Epilogue
Serenity held her son on her hip as she twirled a white rose in between her fingers and showed it to him. The white haired toddler reached for the flower and tickled his nose with it as the sun beamed down on them outside.
"It's a rose. Can you say rose, darling?" she asked quietly, sniffing it.
"Wose," he gurgled.
"That's my boy!"
"Serena! Come on! Let's go!" Rei called out to her from the balcony.
"Coming!" she hollered back. As she walked down the path leading back to the Crystal Palace, she cooed to her child, "Are you ready for the wedding my handsome man? All the ladies are going to want to dance with you."
The two of them bounced their way back into the palace where Darien and Rini were waiting patiently. He cocked his head to the side and grinned at her as she bobbed their youngest child up and down on her hip.
"You look beautiful," he smiled as he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "And our little Junior here looks like he could take on the world!"
"Yeah, he's finally getting over that pesky cold," Serena replied as she examined his face. "The first time always worries me."
The four of them started to walk to the entrance of the palace when Rini asked, "What do you mean 'first time'?"
"When you got your first cold, I went to the doctor every day for a week," she explained. "Any new symptom scared me to pieces. I thought you were going to die!"
The group smiled and giggled as they made it into the car. The rest of the scouts were taking a separate vehicle behind them to the chapel. On the car ride over, Serena held onto Darien's hand and leaned against him comfortably.
"You really do look gorgeous," he whispered into her ear.
"I'll be covered in baby burp-up by the end of the night, I guarantee it," she commented slyly. "Then you'll have wandering eyes for sure."
"My eyes belong to you and your body only. I've learned my lesson."
When they made it to the church, Serenity was greeted by the pastor, Molly. She had finally healed and was summoned by the queen herself to perform the marriage ceremony. The two embraced at the top of the white steps and she guided the royal family inside where hundreds of people were sitting in pews. Tall, white candles were spread all around the perimeter of the room and white, turquoise, dark blue, and yellow flower petals were sprinkled down the aisle to signify the unity between the two lovers. The family sat down in the front row and the inner scouts sat directly behind them. Across the aisle from them, Setsuna, Hotaru, and Helios all sat in the front. They wave happily to the group and then continued back to the quiet conversation they were having.
Molly knelt down in front of Neo-Queen Serenity and touched the baby's hand, "So this is the new prince?"
"Yes, this is Endymion the second," she said as she kissed the top of his soft head. "Can you say hi to the pretty pastor? Say hi!"
He removed his hand from Molly's and shoved his face into his mother's chest, blushing red as he did. Serena smiled and lifted him up above her head, jiggling him a little bit, "You shouldn't be scared of beautiful women! They love you darling! Smile for Mama! Go on! Smile!"
The baby boy spread his arms and legs like he was flying and then laughed and sniggered as his mother brought him back down to her lap. She kissed his forehead and turned back to Molly, "He gets shy around new people."
"Has he said any words yet?"
"He can say Mama, Papa, Riri, no, yes, Lulu – for Luna – and he said rose today … but it was pronounced as 'wose'," she listed.
A woman who was rushing down the aisle came up to the king and queen and said breathlessly, "Your majesties! The brides request your presence!"
Serena rolled her eyes as she handed the mini-Endymion over to Rini, "Oh boy, here we go. Cold feet."
The two of them stood up and walked down the aisle, following the woman who they presumed to be the wedding planner. The group ended at the foyer where there were two large, dark wooden doors on either side, both with a large ring of flowers on the front, their colors blatantly indicating which room belonged to Haruka and which belonged to Michiru.
"Ms. Tenoh wanted to see you, sir," the wedding planner said, gesturing to the door with dark blue flowers. "And Ms. Kaioh wanted to see you ma'am."
The couple parted ways and went into the respective rooms. The king knocked on Haruka's door before pushing it open. He found her sitting at her vanity with her head in hands and a white dress that suited her figure and personality very well. She was wearing a tight fitting blazer with a deep V-neck exposing her perfect cleavage and a short pleated white skirt that looked like she could go play tennis if she wanted. She looked sporty, classic, and professional; an all encompassing outfit for the most masculine female of the bunch.
