Hey howdy hey people! I suddenly lost my writer's block! Not only that but I found more time :D Things are going well now and so I hope to have updates ready more often. And with that, I hope that you will enjoy this chapter on mine and COL232's behalves. Please review and let us know what you think! :D

And speaking of reviews, we would like to thank XXThe wish GranterXX for her consistent reviewing of every chapter since the very beginning. Extra love to you hun! Thanks for the support! ^^

As always, love to all! :D

~SXS

A shocked Serenity could only stare at her guest. Of course she'd known he was there, and had even seen him from afar when she was giving her speech. But up close, just like old times, her heart was pounding and her face was flushing.

She finally broke free from her stupor. "Um, hello. Seiya…It's wonderful to see you again!" She smiled wide and he mimicked her grin.

"You too. You look…stunning," Seiya replied. There was an awkward pause in which neither knew what to say next, until Seiya decided to go with, "So, would you like to dance? Ahem, Serenity-sama," he amended.

"Now Seiya, you know you don't have to call me that. But yes, I would love to." Serenity blushed a vivid rose red as Seiya gently grasped one of her hands and laced their fingers together. His other arm came to rest on her waist line.

"I missed you quite a bit, Odango," he whispered in her ear as they moved through the dance floor, Seiya leading to keep her from any klutz attacks.

Bright blue eyes flecked with silver bits peered at him gently, pink lips slipping upwards in a gentle smile. "I missed you as well. I hope you and the others had a pleasant journey here."

Seiya chuckled, raven black bangs falling into his eyes. "Yes, it was fine." They swayed in time for a little while before Seiya said, "So, Odango. We all heard about the, uh, issues with the king. We're terribly sorry. I know how much he meant to you."

Serenity tilted her head down slightly. "Yeah…Thanks. I'm just glad he didn't get a chance to try and take over the world or something. It could have been really dangerous."

"Well if you need help, we're always available. No matter what, I will always be there for you." Seiya smiled down at her in that dazzling way he had. He hesitated for a moment before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you."

Another silence. Serenity could tell that Seiya had something he wanted to say, but he was acting very nervous about it. "Seiya...Is something on your mind?"

The former idol looked down at her with a growing blush of his own. "Uh, well, yes actually." He took a deep and steadying breath. "Neo Queen Serenity...Usagi Tsukino...My Odango. Would you allow me the honor of beginning a courtship with you?" Despite the fact that Serenity had long known Seiya's feelings for her, she still gasped at this request. "I have loved you for so long. Ever since we left this planet, I haven't been able to forget about you. I would be the happiest person in the universe if you were to say yes." He looked pleadingly into her eyes with his own. The expressions mixed within were ones of longing, hope, and true love.

The young queen took a moment to think. She had to admit there was a sort of spark between herself and Gilbert, especially after learning about their past relationship. But she feared making the same mistakes again by being with someone just because of a history. It was too painful to think of going through that again. Her experience with Mamoru made a mockery of love and actually made her fearful of it.

But Seiya she knew had always been a faithful person, there with her until the bitter end. He protected her even when it meant risking his life, and he loved her for her, and not because she was royalty or a superhero.

With these thoughts in mind she nodded. "Hai, Seiya, you may court me. But there may very well be others who will try to win my heart. Will you be able to handle that?"

His dark blue eyes widened and sparkled with joy. A smile slowly spread wide across his face. He laid a kiss at the corner of her lips tenderly. "Don't you worry about me, Odango. Seiya-sama can handle anything that gets thrown at him!" The same old Seiya, Serenity thought. "But you have to remember, you are not a prize to be won. You are a beautiful and wonderful person for all to adore."

The blonde giggled. "Seiya, you've always known just what to say to make me smile." She leaned her head on his chest and they continued to dance across the crystal floor.

Meanwhile, at one of the tables at the edge of the floor, Gilbert was sitting with Elizabeta and Roderich. He had his eyes glued to Serenity and the guy with the ponytail, and he couldn't understand what the strange feeling in his heart was when he looked at them. All at once he was feeling angry and sad and lonely. He had never felt anything like this before, at least he didn't remember feeling like this before.

"I don't understand, who is that guy and why is he dancing with her that way? He's not even that good looking!" The albino crossed his arms over his chest and hunched, pouting.

"Gilbert! Could it be that you're jealous?" Eliza teased.

"That's impossible. Gilbert could never like anyone enough to feel jealous about them being with another person. He's too much in love with himself," Roderich said.

"Shut it, aristocrat! I'm trying to see if I can tell what they're talking about." Suddenly he gasped as he witness the dark-haired man leaning down to place a kiss on Serenity's lips. "Whaaaaaa?"

"Oooh, it looks like this is her new boyfriend," Eliza said, satisfied that for once Gilbert's ego had deflated a little. But when she saw the genuine hurt in his eyes as he watched the couple dancing, her smile faded. "Gilbert? Are you ok?"

"This...is not awesome," he said quietly. Even Roderich looked at him with concern.

"Gilbert? Look it's not like they're married or anything. You've still got a chance!" the Hungarian encouraged. "There's no way that she'd settle into a really deep relationship right after such a horrible incident with her ex-husband."

"Yes, her heart can't possibly be ready to open up to someone again so soon. You may still be able to get in her favor." But Gilbert was silent and just kept watching the two as they continued to rock gently to the music. Roderich and Elizabeta looked to each other, both shocked that Gilbert was acting so vulnerably. They had never seen him like that before, even in the hundreds of years that they had known him.

