Well, I said it would be short, and it really is. Here is the last chapter of Simple Feelings. I want to thank everyone for their support!

Happy readings!

She read over the document for the hundredth time; a black quill posed over the parchment to make any readjustments she deigned necessary. In a few hours' time the Queen of Saturn would be signing the papers and pressing her royal seal upon the dotted line, and she would not want to make any mistakes on an official document, not on a legislation she had negotiated rigorously upon for the past few, very trying months. For a Free Trade Agreement among the Outer Planets had been expected by the people for a very long time, even before the construction of Crystal Tokyo, and Hotaru was ashamed to admit that she and the other Outer Queens had been very late to deliver, indeed. Which was why she wanted to be very thorough in the process of drafting, finalizing and signing the new trade laws.

She shifted at her desk and crossed her legs to fight off the autumn draft coming from the window. A short burst of wind rustled the papers and Hotaru irritably snapped them straight and even with a flick of her wrist. She would be lying if she said it hadn't been a frustrating time conferring with her mamas and papas over the matter. Despite the fact that they were a family, they were also Queens to their Planets, and each had their own design and agenda over what they wanted and what they couldn't possibly give.

In fact, if not for Pluto's stagnating agriculture and Saturn's unrest over the unfair foreign trade with the Inner Planets, Hotaru did not think she would have suggested any Agreement at all. But the crisis was obvious: As the breadbasket of the Milky Way, Pluto's soils had been raped almost dry, and Hotaru couldn't possibly stand by and watch Setsuna-mama lose further sleep over the matter. After many days searching for a solution, Hotaru remembered the vast fruitful minerals germinating in Saturn's ring and realized that she could provide Pluto these minerals for fertilization. Saturn's ring was, after all, composed of space junk being pulled into Saturn's gravitational field and left floating in the ring, and after many years the trash deteriorated and became concentrated to leave the barest minimal of useful nutrients.

From Hotaru's theory, Michiru-mama and Haruka-papa offered Neptune's fresh glaciers and Uranus' rich mulch to be added to Saturn's ring so that the substances could be preserved and be included to Saturn's defences. Saturn's ring acted like a defensive wall around the planet, and her mamas and papas felt it safer if the ring maintained its twenty-meter width. And before long, their family began to discuss what other materials the Outer Planets could exchange for the betterment of, not only for the Solar System's defences, but for the people as well. From aiding Pluto's agricultural industry, the other Outer Planets would benefit from cheaper grain products. Similarly, this new Free Trade Agreement would provide a lot more cheaper natural resources the other three planets lacked.

But of course, Hotaru knew, soon the Inners would want to be a part of this Agreement too. No other planets lacked natural rescources more than the Inner Planets, but Hotaru had decided, while discussing prices with papa, that she would be firm on the matter of the Free Trade Agreement affixed only to the Outer Planets. As the Outer Planets, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto needed rescources the most – they were the first in the line of defense. Furthermore, and really the most pressing of her reasons, the Outer Planets were exhausted by the demands made on them by the Inner Courts. The Inner Planets simply consumed more than the Outers, and not because of the imbalance of population (in fact, the Outers numbered more), but because the Inner Planets simply consumed more.

The Inner Planets liked their jewels from Saturn's mines, their exquisite furnitures from Uranus' jungles, their unpolluted waters from Neptune's lakes and their untainted grains from Pluto's fields. But for the Outer Planets, they simply just liked being, just liked the bare minimum as long as they had loving families, solid friendships and a benevolent (sometimes fearsome in Hotaru's case) queen.

Hotaru, like all Saturnians, did not look well upon gluttony, not that she would accuse the Inner Courts of gluttony, of course. Thus, with the Free Trade Agreement, Hotaru felt that it was the very least she could do for her people, for the Outer Courts, to exclude the Inner Planets. For it had been duty, duty for her queen, king and princess, that she had called for her people's sacrifice – their deaths for the Silver Millenium, their blood for Crystal Tokyo, their sweat for the pretty jewels the Silver and Golden Crystals coveted – and Hotaru felt that, at the very least, she could place her duty for her people first this time.

