Love seems forever elusive for the Senshi of Love herself. Princess Venus. Aino Minako. Sailor Venus. No matter what she calls herself, she seems to always destroy those she cares for... Written for 30th anniversary of Minako/Codename: Sailor V.
Rated: T - Romance/Angst - Words: 1,851 - Kunzite/Malachite, Minako A./Mina/Sailor Venus, Rei H./Raye/Sailor Mars, Kaitou Ace
A/N: Many thanks to Sinjazz1327 for beta reading this fic for me! Check her out on Instagram under SinJazz1327.
Her lips met his again. It was about the thirtieth time she'd done that tonight.
They were used to this though, albeit not as much as they might've liked. What they were doing wasn't forbidden per se, but it was nevertheless seriously frowned upon.
Usually, that wasn't an issue whenever they saw one another. Their charges' meetings were usually in secret anyway, a fact their comrades often took advantage of, typically pairing off themselves. However, as the leaders of their respective groups, they both felt their positions demanded a certain degree of professionalism in such situations.
Tonight though, they were not bodyguards, nor soldiers. Tonight, they could just be themselves.
A breeze blew through the secluded alcove, fluttering the princess' sunset orange dress and her lover's midnight blue cape. The effect seemed to prompt the princess to break the kiss.
"Are you cold?" asked Kunzite.
A smirk crossed the princess' face. "Far from it."
She leant in again.
The princess felt utterly numb.
Now it was over, she wondered if she'd struck out in anger or if it really had been self-defence.
He'd been saying terrible things, threatening to visit unspeakable horrors upon her and everyone she cared about. And he'd been holding nothing back when he'd attacked her, let alone anyone else.
And yet... maybe he could've been saved? Maybe Metalia's control over him hadn't been total. Maybe if...
It didn't matter. Not anymore.
She knelt down to his lifeless body; a pained grimace now frozen on his face. With a trembling hand she reached out for the chain she'd wrapped around his neck and delicately removed it.
Armed once more, she used all her resolve to push away what she had just done and set her mind on her duty.
Nevertheless, she paused just long enough to drape the cape over his once handsome face.
Minako giggled whilst staring out the window. It was about the thirtieth time she'd done that throughout the flight.
She still couldn't quite believe it.
Her, China, an acting gig and...
"Ace." Her eyes fluttered as she breathed out the name, the
She could practically see his gorgeous, yet masked, face reflected in the plane window.
"Um… Miss, are you alright?"
Minako tore her gaze away from the glass and looked up at the stewardess. "Oh, um, yes, I'm fine thanks."
The stewardess moved off, a bewildered look on her face.
Minako decided it was perhaps best to distract herself rather than risk looking like a weirdo. She fiddled with her gold necklace, rifled through some magazines, watched five minutes of a movie and finally took out a deck of cards she'd picked up in the airport.
Unfortunately, the very first card she turned over was the Ace of Hearts…
Minako silently peered out the window, the reflection catching the glint of her gold necklace.
She wondered if she'd have felt better if Artemis wasn't stuck in the belly of the plane along with her luggage.
Somehow, she doubted it.
He'd have wanted to discuss her 'new' memories and their plans for finding the other Senshi. Mina knew that was important. In fact, a part of her was anxious to get going and fulfil her life's mission.
But to do that she needed to be focused. She needed to be undistracted. She needed to get things out of her system.
So, for this flight at least, she allowed herself to dwell not upon her mission but upon...What should she even call him anyway?
Adonis? That was the name he had when he'd first fallen for her.
Danburite? The sinister moniker was more befitting his true nature.
But no... Ace.
The guise might've been created to deceive her, but that was how she'd first known him. He'd always be Ace to her.
The clouds out the window caught her attention. Their shadows and shapes reminded her of two figures in close embrace. The clouds shifted. One of the shadowy 'figures' broke apart, leaving the other all alone. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but it seemed a cruel re-enactment of what'd happened in China. Despite that, she didn't turn away, letting her heart ache with the memory of Ace's betrayal.
