Not all heroes wear tuxedos, or Sailor fukus. In fact, not all heroes fight the bad guys or save the world. Sometimes, a hero is someone who's just always there to talk. Anime canon. Written for Artemis' 30th Anniversary.

Rated: T - Friendship/Hurt/Comfort - Words: 1,257 - Artemis, Luna, Mamoru C./Darien S./Tuxedo Kamen, Minako A./Mina/Sailor Venus

A/N: Many thanks to Sinjazz1327 for beta reading this fic for me! Check her out on Instagram under SinJazz1327.

Sailor Venus slumped against a wall, a deep sigh escaping her as she slid down it onto the floor.

The sigh seemed to act as a summons as soon enough a white tomcat trotted up to her in the deserted corridor.

"Venus? Is everything alright?"

The Senshi sighed again. "Oh Artemis, it was exhausting enough chasing after the Princess at the best of times. But now she's gone and fallen-" Her eyes widened in disbelief and her hand shot to her mouth. "….er... I mean...that is...!"

Artemis raised a paw.

"Venus please, don't say any more. That way I won't have to lie to the Queen... That'd be a terrible thing for a royal advisor to do."

Relief broke over Venus' features and Artemis turned to walk away. He paused however after a couple of feet and looked back over his shoulder.

"Of course, were I to hypothetically give my official advice, I'd say put a stop to 'whatever' the Princess is up to."

Venus' head lowered.

"And my unofficial advice would be to talk to the Princess and ask her to consider your feelings. After all, if she's in love she'll probably need the Senshi of Love to be at her best."

Venus raised her head back up and stared at the white cat.

"Hypothetically speaking of course..." He finished.

He shot her a wink and continued down the shining silver corridor.

Minako sat against the wet brick wall, resting her head in her hands as she sobbed.

Despite the pounding London rain, she still heard the tiny patter of feline feet as a very soggy cat approached her.

"Mina..."

"Oh Artemis," she sobbed. "A-Alan a-a-and K-Katarina. They...They've f-f-fallen in-"

Artemis raised a paw, placing it consolingly on top of her hand. "Mina please, don't say anymore. Ruminating on it will only hurt yourself further."

Minako buried her face in her other hand, adding her tears to the already rain-soaked glove. "I'm not going back..." she muttered.

"What? But you have to! They both think you're dead!"

"Then let them think I'm dead!"

Thunder clapped far above them.

"Mina, that's… That's cruel isn't it?"

She shook her head. "No. No it's not. I'm the Senshi of Love. I love them both. And if they're in love they… They deserve to be happy. I'd just get in the way."

"Oh Mina..." Artemis' voice was full of hurt.

"I just wish… I just wish I could forget about both of them. I wish I'd never become Sailor V in the first place!"

Artemis withdrew his paw.

"Minako… You became Sailor V because destiny gave you a purpose. To be a warrior for love and justice, protecting innocent people, not to mention… our Princess."

"Oh, the Princess..." Minako chided, "We don't even know where she is! Not her, not the Silver Crystal, not-"

"We do know!"

Minako quietened down.

"At least… We have a pretty good idea. They're both somewhere back home."

Minako's brow furrowed slightly. "Back home?"

"In Tokyo Mina! Where the other Senshi are right now!"

Minako turned away from Artemis completely. "Then let the four of them handle it. They don't need Sailor V. Sailor V disappeared when that warehouse blew up. She's dead!"

For a long while there was utter silence, other than the patter of the rain and the claps of thunder.

"You're right. Those four, they don't need Sailor V."

There was a soft chinking sound. Minako turned back and stared down at her lap. Slowly she lifted the orange and gold transformation pen to her eye.

"But they will need Sailor Venus..."

"Luna..."

The ebony feline didn't even twitch when her ivory companion spoke.

"Luna… Come on now, you've been here for hours."

Luna said nothing.

"There's nothing you can do just staring at her like this."

Luna lowered her head. "There isn't much I can do here at all. And I thought… I thought if nothing else I could try to keep her… Keep her company..."

Luna raised her head back up and once more fixated upon the still, seemingly lifeless, body within the crystal structure.

"I failed. I failed her Artemis..."

The white cat moved closer and gave his companion a friendly nuzzle. "No Luna. No, you haven't."

"How can you say that? Just look at her in there." She nodded slightly towards the regal blonde encased in the crystal. "I'm supposed to look out for her, educate her, prepare her for stuff like this. But apparently I'm doomed to mess that up, just like I messed up everything else with her."

"Luna, you heard what the King told us earlier. This place, this Crystal Tokyo, before the Black Moon clan appeared, it was a near utopia. Centuries of peace and prosperity, just like the Silver Millennium. And she..." Now it was Artemis who inclined his head towards the glistening structure. "She sounds a lot like our former Queen. Doesn't she?"

Luna nonchalantly nodded. "I suppose so."

"Well then… She wouldn't have grown into that without guidance… And who do you think she got that from?"

For a moment Luna remained still, then she rested her head on Artemis' shoulder, the pair watching over the sleeping Queen together.

Mamoru sipped his drink. Artemis happily lapped up his milk. Both of them did their best to avoid the stares and chatter of the other bar patrons.

"The most important thing," began Mamoru quietly, "Is learning how to count."

Artemis stared up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, usually when you are dealing with both of them together, it can get a bit overwhelming. So you need a mental exercise to keep yourself sane and calm."

"With respect Mamoru, are you sure that isn't just Usagi and Chibi-Usa, rather than our..." Artemis scrunched his face up, clearly searching for the right words. "...Our mutually 'unique' situations?"

Mamoru chuckled. "You might be right there. Although, it can still freak you out, knowing this woman is your future wife and this child will be your daughter someday."

"I understand. After all this time I finally understand. But tell me Mamoru… Does the sense of worry ever go away?"

"For your future wife? Yes. For your future daughter? Not so much, no."

Artemis nodded. "I see. Then Mamoru, so long as she is staying with you..."

"Yes?"

Artemis brandished his claws. "You'd better look after Diana."

Mamoru gave him a small knowing smile before ordering them both another round of drinks.

The stage lights were blinding.

The roar of the crowd deafening.

But both seemed to intensify as soon as Minako made her grand entrance.

"Hi everyone! Thank you so much for coming to my inaugural concert. Before I begin I'd just like to take a moment to dedicate this first song to someone very special. Someone who's always been there for me and my friends. Someone without whom I wouldn't be who I am today."

She began her performance, sending the crowd into a virtual frenzy.

They were still roaring in delight after she'd finished. Nevertheless, she made sure everyone could hear her over the cacophony.

"Thank you Artemis!"

A/N: Just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!