"Ugh," she groaned. "I don't know if I can do this."
Her bare leg was shaking and she finally turned her head to look at the king. Tears had stained her facial features and she bit her quivering lip. Endymion strolled closer to the Scout of the Wind and held his hand out to her. She took it in grasp and was helped into a standing position.
"I have been there," he replied.
"What happened?" Haruka asked curiously.
"That day, I was terrified and excited. My future was written out in front of me already and I was supposed to become one of the most powerful rulers in the universe; that was the scary part for me. Knowing that I was going to be leading this life with the woman that I adored and loved was the exciting and comforting part. It feels like you're uncertain about your future, huh?" She nodded to him. "You've been living this life for so long with Michiru already. What will change is that you'll have a piece of jewelry on your hand and you'll be legally bound. This ceremony is a huge deal, I know, but it's really just a way to go through the motions. It's a celebration of unity."
"But what if—"
"Have you ever questioned your relationship before?"
"N-no."
"Then why now?" Haruka shrugged. "It's all a bunch of hype. Tomorrow morning, you're going to wake up next to your wife with a huge smile on your face. You won't have that feeling every morning, but it'll be close to it."
She sniffed a little and wiped away the trails of tears off her face and said, "I guess it was silly of me to become so worked up over this."
"No. It's perfectly normal," he replied with a smile. "Do you feel ready?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"Okay. I'm going to return to my seat. If you need me, I'll be around for you," he winked before exiting her room.
Meanwhile, across the hallway…
"What if she doesn't want to be with me?"
Serenity crossed her arms over her chest and arched an eyebrow as her eyes stayed glued to the pacing bride in front of her, "You really think that Haruka went through all this trouble to just dump you at the altar?"
"No," she mumbled.
Michiru collapsed to the floor like a child and started to fan out her long silk gown around her. Her arms were bare in the strapless silk gown she had chosen with a pearl and beaded bodice. A diamond necklace with a large aquamarine jewel hung around her neck and her hair was pinned partially behind her ears with diamond bobby pins.
The queen walked over and stood in front of her fallen scout, "This is not the cool, calm, collected Sailor Scout who lectured me on how to make it through my marital problems. Michiru, you know that you and Haruka are head over heels, drowning in love. Why are you holding back all of a sudden? What is scaring you so much?"
"We're taking such a huge step… What if I can't—"
"It's the 'what ifs' that ruin a marriage," Serenity interrupted. "How long have you and Haruka been together?"
"Twenty-five years this summer."
"Will marriage really ruin all that you have been through?"
"N-no…"
"Do you want to vow to be with her for the rest of your life?"
"Yes."
"Then get up."
The scout rose to her feet slowly and the queen helped her by gripping onto her lace gloved hands. Michiru smoothed out her dress and then looked up at the ceiling; she was trying to push the tears back into her eyes so that they didn't fall down her face. Once she had regained her composure, she looked to Serena and gave her a real smile, not one of those fake "I'm fine" smiles.
"I'll be near by if you need anything more," she said to the bride before leaving the room.
Glancing down at the ground she heard her husband ask, "Crisis averted?"
She simply grinned at him and slithered her arm through his, walking down the aisle together. Memories of her own wedding floated in and out of her head as she made it back to her seat next to her daughter and took the baby onto her lap.
The music for the brides to walk down the aisle together started a few minutes later and the large audience that filled up the whole church stood to their feet and turned around. All eyes were on the lovely couple that strolled down leisurely to the altar where Molly was waiting patiently and happily for them. When they approached the pastor, the viewers sat down, and Molly handed them two unlit candles and held a pre-lit one in her hand as she started the ceremony.
"We're gathered here to join the love of these two women together," she announced to the people in the pews. "Their love has been through so much in these past twenty-five years; they've been up, they've been down, they've been through thick and thin, they've been through war and peace. Now is the time when they can finally legally and ceremoniously celebrate their love as bound and vowed lovers to one another for their rest of their lives. The two brides have requested that they each say their own vows."
