For many years one of Kenji Tsukino's biggest fears had been his daughter meeting 'the wrong kind of guy'. In fact, he'd been so concerned with this fear that he'd never considered a far worse scenario: his daughter meeting the 'right kind of guy'... Mixed Anime/Manga Canon. Repurposed for Kenji's 30th Anniversary.
Rated: T - Family/Spiritual - Words: 1,059 Mamoru C./Darien S./Tuxedo Kamen, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon, Ikuko T., Kenji T.
A/N: This fic is a spiritual sequel to my other story 'Passes et Passages' a.k.a,. 'Growing Pains' and a sort of 'companion' piece to 'Revenge of the Last Commander' a.k.a. 'Legacies' and 'Mothers'.
Many thanks to AReptileDysfunction for beta reading this fic for me. You can check out her work under the names areptiledysfunction1107 on tumblr and A_Reptile_Dysfunction on Ao3.
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As Kenji took his place in the front row, he couldn't help but let his gaze drift over to that Chiba boy. He was standing tall and surprisingly relaxed, considering the uncomfortable looking tuxedo he was wearing. He was a far cry from how Kenji had been thirty odd years ago. The boy knew what he was doing.
Catching his eye, Kenji realized the boy had always known what he'd been doing. He'd known even on the very first night they had formally met each other.
Although that had been a lifetime ago, one by one, the moments flashed in his memory, almost like the snapshots Kenji had so often captured with his camera…
All three of them heard the purr of the red sports car before they actually saw it through the living room curtains.
"Whoa!" Exclaimed Shingo excitedly.
Ikuko's eyes widened, equally impressed as her son. "Oh my, I didn't expect him to have such style." She half giggled the last word out, making her bushy blue hair bounce.
Whilst Ikuko and Shingo continued to 'oooh' and 'ahhh', Kenji remained resolutely silent, alarm bells ringing loudly in his head.
Just how fast did he drive that thing? Just how fast did he live?
"Good evening Mrs. Tsukino. Mr. Tsukino."
The Chiba boy bowed respectfully and extended his hand to Kenji and his wife. To his chagrin, Kenji had spotted Ikuko's cheeks flush a little red. Clearly, this lad believed he could get by with charm alone. Kenji knew his game all too well; mostly because he'd been no stranger to it in his own youth.
Later, as they conversed on the sofas, his fears were compounded upon when he learned the boy's age. Granted, the age gap wasn't that large all things considered, but Usagi was still just fourteen! Practically a baby!
Whenever Kenji had imagined the dreaded day his daughter would bring a boy home, he'd thought of some acne riddled creature from her class; someone like Umino perhaps. But, not only was this Chiba boy quite the looker, but he had more money than Kenji had ever seen in his life! He was a teenager with his own apartment for goodness sake! An apartment, Kenji soon realized, Usagi might have the key to…
That revelation had sent him straight to the bathroom where he miraculously managed to not have a heart attack.
It was only at the end of dinner that Kenji was able to admit that he was overreacting. The car, the apartment, the age gap, none of those were the real problem.
No, the real problem was the look on the boy's face whenever he laid eyes on Usagi. The subtle quality to his voice when he spoke about the bubbly blonde. And of course, his body language when he was around her.
Kenji was a reporter, he invariably noticed these tiny tells. Worse still, they reminded him of another young man he'd once known at a hot springs resort. A young man who'd been forever changed when he had met a girl with bushy blue hair.
To his horror, Usagi was eerily similar to that same girl. Or at least, she was whenever she was around the Chiba boy.
His daughter dating a jerk who might hurt her was a terrifying prospect. And for the last fourteen years Kenji had braced himself for that doomsday scenario.
This was something else entirely.
He had no idea how to handle his daughter being in love!? Let alone in love with someone who clearly felt the same way about her. Someone who, Kenji begrudgingly had to admit, could clearly give her everything she needed in life.
At that moment Kenji knew he had just met his future son-in-law. And the thought of it made him feel sickeningly redundant.
As the years rolled by Kenji came to learn more and more about the boy. To his chagrin, he had even grown to like him. They both enjoyed the occasional excursion out of the city. They both had a strong work ethic. And most of all, the boy had managed to make something of himself in spite of a pretty lousy start in life.
Whatsmore, he not only wanted to be there for Usagi, but helped and encouraged her to be her best self too. He would always love his daughter, but he had only grown prouder of her with every day since that fateful meeting.
It was that feeling of pride that brought him back to the present: Usagi standing opposite the Chiba boy upon the altar.
The pride he felt in that moment mingled with that old redundancy when Usagi's veil was finally lifted. For some reason he recalled a masquerade ball he'd covered for the magazine many years ago. There had been a stunning, regal young woman there who had stood out to him. However, she paled in comparison to the beautiful bride before his eyes.
When the time finally came and the vows were sealed with a kiss, Kenji was surprised to find that sense of redundancy had subsided. The joy and pride utterly overshadowed it. Pride in the woman his daughter had become.
And pride in the man that Chiba boy had grown into as well.
A/N: I originally wrote this a long time ago before I knew what a beta was lol. It seemed too perfect to not reuse for Kenji's 30th.
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!