"Make sure you behave yourself. And like always, don't reveal anything about the future." Neo-Queen Celestia said.

"And make sure you have Pluto help you with the Disguise Pen when you reach the Gates." Neo-Queen Serenity added, handing her daughter the pen.

"I will. I'll be back in a few days, Serenity-oka-san, Celestia-oka-san. I love you both." The little aqua-haired girl with blue eyes said as she took the wand and pulled her Time Key out from around her neck.

"We love you, Chibi-usa. We'll miss you while you're gone." Serenity knelt, giving her daughter a hug before straightening back up and stepping back so her wife could also give their daughter a hug and kiss goodbye.

"Where's Hotaru at?" Chibi-usa asked, looking around.

"She's at the Gates, with Pluto. She wanted to see you off herself." Celestia smiled at her daughter as her arms wrapped around her wife's waist, pulling her close.

"I'll see you both in a couple days." She replied before activating the key and disappearing in a flash of garnet light, Pluto's power teleporting her off to the extra-dimensional space that contained the Gates of Time.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Serenity asked quietly as they stood there in the grand hall, vacant of everyone at this time of night sans for the royal family.

"She witnessed my proposal to you all those years ago on the shores of Lake Kizaki at Rei and Minako's cabin." Celestia blew gently over Serenity's neck, Serenity's head tilting to the right just like it always did to allow her lover better access. The familiar sensation always comforting, "It'd be wrong to not let her witness our marriage as well, ne?"

"You're right. But still, I'm going to miss her, even if she is only gone for a week. And I know Hotaru will as well."

Celestia's arms tightened around her wife, pressing intimately against her and kissed her softly on her neck. "Look at the bright side." Another kiss a little lower, "We've another week," a kiss yet a little lower, "All. To. Ourselves." Each word separated with a kiss as she reached the strap of the white nightgown, nudging it gently off her shoulder. There was a flash of silver light. Celestia looked up and saw the darkened surroundings of their bedchambers and smiled into the elegant neck of her one, her only love, noticing the glowing crystal slowly receding back into Serenity's chest.

"I love it when you get impatient."

"I know you do." Serenity pulled away, taking Celestia's hand and leading her to the bed. She smiled a wicked smile, a promise of things to come…in more ways than one.

Soft Cruelty: Here With Me Now

By: LowFlyer1080

The illumination was dimmed in the club with the owner, Jonathan Edrins, personally running the sound system this special night in early November. It wasn't something he normally did, renting out the whole L'Océan Mystique for an entire night. However, it wasn't a frequent occurrence when two of his favorite and usual customers had their wedding reception either. Nor was it a frequent occurrence that the two people in question were women. And even rarer was the fact that two years ago this night was the first time they had met here at his establishment; a chance meeting designed by the powers that be for the opportunity of the forging of a bond of true love. The layout of the Mystique was slightly different this night. The usual bar-style small tables had been taken to the upstairs storage rooms and long folding tables brought in from various friends and family members of the brides. The chairs however had been left in place, and of course, being the nice, sappy guy that he was, Jonathan donated the use of the club free of charge to 'his two girls' as part of his wedding gift. Looking out now around the lower level of the ring he pushed in a sequence of codes that brought up the spotlight interface on his console. Manipulating the controls he activated a spotlight, targeting the happy couple at their table. Opening a comm channel over the speakers and turning a light on himself, he addressed them as was his honored duty as host to the festivities.

"And now it's time for our two lovebirds to have their first dance." Jonathan grinned, "Then see how long they can last separated from each other as others cut in."

A chorus of laughter sounded clearly. The two smiling women in question stood up and stepped out onto the dance floor as the spotlight's sensors, designed and built by Jonathan himself, tracked them smoothly as they moved, ringing them in a constant halo of light.

"Two years ago, I watched silently in the wings of my establishment, as Michiru fought to overcome a sadness that had plagued her. I saw Usagi float into the lights of the Mystique, knowing that there was something special about her. And I had the privilege and great fortune to witness the chance meeting of these two lost halves at that bar stool there, three down from the right." Jonathan said as another light illuminated said seat. "Over the next ten to eleven months, I saw them at the very least once a week in here, and I grew to know and love both of them very dearly and am proud to count them among my friends and dare say family. Then one day, exactly a year ago from today, they saw fit to grace me with their presence once again after a three month absence. My worries for their well-being were soundly beaten into submission upon seeing the ring decorating Usagi's finger and a matching one worn by Michiru. Of course, I was happy to grant them use of the club, free of cost, for their reception. It is with great honor I present to you the song that they have chosen for their first dance as Mrs. and Mrs. Michiru Tsukino-Kaioh. The first song they ever danced to."