She did turn away however, when another memory surfaced though.
Almost desperately, she grasped at something to distract herself with, rummaging through her bag for some gum. It was then that she found the playing cards.
The sight of them forced the memory into stark relief. Ace's last words, his final prediction, resounded through her mind, like an echo in a cathedral.
Her breath caught.
Could he have been right?
Was she doomed to never find...Was she truly cursed to always harm those she...
Something stirred in her mind. One more memory, but this one far older, far foggier, and far more horrible. Slowly, without even realizing it, she brought her hand up to the necklace and removed it, the metal having felt horribly constricting.
A few moments later a stewardess stopped by Minako's seat.
"Are you alright, Miss?"
"...Yes. I'm fine thank you." replied Mina.
As the stewardess moved off, Mina tore up the last of the playing cards, the shredded hearts fluttering to the floor.
Venus snuck a glance at Mars. It was about the thirtieth time she'd done that tonight.
The Senshi of Fire was dozing peacefully, her back facing her partner. Slowly, Venus reached out and gently wrapped her arm around Mars' waist, resting her forehead onto her bare shoulders.
Neither of them had planned for this. Neither of them had even hinted their interest in the other. Not when they'd been in high school nor when Crystal Tokyo arose three decades ago. Looking back though, it seemed funny to Venus that neither of them had seen it. Maybe it was because they were so different.
Mars rejected men, rejected love and devoted herself to her duty.
Venus on the other hand… well… she fell in love all too easily. Sure, she always chose her duty first, but that hadn't stopped her eye from wandering over the decades.
In each other though they'd found what they'd been looking for all along. Someone who understood that sense of duty. Someone who shared it. Someone who accepted Serenity would always come first and was willing to always put her first. Even if it meant they'd have to forever play second fiddle. Of course, from Venus' perspective, it didn't hurt that Mars was also the most beautiful being in all the galaxies.
It wasn't perfect, but it was more perfect than Venus had ever dreamed of. Maybe it was because of that perfection that, on sleepless nights like this, those nasty thoughts crept up on her.
Would it be another accident, like with Ace?
Would it be self-defence, as it had been with Kunzite?
Or maybe it'd be her own leadership that would be Mars' undoing.
She tightened her grip around Mars' waist as the guilt and fear hit her. Try as she might, she couldn't silence that burning question resounding in her head:
'How long can this last?'
Sitting on the bed she stared at her reflection within the mirror.
It was another quiet evening.
She lost count of how many nights she'd had like this. It'd been centuries since her retirement after all.
She wasn't as young as she used to be, although she looked great for her age. Then again, back when she was a teenager the mere idea of living this long would've sounded miraculous to her. She'd mentioned that the other day, when everyone had met up with Serenity and Endymion, their great grandchildren in tow of course. The memory stuck out to her because, surprisingly, they didn't usually talk about the old days.
It was funny, to the general populace the Senshi's adventures were endlessly discussed. But for them that time, whilst significant, was a blip in grand scheme of things. They'd enjoyed peace for so long that their old battles sometimes felt like a dream. Fans were shocked whenever she told them that. How could the Sailor Senshi, let alone their famous leader, ever become... mundane?
For her though, 'mundane' was the most wonderful word in the whole universe.
She couldn't really fight now, not even if she'd wanted to. Over the centuries her powers, along with those of the others, had dwindled, albeit gracefully. And besides, there were new warriors to take up their posts now, just as there was a new Queen to take up Serenity's.
And so, Venus was content to spend her days and nights in peace and quiet.
But never alone.
She snapped the crescent moon compact shut and exited the bedroom.
"You up for a game?" she asked, casually fiddling with the gold chain around her neck.
Mars looked up, her own matching gold chain glinting as she moved. Her eyes fell upon the deck of cards in Venus' other hand. She nodded, promptly taking the deck and beginning to shuffle.
"What do you want to play?" asked Venus.
"I know what you want to play." replied Mars
A cheeky grin crossed Venus' face.
"But I'm not up for that tonight. How about I read your future instead?"
