The room was humongous; about three times their own. The floor had a lush carpet of light blue color. There were lamps on the two tables near the bed, which was more than king size. There was a door that led to a bathroom at the far end of the room.
Michiru wasted no time heading over to the bed and flopping down face first. The mattress was like nothing she had ever felt before. It seemed to mold itself to her body shape, which made it all the more comfortable.
Haruka chuckled as her wife rolled around on the bed in obvious luxury. She walked around the room for a few moments, admiring everything. When she stepped near the bed, she felt Michiru lightly take her hand. She looked down and smiled at her wife.
Michiru smiled back at the blonde. Without a word, she lightly pulled her down to the bed. When Haruka had lied down, Michiru moved over and laid her head on the blonde's chest. She closed her eyes and sighed softly. Thoughts of her daughter ran through her head and she absent-mindedly smiled. She wrapped an arm around Haruka's waist and for the first time since she and Kiseki had come home, she was able to relax.
Haruka was grateful to her queen that Michiru could rest without worry. She gently stroked her sea-princess's hair as she hummed quietly.
Out in the main hall, Usagi had returned to her thrown. She smiled at her friends who were splitting their attention between her and Kiseki. "You guys are welcome to stay here as long as you want," she told them. "I don't know how long Michiru will be and I know you guys have your own lives now, but if you want to stay here tonight, you can."
Everyone smiled at their queen and Kiseki giggled. Surprisingly enough, she hadn't fallen asleep yet. On the contrary, she was having a ball with all the attention that she was getting from the girls.
Makoto looked down at her watch and sighed. "Dang," she murmured. She looked over at Minako. "I gotta go to work."
Minako nodded. "Want me to drop you off?" she offered. She reached into her pocket looking for her key ring. "I have to go back to the house anyway."
Makoto nodded. She turned to Usagi and bowed, knowing that the blonde would probably say something about it to her.
Usagi sighed and shook her head. "I give up," she said with a chuckle. She stood up and walked down to her group of friends. She hugged Makoto and then Minako. "It was good to see you guys again."
Makoto and Minako nodded and turned to leave. They said goodbye to the other scouts before leaving the hall and going out to their car.
The others watched until the two left their sight. They hadn't anything to do that particular day so they all agreed to stay with their queen.
Everything went silent for a moment and Kiseki obviously didn't like it. She started squirming in Setsuna's arms and complaining lightly.
Setsuna's attention returned quickly to her friends' child. "Hey, you," she said soothingly. She lightly rocked Kiseki, trying to put her to sleep.
Kiseki wouldn't have it. She started kicking at Setsuna's arm and whimpering, wanting to be set down.
Setsuna was surprised. She knew that younger babies liked to sleep after they ate but Kiseki was a bundle of energy. "Ok, little one," she said as she placed the child back in her carrier. She seen Kiseki staring at something and found that it was her bracelet, a band of dark purple feathers. "Is this what you want?" she asked as she took the bracelet off. She saw Kiseki's face light up as she handed it to her.
Kiseki waved the bracelet around triumphantly and giggled. She banded it on the side of the carrier, on her legs, and she even managed to put it on her arm, though it easily fell off.
Everyone watched as the child played and chuckled at her. They couldn't resist laughing when Ami bent down and placed the bracelet on Kiseki's head like a crown.
Kiseki eventually fell asleep from exhausting herself. She still had Setsuna's bracelet in her tiny hand and although she was asleep, she wasn't giving it to anyone. She held as strong a grip as her tiny little hands could allow, as if she would die if she lost it.
Once Kiseki had fallen asleep, the group fell silent. They watched the little girl sleep and every one of them felt that they needed to protect her. They all looked at each other and nodded.
A few hours later, Haruka woke up from a deep sleep. She yawned and felt a pressure on her throat. Michiru's head had moved while they slept and was now pressed slightly against the blonde's strong throat. She moved her wife's head away from her throat extremely cautiously so she didn't wake the sleeping figure. She smiled contently when Michiru's arms tightened around her middle. She rested her hand on Michiru's back as she watched her wife.
About ten minutes later, Michiru's eyes finally opened. She enjoyed the rhythmic rise and fall of her head on Haruka's chest as the blonde breathed. After a moment, she sat up slowly and stretched.
Haruka watched as her wife woke up. She chuckled as Michiru flopped back down against the pillows. "Feeling any better?" she asked as she turned to face her.
Michiru nodded. "Lots," she whispered. She moved over and snuggled into Haruka. She felt two strong arms wrap around her and she sighed happily. "I love you, Ruka."
Haruka smiled and kissed Michiru's forehead. She held her wife close and sighed, believing that everything would be all right. "Better not get used to this," she joked.
Michiru lightly poked Haruka in the ribs. "Don't remind me." She thought about her daughter. "She's perfect, Ruka."
