Usagi and Luna met at the arcade for lunch.

Luna eyed her salad suspiciously, pushed it aside, and then grabbed her tuna sandwich. Holding up half of it, she said, "Now, when he asks, you can honestly tell him I ordered a salad with an olive oil-based dressing." She then took a big bite.

Usagi laughed and said, "Let me guess. You're not going to eat the salad?"

Luna shook her head, swallowed, and said, "No way! I'm not a rabbit. That's the kind of food that my food eats."

"Fish eat salad?" Usagi teased.

Luna rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean. I'm more of a carnivore, but I love tuna too."

Listening to the faint but rapid heartbeat, Usagi asked, "And how is your pregnancy going?"

"Hard," Luna admitted. "My legs are so swollen that I haven't seen my ankles in weeks! I don't look the same as when he married me."

"You're still his sex kitten," Usagi encouraged. "Plus, it doesn't take a vampire's senses to tell that he finds your pregnancy sexy."

Blushing lightly, Luna nodded. "True. If I'm being honest, the issues are all on my side. Everyone says I'm glowing, but I just feel fat."

Usagi shook her head and said, "There was a time when a woman's whole worth was tied up in her ability to have children. To be a bit fair to the men, social security didn't exist back then. Without children to provide for you in your old age, you starved to death."

"You're saying body image issues are a modern issue?"

"No," Usagi admitted. "Affairs always existed." She then lightly shook her head. "I'm off-topic. Sorry."

"You're fine. And in that, I don't have any worries. You're right. My pregnancy turns him on." Luna's eyes sparkled. "He doesn't even mind my cankles."

Usagi sighed happily. "Over your lifetimes together, your love and devotion to each other always reminded me of a vampire's bonded love."

"He never cheated on me, did he?" Luna dared to ask since she was sure of the answer.

"It isn't in him to cheat," Usagi stated. "Neither of you have ever been capable of that."

"Unlike Nina and Dorian," Luna said, realizing where Usagi's head was. "Both just wanted power."

"Back in seventeen twenty-six, a man proposed to me. I wasn't interested, and I knew he had a wife. He planned to murder her and marry me all because he realized I was powerful. He didn't even know what I was."

Luna eyed her friend speculatively and said, "What did you do? I can't imagine you left it at that."

"I compelled him to be faithful to his wife. He was a minor German prince, and it was better for her if he lived," Usagi admitted. "It turned out it was better for Russia in the end. In seventeen twenty-nine, they had a daughter who became Catherine the Great of Russia."

"Didn't she help kill her deposed husband?" Luna asked.

Usagi shrugged. "Possibly. It might be a rumor, but they didn't get along. She did become Empress when he died. I like to remember that women throughout history had power, too."

Luna ate for a bit in thought and then asked, "You have a lot of worries, don't you? On top of that, you're thinking about Beryl, too."

"I am." Usagi then took Luna's hand. "And this whole thing with Minako would have been so much worse without you! If those people had her on video when her broken neck healed and she woke up, that would have been awful!"

"We both knew something like this was coming," Luna said, squeezing Usagi's hand. "I'm damn good at my job. That's why you hired me. You're not alone in watching out for those girls. I protected her."

"I know, and that matters so much to me!" Usagi laid her face down on the table and closed her eyes. "I just hate manipulating the situation. I wanted to be more straightforward with her. She's so thrown by what I said that she didn't even ask why I didn't appoint a different head General for myself."

"Minako is the kind of woman who has to learn things the hard way. She has to figure this out herself. Telling her won't get through to her," Luna said emphatically. "And she's just focused on Nephrite taking Kunzite's position. In the end, it will all make sense to her, and she will learn from this."

"I'm glad you see it that way, too," Usagi admitted. "It's nice to know I'm not the only one."

"Mamoru…" Luna said, trailing off.

Usagi sat up straighter and smiled at her friend. "Mamoru is completely on my side no matter what I do. He hasn't questioned my actions since he doesn't care if I'm wrong."

Luna knitted her brow. "That doesn't sound good."

"I don't mean it like it sounded then. He would be on my side even if I handled Minako wrong. He trusts me enough that even if I went badly, he knows I have good intentions." Usagi sighed and said, "That's not really what I mean either. He's just on my side, no matter what. Does that make any sense?"

"Yes. And I'm sure it has to do with the fact that you coming into his life was the best thing that could have happened to him. You opened up his whole world. He has lots of friends now, and he can accept Yamato acting like a father figure." Luna sighed happily and added, "He's happy for the first time in his life."

Usagi was touched by Luna's words and thrilled that others could see that he was different now. "He changed my life, too," she added.

"Yours was so full before, though," Luna remarked.

"True. So was yours. How is your life now that you have Artemis, though?" Usagi asked to make a point.

Luna gave a small laugh and said, "You have me there."

Usagi then plucked a small package from her purse and placed it on the table. It was wrapped in light pink with a white bow. "For the sake of Artemis's pride, Mamoru agreed that I should give you this baby gift now, without him here. Consider this the world's smallest baby shower."

She then placed her hand over the package before Luna could take it and solemnly said, "There will still be a baby shower."

"Fine," Luna reluctantly agreed. "I'm not thrilled about being the focus of all that attention, though."

"So we can have it after your daughter is born if you want. The focus would be on the baby," Usagi replied. "They used to be after the baby was born."

"Because a lot of babies died at birth," Luna replied. "I won't have that problem though. You will be in the delivery room, and even if we have to expose all of the vampire-kind to the whole room, you'll be there to save me and the baby."

"Deal!" Usagi said. "Now." She then shoved the box at her friend. "Open it."

Luna opened the small box and looked in shock at the set of keys. That didn't mean she missed what they were. "You bought us a house?!"

"I bought your baby a house. It has a nice backyard and is within walking distance of the park. It's perfect!"

Eyeing her friend suspiciously, she said, "Why won't I need a baby shower before the baby is born…? You filled the house with baby things, didn't you?"

"I did," Usagi said happily. "I also kept all of the receipts. If there is anything you don't like, I can return it."

"This is too much," Luna whispered, overwhelmed.

Usagi grabbed her friend's hand and said, "I can afford this and want to do it. You're right. I'm not on my own. You're amazing, and I have relied on you and will continue to do so. I know you've been working so hard lately. And let me do this for you when you and Artemis mean so much to me. Before recent events, he was the only human alive in the world that knew what I was. You two matter to me more than you know."