---Present Time--- I walk quietly through the house; one hand holding my robe closed; as I search for my lover. It was nearly midnight and I was beginning to get worried that she hadn't come to bed yet. If it was anyone else, I would say that she was sulking; but she would vehemently say that she doesn't sulk. Arriving in the living room, I find her sitting in the dark; the moonlight illuminating her soft skin. "Ruka? It's late; come to bed." I watch as her features harden slightly as she crosses her arms over her chest. "She took my car." With a sigh of exasperation, I turn on the lights and cross over to where she was sitting. Take a seat on the armrest, I place an arm over the back of the chair and lean close to her. "Come on, Ruka. It's not like Setsuna-san isn't a responsible person. I'm sure your car is just fine." "She Took my car." I roll my eyes and decide to change my tactics. If reason didn't work, I'll try humor. "I'm sure your car is fine. This is Setsuna-san we're talking about here. She probably has more experience driving than you. Knowing her, she was most likely one of the first people to drive the Model-T." "She took My car." With a sigh of frustration, I try my last tactic. If this doesn't work, then nothing would. "Come back to bed with me, Ruka. I'm feeling...cuddly." I say huskily as I lean close and nibble on her earlobe. "She took my Car." I lean back with a frown. Leave it to Haruka to get all worked up over something as silly as a car. I'm about to get up and go back to bed, alone, when I see movement by the doorway. Looking closely I can barely make out a tuff of black hair. "Hotaru-chan?" Hesitantly, our daughter looked into the room before moving to stand on the threshold of the living room. I smiled fondly as she stifled a yawn; she looked so cute dressed in the violet nightgown I'd bought her last week. "Why are you up, dear?" I ask; the only response I get being a slight shrug. I motion her to come close, which she hesitantly does. When she is in arms length, I reach out and hug her, only to pull back with a start. "Hotaru-chan, are you alright? You're cold!" I begin to rub her arms furiously, trying to warm them up. My daughter looks down and mutters, "I'm ok, Michiru-mama." "Then why are you so cold?" I ask with concern. Before I could press any further, I hear the telltale sound of the front door opening. "She's here." Haruka said in a flat voice. Moments later, Setsuna walked into the room and looked at the three of us. "Good evening." She said conversationally. Haruka shot up from the chair and stormed over to our taller housemate. "You took my car!" she said angrily, pointing an accusing finger at her. Nonplused, Setsuna held out a set of car keys. "Yes I did. Thank you." Haruka snatched the keys from Setsuna and glared at her. Then, to my surprise, she reached out and brushed Setsunas' emerald tresses from her forehead. My eyes widen when I notice a small red welt on her brow. My lover studied the mark for a moment. "...steering wheel..." she muttered. Haruka then brushed past Setsuna and raced down the hall. "Don't worry, Baby! Papa's coming!" 'O...kay...' I think to myself, looking at Setsuna curiously. Ignoring me, Setsuna looked at our daughter. "It's late, Hotaru-chan. You should be in bed." "Yes, Setsuna-mama. Goodnight, Setsuna-mama, Michiru-mama." Hotaru said and gave both of us a quick hug. "Oh, Hotaru-chan?" the older woman said as Hotaru started walking out of the room, causing her to stop and look back at us. "You shouldn't have your window open at night this time of year. We wouldn't want to catch a cold." I was confused when Hotaru blushed brightly and suddenly looked very guilty. Before I could say anything, she bolted out of the room. Hearing her frantic footsteps on the stairs, I give Setsuna a questioning look. She returns my look with her bland expression, but for the life of me it seems...off somehow. "Setsuna-san? Is there something wrong?" She opens her mouth slightly, as if to say something, but pauses. "No, Michiru-san. There is nothing wrong. Goodnight." As I watch her leave, alarm bells are ringing in my head. Through everything we've been through together over the years; the hunt for the Talismans, the awaking of Sailor Saturn, the Dead Moon Circus, Galacxia, raising our daughter; I have never seen her hesitant or unsure. Even when Haruka and I killed her, she was stoic as ever. I quickly stand and search of the one person I could talk to about Setsuna. Given her earlier