Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon R: Romance/Revenge

Summary: It's been a year since the defeat of Galaxia. Another enemy has arrived and suddenly Mamoru is acting different. The Senshi start disappearing and everyone's going into a panic. What's happening?

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Epilogue

Rays of light shined through the large window of the Fruits Parlor and effectively blinded Mamoru's right peripheral vision. He wanted nothing more than to gaze upon the beauty of the outside world. It had been so long since he had seen it with his own eyes while he was in his right mind. The sunshine forced him to stare at Usagi instead, which he didn't mind. In fact, it was a pleasure and an honor to set his eyes upon her. This meeting was different than usual, however. He watched as her lips moved and told a story of emptiness and sadness. Her eyes stared at the soda she still hadn't tasted.

It was obvious that the story troubled her deeply, more so than it troubled him. In his absence, he wasn't able to protect her. He blamed himself for not being there for her when she needed him the most. Starting with Galaxia, he had been taken out of the battle without a fighting chance and left Usagi to face the enemy alone. If there was one thing he knew about her, it was that she hated being by herself.

Halfway through the story, Mamoru slipped his hand into Usagi's and gave it a gentle squeeze. It was the only security he could offer as Usagi relived her encounters with Eris. The action did not stop her train of thought, but she stared at his hand with surprise or maybe even confusion.

Her story ended with the Silver Crystal granting her wish for another worldwide revival. Now they were together again, and Crystal Tokyo would eventually be within reach. The happy ending didn't seem very happy to Mamoru once Usagi looked him in the eyes for the first time. She tried to smile at him, but the mask was too sloppy for him to ignore. He waited for her to tell him what was wrong, but the explanation never came. He would have to coax the information out of her.

"Usako, I know there's something else that you're not tell me," he said. "I can take it, trust me. Spit it out."

Usagi frowned and dropped her gaze to her soda again. She forced her hand out of Mamoru's grasp and returned them to her lap, where they were safe from his reach. "It's kind of hard for me to say," she said. "It involves you and me but not in a good way."

"What do you mean?"

Usagi sighed before relenting. She told him of all the vile, disgusting things he had done while Eris had him under her control. Tears stung his eyes at the very thought of violating the love of his life the way he had. He wanted to go back in time and prevent any of those things from happening, but he knew Setsuna wouldn't let him go through with the idea.

"I… I'm so sorry," he managed. His voice trembled, which alerted Usagi immediately.

"It's not your fault," she said. "You weren't yourself. I know you wouldn't have done any of those things if Eris hadn't appeared."

Usagi rubbed his hand and tried her best to comfort him. While Mamoru tried to pull himself together, she looked out the window and saw her friends crossing the street. She quickly checked her watch and realized that they had arrived ten minutes earlier than they were supposed to. She watched them enter the Crown Arcade before turning to Mamoru, who seemed to feel better. It was a shame she had to crush whatever was left of his spirit.

"There's something else that I have to tell you."

"Did I do something else?"

"No. It's more about me."

Usagi paused just to think about a certain raven-haired shrine maiden. That was the only thought that could bring her through this moment.

"Because of everything that's happened, my feelings for you have…waned, for the lack of a better word." More like, for the sake of keeping his heart intact. "I still love the real you but not the same way I used to."

Usagi stopped to gauge the other man's reaction. As expected, he was surprised at the news. He drew his hand away from Usagi to hide them under the table. Mamoru turned his face to the sun and remained silent. His shock slowly turned into reluctant acceptance, but he knew he would break down all over again if he looked at her. Neither of them said anything for a full five minutes.

"Then what happens to Crystal Tokyo?" he asked slowly, not caring if his voice cracked. He still couldn't look at her. He thought about a little pink-haired girl, whose feisty and tenacious nature almost hid her gentleness and kindness. More tears came to his eyes and threatened to slip down his face. "What about Chibi-Usa?"

Usagi had been dreading that final question. The last thing she needed was some sort of guilt trip. "Crystal Tokyo is our future, no matter what happens between us," she answered. "You are the protector of this planet; you were destined become its king."

"So what you're saying is that we'll both rule the world together, but you won't love me?"

"I don't know what's going to happen now that things are different," Usagi said. "I guess we'll see what happens when we get there."

The two fell silent again. Nothing seemed clear to Mamoru anymore now that he didn't know what his future held for him. The sudden change in Usagi's heart shattered his whole perception of Crystal Tokyo. Knowing his future – ruling the world with his wife and daughter – was the only thing that had kept him going. Now that things were different, he didn't know what to do with himself.

Usagi checked her watched and noticed that it was almost time to go. If she stayed here with Mamoru any longer, she would be late for her date with her friends. "I'm sorry," she said as she stood up from the booth. She left Mamoru and her untouched soda behind and made her way down to the Crown Arcade.

