Authors note: through out this section, I've used examples mostly from
the manga, but also a couple from the anime.
*************
Usagi fell to her knees in the park, wrapping her arms around herself as
bitter tears coursed down her cheeks. Despair, guilt, depression,
confusion, love, longing; emotions filled her like never before, making
her shake, and not from the chilly night. What now? Minako was gone and
Mamoru was mad at her.
She wanted to love Mamoru, wanted to feel that boundless love for him
again. But when she tried to think of him, of the things they had
survived because of love, her mind always drifted to Sailor Venus. She
remembered the fight against the Black Moon, how Sailor Venus had been
the only one who stayed by her side. When the other senshi had been
abducted, when Mamoru lavished Rini with all of his attention, when he
left her yet again, it was Minako's shoulder she had cried on. It was
Minako who had stayed by her side and never left her, never forsaken
her.
How many times had she played the Sailor V game, not knowing that the
golden senshi was on the other end training her, being with her, sharing
her laughs, deaths, and disappointments. She had been hooked to the game
not only because of the fun, but because she had been drawn to Sailor V,
longed to be with her, even if she had not realized it at the time. How
many times had she run to the game for comfort when the real senshi was
not there?
When Zoicite had been about to kill her it had been Minako who had
destroyed him. When the Dark Kingdom had taken Mamoru it was Minako who
had kneeled by her side and comforted her. It had been Minako who she
followed to the Dark Kingdom; Minako whose name she called out when she
had seen her lying, still as death, at Mamoru's feet. It was Minako who
destroyed Beryl with the sword of the Sailor Senshi. It was Minako who
had first sacrificed her transformation pen to revive her princess.
How many times had the senshi protected her, laid her life on the line
to make sure Usagi was safe? When a youma had attacked her, stolen her
life force, it was Minako's face she woke to see. When Mamoru dumped
her, how many times had she gone to Minako's house to cry, and ended up
lying in the girl's arms and clinging to her as the goddess stroked her
hair and whispered comforting words in her ears.
Now Usagi's tears were for Minako. Where was the goddess now? Why did
she leave? She wanted her back, wanted to see her bright smile again, to
hear her honey-sweet laugher on the air, to be in her arms and cry onto
her shoulder, to hear her soft voice giving her comfort, giving her
strength, giving her courage. "Minako...come back to me...please..."
A gust of hot air washed over Usagi's trembling body. She lifted her
face, squinting as a burst of golden sand blew around her in a sandstorm
like she had only seen all those years ago when she had visited Venus.
Usagi rubbed her eyes and peered through the sand, searching for what
had caused the sudden storm. A flash of golden light shined through the
sandstorm, piecing Usagi's eyes and blinding her with its brilliance.
Her breath came in gasps, aw filling her to the core. A silhouette
emerged from the light, the wind and sand blowing the elegant dress she
wore about her feminine form, long hair blowing about her shoulders. The
woman lifted her arms, and the storm quieted; the sand disappeared. She
looked toward Usagi, her skin glowing with power and stunning beauty,
and a heavenly smile curled her generous lips. *The Goddess of Love* was
all Usagi could think. Aphrodite had come.
New tears slipped down her cheeks, but she could not tear her eyes off
the glowing goddess stepping toward her. Usagi trembled with fear,
shrinking away and trying in vain to stop her tears. But she could not;
she had really screwed up if the Goddess of Love herself had come. The
goddess placed a hand on her hip, the other brushing back her hair. The
blinding light dimmed and Usagi squinted at the woman standing before
her, looking closer.
Her eyes widened and a smile slowly lit her face. A desperate cry of joy
escaped her lips and Usagi reached out her slender arms to the girl, joy
bubbling inside her and chasing away the pain, the confusion, and the
sorrow. It was not Aphrodite who had come to punish her, but another
goddess who had come to comfort her.
