral projection. You're becoming more and more weak."
"I know." Michiru pushed the bedcovers off her legs before turning to sit at the side of the bed. She reached over and picked her Deep Aqua Mirror up off the nightstand before looking into it. "I didn't think it would be this hard."
"Maybe it isn't your job to wake her up," Kasumi said. "She may have to do it on her own."
Michiru sighed hard. "I don't want to bring anyone into this, but that's my mission and we don't have much time. The destruction can happen at any moment." She gently placed her mirror onto the bed before leaning forward and holding her head in her hands.
Kasumi scrambled off the bed and came around to the side of the bed. She got down on her knees and grabbed a hold of Michiru's hands. "Neptune," she said quietly. Michiru slowly lifted her head to look at her lady in waiting. "M'lady, I understand."
"No, you don't." Michiru shook her head. "You don't understand what it feels like to have found your partner, and you can't be with her." Kasumi winced as Michiru's grip tightened but continued to hold on. "You don't know what it feels like to be lonely. Standing at the outskirts of space in silence, constantly being on alert." A faraway look slowly entered her eyes. "And yet, watching them have normal lives, having fun. I forget what that feels like."
Michiru removed her hand from Kasumi's grasp before picking up the mirror once more. Her reflection changed to that of a schoolgirl with two round buns with pigtails, sitting outside of the Crown Game Parlor, talking to a girl with blue hair.
"What do you see?" Kasumi asked.
"This cute girl," Michiru said, turning the mirror around to show Kasumi the reflection.
"The one from the concert."
"Tsukino Usagi." Michiru nodded. "This mirror can show me the truth. Lately, it has been showing me this girl, and nothing else. And I don't understand why." She turned the mirror back towards herself and peered hard at the girl. Soon the image turned back to Michiru's reflection. "Why is she significant?"
Kasumi gently pulled the Deep Aqua Mirror from Michiru's hands and carefully placed it back onto the nightstand. "M'lady, you are worrying about too many things at once," she said quietly. "Is there anything I can do to put your mind at ease?"
Michiru titled her head to the side, her flowing hair falling into her face and covering an eye. "Why ask, when you already have an idea?" she questioned, the corner of her lips curling up.
Kasumi smiled before leaning up and capturing Michiru's bottom lip in a kiss, ending with a bite. Michiru sighed contently as she moved her right hand to hold the back of Kasumi's neck, pulling her in closer. She scooted back on the bed, Kasumi climbing on top, and relaxing as Kasumi began to kiss and bite her neck.
Michiru slipped her left hand up the back of Kasumi's shirt and began to trail her nails lightly against her skin, smiling to herself as goosebumps erupted over Kasumi's skin. She then shivered uncontrollably when Kasumi moved to nibble on her earlobe.
"You can pretend I'm Uranus, if it helps," Kasumi whispered into her ear.
Michiru slowly shook her head, before moving her hands to Kasumi's shoulders, pushing lightly. Kasumi pulled back and looked down at her in confusion. A flush began to smear her chest and move into her neck. "It won't help. I only want the real thing." Michiru then moved to unbutton the front of Kasumi's shirt, biting her lip once her round breasts came into view. "But right now, I want the real you." Michiru roughly pulled the shirt off Kasumi's torso before leaning up and nibbling on her coral-colored areolas.
"As you wish, M'lady," Kasumi sighed.
Michiru received her shopping bag from the cashier with a gracious smile and turned to leave the small boutique. Two girls who were sharing some food on a bench, froze in place when they saw her leaving the building. The let out a loud shriek and waved excitedly, their screams rising in pitch as Michiru politely waved back.
Michiru then let out a light grunt as she pumped into someone. Her purse slipped off her shoulder and fell to the ground. Her Deep Aqua Mirror fell out and skidded along the pavement along with some pens, a tube of lip gloss, a pack of mints, and a pocket-sized sewing kit.
"Oh, excuse me," the man said, bending down to assist with Michiru's items. Michiru held her purse open so that he could scoop the items back inside. The two touched the Deep Aqua Mirror at the same time. Michiru paused when she locked eyes with his reflection. The face of the mirror flashed to an image of the man wearing armor. A moment later it faded back to normal.
Michiru received her mirror back from the man. "Those eyes," she commented, moving to stand up, "…were you a prince in a past life?" she asked.
