Day 1

"So...what's with the wings?" he asked finally, now that they'd had a few moments to calm themselves. She was leaning against his counter casually, lithe body nothing but a distraction from the current conversation. He'd meant to ease the tension, but every moment spent away from her skin felt like death.

"Oh, I'm a super hero!" Her chipper voice and cute little wave did nothing to ease the pressure in his gut. That smile was so filled with light that he almost couldn't bear to look at it without his knees collapsing.

"Oh," he croaked, "is that all?" And here he'd thought it was bad mentioning his MD for fear women would throw themselves at his feet. Girls never did seem to understand why he lived in such a squalid little apartment, drove a rusted hunk of garbage, and would rather walk than pay for gas. School was expensive, and there was nothing but loan money to be had for years to come. But, well, a superhero would understand that, right? He chewed the inside of his lip for a moment before blurting the next line out. "Are they functional?"

She seemed confused by the question for a moment, reaching back to finger the broken wing by her hip.

"Oh, like can I fly? No, but that would be so cool!"

He eyed the contraption curiously, caught between amusement and confusion. The color scheme was anything but thought out, and frankly nothing about the outfit made sense. There were crescent moons, pink and orange and some weird color between. Long trailing ribbons dipped down her back, two ice cream scoops of pink crushed her shoulders. She had wings. In her hair.

Whoever designed the thing had to be legitimately crazy or blind. He could only hope it wasn't Usagi.

"What about you? Are you...a volunteer or something?" She looked up at him with a cute smile, that sweet little tilt of her eyes, and he gripped the counter for support.

"Of course you're adorable, why wouldn't you be?" He muttered, more to himself than her. Still, it was rewarded with a pleased grin, and soft blush spreading from her cheeks to her neck. His eyes traced the neckline low again, aching to tear the ugly suit from her body. Rather than dwell on the thought, he straightened and pulled his gaze up to her face again. "I'm a doctor."

"Wow, like a real one?" she started, head swooping in embarrassment before the mischievous smile made its way around. Silently, he braced himself. "You must be a giant nerd!"

She giggled, so beautifully, at his expense. Even he chuckled, knowing it was true. Still, it slid the awkward moment apart with surgical precision, and laid his usual nervousness to rest.

"So...what part of Japan are you from?" he asked casually, wondering if she knew any of the very few people he did. She nodded, pulling herself up with that boundless energy. In the drab, empty surroundings of his barren apartment, her flouncing rainbow hued getup practically giggled in the silence.

"Tokyo, in the Juuban district."

"Really? I...used to live around there," he admitted quietly, wondering if they'd ever met before. There were times, when she looked at him, when this all felt so familiar. "Do you know the Crown arcade?"

"Of course! That's my favorite hangout!" Her surprise was mingled with something else, something akin to suspicion. It was strange to think her thoughts might be traveling a similar path though they'd barely met. He smiled, wishing to ease the situation back to their playful banter.

"My best friend works there. Furuhata Motoki."

"Toki-onii-san had a best friend like you and didn't introduce us!? That's...so unlike him!" she murmured, eyes going distant while she nibbled at her thumb.

"Yeah, it does seem strange," he returned, carefully keeping his thoughts from her form as she moved. It was true; any sign of interest at all, and the blond would be setting him up on some awkward, horrible date. He shuddered momentarily, remembering those awful times in undergrad. So many desperate women.

"It's weird... ano, how did you get to New York?" she queried next, moving about his apartment like a curious kitten. He watched, confused at how enjoyable this exchange had been so far. She was like watching a child; all wonder and happiness and excitement. At the same time, the looks she gave him were anything but childlike.

"I'm on my residency at the hospital here. Well, I did medical school at Harvard first I guess." He shrugged, as if it didn't please him to report it. She didn't seem to understand, though, as he followed that shy smile into the living room.

His skin was raging beneath the surface, uncomfortable and hot and molten. She wandered the room like a nymph, fingering books curiously and smiling at the painting of roses that hung above the couch. He took the moment to trap her hand, pull her down beside him on the couch so he could wrap the girl up close. It calmed the pain fizzling every nerve to have her pressed against him.