A joyous laugh flew from Minako's lips as she ran to Usagi, falling into
the girl's arms. She squeezed her azure eyes tightly shut and let Usagi
draw her close, slipping her arms around the princess's waist and
letting her hands caress her back. She breathed a silent prayer,
thanking every known deity for this gift, this beloved angel in her
arms. Usagi pressed her face into Minako's breast, clinging to the
golden senshi as if clinging to her sanity, clinging to the very essence
of life itself.
She heaved a deep, slow sigh; felt the tension wash out of her body and
leave only the raw, bare emotions of her heart. She had come back;
Minako had come back to her. It didn't matter why she left or what had
brought her back. All that mattered was that she was there and she was
holding her. The goddess smelt of sulfur, sand, and the subtle, exotic
fragrance of sex. Usagi couldn't help but smile at that; the air on
Venus had always had a subtle aroma of sex in it, one that had always
aroused the princess, indeed all who did not live there. She felt so
peaceful, kneeling in the park in the arms of her goddess, her Minako.
"You came back." Her words were a soft whisper, as if the princess was
afraid of breaking the silence, afraid of breaking the perfection of the
moment with words.
Minako placed her hand on the back of Usagi's head, cradling her in her
arms and resting her chin atop her hair. "Of course I did, Usa. I can
never leave you. I am Sailor Venus." Usagi sniffed, but did not respond.
The Venusian knew what questions her princess was burning to ask, but
she wasn't sure if she was ready to tell her the truth. Wasn't sure if
she was ready to end the pain that had been so much a part of her life
for so long, as absurd as it sounded. There was a certain security in
the constant ache, a certain balance.
She opened her eyes and gazed down at the princess, at her pale skin and
bright hair, dyed silver by the moonlight. And she felt her heart melt,
and her lips tingle with a primitive lustful hunger she had never had
the chance to feel before. Her soul mate, this elegant, warm-hearted,
generous goddess of a princess was her soul mate. The love-starved
senshi could hardly believe it, would not have believed it if Aphrodite
had not told her.
Usagi tilted her face up and her sapphire eyes met Minako's. They burned
with emotion, with questions, with confusion, and Minako knew that she
could not turn this girl away. She could not hide her heart from her any
longer. A resigned sigh escaped her lips, and Minako smiled, ever so
faintly, as she placed a delicate hand on Usagi's cheek.
"Usa, I know what you want to ask. Your eyes are burning with questions.
I just...don't know if I can answer them. I don't know I can bare my
heart so completely, so quickly." Usagi frowned and opened her mouth to
speak, but Minako shook her head and placed a finger on the princess's
lips. Gently, she pried the girl's arms off of her and gracefully rose
to her feet.
She turned away as she spoke and gazed up at the moon, folding her hands
over her heart. "But, I suppose that I have been waiting my whole life
for this moment. You deserve to know, and no matter what your decision
may be-" her voice broke, but she swallowed her fear and continued.
"Whatever your decision, I will follow your orders and do as I am bid."
She turned back to Usagi, her expression sad once more. Usagi dared not
move, dared not speak, for fear of what the goddess might say. But she
had to know, had to know if what was happing was in any way connected to
destiny. If the feelings raging in her body were returned at all. And so
she kept silent, hardly daring to breathe, and smiled encouragingly at
the struggling senshi.
Minako seemed to take heart from Usagi's smile and smiled back. "I ran
away because I was afraid. Afraid of my heart, afraid of loosing control
over a love that I have reined in for so long. I ran, but I did not know
where to run. So I followed my heart and escaped to the one place that I
knew would always welcome me, would always be another home. I ran to
Venus, and there I discovered my destiny."
She paused, considering her next words. So much rode on the words she
chose, on the way she presented her heart to her princess. Her very life
lay on the line. "I love. Truly, deeply, and completely. The whole of my
being cries for this love, but never can I have it. And so I walk at
night, trying to escape the torment of my own thoughts. Usagi...I always
ended up near you. Wherever you were, I would find myself standing just
a few yards away. And always I would think of you, and dream of you, and
wonder if you ever thought of me."