Venus rolled her eyes. "Alright then, go ahead."
Mars often liked to do this. In all honesty Venus didn't mind, not really. She got a little annoyed at how Mars pretended like the cards themselves were talking, rather than Mars simply giving her interpretation of their meaning. Nevertheless, she indulged Mars for the next half-hour as she pulled one card after the next.
"King of Diamonds. It says Endymion will be calling upon us for some kind of upcoming charity project."
"Uh huh." Venus was doing her best not to sound bored.
Mars flipped over the Queen of Clubs and smirked. "This card says you should listen to my advice more often."
Venus chuffed out a laugh. "How convenient."
Mars continued to smirk as she continued onto the Jack of Spades. "Hmm, this card sounds nasty. Jealous even."
Venus remained silent, her expression suddenly becoming more stoic.
"And this one says..."
Mars stopped. Venus had gently placed her hand over hers, obscuring the card.
"I don't need to know what the Ace of Hearts has to say."
Mars seemed taken aback. "Are you sure?"
"Yes… I'm sure… In my experience..." A warm smile broke across her face. She leant over the table and planted a kiss on Mars. "...The Ace of Hearts is a terrible fortuneteller..."
For about the thirtieth time that day, Venus felt a wonderful warmth through her body. A warmth she intimately recognized as love...
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!
Also, I received the following review on this story:
"Not Happy
Just because Venus "struck out" with Kunzite and Ace, doesn't mean she would become a lesbian and have a relationship with Mars! I am not a fan of this one."
Let's make some things crystal clear.
It was never my intent that Venus 'became a lesbian'. Venus was simply attracted to whomsoever she was attracted to, with the content of their characters ultimately making all the difference long-term, and what ultimately mattered was the twists and turns life threw her way and how she navigated those. Potentially, had fate dealt her a different hand she maybe could've had a happy life with Kunzite, possibly with Ace (though I doubt it personally) or maybe even the both of them alongside Mars for all we know.
Secondarily, I don't believe anyone can 'become a lesbian'. Each of us, like Venus, will be attracted to whomever we will be attracted to and that's that. We can choose how to act upon those attractions, but we have no say in whether they exist or not.
Third of all, it's super fucking obvious in manga canon, and PGSM canon (which Takeuchi was involved with) that Venus and Mars share an attraction at the very least. Go read the manga and side stories if you do not believe me. Go watch PGSM. Or, maybe consult Greco-Roman mythology which was one of the biggest sources of inspiration for Sailor Moon, hence Prince Endymion is literally NAMED after the mythological lover of the Moon goddess. In mythology Mars/Ares and Goddess Venus/Aphrodite had a very well known romantic relationship. Not to mention pairing up 'Love' and 'War' is a well worn concept in literature and all types of media across the globe.
Finally, Jesus Christ... so long as it is between consenting human adults*... LOVE IS LOVE. Venus didn't start dating women because her relationship with Kunzite and Ace didn't pan out. I never even mentioned if she'd ever dated ANYONE at all between Ace's death an her romance with Mars, which happened in Crystal Tokyo so it was literally hundreds of years later. So for all we know she'd dated dozens of men and dozens of women in all manner of combinations.
My story wasn't even trying to make a point about male/female or same sex relationships. It was just literally me extrapolating from canon and characterization and trying to give Venus a happy ending with someone I firmly believe she'd be happy with and whom canon clearly shows us she has an attraction to.
Maybe I didn't do a good enough job and that's fair to critique me on that, but that's not what the reviewer was doing. To put it succinctly they were being nothing short of homophobic and that's beyond unacceptable!
sigh
You know between, between FFN and Ao3 I've only gotten three reviews for this fic and it's a real bummer that one of them had to be this homophobic crap.
*Or in this fictional case sentient demi-goddesses who're stars rendered in human form.
Aaaaaaaand to all similar comments like the above see this post on my tumblr sailormoonandmeDOTtumblrDOTcom/post/660314762253647872/doomed-affairs-manga-minako-30th-anniversary
Tl:dr version: fuck off homophobes