She gestured to Haruka who was having an extremely hard time not crying. She laughed a bit when she caught her lover's eyes and let some of the tears scurry down her soft cheeks.
"So, um, I was going to write this really long speech for you," she started off casually. "But then as I was half through my novel," the audience chuckled, "I decided to scrap it and just tell you what I feel directly from my heart. You and I have been through a lot. You've been through your phases as have I and yet we have some how decided that it's best for the two of us to stay together. Go figure…. Anyways, I know that you could have been with anyone else but me at this point. I don't know how you stand some of the things I do; singing in the shower, talking with food in my mouth, talking during movies, making snide comments, talking when I'm not supposed to … seriously, Mich, how do you deal with my loud mouth? And as much as I would like to know the answer to that question, I'm glad I don't. I love you more than those three little words can say and I'm overjoyed that you're going to spend the rest of your long, long life with me."
Michiru cried and smiled at Haruka lovingly. She bit her lip as she pulled out a piece of paper from her bodice. The blonde grinned at her through her own tears, "That's real classy, darling. What else do you have down there?"
A wave of light laughter drifted through the crowd and Michiru cleared her throat as she started to read what was on the paper, "I remember the first time I met you. You were watching me swim one day at the gym. I almost thought it was creepy, because you were in your male form at the time, but then I gazed deeply into your eyes; you calmed me down. Later that night at my concert, I saw you again in the front row of the audience… and then again at the bar afterwards. I thought you were stalking me." Haruka snorted and she continued on, "And just when I thought I was never going to see you again, you had left a note at my door with your phone number. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have contacted you; I'm so glad I did. I'm so glad that my heart fluttered when your voice wafted into my ear. I'm so glad that our first date was seamless with mistakes, wine spills, a waiter falling onto our table, and then us bumping heads when moving in for a kiss. I'm so glad that you don't mind my violin playing at three a.m. and even sometimes, you accompany me on the piano in the wee hours of the night. I'm so glad that when I hurt, you're there. I'm so glad that you've stuck by me through my darkest days. And most of all …" She choked up a bit and tried desperately to breath and to make it through the next line, "A-and most of all, I'm so glad that you love me just as much as I love you."
The swarm of people clapped at the end of their speeches and then waited for Molly to finish the heart wrenching ceremony, "Please put your candles together to light as one." They did as she said and the white pieces of wax changed color immediately at the touch of the flame; Haruka's went dark blue and Michiru's went turquoise. They were told to go and place their respective candles in tall, golden holders at the top of the aisle and when they were done with that, Molly was able to say the final words, "Please exchange rings." They slipped simple gold bands on one another's fingers and then the pastor declared, "I now pronounce you partner's in life. You may kiss each other!"
They embraced gently at first, their lips touching lightly and then deeper until the cheers and clapping from the audience made them pull apart, blushing profusely. They ran down the aisle giggling with one another and soon enough the hordes of people followed them outside to where all of their cars were parked. The massive group of people drove to the Crystal Palace where the queen had set up arrangements for a reception. There were tables and a dance floor set up as well as a large, tall bridal table where the scouts and royal family sat for dinner. The couples drifted off and on the dance floor through the night and even Serena and Darien shared a few dances together while Rini was stuck babysitting her brother. After a rather tiring few minutes on the dance floor, the couple returned to the table where the princess was having a tough time with the baby prince.
"He won't stop fidgeting and whining," she complained.
"Sounds like you," Serena commented as she took her son into her arms.
She bounced the baby boy up and down a little bit and patted his back as she held him up to her shoulder. She heard some heavy gurgling, felt his stomach convulse, and before she could pull him back far enough, little Endymion burped up his sweet potato dinner all over his mother's front side. Serenity rolled her eyes in frustration and wiped her son down with her napkin before tending to herself. Noticing that a simple piece of cloth wasn't going to do the trick, she handed her baby off to her husband and said she would be back in a moment after cleaning herself. Darien bounced his child on his knee for a little bit and then got an itch to go after his wife and steal a romantic moment with her. He tried to hand Endymion over to his sister, but she shook her head at him.