If this Free Trade Agreement could also curtail the restlessness in her parliament, in particular her aggressive finance minister, than Hotaru was more than a little happy to oblige. And for the first time in a long while, being the Queen of Saturn, Martriach of Titan Castle and the Senshi of Death, Destruction and Rebirth… didn't seem like such a heavy weight to bear anymore.

"Your majesty," a maid addressed, kneeling softly before her queen. "Sir Peruru has asked us what colour you would be wearing tonight."

Hotaru blinked rapidly, pulling herself from her thoughts, and felt her face grow warm. Just as fast, she composed herself and turned in her seat to face her ladies-in-waiting, all of whom were holding out detailed kimonos and headdresses for her inspection.

"Have I not chosen already?" she enquired, quite perplexed.

"No, milady," the maid answered.

Looking to the clock and then the dimming sky outside, Hotaru realized that she had spent the last few hours reviewing the Free Trade Agreement and had not prepared for the Mid-Autumn Festival at all. In fact, she glanced down at her attire, she was still in her bathrobes. No wonder she had felt a draft.

Clearing her throat, she gave her maids a smile, knowing that not only had she ran them ragged over the course of the past few months, but also that they were at the very edge of their nerves from worrying over her because of the stress imposed by the Free Trade Agreement. There had been many sleepless nights and frustrating sessions in parliament Hotaru had to endure in the months before, and she was afraid that her maid had taken the brunt of her ill-manner.

"Is there a reason why he would want to know my colours tonight?" Hotaru asked. More importantly, she did not think Peruru had a preference for her.

"He wishes to match you," another maid replied.

Hotaru blushed again, much to the delight of her giggling maids, and stuttered, "O-Oh."

Deciding to save her queen, one of the maids held up two kimonos for her assessment. "Indigo or plum, your majesty?"

Putting down the documents (finally), Hotaru instinctively leaned towards the plum, but then checked herself. She knew that during her appointments leading up the final draft of the Free Trade Agreement, Hotaru had not been spending much time with Peruru, and that he had been very patient with her. Thus, instead of choosing the colour that most complemented her or the colour most telling of her royal identity, Hotaru began to think what looked best on him. And she didn't blush while thinking about him either.

"Neither," Hotaru dismissed.

Her maids looked to her quizzically, but they nevertheless withdrew the kimonos that were coloured in the purple family.

"I think…" Hotaru ventured, seeing Peruru in her mind's eye. "I think a pale blue."

Her maids shared a smile Hotaru chose to ignore. Instead, she stood from her desk and straightened her papers, letting her maids flurry about to find a more suitable kimono. A moment later, and a maid came near with another outfit for Hotaru to examine. Once Hotaru gave her approval, one of the maids hurried out the door, no doubt to inform "Sir Peruru" of Queen Hotaru's choice.

"We must hurry, I think," Hotaru surmised, eyes flickering to the clock.

Not a second longer, Hotaru stood upon a short stool and raised her arms perpendicular to that of her shoulders. Her maids removed her bathrobe and began to drape the kimono fabric over her with deft hands and knotting the obi expertly. With skill Hotaru never bothered to learn, the maids brushed coloured balm over her lips and pigments over her eyelids, and then, with a floral clip, Queen Hotaru of Saturn was ready with the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Stepping down from the stool, Hotaru turned to the mirror and smiled at what she saw, both surprised and pleased. The kimono she had chose held a sheen to it that would reflect some of the moonlight, accentuating the pale blue of the background and the pale lavender of the stitched chrysanthemums. In her hair was a chrysanthemum carved from a pale blue stone with small spheres from a lavender stone placed artfully around the flower. Not only did the lavender bring out her eyes, but she knew the pale blue would complement Peruru.

"It's lovely," she told her maids breathily, and she laughed when they high-fived each other. "Now, I must finalize the Agreement with the others. Are they waiting?"