Haruka's smile brightened. She hugged her wife closer and took everything in. She thought of Kiseki proudly, then she thought of her wife, and then of her friends. She couldn't believe how ignorant that she and the other outers had been when they had first met Usagi. She got lost in her thoughts until she felt Michiru pull away from her. "You ok, baby?" she asked as she sat up.
Michiru hopped off the bed and looked at Haruka. "Yeah, but I think we better go back. It's been over four hours."
Haruka looked at her watch and raised her eyebrows in astonishment. "Wow," she muttered. "Guess we should go back then, huh?" She got up off the bed and stretched. She felt Michiru's slim arms wrap around her waist and she smiled. She locked her own arms around Michiru's neck and looked deeply into her eyes.
Michiru smiled sweetly. She reached up and kissed wife, slowly at first. She broke the kiss before if got too passionate and smiled at the blonde again. "You ready?" she asked as she hugged her wife.
Haruka ran her hand through Michiru's hair. She sighed internally and let go of the aqua-haired girl. All of a sudden, she felt as if something was about to happen but brushed it off as Michiru took her hand.
Michiru knew that something was on the blonde's mind but decided not to say anything about it. She followed Haruka out of the room and out to the main hall where there was no one in sight. Michiru looked around worriedly. "Ruka? Where is everyone?"
Haruka looked around urgently, looking for anyone but mostly for Kiseki. "Something's wrong," she thought. "They wouldn't just leave without telling us." She sensed someone watching them and spun around. She glared at a wall, then a flag, then back at the wall. Walking towards it, she prepared herself for a fight.
Little did Haruka know, an invisible daimon stood motionless against the structure. It watched as the blonde inched closer and closer, until a door opened and she stopped.
"Guys!" Makoto yelled, running into the hall. "We need help. Sailor-type help!"
Haruka hurried to Makoto's side as she fell to the floor. "What happened? Where's Kiseki?" she asked quickly, helping her friend to her feet.
Makoto groaned in pain as she stood up. "The daimon; it took her and booked. Setsuna and Rei went after them but the rest of us got caught up. There's another one somewhere in the palace."
Haruka looked over at Michiru, who was nearly in tears. "Don't worry, Michi. She'll be ok," she said, trying to comfort her.
Michiru blinked back her tears, trying to be strong. She nodded and pulled her henshin stick from her pocket. Transforming quickly, she ran out the door to help the others.
Haruka was amazed at Michiru's speed. She checked back to reality as Makoto pulled out her own henshin stick and transformed. "I thought you had to work, Jupiter?"
Jupiter looked at Haruka. "I left early. Transform!" she screamed.
The daimon, still invisible to the two girls, pushed itself off the wall and hit Jupiter with its claws, causing a deep gash and severe bruise on her right arm.
Haruka quickly transformed and looked around for whatever it was that had hit Jupiter. "Did you see it?"
Jupiter held her arm, trying to stop the bleeding, and shook her head. "It's like a chameleon," she informed the blonde.
Uranus was getting pissed. She knew that her daughter was in trouble so she closed her eyes and listened for any signs of movement.
Jupiter took a step towards Uranus but the blonde held out a hand to stop her. "What is it, Uranus?"
"Be quiet!" Uranus said quickly. Once Jupiter had stopped doing everything short of breathing, she focused all her energy on the invisible enemy.
The daimon made a foolish decision and rushed the soldier of wind. It held out its claws, attempting to hit her as it made its way to where she stood.
Uranus felt the air around her change and side-stepped the attacking fiend, grabbing what looked like nothing. "Jupiter, now!" she yelled, holding the daimon in front of her.
Jupiter watched as a figure materialized in front of Uranus and was shocked. "Wow! How'd you do that?"
Uranus glared at her. "Jupiter!" she screamed, struggling to keep the daimon under control.
Jupiter mentally kicked herself as she prepared to attack. She did her strongest attack just as Uranus stepped away and it was enough to destroy the monster.
Uranus gave a sigh of relief. "Next time, don't wait so long, ok?" She cracked her neck and stretched out her arms.
Jupiter grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Sorry," she muttered.
Uranus turned to the door and ran to it, leaving the hall and looking for the others. She saw Neptune standing with the other soldiers. "Neptune," she half-whispered.
Neptune spun around at the sound of Uranus's voice. She walked over and quickly enveloped the blonde in a tight hug. Tears slipped from her eyes and she cried into Uranus's chest. "Pluto and Mars can't find her," she choked out.
AN: Hey, guys! Thanks for the reviews. They're helping me a bit, I think. Sorry it took so long to get this one up. I'm working on my graduation requirements right now so I don't have a lot of time to write but I will be updating soon. Oh, and something I forgot to put in the last AN, about the gold Taurus. The car I have is a Taurus and Haruka's favorite color is gold so I just combined the two. Well, that's it for now. Hope you're enjoying my story. Ja!