Arieslily17: I'm back for the final chapter.
Nix: Yeah, by the way, you guys suck at reviewing. I mean, those of you who did were great, the ones who didn't suck.
Arieslily17: Thank you for putting that so nicely Nix. Seriously though, thank you to SVZ, DTN, PF Urd, Ab, The Tom of Justice aka Funkyhair, DragonStar, Spirited Aura, Cat-eyes, Kayla, Firenze, SilverCaladan, thescientist, Cougar2k2, marsgoddess1, sweet chaos, and even SaffireSoul2 for the reviews over the chapters. I really appreciate the comments, encouragement, and the criticism. Thank you as well for helping to make my first chapter fic a great writing experience for me. =)
Now onto what we've all been waiting for…the grand finale.
This Year's Girl
"Surprise!"
Was all I could hear as Usagi, Minako, Ami, Makoto, and Mamoru bombarded me with hugs upon my arrival home from school yesterday afternoon.
"What's going on? I thought you weren't going to do anything until tomorrow? Not that I'm not incredibly happy to see you all…" I said, bewildered.
"You have been so down the last few days that we couldn't wait any longer to try and cheer you up!" Mina said happily.
"Yes we all left school as soon as possible to help Grandpa set up. He has been wonderful about the switch and has been the biggest help so we could have as much time partying as possible before you had to go out tonight." explained Ami.
"I even managed to stay out of trouble so I wouldn't get detention!" Usa added proudly. I nodded my thanks and approval.
"So happy birthday Rei!" Mako shouted, "Let's have some fun! You'll forget all about what's-his-name."
At this mention of Trunks my mood darkened a little. Noticing my reaction, Mamoru squeezed my arm and said, "I'm going to go start the music." All I could do was smile and murmur "Wow. Thank you so much you guys. This was really sweet of you."
"It's nothing! Oh, the Outers said they'll be here in a little while. They had a couple of business things to take care of before they could get here. They wish you a very happy birthday." Usagi told me, as the others all shouted "Yeah! Happy birthday Rei!"
I smiled again, this time genuinely happy that my friends were there with me on this most hated of days.
The party was absolutely wonderful. Grandpa brought in the feast he and Mako had prepared, of all my favorite foods. They tasted great, though I only nibbled, as thoughts of the coming evening plagued me. Mamoru played the best music. The Outers showed up just as we were about to eat, then everyone sang for me as they presented the magnificent cake that Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru had brought with them. That was the "business" they had to take care of, apparently. It was just beautiful, all of it. We danced and sang, and had a wonderful time talking. Then they decided it was time for presents, because it was getting late.
"You guys really didn't have to do any of this. It's all so much." I exclaimed.
"Of course we did! It's your birthday!" Hotaru said, matter-of-factly.
One by one they handed me their presents. Usa gave me a bunch of new manga graphic novels…A sweet gesture, but I feel like I haven't read those in years. Ami presented me with a book of collected classic poems I have wanted to buy. Mako gave me a basket of arranged flowers with recipe cards and starter ingredients inside. From Setsuna I received a journal and a silver bracelet with a Casablanca charm, a rose charm, a dragon charm, and a firebird charm. She told me it was brought here from the past with all the charms but the lily, which she added herself. There was something she wasn't telling me about this bracelet, but I let it go…it was beautiful. Michiru and Haruka gave me a new keyboard. When they saw the astonished look on my face as I opened it, Michiru said, "Need you to keep practicing on the best equipment. We'd like you to accompany us in some of our concerts."
I screamed then, and hugged them both, and I couldn't stop thanking them. I love singing and playing the piano. Anything musical, really. It meant so much to me that this world famous musical duo would ask me to play with them. It was like a dream come true. Everyone was laughing at that point, and they decided we'd better finish up.
From Chibi-Usa and Hotaru I received a painting they'd done together before Chibi-Usa's last trip home to the future. It was a beautiful scene from Crystal Tokyo, which Hotaru mostly painted while Chibi-Usa described it for her. Hotaru explained later, while Grandpa was out of earshot, that Chibi-Usa had told her it was my favorite place in the future. I could understand that easily. I was so touched.