"How did you get to be a hero?" The golden tresses of hair piled across every available surface, as if sunlight and caramel made love and drizzled across his couch and hands. The silken feel clung to his fingers, to his shirt.

"Ah, reincarnated princess. My planet died a long time ago."

He froze, turning cobalt eyes from the mess of golden light in his hands. Her eyes were downcast for a moment, focused on a time far away. It made him ache, pulled that connection tighter between them as he realized how strangely similar they were.

"I'm sorry to hear that." The quiet murmur was more than sadness. The blonde turned her face up toward his with a false bright smile that left his insides a mulch of turbulent emotions. It was nice to know the optimist was still affected like she should be.

"I barely remember it." The girl shrugged, and that plastic smile continued.

They were quiet for a moment, watching each other carefully through separate masks of pain. But there was only understanding to be had, though his own turbulent past had not been brought up. She seemed to recognize its touch in his face, and chose wisely not to comment.

Instead, he used another tactic, wishing only to revive that silly smile that had been lost.

"And what are your powers?" His fingers twined through the strands of hair, still mesmerized despite the break in concentration that had first pulled him away.

"Hard to describe, but pink and sparkly tends to be a theme." She watched him quietly, as if she weren't talking about something that should be impossible. He grinned, half because the situation seemed ridiculous, and half because of her answer.

"You're kidding," he muttered, staring at her strangely. "What's the efficacy on that?"

"Eff..eff..."

"How well does it work?" he supplied instead, moving to touch her fuku curiously. The wings seemed to handle a sofa just fine, though the sailor flap struggled against the back of the couch. There was just so much to it all: hair coverings, barrettes, necklaces, earrings, gloves…how long did it take this girl to get ready? He didn't know if he actually wanted to know.

"Pretty good, I've gone through like 5 evil masterminds now." There was a slight nod as he finally straightened the contraption with the added bonus of touching her neck. She seemed to gasp just a little, blink the growing glaze from her eyes.

"Do you just...pick up another when you're bored?" He moved to her face, loving how soft her skin was beneath his fingers. He shouldn't have done it. Hell, he was pretty sure he'd never been so intimate with another human in his whole life. There was just something unbearably magnetic about her.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, it's really hard to focus...because..." He was stroking her mouth with his thumb. Oh gods, he was no better than a horny teenager around her. Surely there had to be some show of restraint he could pull from!

"I know, the second I saw you..." the words left his mouth instead, blatant and embarrassing and honest.

"And it was..." she answered almost immediately, her eyes traveling to his mouth.

The both quieted, understanding the naked exchange for all that it was. Then his logical mind kicked in, and ruined everything.

"Wh..what are you doing here? I mean, in New York. Don't we get Spiderman or something?"

She shook her head the moment his touch slowed, as if to disperse a cloud over her thoughts. It was understandable, and he was kicking himself for being an idiot. Who the hell talks about Spiderman at a time like this? And why did he even care?

"There's a shadow growing here." The girl began her story, though he barely scraped himself together enough to hear it. "Ami-Chan found it before the Starlights went on tour again, so I came to check it out."

The term "shadow" didn't seem like much of a threat to him. Well, except in terms of MRIs and X-rays; but it could mean anything from blood clots to cancer in that case, and he didn't think super heroes had much to worry about with that. Either way, it was hardly the subject to be bringing up after the death of her planet.

"Is Ami another hero?" She nodded. "How many of you are there?"

"Ten, well and the Starlights, but I guess they don't really count…."

"The band, right? The emo j-pop guys you were hanging out with?" He tried not to sound too interested, but the connection seemed strange.

"Um, yeah. Maybe I shouldn't be telling you all of this..."

"So 4 days ago, you were engaged to a super hero rock star?" The summation of it all seemed much less appealing all of the sudden. It was one thing to unknowingly bring an end to someone else's relationship–it was another entirely to note the offended party might actually be able to char his ass for it.

"Yes?" Her tiny squeak almost was enough to bring him back. "But don't worry, it wasn't like that, we just..."

"Why?"

"Seiya..." She trailed off, staring toward the wall with an uneasy expression. "It's a long story."

There was a moment of awkward silence as he considered the words "long story." It went without saying that she would have baggage that soon after a breakup, he understood that logically. There was simply this nagging feeling that he was missing something implied in the words. Maybe it was pain, just a kind he wasn't equipped to deal with.