performance, I wasn't surprised to find her in the garage under her car. Holding my robe tightly closed, I walk to where I see her feet sticking out from underneath. "Ruka? What are you doing?" "She hit her head on the steering wheel." She explained distractedly, "That means that she was in an accident. That mean she did something to my car." I look the car over with a curious expression. "But there isn't even a scratch on it." "Exactly! She probably used her powers to fix everything. But I know better..." she replied stubbornly. "Love, did something seem...off about Setsuna?" "I've been saying that for years." "Haruka. I'm being serious here." With an exaggerated sigh, she slid out from under the car and looked me in the eye; which was surprising, considering the view I was surly presenting her. "No, I didn't. Why?" "She seemed...distracted, I guess. She wasn't acting like her normal self." "Knowing Setsuna, she's probably worried about some butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon or something. You know how hard it is to get a bead on her." "I guess you're right. It must be nothing." I nod slowly. "After all, if something was wrong, she would surly tell us." Haruka grunts and slides back under the car. I stand, watching a moment, feeling vexed at how she's acting. "Ruka, aren't you over reacting?" Her voice muffled from whatever she's doing, she says, "How would you feel if someone 'borrowed' your fiddle without asking?" "It's no a 'fiddle'! It's a violin!" I snap, and then relax. "But I see your point. Are coming to bed?" "I'll be there in a minute." Pouting, I leave the garage. Before I do, I hear Haruka say, "Don't worry, Baby. Papa's here for you. I'll make everything all better." 'I sometimes wonder about her.' I think to my self, making my way to our bedroom, 'Is it a good thing that she treats her car as good as she treats our daughter?' *********** ~~~~~~~~~~~ Everywhere I look, faceless people surround me. I try to push them out of my way with my Staff, but they barely move. They push in closer, almost suffocating me with their presence. I try to squeeze forward, but that causes them to press closer and try to hold me back. They claw franticly at my hair and my Senshi uniform in an effort to stop me. With a triumphant cry I heave myself forward, past the hoard of people, to land on a cold stone floor. I breathe deeply the air of freedom as I slowly stand. Looking around, I find myself on a giant stone terrace. Moving slowly, I walk forward and lean against the railing and look up at the night's sky. Like a perfect Topaz, the Earth hung low in the night's sky. "I'm glad you came." A soft voice said from behind me. I spin around to face that oh so familiar voice; my evening gown, a green so dark it appears to be black, swirls around me as I turn. Seeing the owner of that voice, a gasp escapes my lips. A vision of beauty she is, her luminous skin seeming to glow with an inner light. Her court dress, a deceptively simple design, was a pale azure that accented her lithe frame. Framing the soft features of her tender face, her ultramarine tresses fluttered softly in a gentle wind. Her cerulean orbs gaze at me intently with a mix of tender adoration and a thinly veiled hunger. She glided across the floor slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. "Would you care to dance?" She asked, extending a hand towards me. Taking her hand in mine, we close the gap between us. A haunting aria begins to play as we begin to slowly dance. Neither of us leading, we sway together to the soft music. The universe fades away, leaving only us and the gentle harmony that surrounds us. "I've missed you so." She whispers, resting her head against my bosom. "And I you." I breathe, the scent of her hair filling my being. She tilted her head back and peered at me with longing. Leaning down, I partake of her sweet lips. Opening her mouth slightly, her tongue slowly probes forward until it finds mine and they begin to dance. We soon succumb to our passion as we kiss each other with an almost physical need. I wrap one arm around her shoulders, drawing her tightly to my body as my other hand caresses her spine. Her hands slowly slide down my back and come to a rest on my behind and squeezes; causing me to moan in desire. An eternity passes before our lips part. I reach over and caress her face gently. She nuzzles my hand and kisses my palm. "I love you, Sensei." "I love you too, Ami." ~~~~~~~~~~~ "Gasp!" Jolting awake, my arms flayed around