Mina gave me a certificate for a day at her favorite spa. "I thought it would be relaxing for you, and we could spend the day together!" She told me.
"It sounds like just the thing I need right now. Thanks." She can be flighty sometimes, but Mina really is a great best friend. She can be very empathetic when she cares to be…especially about things in her area of expertise.
Mamoru handed me a package with a perfect rose taped to the top. When he saw me eying it curiously he mentioned, "It's a special rose. One that will always bloom," and winked. Then I opened the box. Inside was a mixed CD of all my favorite songs, a small book of inspirational quotes which he told me was his favorite, and a decorated book. When I opened the book, I found it was full of quotes and messages from my friends, poems, song lyrics, pictures, and lots of other fun things.
"That's really from all of us, but I took care of compiling it. It's a memory book from the last few years, ever since we've known you." I started to cry as I flipped through it. My friends are the best people I know, and the sweetest. I couldn't believe that Mamoru had thought to do this. But then again, inspiration and hope are his gifts. Even still, it took a lot of effort on his part, and a lot of knowledge about me.
Mamoru is the brother I never had though, so he knows me fairly well. He's the only male besides Grandpa that I trust at all now. But then, he's the only male besides Grandpa that has proven himself worthy of my trust and admiration. He has saved our lives and taken care of all of us at one point or another. And he is always there for gentle, loving support whenever Usagi needs him. Plus, both of us being orphaned only-children gave us a common ground. Now we go to each other for advice or help, or if we just want to talk to someone who understands. Like I said, we're like the siblings neither of us ever had.
Grandpa said my present was still a surprise to be waited for, because it hadn't arrived on time. But he handed me a small, lumpy package that turned out to be a sweater. I can't imagine what more he would give me, but it's unnecessary. The sweater is soft and comfortable, what more could I need?
Anyway, I was handed one last box by Usagi.
"I don't know who this is from, but it was here when we arrived."
It was a big white box with dark red satin ribbons on it. I knew it well. It was the just the same as all the others from its sender, and a real happy mood killer.
"It's from my father." I said, frowning, without even having to look at the card.
"Well, open it already! I want to see what he sent you!" She exclaimed loudly.
"It's a box of Casablancas and a white dress, the same as every year. I don't want to see them right now." At this point, Grandpa walked out to the kitchen, a somber look on his face. He knows what these boxes do to me.
"Oh come on! I bet they're beautiful. If you won't, then can I?" Usa begged.
"Fine, Fine, I'll open it." I said, exasperatedly.
Slowly I slid the ribbons off the box. Then I carefully pulled up the lid. There, of course, were two dozen Casablancas, one dozen on either side of a smaller purple box in the middle.
Grandpa came back then from the kitchen with two vases and took the flowers quietly. I pulled out the smaller box and put the empty one aside. I was then holding a lavender carton slightly larger than a shoe box. Opening the lid, I peeked inside, and then pulled it off completely. There was a dress and this year shoes to match it, and two notes.
The dress was stunning. Everyone, who had been watching me in silence, started ooh-ing and ah-ing when I took it out. It had spaghetti straps that were made from two small tightly twisted straps on either shoulder. Tight at the top, it flowed gently down hugging the curves and ending in a tapered, uneven hemline. The fabric was obviously white, but it had an over layer of sheer, shimmer fabric too. The shoes, which looked like they were made of the same shimmery material, were high heeled and had little straps around the ankles.
I picked up the notes while my friends ogled the gifts. One was written in my father's neat script, the other in Kaido's pathetic attempt to emulate my father's writing style.
I read the one from my father first.
"Rei,
Happy birthday! You're what now, 15 years old? Enjoy the presents, and perhaps I'll see you at dinner!
Sincerely,
Your Father"
Well at least he was only two years off this time. Last year he thought I was twelve. After that, I unfolded Kaido's note.