The sounds of video games and excited yelps fill the air. The change in atmosphere urged her to forget the sad, guilty feelings in the pit of her stomach. She saw her friends gathered around the F1 racing game, where Minako and Makoto were going head-to-head. The race was apparently almost over since Usagi could hear Minako's victory laugh.

Rei was the first one to notice Usagi and greeted her with a smile. When Ami followed the older girl's gaze, she jumped toward Usagi and embraced her harder than she ever had before. This was the first time they had seen each other since Eris's defeat, and it showed. Ami allowed herself to cry as the two held each other tightly. Feeling Usagi's warmth and seeing her face again made Ami happier than words could express. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Usagi when she was normal. She felt bad for the things she had done but didn't dwell on it because she knew that Usagi had already forgiven her.

"Hey, don't hog her, Ami-chan! We want a turn too," Minako teased from behind. Both she and Makoto were standing right behind the blue-haired girl, waiting for their chance to greet their leader. Rei simply stood back and watched Makoto and Minako squeeze the life out of Usagi in a vicious group hug. She didn't want to fight for the blonde's attention. Instead, she would let Usagi come to her.

When Usagi was finally released and given a chance to breathe, Makoto and Minako decided to go another round at the F1 racing game. They barely had time to spare since they had a destination to get to, but Ami and Rei let the two have their fun. What could it hurt?

Usagi made her way over to Rei's side, quietly guiding her away from their friends. They found a spot towards the back of the arcade that no one visited anymore. It was filled with old dust-covered cabinets that offered retro games old-school gamers would appreciate – Pac-man, Galaga, Space Invaders, and even Pong. Usagi leaned on one of the cabinets while Rei stood only a few feet away. She half-expected Rei to kiss her right then and there but knew it wouldn't have been very appropriate.

"It's been a while," Rei smiled.

"Has it?" Usagi asked. She tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "It seems like only yesterday I defeated the world's next biggest threat."

Rei's laughter brought a slight smile to Usagi's face. Mamoru was still in the back of her mind, so she couldn't manage a bigger smile. On a more positive note, she loved making Rei laugh. That was something she could get used to.

"Thank you, Usagi. You always manage to save us even when we turn our backs on you."

"It's not like you did it on purpose. Don't beat yourself about it."

Rei leaned forward and kissed the blonde's forehead in response. Usagi felt the butterflies in her stomach. She remembered that feeling – being in the first stages of a relationship. She used to get butterflies around Mamoru all the time until she grew comfortable with him. She didn't mind losing the nervousness, as it was simply a sign of progression in their relationship. She couldn't say she hadn't missed it though.

"Before you guys got here," Usagi sighed, "I talked to Mamoru about… you know."

"How'd it go?"

"He didn't take it very well."

"Not surprised."

"Yeah."

Rei took Usagi's hands and kissed them, making the blonde blush. "Try not to think about it too much, okay? He'll heal with time."

Usagi nodded and tried to smile with optimism. She felt drained from hurting Mamoru like that, so a shaky smile was the best she could do for the day. Rei understood how she felt, so she didn't press the issue any further.

As the two returned to their friends, Ami noticed that they were holding hands and giggled. "The others are going to make such a big deal out of that," she said as she pointed to their interlocked fingers.

Usagi's cheeks achieved a darker shade of red and hid behind Rei to conceal it. The teasing didn't bother Rei at all. "Speaking of which, we should go now if we're going to meet up them on time," she grinned. "You know how Setsuna-san is about people being late."

"Let me finish beating Mako-chan," Minako said from behind the wheel. "I'm sure Haruka-san will slow the Outers down for a few minutes."

Usagi watched her friends have fun as if evil had never descended upon them in the first place. She couldn't wait to see Haruka and the others again (especially Hotaru so that she could give her a huge lecture for her recklessness). All she wanted to do was bask in their presence once more. Her only desire today was to let the love of her friends consume her like a wildfire. After everything that she had been through, she was ready to enjoy a new era of peace with her family.

"Usagi?"

The blonde's eyes darted to Rei when she heard her name being called.

"Do you want to get a head start to the movie theater?" Rei asked.

Usagi smiled and nodded. Any alone time she could get with Rei was welcome. The two left the arcade and walked down the street to their destination. The silence between them was interrupted with Rei kissing Usagi's temple without explanation.

"What was that for?"

"Do I need a reason for kissing you?"

Rei grinned at Usagi's embarrassment and put an arm over her shoulder. "I won't do it again if that's what you want."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Usagi huffed with a pout.

Rei continued to tease her love until they arrived at the theater. Now that Eris was gone, everything was just falling into place. Although Crystal Tokyo would be slightly altered, she had a feeling the grandeur of the future wouldn't change at all. As she kissed Usagi's temple again, she hoped that she could be like this with her princess forever.

-The End-

So excited to see the end of this story. To those of you that stuck with this to the end, thank you. I would have given up on this story if it weren't for you guys. I have a lot of new fics in the works, one of which is already complete and just has to go through a final revision. Thanks again, everyone! Til next story

Serenity101