"No. I'm going to dance with Helios," she declared as she got up out of her seat, leaving Mina in his eyesight.
"Will you hold onto Junior for a little bit?" he asked. "I'll be back in a few minutes.
"Sure," the head scout beamed as she took the silver haired baby into her grasp.
The king breezed out of the ballroom before anyone noticed and jogged down to the closest bathroom. He pushed open the door and Serena gasped as he strolled on in without any warning. When she realized it was him, she slapped his arm lightly and squealed, "Don't you knock?!"
"You were just cleaning off the spit up, that's all," he laughed as he locked the door behind himself.
In a huff, she spun back around to face the large mirror and try to wipe out the bright orange stain from her white dress. With her eyes on their reflection, she asked, "What do you want dear?"
"You know what I want."
He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her against his body. She stopped trying to scrub the blemish out of her dress and dropped the cloth onto the counter. Serena turned around and snaked her arms over his neck as she arched an eyebrow.
"You want to do this now? At our friends' wedding?" she asked.
"It's been a while…"
"What about this morning? Didn't that count?"
"It's been a while since it's been spontaneous."
"In the garden two days ago."
"Spontaneous and inside."
"North-eastern tower last week."
"In a bathroom…?"
"Last night when I was brushing my teeth."
"In this bathroom!"
He had her there. Darien was slowly starting to run out of excuses for sex these days which meant that they were having a fabulous bedroom – or outside of the bedroom – life. Serena had been asked multiple times from her friends and family members what made her glow so much and she simply said love. A smile tugged at her lips as she pressed it against Darien's. She darted her tongue inside his mouth and the two of them pushed harder into one another. He placed her up onto the counter, their lips still locked, and she wrapped her legs around his torso as his hands ventured along her body. Just as his fingertips started to graze her thighs, there was a banging noise coming from the bathroom door. Darien tore away from Serena's lips and she forced him to return which he gladly did. But when there was another loud banging noise from the other side, they had to part.
"King! Queen! You better come quick!" Mina exclaimed sternly.
The two gathered themselves up and swung open the door. The Scout of Love was waiting impatiently for them with their baby in tote. Serenity grabbed her child and examined him quickly.
"Is he alright?" she asked.
"He's not the child you need to be worrying about," Mina said with an annoyed tone to her voice.
The group rushed back to the ballroom where everyone was surrounding something on the dance floor. The king and queen pushed their way through the throng of people to find Rini standing in the center with Helios knelt on one knee in front of her holding a small, black velvet box toward her. A glistening ring shimmered in her eyes, but her gaze was snapped from the oversized jewel to her fuming parents.
"No, no, no, no," Serena said as she stepped toward the young couple. "You are not getting married."
"Mom!"
"You didn't even talk to us beforehand, Helios?" Darien asked.
"You're too young!" the queen barked as she dragged her daughter back to their table and the crowd dispersed quickly.
"You were younger than me when you married Dad!"
"I had been through four major wars before that and matured immensely, Small Lady!"
"But we love each other!"
"You haven't even been courted by him for a full year!"
"It doesn't matter!"
"Yes it does!" she snapped. Baby Endymion started to wail on his mother's hip and she sighed out loud in irritation, "I would like for you to be done with your studies and training before you stake such a big step."
"Helios is the one for me!"
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do! It's just like you and Dad!"
"No, darling, it's not because your father and I have had multiple lifetimes together. You and Helios have hardly had one."
"You're always holding me back! You never let me live my life!" Rini cried.
She stormed out of the room with a few weary eyes watching her and Junior tossing his head back weeping due to all of the commotion. Serena sat down at a nearby empty table and was joined by her husband, the two brides, the scouts, and Helios. She bounced the upset baby on her knee, trying to get him to calm down.
"I'm sorry to have caused such a ruckus," Helios apologized with his head held low. "I just thought now would be the right time to propose. I truly do love her."
"She's not ready," Serena insisted. "You saw the way she just acted. She's almost a full grown adult, yet she acts like a child. It's bad enough I have to take care of one blubbering baby, but two? It wears me down…"
"Small Lady really needs to get through all of her training before she can concentrate on a future with you," Darien explained, placing a hand on Helios's shoulder. "If she's worried about being a wife, she'll never be able to focus on her studies and vice versa."