"Dear Rei,
Many happy birthday wishes from me, my wife Anna, and our daughter Elle! I hope you like the dress your father picked out for you. The shoes are from us. Anna thought they would match perfectly. I am sorry to say I will probably not have the pleasure of viewing them on you, as I doubt I will be able to make dinner this year. Elle has been sick recently and work has been very hectic. But your father will be there, so I hope you have a wonderful evening!
Yours,
Kaido"
That fool. He actually thought my father was going? Great. Not only was I going to be miserable, I'd be alone too. Because father wouldn't show, and Kaido wouldn't be coming. Not that that was a terrible loss, because I did not want to have to hear about "Anna and Elle" all night, but who wants to eat alone? And I couldn't not go, because the driver father sends would make me go with him. They have amazing ways of making life horribly unpleasant until you do what they say. I couldn't bother my friends to go, they'd already done far too much for me as it was and it was too short notice. No, I'd be dining alone.
By then I was more than a little upset. I crumpled both notes and let a few more tears escape my eyes. As I was wiping them away, Mina noticed and asked, "Are you okay Rei? What was in those notes?"
"Fine, I'm okay. Just my father reminding me about tonight, that's all." I said, probably a little too quickly.
"If you're sure…" She replied.
"Yup. No problems here."
"Well then! You'd better be getting ready. It's getting late." Ami chimed in, while pushing me towards the door. Mako threw the dress over my shoulder, and thrust the shoes into my hands.
"Don't you want some help cleaning up?" I asked.
"No, you go get ready. We'll take care of everything." Haruka said.
"Do you want some help with your hair? I'd be happy to style it for you." offered Setsuna.
"That would be great. Give me about fifteen minutes to get changed and do my makeup. Thanks." I told her.
As I walked down the hall to my room, I wondered why everyone was pushing me to this dinner. Didn't they know I hated this antiquated ritual of birthdays and birthday dinners? And again I pondered my normalcy, as most normal people do not begin to hate their birthdays until their late twenties to early thirties when they first start to feel truly old. I, on the other hand, have despised my birthday and pretty much anything connected with it for as long as I can remember.
Once I was in my room I quickly applied my makeup, then slipped the dress carefully over my head. I had decided on a minimalist approach to jewelry, small sparkly stud earrings, a simple sterling chain, and my new/old bracelet and had just finished buckling the new shoes when I heard a knock.
"Come in Setsuna!" I called.
"Wow. Whoever picked that out for you certainly got your look down. White is a good color for you, it's tailored perfectly, and looks great on you." She said when she saw me. Setsuna is a fashion designer so she knows these things. She was right, too. So whoever picked it, probably Kaido and the wonderful Anna, must have gotten an update from the tailors on my sizes. While thinking of this, my expressionless face must have given way to a micro expression, a slight frown or a disdainful glare, because Setsuna said, "Cheer up Rei! Things will be fine tonight. Come on; let's make you look even prettier." And she motioned for me to sit so she could begin working.
I immediately sat myself down obediently in the chair at my vanity table. We sat silently for a few moments while she worked, and I thought about what she said.
"What did you mean when you said 'Everything will work out all right tonight'?" I asked, as she continued to curl, twist, pin and spray my hair.
Through the extra pins in her mouth she mumbled, "Only that there are surprises yet to come." She spit out the pins into her hand. "You're not the only one who can see the future, Rei, and I have it on good authority that things are not always what they seem. And you should not hate your birthday so much. It is the time to celebrate your life in the present, not to mourn the heartaches of the past, no matter how closely they may be connected." I gave her a puzzled look. "Yes, I know about everything, all the pain and the disappointments of your past birthdays. But I hope you know that as awful as it has been for you, it has helped make you the person you are today. We love you, and there are many others who do too. And though we wish you never had to experience that sorrow, we wouldn't trade you for anything in the world. That's why I suggested making the memory book to Mamoru. To remind you that we love you and just being you is reason enough to celebrate your birthday." She then tucked the last pin into my hair. "There. It took more than 150 pins and almost a whole bottle of hair spray, but I think it looks great!"
