Pop-Tart Prediction Hey just a few quick notes and such. Uh, uno: this story is pure fluff...it predates "As We Were" by a few months, (well, about 3, to be exact.) It ties along with AWW plot-wise. If you haven't read AWW, some stuff may not make sense, but that's just hint-wise. If you have, you know what's going on. I dont own Sailor Moon. Bryce University is completely made up, any relation is purely coincidental. Dos: I may have (i know i have) screwed up somewhere...i guess ill fix it later. Without further ado: Oh yeah it's kinda PG-13 just for sexual situations and language. This is totally unlike anything else i have written. I was in a weird mood. ************************************************************************* “I wake up scared, I wake up strange, I wake up wondering if anything in my life is ever going to change…” Barenaked Ladies “I can’t help that I like to be kissed And I wouldn’t mind if my name was changed to Mrs. … Who will be the one to marry me?” “Marry Me” No Doubt * * * * * * * * * * * * “Oh my God, Mina, could you give me some help here?” Raye pulled her blond, extremely drunk friend up the next few stairs, a difficult endeavor in itself, but when coupled with the fact that she herself had thrown back a few, and that Mina was a good head taller than her, all willowy limbs, it compounded into a near impossibility. Mina slurred her sentence into unintelligible rambling, and tried to lift one of her feet. She missed the next stair and fell sideways, pulling Raye down with her. Raye’s body cracked heavily against the aluminum railing. “OW! Damn!” Raye swore, rubbing her sore hip. “Mina, you are going to hear it so bad tomorrow! I’m going to kick your ass for all this shit you’re putting me through!” It was three in the morning; they two girls were returning from a party at TKE that was presently still going on, but Mina had passed out and Raye felt it would be prudent to get her out of there before any of the frat boys smelled drunk freshman DZ. They had snuck into a friend’s first floor window to avoid the anally retentive RA planted at the front desk with a late sign-in sheet, and the only obstacle left was the single flight of stairs leading to the second floor. Finally, Raye had had enough and, after looking around to see if anyone was looking, picked Mina physically off of the floor and carried her the rest of the way to their room. “AAHH.” Mina spread her arms out on her bed. “My bed. Gonna sleep now.” “Want some water?” Raye pulled a plastic bottle out of the mini-fridge. “Sure.” She held it out. Mina didn’t take it, or make any other move to try. Sighing, Raye unscrewed the cap and stuffed it in her friend’s hand. “Don’t spill, that, OK? I’m not cleaning water up in the middle of the night. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a worn tank, and slipped out of her party clothes and into her nightwear. “What did you think of that guy?” Mina muttered, doing her best to take off her shirt without falling over. Raye rolled her eyes. “Oh that guy, yeah, that narrows it down. Get yourself together, Mina, the entire place was guys. Which one?” << If she takes any longer to undo those buttons…GAH! I’ll just do it. >> She pulled Mina’s clothes off and helped her redress. “You are a mess, girlfriend. You better get on your knees and thank me for not leaving you with those TKEs.” “The one you were talking to!” Mina’s mind ignored Raye’s reprimand and was still stuck on the previous conversation. “The cute one.” Raye tucked Mina in and busied herself with the sheets on her bed. “One, they all were cute. And two, I was only talking to him because we were trying to decide what to do with your drunken ass! He wanted to give us a ride home.” “Did he?” “No, Trish did, remember? Oh wait, you obviously don’t.” Mina giggled. “Aw, Raye, you need a man.” “No I don’t.” << I don’t. I’m all I need. I don’t mind. >> “Yes you do! And we’re going to find one for you this year.” Raye rearranged her pillows and flopped on her bed. “Get off it, Mina. I’m never going to find a guy.” “See, you keep saying that, but I don’t think you believe it. I’ve seen you stare at that rugby player!” “Who? Mike? Yeah, because he seems to never be wearing a shirt.” Her mind flashed back to the previous day, when she was walking across campus. A few guys had put together an impromptu football game, and were bashing the heck out of each other in front of their audience of female gawkers. She watched them as she passed by, almost hypnotized by their rippling muscles, too far away to discern their faces. The Hot Rugby Mike was one of the players, she was sure of that. There was no way she wouldn’t recognize an ass like that. The ball flew out of bounds, and a blond guy with extremely tight abs ran to retrieve it. As he neared, Raye squinted at his face. << Is