Ailan was awake when Setsuna returned after sending Hotaru back to bed. She was sitting calmly in the center of Setsuna's bed, dark red and silver sheets pooled in her lap and in a circle around her, her nudity not bothering the former Queen of the Moon at all. She held the Time Key that Setsuna had dropped when Haruka screamed. "I returned their memories," the green-haired woman whispered, closing the door and leaning against it, hands clasped in front of her and head hung. She was acting like a child expecting punishment, an attitude only her lover could elicit. "All of them." "Why?" "I had to," Setsuna whispered, clenching her fists. Why did she always feel like she had to defend herself against this woman? "Haruka and Michiru tried to combine their powers again. They had no idea what they were doing, but they tried here as they tried before. I had to stop them, but I knew just talking to them would never work. They're so stubborn, they would never listen to me. They wouldn't believe me. I had to show them why I could not allow their powers to merge, and if I did not return the Inners' memories, they might end up trying the same damn thing. They're powerful enough, if they really tried. It should stop them." "But?" "I hadn't planned on this happening. I hadn't planned on releasing their memories. I think that if you had not come back to remind me of who I used to be, I would not have even gone this far." "Was releasing their memories a bad thing? Didn't you want them to remember the love they shared? I remember that they were happy back then, dodging their fathers to find time together." "I want them to be happy, Ailan, but will they appreciate remembering their deaths? I was there, Ailan, I saw that horror. I have perfect memory, so I cannot escape that pain, but they did. I was hoping they would never have to go back." "I think they will appreciate remembering their lives, my love. They lived good, happy lives as princesses of the Solar System. It hasn't hurt Usagi to remember her life and death in the Silver Millennium, and I am not dying from the pain of the end. Even you, who seem to carry mostly sorrow from your long life, remember the Silver Millennium fondly. Setsu-chan, most of the Silver Millennium was a wonderful time of peace; only the end was tragic. I know it was hard for you to let them remember, but I'm proud of you. No matter what happens now, Setsu-chan, you did a good thing." Setsuna raised her head, that slow, shy smile that Ailan knew so well spreading across her face. She slipped out of her robe and slid into bed beside her lover, eyes sparkling with tears. The smaller woman pulled the green-haired senshi into her arms as the Time Key vanished, leaving the pair alone. Setsuna leaned up to kiss Ailan, nuzzling her neck gently. "I love you, Ailan." "I love you, too, Setsuna," she replied as the two women stretched out under the blankets, Setsuna pillowing her head on Ailan's breast. The silver haired woman was the only one who could ever make her feel safe, the only person who could make her relax, drop her guard. Ailan breathed once more before she let sleep claim her, and Pluto smiled at the woman in her arms. This was how life was supposed to be, sleeping with the woman she loved, threats and all other danger pushed away. If she could live forever in this one moment, just before falling asleep with Ailan in her arms, she would give anything to do so. That's all she had ever really wanted. Setsuna smiled as she closed her eyes. Every ending brought a new beginning, and Ailan was hers, at least for now. She was content for the first time in uncounted centuries.
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