I examined her work while I processed her words. She had taken all of my hair, and I have quite a lot of it, and pulled it back. Then twisted, curled, and pinned most of it into and intertwining bun-like shape that sort of looked like ivy vines. The rest was left hanging down in curled waves, giving it a bit of a messier elegance. I had to admit, it looked nice with the dress. But more than that, her words touched me. I felt a few tears slide down my face, (I seem to be doing that a lot these days.) and choked out a thank you.
"No need. You have to look your best tonight." She said, mysteriously. Then she hugged me briefly, and told me I should be going.
I dried my eyes and grabbed my purse, slipped my bracelet on my wrist then led the way down the hall. I stopped at the door to the living room where my friends were finishing cleaning up the party.
"You guys do fast work. I should have you here for all my parties." I said casually, causing all heads to swivel in my direction. "Well, I'm off. Thank you all so much again for everything."
"Woah. All the women in that restaurant are going to be mad. Their dates will stop paying attention to them the minute you walk through the door." Mamoru said affectionately, as Haruka let out a low whistle and everyone else nodded in agreement.
I blushed furiously and Usagi whacked him on the arm. "But not me of course, Meatball Head. Not when I've got you." He sputtered.
"Oh Muffin! You're the so sweet!" Usa cooed, as the rest of us rolled our eyes at this sickeningly saccharine display that you would think by now we'd be used to.
"Bye everyone!" I called as I turned and headed out the door. It was precisely seven-thirty, and the car and bodyguard, ever punctual, were outside waiting. I think my father might die if something didn't go according to schedule.
"Good evening Miss Hino. Happy Birthday." He said stoically, as he opened the backseat door for me.
"Good evening William. Thank you." I slid into the seat and heard the door shut securely. William took his place behind the wheel and then we were off to the restaurant.
As we pulled up in front of the posh Rain Tree Restaurant, my father's favorite as well as one of mine, (One of the few things we have in common) I contemplated for a moment asking William to join me. He was young, mid twenties or so, and dashing, and I bet he would have said yes in a heartbeat. But I shook my head and completely dismissed the idea. I was not that desperate. It was bad enough being alone, but the last thing I wanted was male company. No, I would much rather be alone.
Once inside the doors I was greeted by the Maitre'd with a warm smile.
"Good evening Miss Hino. It's a pleasure to see you, as always. Please allow me to escort you personally. Your table is waiting. And might I add that you look lovely tonight."
The staff there is generally very friendly. It's one of the reasons I like the place so much, despite my father's fondness for it. The Maitre'd began to lead me to the dining room when a busboy came running up and said, "Excuse me Mr. Garland, but there is an urgent phone call for you sir."
"Ah! It must be the one I was expecting from France. Thank you Timothy that will be all." The busboy scurried away. "I apologize, Miss Hino, but I really must take this call immediately. I trust you can find your way on your own? It's the usual table. Enjoy your meal!"
With that, he hurried off to his phone call. Feeling abandoned once more, my feet followed the familiar path to "the usual table". For once, I allowed my head and shoulders to drop in defeat. As I approached the table, my eyes were cast to the ground and though at that moment I lacked all confidence, I sighed and struggled to remember what Setsuna had told me.
"Someone so devastatingly gorgeous should never look so depressed." I heard a familiar voice whisper, and I looked up sharply.
There, sitting in the seat opposite my traditional place, was Trunks. He was adorned in a smart black suit, well tailored to his muscular frame, a white shirt, and a dark blue tie. He looked good.
"Oh no! I was already contemplating escaping out the bathroom window when I thought I was going to be alone. I refuse to stay here with you! What are you even doing here? I thought you hated me, were finished with me…" I trailed off disparaged, slumping slightly further.
He arose from his seat, walked around the table, pulled out my vacant chair, and said calmly, "Please Rei. I was merely upset that day at the Temple. I acted terribly, but that's one of the reasons why I'm here. The other is that I promised, and I always keep my promises. Plus, there's nowhere else I'd rather be than here, celebrating your birthday, with you." When I kept my distance and wouldn't sit down, he said, "Please Rei? Sit down and we can talk."