The man's eyebrows rose in surprise as he stood to his full height. Before he could respond, he was jolted by a pair of arms wrapping around his left arm. He looked down and smiled at the young blond girl beaming up at him, before turning her attention back to Michiru.
"He's my prince right now," she said excitedly, before gasping loudly. "Oh! Kaioh-san!". Usagi quickly composed herself before smiling brightly. "I mean, good afternoon."
"Hello Tsukino-chan." Michiru smiled warmly. "It's nice to see you again."
Usagi squealed. "I really enjoyed your performance the other day. You're so talented," she rushed. "I wish I could do that."
"Well, I'm sure you have plenty of talents." Michiru turned her attention over the man at Usagi's side. "Otherwise, this handsome gentleman wouldn't be accompanying you." She smiled. "You must be the boyfriend."
Usagi looked between the two of them, before tightening her grip around Mamoru's arm. "Oh, yeah. I think I'm just lucky," she said, her smile slightly fading.
"People don't always align due to luck," Michiru said. "Sometimes it's just meant to be."
Mamoru looked past Michiru's shoulder. He went to motion her to the side but found that she was already to the side. "Excuse me miss," a gruff voice said. Michiru moved further to the side to allow space to two gentlemen carrying a large aquarium filled with tropical fish. She smiled happily at the colorful coral and fauna in the tank.
"Oh, Mamo-chan, look," Usagi said happily, peering closely at the fish. "How pretty!"
"They must be for the new store that's opening down the street," Mamoru pointed out.
Michiru gasped in shock as one of the men stumbled, causing the tank to dip low. Water splashed out over the sides of the tank, spilling onto the ground, and sprinkling her legs, and wetting her arm. Michiru raised her arm to her nose, and sniffed, detecting hints of salt.
"Um, it was a pleasure to meet you, but I must be off," Michiru said in a rush. She gave them both a polite smile before speed walking down the street. She glanced down at her watch to gauge the time before quickly side stepping a pedestrian. The sudden movement cause her to drop her shopping bags.
"Excuse me, miss," a man said, reaching out to steady her.
Michiru pulled her arm away. "My apologizes," she said before continuing her quick movements.
"I wonder what she's in a rush about," Mamoru commented.
Usagi shrugged before spotting her bags onto the ground. She ran over and carefully picking them up. "Kaioh-san, you dropped your bag," she called out as Michiru disappeared from site around a corner. Usagi turned to Mamoru, holding up the bag. "I'm going to try and catch up to her to return these. I'll meet you at Rei's shrine," she called out. Mamoru nodded once in agreement.
Michiru broke out into a sprint as soon as she turned the corner. Light on her feet, she easily moved around pedestrians that were mingling about and shopping. She heard the commotion once people recognized her as she whipped by. Colors of the various storefronts that were once blurs began to sharpen as she began to slow down, her legs becoming heavier.
"Not yet," she gasped. "Please, not yet." Upon coming to an intersection, Michiru spotted a sign pointing to a park overlooking the Tokyo Bay. She quickly headed in that direction. Michiru rubbed her wet arm on the bottom of her skirt, drying to dry the skin. She winced at the deep red mark that formed on her arm but ignored the stinging pain as she felt her legs lightening, slightly increasing her speed.
"Kaioh-san," a light voice called out.
Michiru didn't have time to turn around to address the person calling out to her. Up ahead was a railing surrounding a half circle lookout point. Four telescopes pointed in the direction of the water, overlooking buildings and ships in the distance.
Upon reaching the fencing of the overlook point, Michiru swiftly stepped onto the top railing and performed a swan dive into the salty water. She slowly let out a breath as her legs fused together into an aquamarine-colored fin. Her clothing disappeared in a flash of bright light.
Michiru let the churning water relax her. Her hair billowed up around her shoulders, and a stary fish fluttered by her side. The muted world felt like a comfort, allowing her racing thoughts to slow down. "That was close," she sighed in relief. She swam up close to the surface of the water. Peering out the dancing water, she was about to make her way back to the overlook but stopped once she spotted Usagi's distorted picture. Michiru turned, flicked her tail, and sped off.
"Oh," Usagi gasped. She squeezed her eyes shut and before opening them once more. An aquamarine fin barely broke the surface of the water, before disappearing into the depths. "A mermaid?".