"I understand," he nodded solemnly.
"Can you wait for her?"
"I've waited this long … I can wait longer if that's what it takes."
"When she's really ready, you'll know and then you'll come to us first," Darien instructed.
Michiru reached out toward the queen, gesturing that she hand the tiny boy over, seeing that she wasn't having any luck with quieting the baby. She rocked little Endymion back and forth and softly sung into his ear. After a moment or two of this, he was tuckered out and sucking happily on his thumb. The happy bride looked over at her newly legalized lover and smiled, "We should have a child together."
"No. Raising Hotaru was more than enough for me," Haruka replied with a shake of her head.
"Hey, you're acting like I was some giant pain!" she whined.
Setsuna placed a gentle hand on her back and grinned, "You were like any other youngster; you tired your parents out, you made us frustrated, and most of all you made us feel loved."
"Yeah, but I don't want to try to raise another," Haruka maintained. "Hotaru was lucky that she got out of our parenting skills alive."
"You're talking as though you'd kill the kid," Rei said from across the table.
"I'm afraid I would."
"We all go through that," Darien sighed. "No matter how many children you have, it never changes."
Michiru handed the pleasantly gurgling baby back to Serena and she rocked him back and forth slowly as Lita asked, "Should someone go after Rini?"
She shook her head, "No, don't do that. It'll only give her more of a reason to throw tantrums again in the future."
The night fluttered on and once most of the guests had left the palace, Haruka and Michiru parted from their beloved queen. They climbed into a brand new silver-blue Ferrari that the Uraniun Princess had received as a wedding present from all of the scouts. They waved goodbye to their friends and drove off into their new life.
As they strolled back into the palace, Serena gave Junior to Ami, asking her to put him down in his crib. She laced her fingers through her husband's and dragged him to their daughter's bedroom where light crying sounds were emanating from. They slowly peeked their heads in and then took a few cautious steps inside. Rini was lying on her side on her bed with Diana curled up beside her.
"Small Lady," Serena whispered, "you really mustn't take it this hard."
"You ruined my life!" she growled.
"It certainly feels that way, doesn't it?" Darien asked. "You do realize that this was all too fast, really unplanned, and completely out of left field. Helios was … shocking to me. I never believed he would ever do that without consulting one of us first."
Serena stepped toward the bed and sat on the edge. Rini rolled over onto her other side in order to show only her back to her parents. She suddenly felt a warm hand on her bare shoulder and her mother started to speak, "You're my baby girl. You always will be. I won't lie to you and tell you I'm not being personally selfish about this decision. I am not ready to see you go yet. It's not just because I'm your mother, but it's because I haven't seen you grow all the way, to your fullest potential. You're almost there. I sacrificed a lot for you, Small Lady. Please do not let your teenage hormones ruin that. If you feel that you want to still marry Helios after you're done with schooling, then I won't stand in your way."
The pink-haired princess rolled back to face her teary eyed mother and grasped onto her hand with a serious look over her face, "Will you even help me set up the wedding?"
"Of course I will. It's what I do best," she smiled.
Their child turned away with a nod of her head, not wanting to discuss the topic any further. Serena stood up and was met by Darien's open arms as they walked out of the room. Before they shut the door, they heard the princess say, "I love you."
"We love you too," they replied in unison.
The couple sauntered down the long and darkly lit hallway and entered their bedchamber. They swiftly got undressed and climbed under the sheets together, wrapping their limbs around on another in a tired motion.
"Do you think she'll forgive us?" Serenity asked.
"Yes. She'll get over it."
"Does she really love Helios? I mean really?"
"We won't know for sure." A yawn escaped from Darien's lips as he murmured, "We'll find out after her universal training."
"I'm so glad I'm not in this alone."
"You'll never be alone. I'm always with you," he whispered.
The king kissed his queen goodnight and the two fell off into dreamland.
That's the end! There's going to be a sequel soon, so keep an eye out! ^_^