"From whence I last enquired," a maid replied, "the Dowager King Souichi and Queen Setsuna are already in the library. Queen Haruka, I believe, was still waiting for Queen Michiru."

Hotaru nodded. They all knew that Michiru-mama was most likely finished with her own ceremonial dressing and that Hotaru was to be the last present in the library. Slipping into pale blue slippers, Hotaru gathered the documents and hurried to the library, a few choice maids at her side with several Saturnian Sentinels merging into her entourage.

With an affirmative from Hotaru, the Uranian servants pulled opened the library doors and she smiled at the sight of her mamas and papas laughing on the couches at some slip of conversation she had undoubtedly missed. If there was one thing Hotaru did not mind about this venture into the Free Trade Agreement, it was that she had the opportunity to spend more time with her family. After that heart-to-heart talk with Setsuna-mama, it had not gone unnoticed by Hotaru that her mamas and papas had taken decisive actions to visit her more often or to invite her over for dinner – or to just simply be together, all five of them, to just simply talk.

"Hotaru!" Michiru-mama called out excitedly. "You look lovely!"

Hotaru blushed and returned quietly, "Thank you. You all look lovely as well."

And it was all so very true. That soft pink of Michiru-mama's kimono played off of her teal hair wonderfully, and accompanied by the Napoleon-like blue suit of Haruka-papa, they were a pair to be envied. As for her Setsuna-mama and her papa, the tyrian kimono matched perfectly with papa's black suit and tyrian tie. They had dressed as a couple!

"We should get the signing over with," Haruka-papa said, looking to the moon outside. "The festivities are about to start soon, and I'm going to have to, unfortunately, be there."

The women shared a smile and they gathered around the table where the finalized Free Trade Agreement laid. Hotaru knew that Haruka-papa hated public formalities, but he had put that upon himself when he offered – insisted – that this year's Mid-Autumn Festival of the Solar System was to be held in Miranda Castle of Uranus. Thus, not only had Haruka-papa needed to plan the festivities beside the arrangements of the Free Trade Agreement, but now he had to face his people and give a big, fat speech… an aspect of the festival he detested.

But, Hotaru knew, he had offered – insisted – of all the Planets to gather on Uranus for the festival so that his family, the Outer Planets, could have more time together. Since Uranus was so close to Saturn, Neptune and Pluto, Hotaru had been able to stay in Miranda Castle a week before the festivities, and in that week her mamas and papas and her had never been so close.

And standing here, before the four of them, Hotaru looked down at the Free Trade Agreement and smiled at how their signatures and royal seals seemed to appear so perfectly beside each other. Unconsciously, Hotaru took the hands of her mamas and smiled at her papas, and they understood that something had mended. It had been a trying month, and months before this one, but they had never had so much time being with each other in such a long time that they now realized how much they had missed each other.

Pressing her cheek against Michiru-mama's arm, Hotaru closed her eyes and imaged that house they used to live in with that kitchen they used to bake in… and she felt like this, where they were huddled together around the table, this was the family she remembered.

A knock at the door and Haruka-papa growled, knowing that it was time to face his people. Hotaru hid her smile at her Haruka-papa's childish temper behind Michiru-mama's arm, and watched quietly as the butler came in.

"Your majesties." The butler bowed. "The Inner Courts have arrived along with their entourages. The Minister of Ceremonies is also finished with the festival's preparation. If you will, your majesty, Queen Haruka."

Haruka-papa's eye twitched, and twitched again when he heard the cheering crowd outside, no doubt at the arrival of the Silver Queen and Golden King.

"Did the Priest of Illusion come?" Hotaru enquired, both out of concern and to give Haruka-papa a moment to breathe.

"Lord Helios is within the king's entourage," the butler answered faithfully.

Hotaru smiled.

Michiru-mama's eyes twinkled, stole a glance at Haruka-papa, and asked the butler, "And Sir Peruru?"