The rest of the lights in the club dimmed down to near darkness, the only light coming from those over the bar, and the blue foot lighting around the club. The spotlight tracked the couple as Michiru wound her arms around Usagi's neck even as Usagi's made their way around Michiru's waist. A strong but soft beat pulsed slowly from the speakers, as they began swaying to the music. A female voice sounded softly into the club, her words seeping into the couple as they lost focus on everyone and everything around them, their universe collapsing around them until all that remained was each other.

"I know it's late. I shouldn't call at this hour. But yet, my fate. I need lips to devour." Michiru's aqua-white gown flowed down around her curves as it cascaded lightly to the floor, brushing gently over it as she smiled at her new wife. Her gloved hands softly caressing the back of the blonde's neck, an action meant not to arouse but to calm. She had felt more than saw Usagi's nervousness during the ceremony and still sensed some lingering unsettlement. Usagi felt her wife's subtle massage underneath her thick French braid of hair and relaxed into her and the rhythm of the song, the touch serving to wash away her agitation. Her mind was no longer paying any attention to the slightly snug sensation of her dress shirt and tie around her neck, covered slightly by the white women's tuxedo they had decided she would wear. She lost herself in the feeling of Michiru's soft body pressing into hers, the aqua haired woman's arms drawing a little tighter around her neck, and the calm flowing tones of their song. "My nervous system is shot alright. I won't sleep unless you; Sleep with me tonight; Deep with me tonight."

"I know it's late. We've known each other a while. I can't wait, To see your twisted smile." Rei sat at the table, to the right of Usagi's chair, watching her best friend share her first dance with her new wife and reflecting on her current girlfriend and lover, Aino Minako. Rei had been chosen to be Usagi's 'best woman' and along with Makoto and Haruka, Usagi's 'groomswomen,' helped Usagi get ready just before the ceremony. The three of them, of course, had drug Usagi out to a strip bar the previous night despite her protests at her 'bachelor' party because Michiru and her had agreed that she'd play the part of the groom. Their love was extremely passionate and volatile. They had their share of tender moments as well, but sometimes things got so heated, Rei was afraid that it might not be love at all, just a deep, all-consuming desire. She valued greatly the time she spent with Minako, but was worried that it may not last. She wondered how Usagi and Michiru seemed to be so sure about their feelings, having such complete and utter faith and trust in one another, that nothing seemed to faze the couple. "Kindred spirit of candlelight, I won't sleep unless you, Sleep with me tonight; Deep with me tonight."

"And my thought to my saint, I'm so tired but I faint. Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me tonight." Minako sensed the unrest in her lover. Like Rei had been chosen to be Usagi's best woman, she had been selected by Michiru to be her maid of honor which she had readily accepted. She shifted her eyes away from her two friends out on the floor to her girlfriend sitting three seats to her. It was true that Rei was very good at hiding her real feelings, burying them deep down inside her, cloaking them in a thick haze of smoke. But Minako had known her long enough to be able to cut through the smoke and find that which lie hidden. She cared deeply for the raven-haired miko, more so than any other lover she had had previous. She knew she loved Rei with all her heart and soul and would do anything for her. The past four years with her had taught her much about her girlfriend, including her tendency to start doubting things that should never be doubted to begin with. "Drown out the machinery in my head. Bring your peace of mind to my bed. Without sleep there are no dreams. Without dreams, we fall apart at the seams."

"Kindred spirit of candlelight, I won't sleep unless you, Sleep with me tonight; Deep with me tonight." Haruka watched as her ex-girlfriend danced with their princess, feeling the last of her unresolved feelings melt slowly and silently away like snow in the noonday sun. A peace settled over her and she felt eyes on her. Turning to her left, looking past Makoto and Rei who seemed lost in their own thoughts, she found wine-colored eyes curiously appraising her. A small smile came to her lips at the sight of her lover, Setsuna, and her questioning gaze. Her heart swelled at the sight, and she knew that the time guardian was the one for her. "And my thought to my saint, I'm so tired but I faint. Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me..." Setsuna glanced to her right, sensing a disturbance in the flow of time that was gone as soon as it disappeared. Seeing the look of peace and acceptance on the racer's face as she turned and matched Setsuna's look served enough to reassure her that everything was alright.

"Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me... Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me..." Makoto looked on as the song continued into its final sequence, feeling the emotions all but radiating from the two women she had come to consider almost family. A small, contented smile graced her lips as she looked down the table to her left. Ami was so beautiful, so delicate. She wondered what she had done in a past life to deserve the gentle bluenette and thanking every deity she could think of for gifting her with Ami's love. Somehow sensing the gaze directed upon her, Ami turned in her aqua colored bridesmaid's dress only to catch herself falling into twin pools of lush, sparkling emerald; a smile coming to her as well. Makoto looked so handsome in her white tuxedo and she felt a surge of desire surface within her. She took hold of that feeling and burying it inside her, not suppressing it but nurturing it, knowing that they would eventually get to have some time alone. She couldn't hold down the slight blush that graced her cheeks at that thought however, still retaining some of her former shyness. Someday soon, she hoped that Makoto might ask for her hand in marriage. And if necessary, Ami thought, she could always ask the taller brunette first. "Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me tonight. Sleep with me tonight."

"Sleep." The whispered line, followed by the continued beating hiss of the snare slipped through the club as everyone looked on. Usagi lifted her head slightly and captured Michiru's lips with her own, a light but no less passionate caress earning quite a few whistles and clapping from their friends and family that had come to help them celebrate the beginning of the rest of their lives together. Michiru smiled into Usagi's lips, feeling her blonde lover mimic her, unaware of the somewhat troubled look that had been focused on them by Rei, or the other varying looks that the senshi had given the couple. Hotaru and Chibiusa chose that moment to interrupt the couple, wrapping one of each of their arms around Usagi and Michiru's waists. Laughing they embraced them back.

"Congratulations!" they exclaimed together.

"Thank you very much, Hime-chan, Chibiusa-chan. It meant a lot to us that you could be the ring bearer and flower girl at the ceremony." Usagi replied back.

"Yes, thank you for all you've helped us with this past week leading up to the wedding. We couldn't have done it without you two." Michiru smiled down at the raven-haired girl.

"Thanks for everything, Usagi-mama, Michiru-san." Chibiusa said.

"I was honored to be able to help you with your wedding. I love you, Michiru-mama, Usagi-mama." Hotaru said.

Usagi let out a small gasp, before smiling and tightening her embrace on the young girls. "We love you too, both of you." She said, joy shining in her eyes as she looked at her new wife. Eventually the hug broke and the rest of the wedding party filed out onto the floor for the second dance, pairing off with their significant others. The second song started up, Breathe by Faith Hill, as the senshi moved in time to the beat.

The weathermen had predicted unusually warm weather for the week considering it was November, highs reaching the low 70s Fahrenheit. So it was with little surprise that the aquamarine convertible idled smoothly alongside the curb as the happy couple walked arm in arm out of the club, lined on either side by their friends and families blowing bubbles. Haruka climbed out of the car and joined Setsuna, dropping the keys into Usagi's hand. "She's got a full tank of gas, fresh oil, lube, tires checked, the whole works." She stated, slipping her arm around Setsuna's waist.

"Thank you for everything Haruka-chan." Usagi replied with a smile.

"No problem. Have a good time and drive safe!"

"Here are the keys to the cabin, Michiru-san." Minako said, handing the aqua-haired woman a set of keys, as Rei held her from behind.

"We've packed some snacks and drinks for the drive to the lake in case you get hungry or thirsty and need something to tie you over." Makoto added, holding Ami's hand.

"I was happy that I could be there for you in your wedding, Serenity-oka-san." Chibiusa said, giving her future mother a hug.

"I'm happy you could be here too. I love you very much." She replied, hugging the pink-haired girl back. "Will you still be here when we return?"

"Sadly no. I was only allowed to come back for a week. I'll be staying with Hotaru-chan at Haruka and Setsuna's house before heading back in three days' time." She replied.

"Thank you for being here for our wedding, Chibiusa-chan." Michiru knelt gracefully beside her.

"No problem, Cele…I mean Michiru-san." The slight slip-up drew a look from the time guardian that went unnoticed by the rest of the senshi.

Michiru gave Chibiusa and Hotaru a hug before standing up.

"Thank you, all of you." They replied, looking at their friends.

"No problem. We were glad we could help and be a part of your wedding." Setsuna replied. "Now get going, lest you be late."

