Hotaru is having a bad day in the botanical gardens when a stranger comes along to lift her spirits. Movie Canon. Written for Sailor Moon's 30th Anniversary.

Rated: T - Friendship/Hurt/Comfort - Words: 1,272 - Chibiusa T./Rini/Sailor Chibi (Mini) Moon, Hotaru T./Sailor Saturn, Mamoru C./Darien S./Tuxedo Kamen, Usagi T./Serena/Bunny/Sailor Moon

A/N: Whilst this fic is an AU, it is set during episode 116 of the original 1992 Sailor Moon anime, during Season 3/Sailor Moon S.

This fic is a gift for Koamaterasuhime and Yagi.

Amidst a veritable rainbow, the young woman stood out like a sore thumb. Her short black hair and ebony clothes were a stark contrast to the pink carnations, white lilies and lush greens of all shades. Only her eyes, violet like the nearby salvias, complimented kaleidoscope of colour surrounding her.

Or rather, they might have done, if they weren't currently half-closed, downcast and shedding salty tears.

"Allergic?"

Hotaru looked up with a start. She had thought she was alone in this segment of the botanical garden.

"N-n-no," she sobbed.

"Oh," the stranger said knowingly. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Hotaru knew it was a bad idea to talk to strangers. But something about the lean man seemed encouraging to her. As if she could sense his good intentions.

"It's stupid. I overheard something, that's all."

"Overheard what exactly?" the stranger asked politely.

As Hotaru wiped her tears, one of the salvias lightly brushed her shoulder, as if trying to comfort her.

"I overheard my friend's cousin's boyfriend."

The stranger's rather striking blue eyes narrowed slightly. "Um…?"

Hotaru huffed out a miniscule laugh. "My best friend, she persuaded her older cousin Usagi to let us tag along on her date with her boyfriend Mamoru."

"Doesn't sound like much of a date to me," chuckled the stranger.

"I suppose not," Hotaru laughed again, louder than she had before.

"So what's the problem? Did you hear this boyfriend, this 'Mamoru', complain about you?" The corner of the stranger's mouth twitched, almost as if he was about to smile but caught himself.

"Oh no!" cried Hotaru. "It was nothing like that. He's really nice, and so is Usagi."

"Then…what did he say?"

"Well…it was weird. But it wasn't the weirdness that…that 'got' to me."

"Then… what was?" Despite the stranger's continual probing, there was a gentleness to his tone.

"I went to the bathroom, and, when I came back, I spotted this strange lady in a headscarf talking to Mamoru. I think she was flirting with him."

The stranger cocked his eyebrow. "You think he was… cheating on Usagi?"

Hotaru's eyes went wide and she shook her head as vigorously.

"No, he never would." Hotaru cocked her head slightly in confusion at the stranger's cryptic muttering.

"He didn't seem interested in the blonde lady," Hotaru pressed on, "It was just that he told her he wasn't interested because…" She took a split second to blink, as if trying to gather herself. "… because he was here with his future wife and daughter."

Even the stranger seemed taken aback by this. "… Alright…. I see what you mean by it being weird."

Hotaru shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh… but you said the weirdness wasn't what upset you, right."

Hotaru's violet eyes narrowed, and her head bowed a little.

"When Mamoru said that he grabbed Usagi and my friend. I don't know if he was lying or just joking but…the way they looked together….The way they seemed to fit…"

She quickly rubbed her eyes.

"…It's alright."

At the stranger's gentle reassurance, one of the vibrant flowers brushed against Hotaru's cheek.

"… I-i-it just r-r-re-reminded me about how… how I… how I don't have…"

"How you don't have a family?" There was something odd beneath the stranger's words.

"I-I-I-" Hotaru took a deep breath, trying to tame her sobbing. "I do have a family. But my mother… she's gone. And my Papa hasn't been the same since."

Hotaru's eyes were still downcast, but she nevertheless heard the light tapping of approaching footsteps.

"Please listen to me," began the stranger, "I know a thing or two about feeling like that. Of feeling lonely. But you have to remember, your father is still alive. That makes you more fortunate than a lot of people in this universe."

"But he is always too busy for me so he has this…" Hotaru actually scowled, "… this witch look after me instead."

Although she did not look up, Hotaru could peripherally see the stranger kneel down to meet her eye level.

"Well…If nothing else you will always have them." Hotaru raised her gaze, meeting the stranger's striking blue eyes. With a deliberate upwards nod, those same azure eyes darted over Hotaru's shoulder.

Slowly, she turned around and looked through the large window of the botanical garden. Across the green grass she spotted a trio picnicking. A man with short dark hair, a girl with bubblegum pink hair tied up in twin buns that resembled the blonde ones adorning the head of an older girl.

"Trust me, Usagi and Mamoru will make sure you are never lonely again."

At that moment, Hotaru noticed a fourth plate laid out on the blanket. Tears welled up within her again, but this time there was no sadness behind them.

Behind her she heard a ruffling, shuffling sound followed by more light taps. Whirling around she saw the stranger had already moved off and was nearing the exit.

"Wait!" she cried after him. "How did you know they were Usagi and Mamoru?" Realisation and confusion dawned upon her simultaneously. "How do you know so much about them at all?"

The stranger stopped, flanked by a small pool to his left and some dangling flowers to his right.

For half a minute he said nothing. Both he and Hotaru were frozen in place.

"They each helped me in the past. Usagi a little while ago..."

It might have been Hotaru's imagination, but one of the snowy white lotus flowers to the stranger's right seemed to almost open its petals up invitingly.

At the same time the stranger extended his hand to his right, lightly caressing the petals of some dangling forget-me-nots.

"…and Mamoru when we were both children."

With that he retracted his hand and stepped over the threshold. Hotaru cautiously jogged after him, by the time she reached the exit he had vanished.

In his place, the air filled by some fluttering red rose petals.

A/N: Consider this fic the representative of the Sailor Moon Movies in this anthology, or at least the R movie.

Koamaterasuhime told me that Sailor Moon S was her favourite arc and Fiore was one of her favourite characters.

To that end, I tried to figure out a way to integrate Fiore into S and this fic (originally intended for RarePair Week 2022) is the end result.

It all clicked for me when I realised there was literally a whole episode from S set in a botanical garden, so Fiore would feel all too at home there, lol.

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!