Hotaru froze and the room went deathly silent. The butler eyed his Uranian queen carefully before replying, "Sir Peruru," Haruka-papa's expression went dark, "is in the foyer, your majesty."

"Ah, perfect," Souichi-papa hummed and offered an arm towards Setsuna-mama. "Right on time."

Haruka-papa's knuckles cracked.

Hotaru was afraid to face Haruka-papa. He did not, evidently, like the idea of Peruru courting her, but Hotaru speculated that Haruka-papa didn't want anyone to court her at all. That papa, Setsuna-mama and Michiru-mama accepted Peruru's new presence at a slow, but sure pace, only upset Haruka-papa farther. His prejudice, Hotaru knew, came mostly from the fact that Peruru had loved their Princess Lady Serenity just months before, and for him to suddenly court Hotaru was rather suspicious to Haruka-papa. He did not think Peruru was very sincere or honest.

"Calm, love," Michiru-mama cooed, placing a comforting hand on Haruka-papa's arm. "Remember, today is about celebration."

Haruka-papa frowned and muttered something about "fucking fairies" before stomping out of the library. Giggling to herself, Michiru-mama followed and leaving Setsuna-mama to give specific instructions to the butler that four copies of the official Free Trade Agreement must delivered to the four Outer Palaces at once. Of course the butler complied at once, and Hotaru turned to papa stiffly.

She was thankful, they both knew, that papa had accepted Hotaru's gentle rejection of his teaching assistant in favour of Peruru. Hotaru was even more thankful that papa accepted Peruru as well. The fact that Peruru knew next to nothing of Saturnian politics may be a negative, but the fact that he was eager to make Hotaru happy was a certain positive, a positive papa seemed to take as outweighing any other negatives Hotaru's new relationship could bring.

"Shall we go then?" papa suggested, smiling at the two most important women in his life.

Setsuna-mama nodded, leaning into his arm just slightly, and said, "Yes, we better. The public do love to see all of us together."

Hotaru giggled and knew that it was true. For all the queens to be in one room, with all those pretty colour and pretty women, the public thought it especially auspicious, and Uranus was a rare place for them to gather. The Inner Courts, after all, was all about the glamour and the excesses.

Righting her posture, Hotaru followed beside papa and Setsuna-mama into the hallway and towards the front steps of Miranda Castle. She shared a secret look with her maids, who gave her a thumbs-up, an sign that she looked all right and that everything was in order, and they all knew that looking all right was important because-

Hotaru felt her breath catch when she spotted Peruru in the foyer, just as the butler had said. Dressed in a dark grey vest over a white, crisp shirt and dark grey pants, he looked handsome and slight, and when he caught sight of her and turned to face her, she had to fight back a blush when she noted the pale blue cravat he had around his neck. She dared not to catch the eye of either papa or Setsuna-mama for, just like them, Hotaru and Peruru had dressed as a couple.

Swallowing hard, and knowing that all eyes were on her, Hotaru stepped forward and calmly settled her hands around Peruru's forearm. Peruru, on the other hand, proved to be less composed, for he shivered at her touch and a blush blossomed across his face. Blinking bashfully, he somehow managed to dip an uneven bow towards papa and Setsuna-mama, who both answered happily with a nod.

"We better hurry now," Setsuna-mama said. "It will not do if Saturn and Pluto are late, will it?"

"We could be fashionably late," Hotaru joked, and they smiled gleefully.

Hotaru gave Peruru's arm a gentle squeeze – a question of whether or not he would be willing to escort her to meet the others, in particular the princess. At first, he seemed hesitant, but a moment later he met her eyes with a nervous smile. He would be brave for her, and Hotaru was touched at his sentiment. With a tilt of her head, Hotaru gestured to Peruru that they must now go outside the greet those of the Inner Court, and with an answering nod, they crossed the threshold into the bright Uranus night.

Slowly, Hotaru led Peruru forward, and she was afraid that he may grow stiff in front of the celebrating Uranian crowd, but when he courageously matched her step for step, Hotaru's worries lessened somewhat. That was, until, they settled themselves beside Michiru-mama and before the very eyes of their beloved princess.