that…? No, why wouldn’t his dweeby Negaverse ass be attacking or something? Plus, everyone seems to recognize him. >> She stuck her hand in her purse and clasped her fingers around her henshin pen, just in case, but then the entire team jogged off towards a bespectacled, long-haired, hippie-looking guy with a very large, expensive-looking camera. She yawned and fluffed the covers around her. College was great; it was full of new experiences, new friends, and it was at least an ocean away from Yuuichiro. What a dork. She never really knew why she got involved with him, but suspected it had to do with the fact that it seemed everyone in her school had a boyfriend, and what better way to best them than to have the OLDEST, the CUTEST, the most FAMOUS boyfriend? He had money, that was for sure, and she loved showing off the various gifts he had bestowed upon her. Even Serena would get a little green sometimes. Then came the day that she realized that she hated him. Not just dislike, but total, absolutely hated him. << He always liked Grandpa. He thought he would look better to him if he was going out with me. >> Sadly, it was the truth. To fall into the old man’s favors, Yuuichiro mistakenly thought that dating Raye was the way to go. On the extremely long, boring plane ride to America, Raye had spent a few hours staring out at the fluffy white clouds and trying to reason why she had wasted so much time on him. << “Mina, why don’t I care?” >> << “Because hon, you never shared anything with him. Did you ever tell him about what you wanted to do with your life? Did you ever tell him about your mom? You must not have trusted him, and now that he’s gone, it’s just like dropping excess baggage. C’mon, cheer up, we’re going to college and it’ll be FULL of guys!” >> Raye shuffled her comforter around her, and something hard and scratchy brushed against her leg. “Eww…who left a Pop-Tart on my bed? Was it you?” “I think it was Serena.” “Figures,” Raye muttered, swiping crumbs off of her sheets. The thought of her short blond friend made her simultaneously smile and quake with internal jealousy. << Why does she get to have such an awesome boyfriend? Oh, man, life is just SUPREMELY sucking right now! >> “I’m never going to have a boyfriend.” “What are you talking about?” Mina’s voice was growing sleepier. “Seventh floor Chris is totally digging you; you just never give him a chance.” “That’s because he’s a pothead. He told me my eyes reminded him of the colors he saw at the Further Fest when he was tripping.” Mina giggled again. “Ok, so he’s not perfect.” “He’s far from perfect. He’s not worthy of me.” She fiddled with the scrap of Pop-Tart in her hands, started picking off the confetti-colored sprinkles. “I just wish I knew who I was going to marry. Just so I know that I won’t be alone and living with 400 cats for the rest of my life.” “Put a piece of wedding cake under your pillow.” “What?” Mina rolled over. “It’s like an old wives’ tale: if you put a piece of wedding cake under your pillow, you’ll dream of the person that you’re going to marry. And there’s nothing wrong with living with cats, thank you very much. Now would you please turn off the lights and shut up so I can fall asleep before I start puking? Thank you.” Raye sighed and clicked off her bedside lamp. << And where am I supposed to get wedding cake? The dining hall? >> She was about to throw the Pop-Tart scrap in the general direction of the garbage can when she stopped and stared at it in the dark. << Will it work? >> She lifted her head and slid it under her pillow. << What the hell, it’s worth a shot. And if it doesn’t work I can blame it on Mina. >> She fell asleep with the smell of strawberry filling on her fingers. * * * * * * * * * * * Even without the rough night, Raye could not bring herself to leave her bed. Unknowingly, she had awoke at the crack of dawn, a habit she had developed from years of living at the temple, and had merely rolled over and buried herself back into the heat pocket her body had created. She thought she heard someone talking to her, the vocal articulation reduced to a meaningless buzzing in her semi-conscious mind. Dismissing it as Mina or the TV, she let herself slip back through the layers of comfortable oblivion. She snuggled in deeper, burying her face in the cloud-like softness of the pillow against her cheek. Her entire body was cushioned; it felt like she was sleeping on a bed of feathers. She let her mind blank out again, only minimally aware of the warm sunlight shining down on her bed and heating her skin and the breeze wafting in from the open window. When she rose through the stages of sleep and back into the waking world, the breeze became a little irritating. << Did Mina leave the window open? I’m going to kill her. >> She stirred in her cocoon of