"Look, you don't have to tell me. I just didn't think I'd be a rebound."

"Oh, no! It's..." She struggled, caught between horror and concern. "Let's try again. One of my girlfriends had a crush on Yaten, so I helped her sneak into a rehearsal, and Seiya caught us, and he just... liked me. And he's fun; we played baseball, it was innocent. And he just...I don't know, he's persuasive."

"You let him talk you into a four-year relationship?" he asked, a little incredulous now.

"Yes and no. It was easier; we were fighting Galaxia. High school wasn't kind to me, and Seiya is nice," she paused for a moment, drawing her thoughts together. "He proposed last year, and I just...just went with it. I guess I didn't really know what I wanted."

"Till you saw me," he interjected.

"Well, didn't you…want the same?" She flicked those blue eyes toward his hoard of pictures on the table, a youthful grin on her face. He groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh gods, I'll never live that down, will I?" Her childlike laughter filled the room with golden bells as she snuggled closer against him.

"Oh trust me, I stalked you home that night and watched you sleep. We're both juveniles."

"And complete creepers," he added ruefully, fingering a silky lock of hair. She was laughing, and the sound was addictive and laced with a happiness he'd never felt before. And their kiss was sweet and gentle, as if they'd been lovers all the years in between.

She excused herself to change, but only went behind a wall before the apartment was painted in a rainbow of color. The sparkles still glimmered in her hair as she returned to sit beside him. Even wearing a pair of gray sweats, she was stunning.

"Your hair looks like odangos," was all he could muster, though. The other words were too corny, too cheesy for the light of day.

"Yours is just plain messy," she countered just as fast, reaching up to ruffle it playfully. He laughed, gripping the tiny wrist with his fingers and kissing it softly.

"I think that's your fault."

They both grinned at each other, as if this all were some secret joke between them, as if they hadn't met officially hours earlier. His eyes caught against her mouth, so close and warm and inviting. This time, he didn't bother with the thinking.

"We could just make out some..."

"Okay!"

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….

It was nearly morning, and the slumbering sunshine in his arms was smiling in her sleep. He'd gotten a few spare hours of rest, now that she was safely here tucked within his sheets. Every once in a while, a gentle snore broke the peaceful morning. He loved how every tiny shift made her hair dazzle, scrunched the beautiful face into a pout, and nuzzled her always closer to him.

This was truly heaven. Their short, impassioned exchange when she arrived last night had been unexpected and tantalizing, but to know what a sweet woman lay underneath it all was overwhelming. She had left her fiancé, a man loaded with power and money and fame, for a lowly medical resident in a shoebox apartment.

She'd called him a nerd. A goofy grin broke through the haze, and he bent to flutter kisses along the soft skin of her temple. How he'd walked the streets of Tokyo without noticing her had to be some strange divine taboo, but for the same girl to show up in his neck of the woods was nothing short of miraculous.

For a moment, he wondered if those angel wings really were functional.

Last night had been innocent and sweet; not that he hadn't been just a bit disappointed in that fact. She'd crawled in beside him, all snuggled up in her sweats, and promptly fell to sleep. It was in the hours between that he could see a princess from another world, so refined and ethereal. Usagi herself was much more fun, more impulsive than a princess would be, he thought.

A flicker of shadow soaked in the errant rays of morning light, brought his eyes up from the slumbering beauty.

"I have no qualms locking you in the bathroom," he leveled harshly at the flickering black cat at his window. A low growl filtered through the glass momentarily. The tail twitched in irritation before the thing finally bound away, in search of another young man to torture.

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….

A/N: SOOOOOO any theories? Conjectures? Guesses? Ya'll are killing me!

How about a psycho-Luna?

OR Where are the other Senshi?

WHY IS SEIYA NOT BEATING DOWN THE DOOR ALREADY?

WHO KNOWS!?

In other news, SB's almost done. I'm taking it to work today to smooth things out, hoping to have it to you in the next few weeks. DON'T GIVE UP HOPE!

HUGE shout-out to my editor slightlyxjaded, EVERYONE should thank her for her awesome work! She keeps me in line!

E