Usagi's breath didn't seem like it wanted to come. Her heart pounded,
ached. God, she wanted this so much. Please, God, let this be real; let
the senshi be saying what she thought she was saying. "Last night it
became to much for me. I confessed in the only safe way I knew how, and
then I ran. I was afraid of what you would say. I was afraid of getting
my heart broken again. But now I know...one cannot hide love in shame.
Love is too boundless an emotion to be concealed and contained in
shadows."
Minako kneeled in front of Usagi and took both of her hands in hers,
gazing deep into the princess's eyes. "I'm sorry, Usagi. I'm sorry for
all of this pain and confusion...I'm sorry for my weak heart and foolish
feelings." She looked away from the princess's eyes. It was too hard to
look at her. "I-I've fallen in love with you, Princess Serenity. I love
you more than words can ever express." The goddess's voice faded to a
pained whisper, her body shaking with fear. "I love...."
Black clouds seemed to cover the goddess's azure orbs, so filed with
pain and longing, as poison filled her heart. Wanting so much what she
had known was unreachable for so long. The words flew from her heart by
inescapable pain; desperation and love mingling to form a beast that had
tore the words from her throat. Knowledge did little to ease her fears,
only raised them. Fear that the knowledge she possessed was not that
which she thought it was.
But as the goddess trembled under the weight of anguish, the princess
felt a warmth bud in her bosom, a flower unfurling in the golden
sunshine of what she had not known she wanted. Numbness of mind, wide
eyes that stared at the goddess's averted face with incomprehension,
allowed the warmth to spread through her limbs, filling each corner of
her shadowed body with light and love.
And the sun emerged from the clouds, and Usagi knew her mind and heart
alike. The golden senshi shrunk away from her silence, into the shadows,
but the princess reached for her and cupped her face in her hands. A
smile graced her lips, her crystal eyes alight with new discovery, and
her hands slid down the goddess's neck, over her shoulders, feeling the
creamy skin under her palm with new a heart. She spoke not a word, for
words failed to convey the emotions that swirled within her. She merely
pressed her forehead against the goddess's and breathed a sigh of such
contentment words need not be spoken.
Clouds parted once more in the goddess's eyes and poison turned to
crimson water in her veins. The princess's smile spread throughout
Minako's being and cleansed her as the princess's tentative hands
soothed her. Her breath shuddered from her breast and she swallowed back
her tears. Pain was no more, forbidden need was now satisfied, and her
own smile lit her face as she slid her arms around the princess's waist
and held her close.
"Mina, darling...you cannot imagine how happy you have made me. I had
not known my own love, until I saw you tonight. Until I felt your arms
around me, and felt complete as never before. I love you dearly, my
Minako. I love you as none before." Usagi's voice faded, and they knew
that no words need be spoken again. No other soul in this world
mattered, but the feel of the girl in her arms, the warmth of her breath
on her cheek. Minako clutched the princess close to her, closing her
eyes tight and pressing her lips into her hair.
She smiled into the princess's eyes, cupping her cheek in her palm. The
loving smile gracing the girl's countenance, the sparkle in her eyes,
healed her soul, and the goddess brushed her lips across the princess's,
her eyes never closing. Usagi reached forward, and as she brought her
lips to meet Minako's she searched the azure depths of the goddess's
soul and clung to her silken robes, letting herself drown.
Like satin, like heaven, like moonlight embracing sunlight. The goddess
sighed into the princess's mouth and held her hands as bliss became
passion. Her heart bled still, but never more would it bleed in pain.
Forever shall it bleed with the healing wound of true love, as the
princess would always be at her side and in her soul. And the colors of
hopeful dawn painted the sky above them in a testament to their passion.
@~}~~~~The End~~~~{~@
Author's Note: So, that was it! Love it, Hate it? E-mail me and let me
know! I really enjoyed writing this peace, and am very sad to see it
end, but I felt that it was time. There may be a sequel to this after my
other two stories are completed. I hope everyone likes it! Short and
sweet. Ja Ne!
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