warmth, the soft cotton brushing against her naked body… << Naked? >> She opened her eyes and saw nothing but white at first. For a split second, she entertained the notion that she was dead, until she realized that she was laying in a very big, very soft bed full of white sheets and pillows and a goose-down comforter. The ceiling above her was also white, and about twenty feet up. << The last time I checked, the rooms in Goshin Hall are not equipped with cathedral ceilings. >> She sat up, startled, near panic, and realized that she was naked. Very naked. She pulled the covers over her chest and frantically searched the room for any sign of familiarity. << I’m dreaming, that’s it. I’m really back in my tiny little bed in my cinderblock room of Goshin Hall. It’s all that Keystone light I drank, that’s what’s giving me these weird dreams. >> She was lying in the center of a huge white canopy bed, with transparent white draped covering the canopy and winding down the bedposts, which, upon closer inspection, were made of a very dark, very polished wood. The bed itself was a good four feet off the ground; Raye noticed when she threw her feet over the side and almost fell off when her feet didn’t touch the ground. “Whoa!” she exclaimed, jumping off. Her feet sank in at least two inches of cream-colored carpet. She wiggled her toes, unaccustomed to the feeling of plushness under her feet instead of the thin, scratchy, industrial floor covering of her dorm. She looked around. “Whoa,” she breathed. The room was huge, far bigger than anything she was accustomed to. This bedroom alone was bigger than Darien’s entire apartment. It even had a few stairs leading down to what she supposed was a lounging area, with several tan couches and glass coffee tables. A flat screen television the size of a pool table was hung on one wall across from the sitting area, taking up most of the available wall. Raye resisted the urge to flip it on, lest she break it and then be forced to sell her body to replace it. “Oh.” Every one of the numerous tables had a glass vase full of Casablancas; some in huge bunches, others only having an artsy single flower per vase. <> She rubbed her naked arms, a little-girl response to the overwhelming anxiety. << Dreams are never this real. I can think clearly, I can feel the carpet under my feet; I can hear my own voice. If this is not a dream, then where the hell am I? Did I black out last night and end up going somewhere? >> Even as she entertained the possibility, she knew it to be false. She could distinctly remember falling asleep in her own room, in her own bed, and besides, she hadn’t drank that much. She accidentally scratched her right arm as she was rubbing it. “Ouch!” She glanced down at the scratch, and almost fainted. She was wearing two rings on her left hand, the kind you see advertised on bus stops and billboards and such for Tiffany’s. She brought her hand up to her face, studying them more carefully, afraid if she moved too quickly, they would explode with a “poof!” and evaporate in a cloud of dust. The first was a simple, silver-colored band, etched in a crisscross pattern, devoid of any other decoration. She examined it for a total of two seconds before her eyes locked on the second. Her mind searched for an expression that could embody a fraction of the overwhelming awe that rushed through her body and poured out of her strained voice like a river rushing though a hole in a dam. “Holy shit.” Her eyes skipped from the enormous diamond sparkling in the center like an eye of Osiris, its glittering brilliance almost eclipsing the two equally enormous rubies set on either side. She was enchanted by the way the stones caught the streaming sunlight and refracted it into a thousand points of luminous radiance. She tilted her hand up, and then down, playing with the glinting light like a small child. Her mouth, which had been hanging open in awe, turned upwards at the corners as an enormous grin stretched across her face. She laughed out loud, not knowing if she was more pleased at owning the friggin’ Hope Diamond and its twin sisters or by the fact that it was confirmed that she was married. << I’m married. >> She thought giddily, clasping her hands together. << This is the future and I’m married! I’m not going to live alone with 400 cats! This must be my house! I have a gigantic, beautiful house and my husband loves me enough to buy me a diamond the size of Usagi’s old odangos, and leave me flowers. >> She hopped up and down in an ecstatic circle before collecting herself. << OK, Raye, that’s enough victory dancing. What if he comes home and sees you hopping around like a bunny on crack? He’ll leave you faster than you can say, “Goodbye gigantic diamond.” >> “So who is he?” she said out loud. Her mind raced with the possibilities. For all