A/N: And finally, after fourteen chapters, we get to start the Usagi/Seiya relationship. Enjoy!

I didn't know how long we'd been standing there before I felt myself becoming sleepy, but it must have been at least a good hour. I yawned, thinking that it had been an extremely long day and that the thought of lying down was incredibly tempting, but I wasn't sure I had the strength to make it to the bed. Like she was hearing my thoughts, Seiya turned towards me a little more, accepting more of my weight, and then she bent down and slipped her arm beneath my knees, scooping me up. She cradled me easily, carrying me back inside the house. I let my head fall against her shoulder, relishing in the feeling of her caring about me. I never wanted this to stop.

She set me down on the bed and ran her hand over my hair. "You have no idea what you do to me," she said in a whisper.

I could have told her I was awake but I sensed that it wouldn't be a good idea, not when I was hoping she might say something else. I remained still, my breathing even and deep, and I was actually on the verge of giving in and falling asleep when I heard the door creak open. A moment later a light weight scrambled up on the bed and someone very familiar crawled over to me and climbed onto my stomach. I kept my eyes shut and tried to stop the smile from spreading across my face. I could feel Chibi-Chibi staring at me and then she poked me in the cheek. I started laughing and opened my eyes, looking up at her. Seiya was perched on the edge of the bed and watching us with a faint smile on her face.

"I thought you went to bed hours ago," I said, lightly tapping her on the nose. She'd been asleep when I checked and I hoped I hadn't woken her up. I knew from experience that trying to get Chibi-Chibi to fall asleep once she was awake was a nightmare.

"She missed you." Taiki entered the room, her arm around Yaten, who didn't look too steady on her feet. She helped Yaten to sit on the edge of the bed and then pushed her shoulders back so she was lying down. Yaten sighed and rolled over onto her side, her face tilted towards me. Her green eyes were sleepy and I smiled at her, reaching out my free hand and taking hers. I was so glad she was okay.

"Are you going to finish the story?" she asked tiredly.

"Um..." I blinked at her, surprised. "Well..."

"Do it," said Seiya, curling her legs up against her chest and looking at me expectantly. "You had just gotten to the point where Chibi-Usa came back to visit you guys in the past."

"Oh yeah. Well, as you can imagine the Black Moon Family followed her back here. They weren't going to give up that easily and they'd done everything they could to Crystal Tokyo," I told them. "One of the first enemies we faced was Rubeus and the Ayakashi Sisters. He'd brained washed them into believing that he loved them." Even now thinking about the lies Rubeus had told them made me mad. "I was able to heal them with the power of the ginzuishou. They're regular people now, living on Earth."

"Are they the women from the memorial service?" Taiki asked.

"Yes, that was them. Rubeus was very angry when he realized what I had done and he stepped up his efforts. He tried to kidnap Chibi-Usa but the senshi got in the way and he took them instead. He wanted to do an exchange, Chibi-Usa and the ginzuishou for them. There was no way that was happening. I tried to offer myself instead. It was just supposed to be me, but..." I smiled a little. Chibi-Usa was just as stubborn as I was and she had never hesitated in letting me know that. The two of us were so like that we butted heads almost constantly, but it only made me love her that much more. Unconsciously I caressed my stomach and went on, "I was able to distract him while Chibi-Usa destroyed his power source. The six of us escaped and we presumed that Rubeus had died on his ship." I frowned and bit my lip.

"Obviously that didn't go as planned," Seiya said wryly. "How strong is he, Odango? You said his power source was destroyed?"

"It was but that was over a year ago," I pointed out. "He said it himself, he's had all this time to hide away and get even stronger. I don't know what he's been doing but he definitely seemed more powerful today than he did the last time we faced him." I didn't think I needed to add that Rubeus had also been just as angry. He would happily kill me and if he found out I was pregnant he'd be even more determined. That was just one more reason for me to keep this to myself until he had been dealt with.

"I wish we had more data about him," Taiki murmured, tapping the end of her chin.

"Well... Ami-chan always had her computer," I remembered. There were plenty of times that she'd pulled it out in order to scan an enemy. I couldn't remember if she'd ever done it to Rubeus but she must have at some point. "Maybe Luna could get that for you."

"It didn't disappear when..." She looked uncomfortable with the question and trailed off.

"I'm not sure. Luna had access to all of our stuff even after the fall of the Silver Millennium," I said thoughtfully, purposely forcing myself to not think about the senshi and the day they died. I didn't want to start crying again. "I think... maybe there's some kind of magic that keeps our transformation items and the weapons we use from being destroyed when we die." I thought it was possible that my mother had something to do with that. It was just the kind of thing she wouldn't bother to mention to me unless she thought I needed to know about it.