I eyed him skeptically but moved into the chair. He gently pushed the seat in and returned to his place opposite me. I folded my arms across my chest and waited for the explanation to come.
"Rei, there's so much that I want to say —"
"So, what will we be having to drink tonight?" Our waiter chimed in, just as Trunks was beginning his apology. Though incredibly tempted to try something of a stronger nature, I ordered one of those fruity non-alcoholic drinks with the little umbrellas in them, because they are a specialty here. Trunks ordered a water and waved the waiter away. We sat in silence for a while.
"I didn't know you like the little umbrella drinks." He said, candidly.
"I think we already established that there's plenty we don't know about each other." I countered, stonily.
"Right, well, that's the thing…"
"Here we are! An umbrella drink for the pretty lady and a water for the ungentlemanly gentleman. Do we know what we'll be eating this evening?" Our wonderful waiter asked, as he placed our drinks down. This guy was amusing me highly, and the fact that he was unnerving Trunks so much made it even better. I placed my order without having to look at the menu, then watched entertained, as Trunks frantically searched for his own choice. He placed his alarmingly large order and again tried to get rid of the waiter. When the poor man finally left, Trunks returned his gaze to me and frowned. I was, of course, sitting with my arms still folded and I had a cold look of indifference plastered on my face.
"Okay. I think it's finally safe to talk now." He started, a determined look in his eye and a friendly smile gracing his features. "Here it goes, because I really don't want to be interrupted again. I am so incredibly sorry for my behavior the other day. I know this doesn't excuse my attitude or actions, but I need you to know how horrible I feel for the things I said and how I treated you. I never meant to be that way, but I was so hurt I wasn't thinking clearly. Over the last couple of days I've been thinking about it though. And while I'm still hurt, and more than a little confused, I realize that I wasn't being fair, and I basically did the same thing to you that you did to me. There. I said it." He sighed, and I continued to staring at him in silence.
"Are you even going to say anything?" He entreated me with a passionate gaze.
"I don't know what to say. It was a beautiful apology, but that's all it was. Words. I still don't know if I can trust you. At the first sign of a problem you turned your back on me and ran away. Do you know how much that hurt? I'm sorry too. Don't you think I wanted to tell you everything? But I couldn't, and when things got bad, and I thought you might understand, you just got angry and left. You acted like almost every other man in my life. I can't keep going through that, and it isn't right to expect me to. How do I know something like this won't happen again?"
"Because I'm promising you it won't. I know you've been hurt, you told me so that one morning when the trees were just starting to bloom and you thought it was going to rain. And once I had left, I'd realized what I'd done, that I had hurt you again, and I hated myself. I did not want to become like them. I never want to hurt you." He told me.
"And yet you did…How can I believe you? That will always be the question."
"Then we forget." Trunks said, and I quirked an eyebrow, asking silently just what that was supposed to mean. He stuck his hand out across the table and said "Hi! My name is Trunks Briefs. It's nice to meet you Miss…?"
I took that as my cue to shake his hand, "Miss Hino. Rei Hino. It's nice to meet you too." And it was so silly I couldn't help but smile. I was about to ask a rather important question, but the waiter came with our food and it was my turn to want him gone.
We ate for a few moments, and my thoughts returned to my question. "Re-introducing ourselves is all fine, but that doesn't erase what's already happened. We can't do that every time something like this happens."
"It's not necessarily to erase what happened. It's more to move on from it and start again, being our true selves. The two people sitting here talking are not the two people who ran into each other on the Temple steps a few months ago. We are the people behind the façade. Which means we can be totally honest about our pasts. Then, we won't have to do something like this again."
"Did it ever occur to you that maybe this wasn't meant to be? That maybe this was supposed to be the easy out of something that could just end up damning us in the future? We're not normal, you and I. We don't get a chance at happiness forever. There are too many obstacles…Why torture ourselves with this when in the end, all we'll have is an eternity of anguish, madness, and tears?"