searching for her. With a groan I sit up in my bed as I slowly try to collect my thoughts. The recollection of my dream crashes into me and I groan as I rest my head in my hands. Crawling out of bed, I make my way to my bathroom. Turning on the shower, I discard my damp nightgown in the hamper. Climbing into the shower, I relax as the hot water runs down my sweat soaked body. Standing under the deluge of water, I reach for the shampoo and begin to lather my hair. As I massage my scalp, I slowly start to regain my emotional control; a very difficult task indeed. I've had many dreams like this one before, but none of them were so intense...so real. The one thing that I couldn't shake, though, was that in all of the other dreams she was always Pai and never Ami. 'What's happening to me?' I think as I begin to wash the perspiration from my skin. 'Why does it seem that I'm always thinking about Ami? Why can't I get her out of my head?' Not finding an answer in the falling water, I complete my morning ablutions and dress. Heading down the stairs, I make my way to the kitchen where I find the others already sitting at the breakfast table. "Good morning, Setsuna-san." Michiru says, handing me a cup of tea. "Good morning, Michiru-san. And thank you." Taking a sip of my tea, I see Haruka reading the paper while Hotaru was busy eating her cereal. In fact, I'm surprised to see that she's devouring her breakfast at a pace that would do Usagi proud. She finished her food and gulped down her orange juice. "I gotta go! Bye!" Hotaru said in a rush as she pushed out of her chair. "Hotaru-chan? What's the rush?" Haruka says from behind her paper. "I promised to meet Chibi-usa-chan at the park! I see you later!" She called out as she rushed down the hall. "Well, it's good that she's more energetic lately." Haruka said. "I know." Michiru sighed. "I just wish that she had more friends her age besides Chibi-chan." "Don't worry," I say, taking another sip, "I'm sure in a few years time, there'll be boys lined down the driveway wanting to be Hotaru-chans' friend." *RIP* "You don't say." Haruka said with a false cheerfulness as she smoothed out her paper; ignoring the fact she had just torn it in two. "Oh yes, I'm sure that Setsuna-san is right." Michiru said with a small smirk as she nettled her lover. "Well, perhaps I'll go talk to Koneko-chans' father about borrowing his shotgun." "Don't be silly, Ruka. Besides, I'm sure the Tsukinos' don't own a shotgun." "That's not what Chiba-kun told me." Haruka replied. The three of us fell into a comfortable silence as Michiru started to prepare breakfast. Soon, the delicious smells of Michiru's cooking filled the kitchen. Our usual mornings consist of Michiru and Haruka asking our daughter about school and her day, while I would occasionally interject a comment or two. But with Hotaru gone so early, we easily fell back into the routine we had established before we adopted her. The quite was broken by the door bell ringing. Haruka lowered her paper and Michiru paused in her labor and the three of us shared a slight look of confusion. It was still too early in the morning for any of our friends to drop by unannounced and Haruka had become infamous among the door-to-door salesmen. To this day, tales still circulate about the 'blonde terror' and what she did to that poor cosmetics saleswoman a few years ago. "I'll get it." Haruka said as she folded her paper and stood. "It's probably Hotaru-chan. She was in such a rush to leave she must've forgotten her keys and locked herself out." Michiru turned her attention back to the stove as I took another sip of my tea. Listening to the front door opening and closing, I was slightly confused when I heard two sets of footsteps and muffled conversation coming towards the kitchen. "Hey, everyone. We have a visitor." Haruka announced as she reentered the kitchen. "Ohayo Michiru-san, Setsuna-san." Ami said softly with a bow, causing me to almost drop my teacup. ------ To Be Continued... Author's Notes... Well, another chapter, another dollar (I wish!) Incase you haven't noticed, I'm on a roll here, So I should have the next chapter out shortly. (Sorry there were no flashbacks in the chapter either, but I'm sure everyone will be satisfied with the dream sequence.) As Always any C&C would be appreciated. This fic and others can be found at my FF.Net account, which is www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=266642 10/12/03
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