She felt Peruru go still and his whole body tense, but decided to ignore it as she drew her hands from him to curtsy to her queen and king. "Good evening, Queen Serenity and King Endymion. Let us celebrated this autumn together."

"Good evening, Queen Hotaru," Queen Serenity greeted with a sincere and excited smile. "This autumn does look lovely, does it not?"

Hotaru nodded, before stepping back to allow Setsuna-mama her mandatory greeting, a show for the people. Taking Peruru's arm once more, Hotaru led his rigid body back carefully and waited until all the ceremonial welcoming was done – along with Haruka-papa's much hated speech – before pulling Peruru into the less crowded hallways of Miranda Castle.

"Are you all right?" she asked calmly.

He took a sharp breath and unfroze, eyebrows drawing together in both confusion and guilt. "I am…" he gasped, "incredibly sorry."

Hotaru folded her hands and noted that her maids and guards had distanced themselves to give them some privacy. She would bestow favours upon them later, but at the moment she must turn her attention to the young man in front of her. She was slightly troubled when he appeared to hyperventilate. Although she knew, from the very beginning, that he would not be well if he were to see Chibiusa again, Hotaru did not honestly think he would react so distressed. She thought then, perhaps, that she should put an end to this, this relationship, before either of them got hurt, or until he has finally healed from his broken heart.

She ignored the pain worming through the ventricles of her heart and took a deep breath to steel herself. Ghostly, Hotaru lifted a hand to brush Peruru's locks from his eyes and nearly weakened when his irises locked onto hers.

She smiled wistfully and whispered, "Perhaps, Peruru, we are not ready for this?"

His eyes went wide and a flash of pain etched over his features, but Hotaru knew that she was doing the right thing. It was all very simple. He was not ready. Hotaru had long prepared herself for a life without another. He was so much light and life, and she was so much dark and death, that they were incompatible to the extreme. She could not possibly keep him only to expose him to Chibiusa and have his heart carved out every time, for Hotaru was inseparable from Chibiusa, bound by duty and, even deeper, a friendship that transcended Time himself.

It was all very simple.

"I'm sorry," she breathed.

She slowly withdrew her hand from his hair, but in a move that both scared and thrilled her, Peruru snatched her hand back and ardently placed his cheek against her palm.

With worried eyes and an anxious frown, he flustered, "P-Please don't do this. I know I am… broken, and that you may not want me," Hotaru opened her mouth to protest, "but I want this to work. I want us to work." She bit her lips together. "I may not be able to give you my heart today, but I can promise you that I will try. I can promise you that I will learn to love you."

Hotaru closed her eyes, a little hurt at his admission that he did not love her now, but then understood that she did not love him either. It had taken her a long time to learn the love of a family, of a friend, but of another, a companion, a… lover, and perhaps… a husband, may take even longer. And as she thought about this, she found that she, too, was willing to try, willing to have what the others had. After all, hadn't she earned it? Hadn't she followed her duties to the ends of the worlds that now, perhaps, she deserved a little happiness of her own? It was not very fair, after all, for the Silver Moons to have everything, including her life, and leaving her with nothing. It was only right, Hotaru thought, that she asked for a piece of her life, however little, back to her side so that she may, finally, live it.

It was a simple request – demand.

She opened her eyes, dazed, and fluttered her lashes when she noticed how close Peruru had gotten. Peering into his silver-blue eyes, she realized that, yes, she was more than willing to try to love a man, and that, yes, she was more than willing – she'd actually prefer it really – to try with him.

Tilting her head back and stepping onto her toes, Hotaru grazed his mouth with hers. And at first, they did not hope to move, but a second later, Peruru leaned into her and nibbled on her lips cautiously, apologetically. When she did not pull back, but rather succumb, he pushed his lips flush against hers and her hands found their way into his hair. His arms snaked behind her waist, a soft whisper of silk on silk, and drew her in until their torsos met and they could feel each other's heartbeats.