"Why not?"
We lapsed into silence as we ate. It made sense to me, sort-of. We could start fresh, as our true selves, without having to hold back anything that could be potentially harmful, thus hopefully avoiding a future episode like the one from a few days ago. I reasoned with the idea, my ever-present fear that being a senshi was the root of our romance problems, and that because we were not normal, we could never have a healthy relationship of any kind. I couldn't help but wonder if this was supposed to be the end. Something was nagging at my mind though and I slowly reconciled myself to the idea. I'd already come this far, why shouldn't we try? If I didn't, I'd be making myself as bad as the people I hated. So I gave in.
"Okay Mr. Briefs, I'll go along with your crazy plan. So, tell me about yourself? And I swear upon my vow as a senshi of the White Moon Kingdom that if you hurt me, my friends and I will hunt you down and make life very painful for you." I said in a low voice, smiling pleasantly.
"Please, call me Trunks." He stammered uneasily, "And I don't doubt your friends would come after me. That's why I don't intend to give them a reason to. Well, for starters, I'm the son of Bulma Briefs and Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyajins, an alien race that is basically dead. I come from a ruined future that was killed by androids. Pretty soon my mother and I were the only survivors. I finally killed the androids, and when my mother died almost a year ago, she sent me to the past where I'd trained with my father and our friends, to live in peace…" And so it went. He filled in details that weren't mentioned earlier this week and told me some new things that we'd never talked about. Then he asked, "So explain to me this whole 'Silver Millennium' thing again, because I'm not entirely sure I understood it."
I told him everything. It was liberating. I explained about the past, told him about our duty to Serenity, Beryl's jealousy, Pluto and Her Majesty Queen Serenity sending us to the future to be reborn, and Hotaru as Saturn having to kill our kingdom and return the time to silence, forgotten by history.
Then I explained about our rebirth and trips through time and all that fun stuff. And then I told him about me. Rei Hino, not Sailor Mars, or the Princess of Mars, but the girl behind the fire. After I finished, we'd already been through dessert and we just sat staring at each other for a few minutes, both amazed.
"Would you like to dance?" Trunks asked, rather suddenly. It was then that I noticed the low, melodic hum of the piano in the background.
"I'd like that very much, I think." So he jumped from his seat, pulled my chair out for me, took my hand, and led me to the dance floor. I placed my left hand on his shoulder, my right hand already occupied with his left. But he apparently wasn't satisfied with the foot or so of space between our bodies and pulled me in close so we were neatly pressed together. We didn't say a word, just held each other close and danced. I let my mind drift with the music, and forgot why I was ever mad in the first place. He wasn't the only one being unfair, so I let go of the past to embrace the future.
When we finally decided to take a break, we went back to our table and Trunks removed a capsule from his pocket. He pressed the release button and out popped a couple of neatly wrapped packages. Smiling with delight I exclaimed, "You didn't have to do this!"
"I wanted to though…open them."
I opened the long thin one first. It was a beautifully crafted sword with a thin, double edged blade and intricately designed hand-guard. I gasped, astonished.
"It's so we can practice together. And I'm going to teach you how to fly too. I need a decent sparing partner." He joked. "I've had it since that day a few weeks ago when we sparred..."
If he wants a real challenge though, he should try Haruka. Although, I'd have to explain to her first that I didn't hate him. She's very mad at him for hurting me, and would probably attempt to murder him. She's very protective of all of us. Well, I'll just have to improve so I can offer some opposition.
Anyway, then I turned to the other package. Opening the box, I pulled back some tissue paper. There, nestled inside, was a book. Not just any book, but an original first edition of the collected teachings of Confucius. My jaw dropped.
"You said you enjoy ancient literature. I hope this is something you like." He said, nervously.
"Oh my. This is all too much. Thank you. A million times thank you." I prattled.