"How can you be late for your own honeymoon, Setsuna-chan?" Minako asked.

"Oh…no particular way, its just time they got going." She replied with a mysterious smile.

"You rely on that time thing a lot, Tsuna-koi." Haruka nudged the guardian playfully in the side, getting only that look in return.

Usagi opened the door for Michiru, helping her into the car and making sure her dress wouldn't get caught before shutting the door behind her. Moving quickly around the front of the Camaro, she climbed into the driver's seat. Waving to their friends, Usagi revved the engine, slowly letting the clutch out as the car purred contently, rolling smoothly onto the road toward the highway. Written in washable paint on the back of the muscle car were the words "Just Married." In the rearview mirrors, the couple could see their friends waving at them until they were out of sight. Usagi turned to her new wife, unable to stop smiling.

"I love you Michiru."

"I love you too, Usagi. Now and forever." She replied smiling herself as her hand covered Usagi's own on the gearshift.

Usagi shifted into a higher gear, pushing the foot feed to the floor as they merged onto the highway, opening all eight cylinders in the Camaro's engine and making it growl low and loud as they rapidly picked up speed, on their way to Rei and Minako's cabin once again. The couple had decided on asking their friends if they could use the cabin for their honeymoon to which they had readily agreed. The wind whipped through Michiru's hair as her new wife handled the car with ever growing precision. Usagi had requested shortly after they had gotten together to learn how to drive the foreign muscle car, hoping some day to get one for herself, although both knew she probably never would since Michiru already had one. But that was okay for them, Michiru was more than happy to teach her lover how to drive. And she had not been disappointed; Usagi quickly caught on to all the nuances of driving a stick-shift: learning how to shift using the sound of the engine, starting and stopping the car, feeling the rhythm of the Camaro as it moved, and being able to sense when the car started gaining power as the clutch was slowly released. Michiru was quite content to sit in the passenger seat, running her hand softly and sensually up and down her wife's arm, teasing her lightly through the dress shirt she wore, having removed the tuxedo jacket before getting underway.

Usagi's eyes trailed briefly from the road ahead over to the cruelly soft fingers deftly undoing the buttons on the wrist cuff of her shirt before lightly caressing the skin underneath. Usagi shuddered as she screwed her eyes back onto the road with great difficulty. The fingers continued their gentle exploration of her wrist and forearm, leaving a tingling, tickling sensation in their warm wake.

"You know, it's not nice to do that when I'm driving." Usagi said, trying to keep the now growing throb between her legs under strict control.

"You're not the boss of me." Came the reply, just soft enough to be heard over the wind.

Usagi felt a shifting of the seat before a pair of warm lips and tongue began caressing her neck, the hand on her arm moving to her thigh as another hand came to the collar of her shirt, slowly undoing those buttons as well. Usagi's control wavered slightly, evident in the single, slight weave of the convertible on the road before it straightened out once more. Usagi let out a low moan, the hot wet sensation of her wife's mouth sucking lightly at the juncture of her neck and shoulder made the steady throb turn into a constant dull ache. Dampness soaked her panties and heat infused her whole body, radiating from her core.

"Seeing you drive, manipulating the car like a master pianist making a piano sing under skilled hands; it's making me so hot. I can't wait to reach the cabin Kyuuketsuki-koi, so I can feel every part of you, sliding deliciously against me, your fingers raking down my back, your nails leaving red marks in their wake and me pressing farther into you from the burn of them." Michiru whispered in Usagi's ear as her right hand slipped into the now almost-fully unbuttoned shirt to cup a bra-covered breast, kneading it gently and feeling the hardened nipple underneath straining against the fabric, while her left hand rubbed deliciously on the inside of the blonde's thigh, brushing lightly against her center.

"Oh kami-sama." Usagi's eyes half-closed as the arousal she was trying so hard to keep in check, tore savagely through her.

"I want to hear you moan in my ear as I slide my fingers deep into your wetness, filling you up and making you beg for more, feeling your delicious heat wrap around me. I want to feel you as you come, your walls gripping me tight to hold me in, preventing my withdrawal." Michiru hissed as she bit playfully into her wife's neck, feeling her shudder hard beside her even as the car picked up more speed, the engine growing louder as its RPMs grew. "I want to see the desire and passion in your eyes as I lick my fingers clean, savoring your taste on my tongue before I kiss you."

