She felt wonderfully safe. Wonderfully happy. Wonderfully not alone. How could she ever feel otherwise when she was with 'him' Manga Canon. Written for the 25th Anniversary of the Stars Arc.

Rated: T - Hurt/Comfort/Romance - Words: 595 - Mamoru C./Darien S./Tuxedo Kamen, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Chaos, Galaxia

A/N: Many thanks to SinJazz for betaing this fic! You can find her on Ao3 and Instagram under the same name.

/users/SinJazz

sinjazz1327/

This fic is a gift for RiverLethe9

She felt wonderfully safe. Wonderfully happy. Wonderfully not alone.

How could she ever feel otherwise when she was with him?

Slowly, rhythmically, they danced across the Moon itself, bathed in the light reflecting off of the crystal and silver white marble castle.

She rested her head upon the warm skin of his chest, feeling his breath in perfect unison with her own.

"We'll always be together, won't we?"

"Of course we will."

She looked up from his chest, drowning at the sight of his dark hair, handsome face, and sparkling sapphire eyes.

"Promise?"

He took her hand in his, thumbing the glittering ring on her finger.

"I promise Usa. I promise I'll nev-"

His eyes widened suddenly. A split second later hers did too as his body began to crumble to dust.

Then the palace crumbled followed suit.

Then the Earth and every other planet too. Even the stars themselves were burning out.

She fell to her knees, clutching at the empty space he had once occupied.

Her grief and loneliness were too much. Tears broke from her eyes and she let out a wail of despair. Despite her shrieks and sobs, one sound overwhelmed her ears.

A cruel, chaotic laugh.

PiPiPiPiPiPi

With a gasp, Usagi sat bolt upright in the bed.

Accompanying her ringing alarm clock was the chirping of birds, and the bright golden light of the sun through the bedroom window.

Despite the warmth of the sunlight, Usagi felt cold and numb. Tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her blank face.

Automatically she wiped them away and then, mechanically, began getting dressed for school. As she slowly, stiffly, made her way over to her door, she spotted something sparkly out the corner of her eye. Barely moving her head, she brought a small white, open box into full view.

A cold chill crept into her body. A strong, cruel hand, snatched up her heart and squeezed it tight. She couldn't take it! She was going to break! She was going to fall to her knees and-

"Mamo-chan… gave me this ring. Then he got on the plane. And he went to America… He's fine."

She knew she had said the words herself. Nevertheless, it was as if they were the mere echoes from someone else's life.

Usagi blinked, then, without thinking, opened the door.

Within the vacant bedroom, the white box lay open. But the silver band inside was gone, leaving the box empty.

But not as empty as the girl who now wore the ring itself…

A/N: This story is set during Act 50. Stars 1.

Consider this a kind of meta companion piece to my other fic 'Last Kiss'. Whilst the latter marked the end of the anime by revisiting the last episode in a happy way, this story marks the end of the manga by revisiting the first chapter of the Stars arc in a sad way.

Also 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!