"Well I'll talk to her about it," said Taiki, stretching her hands over her head and muffling a yawn with her hand. "When will she be around again?"

"I don't know. Probably soon." Luna and Artemis hadn't been spending much time around the apartment and I thought I knew why. Artemis was probably having a difficult time adjusting to life without Minako. He'd been her constant companion for years and her death had to be upsetting. I hoped that Luna was doing her best to comfort him, and that someday the two of them would be able to come back to me. I missed having them around.

Seiya stood up. "I'm going to go make sure the doors are locked. We'll keep talking about it in the morning," she said.

Yaten had fallen asleep, I noticed when I twisted my head around. Chibi-Chibi had slid off my belly and was now curled up between us. Taiki lay down on the other side of Yaten and I heard her breathing level out within a couple of minutes. There was a space between me and the edge of the bed and when Seiya came back into the room she brushed her hair and then crawled in beside me. I waited to see what she would do and was gratified when she scooted up far enough that we were pressed together, my side against her front, since she was lying turned towards me. Every breath washed over my cheek and I could tell from the minty scent that she'd taken a moment to brush her teeth before coming in.

"Are you alright?" she asked me softly, and her voice was so quiet that if I hadn't been right next to her I wouldn't have heard her. "We never did get the chance to talk about what was upsetting you earlier."

I looked at her. Her eyes were closed. I'd never realized that she had such long eyelashes before. They created little curved shadows on her skin. At that moment, in the darkened room lit only by moonlight, I was seized with the desire to lean forward and kiss her. I could have done it. Her mouth was inches away. In her female form, she had fuller lips that were a pale shade of pink, plump and soft. For a split second I wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl. I'd only ever kissed Mamo-chan. I thought it would be different kissing Seiya and I wanted to find out. I might have done it, too, if Chibi-Chibi hadn't rolled over and kicked me in the side.

Immediately, I realized what I was doing and how inappropriate it was. I was pregnant with another man's child and I'd just lost the love of my life. How could I be thinking about kissing someone else? Especially Seiya. The last thing I wanted to do was drive her away by being foolish. I swallowed hard, licking my lips, and realized that she was probably waiting for an answer to her question. I started to say something but the sound of her soft breathing killed the words. She had fallen asleep.

"Goddess above," I muttered, a little disgusted with myself. What had I been thinking? Seiya was rapidly becoming my best friend, the one person I depended on above all others. There way no way I could do this to either of us. I wanted her to stay with me but that was not the way to make it happen. I closed my eyes and vowed to myself that I wouldn't do anything to risk our friendship.

I must have fallen asleep after that but it wasn't the most peaceful night I've ever spent. I had the strangest feeling of cold water running over my body. My fingers felt frozen and I opened my eyes wondering if someone had left the window open and it had begun to rain. Instead of the bedroom, I found myself looking at a beautiful garden that had been lovingly tended by more than one person. It was both familiar and foreign at the same time, and when my hands fell to my sides and I grasped a finely woven, satiny material I knew why.

"Mother," I said, spinning around.

Queen Serenity was standing about three feet behind me, a small smile on her face. Just like always, she looked exactly the same as she had on the day we died. I had to clamp down on the urge to burst into tears when I saw her. That wasn't very princess-like, and even though I wasn't technically a princess I was always more aware of what I had been when I was dressed as Princess Serenity. I took a cautious step towards her, wondering why she had called me here, and she looked at me and opened her arms. I couldn't have gotten a better invitation. In the span of a few steps she had her arms wrapped around me.

"My poor little girl," she said softly and kissed the top of my head. It was the most maternal thing she had ever done for me, even counting my memories from when she was alive, and I couldn't help tilting my head back to look at her in surprise. She gave me a sad smile and cupped my cheek. "I never wanted this for you, Serenity," she said. "I wanted you to be happy, but not like this."

I knew she was being sincere and somehow that just made it hurt more. "I don't know what to do," I confessed.

"You'll figure it out, my darling. I have every confidence in you," she told me. "Remember what your beloved Endymion told you. He has never lied to you, not when it matters. There's no shame in wanting to move on. You are still alive and no one would blame you."

"Mother…" I stopped. It was obvious she knew what I'd been thinking about Seiya and I couldn't answer her; the words lodged painfully in my throat. I dropped my head back onto her shoulder and let her rock me back and forth. Here in this place, where I was safe and loved and I didn't have to worry about anything, I never wanted to leave.

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