Usagi's jaw gritted tight, her consciousness trying in vain to block the provocative imagery her mind was conjuring forth with lightning speed as her eyes locked onto the road ahead of them. Her grip on the steering wheel and gearshift white-knuckle tight, her arousal and love for the woman driving her crazy and pushing her closer to the edge with mere words and caresses; muscles quivering in the most pleasant of ways with each touch.

"You keep this up, Michiru, and I'll be tempted to pull over at the nearest hotel we come across and spend the night there." Usagi managed to get out.

"So don't pull over…just…drive." The senshi of Neptune hissed sensually in her ear.

Usagi shuddered as Michiru continued to kiss up and down her neck.

"Please, love, that's not something I want to remember our honeymoon by despite how good this feels and how much I desperately want you." Usagi managed to get out.

The comment got a slight reaction: a final, lengthy kiss on the neck and a retreating of the hand caressing her breasts. The one on her thigh remained, however, although its movements slowed a little. Despite the removal of most of the distractions, Usagi's arousal did not dampen in the least. Her traitorous body cried out at the loss of most of the touch, despite the remaining hand caressing her thigh. A groan escaped her lips as her hand left the gearshift of its own will and gripped Michiru's hand that was still on her thigh and pressed it hard into her heated center, feeling Michiru squeeze her lovingly as she cupped her, causing her eyes to lid over in pleasure. Once again, she heard her wife shift in her seat and the lips and tongue returned to her neck.

"Just…drive." Michiru hissed again, drawing out yet another moan from the blonde as she keyed the cruise control button on the steering wheel so that the blonde could remove her feet from the pedals.

'Oh God, I can't believe I'm considering doing this while we're on the road!' The thought of what was about to transpire sent a new surge of arousal through her body and a fresh rush of moisture to her lower parts. 'But it feels so good, the rush of the wind, the sound of the car, her hands running over me…her lips…oh God her lips.' Once again the other hand returned beneath her shirt as she shifted slightly to give better access. This time, however, the hand slid beneath her bra to rest on her bare breast, kneading at the soft mound as the other agilely undid her belt buckle, button, and zipper on her tuxedo pants. The hand that slipped inside her silk panties to rub deliciously against her, fingers teasing her opening, involuntarily caused her legs to part to grant her wife better access.

"Feels so good…don't stop." Usagi panted as she fought to maintain her attention on the road, keeping the Camaro on the pavement but away from other traffic.

"Tell me what you want." Came the reply, hot and sensual in her ear.

Several hours later the two of them lay under the covers of a large king-sized bed, wrapped up under the covers in the master bedroom of Rei and Minako's cabin having made it there safely after their adventure on the highway. Once they had reached the lakeside cabin they had paused only to grab their luggage from the trunk of the car and sprint inside. Their desire and lust turned into the gentlest of lovemaking much later on, not sating their hunger for each other, but merely contenting it for the moment. As they slept together safe in each others' arms and the full November moon shining upon them through the window, only its light was bearing witness to the conception of the two queens' future daughter. And Crystal Tokyo's princess.

The Silver Imperial crystal rose out from Usagi's chest without her or Michiru's awareness or conscious thought. It move down between them and stopped between their stomachs, it's white glow infused with beams of turquoise as it enveloped the two women for a few moments. Two tiny sparks of light, no larger than the tip of a needle phased out from Michiru and Usagi and into the crystal. The shard flashed golden for a nanosecond before its light disappeared altogether. It gently floating back up the two sleeping women and phasing back into Usagi's chest, but not before a small spark of light shone from within it, only slightly bigger than the two that had entered it only moments before. It wasn't yet time for the child to be conceived, but when it was, Usagi and Michiru would be there to witness it. Until then, the spark would be nurtured and protected, wrapped in the secrecy and mystery of the Imperial Crystal.

Many kilometers away, the time guardian lie awake in bed, the gentle sounds of her lover's breathing soft in her ear. Feeling the slight shifting of the stream and the soon to be new addition to their group, she smiled out at the moon, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

'A little late, but then again some things,' she decided, 'just never change.'

End

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Sailor Moon. I don't own the song featured in this fic, Sleep by Conjure One (feat. Poe).

A/N – Please do not attempt to do anything like what Usagi and Michiru did on the roads, despite how much desire may call for you to do so should you find yourself in that situation. If you do that while moving, you are not only risking your life and the life of your loved one, but the lives of others sharing the road. Please be smart and never drive intoxicated, be it from desire, alcohol, or otherwise.