Although this was not love, Hotaru acknowledged, it was a start.

She suddenly pushed him away when she felt Chibiusa's aura near. Peruru, flushed, was surprised – surprised at his own feelings of exhilaration and heat, and Hotaru could tell that he, like her, wished they hadn't stopped, but the nearing footsteps said otherwise. Thus, breathing hard and clearly flustered, they both stared at each other, red in the face, and nearly jumped out of their very bones when Chibiusa called to them from the other end of the hall.

"Hotaru!" the princess cried out gleefully. "Peruru!"

Forcibly slowing her breath and fixing her hair, Hotaru turned to greet Chibiusa and Helios with a smile. Another second later, garnered from her years of experience as a queen, Hotaru was able to school her features to that of a semblance of normality. Peruru, on the other hand, had never had the advantages Hotaru had, thus explained why he had pointedly turned away from the coming friends to hide his blush and wrinkled vest.

"There you both are!" Chibiusa exclaimed, and eyed the back of Peruru warily. "Don't you want to visit the booths with us?"

"Of course," Hotaru replied good naturally and gave a nod to Helios, who returned it happily enough. "Where are the Asteroids?"

"We decided to divide into groups to search for you," Helios explained with a grimace, for both he and Hotaru knew that the quartet was a teasing and mischievous bunch.

"We better find them soon then," Hotaru warned playfully.

"Yes," Helios returned just as humorously, "before they find themselves in a pot of glue again."

The two shared a laugh at the memory, a mission that had gone awry when trying to rescue the princess, and Chibiusa was about to add something when Peruru abruptly turned and placed a firm hand into Hotaru's, a determined spark in his eyes. Naturally their humour died and Peruru blushed at the attention, but Chibiusa only grinned.

"We'll be waiting by the cotton candy booth," Chibiusa said, before hurriedly grabbing onto Helios' arm and dragging him away.

Left suddenly alone, Hotaru peered at Peruru quizzically. When he looked away and would not meet her eyes, she noticed how tense his frame was.

Confused, she pried gently, "Are you…?"

He shifted awkwardly.

"Jealous?" she asked, feeling rather out of her element.

Peruru bit his lower lip and hesitated to answer. Hotaru knew that he couldn't lie to her for she was very perceptive about these things, and she knew that he must have known that about her as well. Thus, when Chibiusa and Helios were gone for sure, he murmured, "You are very close to him."

Hotaru didn't know why, but she felt absolutely happy about this, perhaps even ecstatic. She supposed it was because he liked her enough to feel jealous, and she liked being liked. But soon a part of her reasoned that in Peruru's perspective, it had been Helios who had taken Chibiusa, and perhaps now he feared Helios would take Hotaru before they really even had a chance to know each other.

Sobering, Hotaru tugged at his hand and, when he finally faced her, she smiled. "We must meet them soon. Shall we?"

Uncertain, Peruru nodded and they stepped outside through one of the more discreet entrances of Miranda Castle. It seemed to calm Peruru quite a bit to see that the exit had led them into the back woods of Haruka-papa's property, and even Hotaru felt her nerves ease at the sight of the beautiful trees.

Autumn had been kind to Uranus; it was not very cold or very hot, but a comforting coolness carried by the soft wind. The trees had yet to shed their leaves, still full and vibrant with colours in green, yellow, orange and red. With the full moon hanging overhead, the glossy leaves glowed like coloured mirrors against the backdrop of a dark, inky night and the glitter of stars.

Hotaru inhaled the smell of leaves and felt her heart skip a beat when she felt Peruru tighten his hold over her hand. Turning to him, she smiled generously and said, "I am willing to try also."

To say that she had caught him off guard would be an understatement, for his eyes went round, his mouth gaped open, speechless, and his whole body went rigid. Giggling to herself, Hotaru stepped forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and was about to pull back when he turned just enough to plant his lips firmly on hers.

Although it was not love, Hotaru acknowledged, these simple feelings they shared was a start.

the point