After a few more moments Gilbert got up from his chair. "I'm gonna go outside and get a little air," he mumbled and made his way out of the room.

"Poor Gilbert. I can't believe that I'm saying it but I actually feel somewhat sorry for him," Eliza said.

"As do I. It's a horrible feeling to see someone you care for in another's arms," Roderich agreed. The two fell into a silence for a minute before the Austrian said, "Well...We can't let him ruin the night for all of us. Would you care to dance, my dear?"

Elizabeta smiled. "Mm, I thought you'd never ask." They grasped hands and walked onto the floor together.

When the slow song had ended and another began, Serenity pulled back from Seiya a bit. "Much as I am enjoying our dance, I must spend some time with the other nations and guests who are here tonight. But if you would like, we can meet later in the gardens, just the two of us."

"I understand. And that sounds lovely." Seiya placed another kiss on her lips before they parted. He bowed before walking off the floor to join Taiki and Yaten.

"Soo, you and Seiya-kun finally have something going on?" Minako's cheery voice sounded at her shoulder. Serenity yelped and jumped, turning around.

"Minako-chan! Don't sneak up on my like that! And Seiya and I are now in a courtship, thank you very much." She winked at her best friend, who giggled in delight.

"Finally! I knew you two would get together someday! He's really a good guy for you. I would know. I am the senshi of love after all." She gave the V-for-victory sign. "And now it's time to make my dreams come true with my favorite Starlight. Hey Yaten-kuuuuun!"

Serenity shook her head laughing. Minako would never stop being Minako. But she was glad about that. She didn't want any of her friends to be different just because now they were living in a palace and essentially ruling the world.

She turned her attention to finding someone else she wanted to dance with. Luckily, she didn't have to search long before someone found her. "Mon cher, would you care to dance?" a deep voice asked.

"Francis-kun! I'd love to." The Frenchman swept her up without hesitation and pulled out a rose (still from a location that Serenity could not seem to find). He pushed the stem into her hair making the red blossom stand out against her golden locks.

"You are looking quite beautiful tonight," he said in a low voice.

"Why thank you. And you are looking very handsome yourself."

"Merci, merci. We are all enjoying our time here very much. And I know that I speak on behalf of all my fellow nations when I say, thank you for your hospitality, generosity, and sweet kindness to us all. We haven't seen much of that for a very long time."

"You're very welcome. I only want everyone to be happy. Then I'll be happy." She smiled brightly and Francis couldn't help but mirror it.

"You are truly the most wonderful and good-hearted person in the universe." Just then, Makoto approached the two of them.

"May I cut in?"

"You want to dance with me, Mako-chan?" Serenity asked.

"Actually, I was hoping to dance with Francis-kun. And I thought maybe later we could discuss some recipes, if you want to..." she trailed off with a pink tint on her cheeks.

"Thank you for the dance, Serenity," Francis said with a bow. Then he pulled another rose that seemingly came from nowhere, and took Makoto into his arms. "Mon ami, I am sure we have very much in common. Let us get to know one another better." He led her away and Serenity was alone again. She decided that she would take a little break from dancing and found herself an empty table where she could observe everyone else dancing.

She could see Roderich and Elizabeta dancing gracefully together, as well as Makoto and Francis. Minako had managed to get Yaten out on the floor as well. Ami was dancing with Ludwig, which she thought was an appropriate match seeing as they were both very intelligent and could have an in depth conversation.

Alfred and Arthur were holding each other close, the Brit burying his face into the American's shoulder. Serenity could see that they had a strong love for each other. Ivan was dancing with Matthew, which she thought was adorable. She was very accepting of all kinds of relationships.

Another couple who was probably the most surprising of all was Kiku and Yao. She may not have paid a lot of attention to history classes back in school, but she knew that there was some rough history between the two of them. She was shocked but also happy that the two of them were getting along enough to even dance together. Perhaps they would settle their differences now that they were no longer nations.

As the night went on, many different people came up to the young queen asking for dances or just to greet and introduce themselves. She was having a magical night, but still felt like she was missing a dance with someone.

That was when she noticed one lone nation sitting at a far away table. When she saw who it was her heart did a little flip in her chest. She approached the table quietly.

"Hello, Gilbert-kun."

The Prussian looked up. "S-Serenity!"

"Why are you sitting all alone, dear?" she asked sitting down.

"Oh, no reason. Just basking in my awesome," he said only half-heartedly.

"Well, there's a little bit of time left before the ball ends. Would you…like to dance?" She put out a hand and smiled wide.

Gilbert looked at her outstretched palm and felt a little better. "Alright. It'll be your…no, it'll be my honor." He gave a small bow from the waist and stood, taking her hand and leading her to the floor.

The two danced silently and somewhat awkwardly. Serenity felt very flustered being this close to Gilbert, and thought that perhaps it was a bad idea to have asked for this dance. She didn't want to not be friends with him, but she didn't want to be more than friends and get hurt.

And yet, things felt right being in his arms. Despite the fact that he was a bit arrogant at times, he was still incredibly sweet when he wanted to be. Not to mention damn good-looking.

But no, she couldn't! She felt deeply for Gilbert, yes, in ways she didn't even understand yet. But she also cared a lot for Seiya who she agreed to be courted by. And she didn't want to hurt him, not when he loved her so much.

So she danced bittersweetly with her past love, trying to keep her heart from tearing in two, both halves choosing different men.