"It's nothing. The sword had a purely selfish motive, and the book…I wanted to get you something special that you would really enjoy. The truth is, you're the only girl who has ever made me feel like this before…I have no idea how to act or what to do, but I knew I wanted to do something special for your birthday. So I asked my mom and she helped me pick it out. You know, she wants to meet you? Especially since you got Dad's, I mean Vegeta's, approval." He babbled sheepishly.
"I thought Vegeta hated me?"
"Oh no. He thinks you've got spirit. He hated your friends, said they were sappy and pathetic, but you impressed him. Challenging him helped. He might even like you, which is a rarity. I mean, he rarely ever lets me call him Dad and I'm his son. Though I think at first that was because he wasn't used to it." Trunks said.
"Wow. Whenever she likes, I'll make myself available." I was still incoherent over the presents. "I'd like to meet her too. Please tell her I love the gifts, and thank her for her help?"
"Sure, no problem." He smiled. "We should probably be going, it's almost midnight." I checked my watch and indeed it had been almost four hours since I had arrived.
"Well, wow. This was wonderful…" I started.
"Would you mind if I escorted you home? I would have picked you up, but I wanted to surprise you. Plus I wasn't entirely sure you'd have come with me."
"Of course. The car is waiting outside. Let's go." I dropped my re-capsulated presents into my purse. Trunks began to take out his wallet to pay the bill, but I stopped him. "It's all taken care of. My father has them put it on his charge every year. Another way to try and buy my affection. He seems to think it satisfies his fatherly duty." He nodded and we left to go to the parking lot.
As we approached the car, William opened the door and eyed Trunks suspiciously. "It's all right William. This is Trunks, my date." I smiled at that word. "He'll be seeing me home. Trunks, this is William, the bodyguard." I noticed the questioning look on Trunks' face and said, "Don't ask. I'll explain another time."
We slid into the back seat and the car headed back towards the Temple. In the dark I felt Trunks' hand close around mine, and I couldn't help feeling happy. The ride came to an end all too quickly. I dismissed William at the bottom of the steps and up Trunks and I walked, hand in hand.
He walked me to the door and as we slowly stopped he said, "This, despite its not so pleasant start, has been one of the most wonderful evenings of my life. Thank you. And thank you for giving me a new chance."
"No, thank you. You helped make this my best birthday ever." I whispered, as my hand rose to caress his cheek, which he pressed just slightly closer to my palm.
Then I did something I never thought I'd do again.
I kissed him.
Or he kissed me. Or we kissed each other. I don't really remember. But there we were, under the moonlight and starlight, and he leaned down, and I leaned up, and lips…yeah, it was a kiss. A nice kiss. At first, it was slightly bitter-sweet, too much of a remembrance of pains past, but I put that behind me for good and reminded myself of the present, where I was embraced by a man who truly cared, one that was not running away after this to further his career, but was staying and caring and wanted to be with me. It was the most firework-y, waves crashing on the shore, beyond anything you could ever imagine, kiss. All I could think was 'wow'.
We pulled apart, and as he looked into my eyes, ice meeting amethyst, I realized, this was why Setsuna said the things she had. I wrapped my arms around his neck and the light glinted off my bracelet.
We kissed again, and that time all I thought was:
Forget the past and my father.
Forget Kaido and Anna and all of that.
Forget a stupid argument we were both responsible for.
Forget jealousy of Usa and Mamoru.
This is where I belong. In his arms, always.
This is my destiny.
Arieslily17: *Tears* This is the longest story I've ever posted. And now it's done. *Openly sobs* I'm going to miss it.
Nix: No worries! At least it was a decent ending! They lived happily ever after! But what was with the bracelet obsession? It was just a birthday gift…
Arieslily17: That's the thing…It wasn't. That will probably be explained in the prequel I'm planning, taking place in the Silver Millennium. =) That's right folks, we're not done yet! I've even got plans in my messed up mind for a sequel, both of these stories probably in a different format though. But they may take a while; I've got others to work on right now.
Thank you all for reading!
Please review with final thoughts!
