Daydream Believer – Chapter Four
by taitofan
Rated PG-13 for sexual situations
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.
Author's note: And now it's time for my crack otp to make its appearance. Like I said before, the Starlights are one-hundred percent female here. I'll get more into people referring to them by given versus surname later. After all, this ship isn't going to set sail right away… Also, if you understand what's going on with Kinmoku's culture here, yeah, I totally made that up. It has no canon basis at all.
If you have any CC, please share and I'll listen. Please read, review, and enjoy! Finished 05-26-14
Kou Yaten wasn't in a very good mood.
Admittedly, she often was a bit grouchy, but she knew that she was getting more irritable as time went on. And for her, time certainly had gone on for a long time since she'd first left her home planet. As much as she'd loathed to admit it, she'd enjoyed her time on Earth, and it was hard leaving for Kinmoku again. Then she and her teammates had learned that the silver crystal had touched them in such a way that they stopped aging… And Princess Kakyuu had died…
Yaten wasn't even sure which granddaughter they were on anymore. All she knew was that Princess Kozue didn't like that she had the same guardians as all of her predecessors. She and the other Starlights shouldn't have known their princess's plans, but the girl was far too hot-tempered—nothing like Kakyuu—to have kept quiet about it after fighting with them one night.
"Maybe you should enjoy your last days on Kinmoku instead of annoying me! Cause when we get to Earth, I'm offering you to the queen! Maybe she actually wants you around!"
It wasn't hard to believe it was happening. For several generations, the princesses seemed to enjoy their presence less and less. As tales from the time of Galaxia's destruction grew and mutated, they all seemed a little more bitter that the Starlights stayed young while they all grew old and died. Seiya in particular had seemed grateful upon hearing the spoiled princess's words.
It wasn't as if Yaten minded being under Neo Queen Serenity's command instead—because she had no doubt that no matter what her name or title, Usagi would never turn them away—it was just…
Her mood grew darker as they entered the royal palace. She knew the princess wasn't planning on staying any longer than necessary, so this all seemed so fake. Add to that the blonde woman she saw no more than five minutes upon arrival…
Yaten had, at one point, fancied herself in love with Minako Aino. It was foolish, of course, because Minako's interest in her had absolutely plummeted upon learning she was actually a girl. It had stung, but she'd gotten over it. It had been more of a feeling that she should love the bubbly blonde than really desiring her anyway, and now all that was left was a bitter feeling deep within her. And seeing Minako now didn't help her attitude in the least. It just reminded her of one more thing that hadn't worked out. One more way she wasn't like her teammates. One more way she felt isolated from the people of Kinmoku…
Still, she knew how to be professional, so upon entering the palace, she'd tried her best not to let her irritation with literally everything show. But then they'd run into Small Lady's guests, and Yaten literally ran into him.
"Oh, sorry little girl. You aren't hurt, are you?"
The man's words probably hadn't meant anything, but Yaten didn't exactly like being reminded that even at her age, she was still very short, and certain parts of her anatomy had never grown as much as her teammates'. Add that to how she already felt…
"I'm almost a thousand years old," she hissed, batting away the gloved hand held out to her and getting to her feet by herself. She looked him over and sneered, suddenly deciding that maybe being petty would make her feel better. It had always worked in the past. "I'd be a lot better if I hadn't been knocked over by a fashion reject in bad heels though."
The man had sputtered and two of his companions ended up dragging him away as he yelled about her small chest making her look twelve. She fumed in kind, and it took both Taiki and Seiya yanking her by an arm apiece to get her moving again.
The fact that they ended up standing next to each other as they were introduced hadn't helped things in the slightest.
Hawk's Eye was his name, and she'd almost laughed the moment she'd heard it. He'd glared, and she'd glared, and Taiki glared at them both for making a scene, but she didn't care. She was finally getting a chance to vent her frustrations, and Hawk's Eye was present and willing to go along with it.
Upon Small Lady breaking from her family to greet her fiancées, Taiki grabbed her arm and took her aside.
"You do realize that if Neo Queen Serenity takes us in"—and she would, especially with the way she was openly mooning over Seiya—"you'll be living in the palace with that man, correct? You might want to stop and ask yourself if this is what you want. Having duties for a queen will be no different from duties for the princesses we've served, even if we aren't personal guardians anymore."
"I know that," she snapped, yanking her arm away. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Yaten…" Taiki sighed, and her pitying expression made Yaten want to lash out. Deep down, she knew what Taiki was about to say, and she didn't want to hear it. "I know that what's the norm on Kinmoku is quite the opposite here on Earth. Seiya and I… We've both known for a long time. But even if it will pose no problems here, if you pursue a relationship with him, you might—"
"What?" she interrupted, glaring at Taiki with all her might. "What in the cosmos gave you the idea I would ever want a relationship with that walking fashion reject?"
Taiki sighed and shook her head, while Yaten just glared for all she was worth. Her, liking a guy like him? What a joke! She would never—!
"You haven't been this invested in arguing with anyone since you harbored feelings for Miss Aino, and you've only even known of his existence for a few hours. Why should I believe this is anything different? We all know you fear rejection, so you express your interest in someone with rude quips and insults and—"
Yaten didn't stick around to hear anymore. She knew it wasn't proper, but everyone was too invested in their own affairs to care that she fled the room towards her room in the guest quarters.
She didn't want to hear that. Not from Taiki. Not from anyone. Fear getting hurt? Covering up attraction with catty words? Liking a man? How dare she!
She slammed the door to her room shut behind her, her knees buckling. She sank to the floor, her eyes welling up with angry tears. Stupid Taiki. That… that stupid man! Stupid her!
…Because Taiki was absolutely correct, but she'd be damned if she ever admitted it. She was so much better than this… She didn't want to get hurt. Not again, not when she'd soon be living under the same roof as Minako. And she didn't want to be different from her teammates. She'd tried so hard to love Minako, but it just hadn't worked. Not for either of them. And after all this time, some idiotic man runs her over and—
She didn't want to think about how easy his face was on her eyes, or how nice his voice sounded, or how his revealing—though still very much a fashion nightmare—attire showed off his toned body, or those striking red eyes…
She'd gotten hurt from a crush-on-first-sight before, and she wasn't going to make that mistake again.