she knew, he could be a jerk, or a quadruple amputee, or a sadist. All she knew of him was that he was wealthy. “Oh God, what if I married Yuuichiro?” Out loud, the possibility seemed that much more dire. She caught a glance of herself in a mirror, at first not recognizing her own scared, pale face and round eyes staring back. She rushed to the silver plate, needing the familiarity of studying her own face. It hadn’t changed in the least; not a wrinkle or a crease had appeared. She touched her cheek, amazed, wondering how far it was into the future that her eighteen-year old face remained before realization hit her. She wasn’t going to age, ever, and her face was evidence. It would stay the same until she died. Her body, however… Raye had always had a good build: flat stomach, illegally long legs, perfect B-cups. Except now they were more like C-cups, she noticed, cupping her fingers underneath them and pushing them upward. << When did I get hooters? >> Her stomach was still flat, but not the tight, washboard flat she was used to. It felt squishy, like a waterbed, she noted with disgust as she pushed her fingers into it. Turning sideways, she traced the faded pink stretch marks that scribbled each side of her abdomen like rills of rushing water. She rubbed them for a good five minutes before she understood. << I had a baby. >> She thought as she examined her newer, more mature body. It made sense; her body had evolved into a mother’s body, with larger breasts and stretch marks. Her mind switched back to the cause of it all. << So where is it? >> Raye broke out of her stupor and headed for the door, determined to find both her baby and the identity of her husband, not realizing that both tasks would be a little easier if she wearing more than two rings and a dogged expression. A note taped to the door stopped her. << What the- >> She pulled it off, annoyed, and started reading. Hey Zippo Didn’t want to wake you up, you looked too tired and too beautiful for me to disturb you. You look so cute when you sleep, you know that? Anyway, I’ll probably be home late unless I can convince End and Kee to cut the shit short, which they probably won’t. Remember that Patra and Ripken are @ Serenity’s. Enjoy your day off, and DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING RELATED TO WORK. You haven’t had a day off in four years. See you tonight. I love you, Rei. --me If the note was any more cryptic, Raye decided, it could have been used to pass messages to the Germans instead of the Enigma machine. If her name hadn’t been scrawled into the last sentence, she wouldn’t have even known it related to her life, or her life as it was going to be. And Patra and Ripken had better be her pet Chihuahuas or something, because if she had named her children something as asinine as that, SOMEONE, it didn’t matter who, was going to pay for her egregious error. Patra and Ripken. Two names. “I have two children,” she said aloud, letting the fact echo in the enormous room. Two of them. How old were they? Were they boys or girls? Or one of each? What did they look like? << Too many questions. Now I need answers. >> Raye decided. She tossed the note aside and through the door open with renewed determination, and promptly lost her breath. The hallway stretched down another thirty feet or so, and the window at the end showed a hint of green foliage. Raye streaked down the hall, oblivious to the fact that she was completely naked, and when she reached the landing, she could do nothing but gasp and stare. It wasn’t a window, it was a wall, and she was looking at it from a balcony across a room. Her eyes traveled downward to the spiral staircase in front of her, landing in the middle of an enormous living room, complete with fireplace, artsy looking glass and wood end tables, cream-colored couches so plush she longed to run over and throw her body onto them, and another colossal television. The ceiling rose forty feet over her head, and the entire wall facing her, from floor to ceiling, was glass. She stared out of the transparent wall at the forest below, so green and lush it could have been a movie set. The sky opened overhead into a vivid blue panorama, touching the horizon of blue water of the ocean. The greens and blues washed into her eyes and down her body into her throat, stealing her breathe and voice away. << Oh my God. I live in friggin’ Xanadu. >> Her feet stayed hammered to the spot for a full five minutes, taking in the spectacular scene laid out before her, before a rudimentary idea formed in her head. << If I can see out, that means…people can see in! And I’m naked! >> She darted back into her bedroom with a speed rivaling a gazelle being chased by a cheetah, slamming the door behind her. “Clothes,” she muttered. “I need clothes.” She stopped, and grabbed a tuft of raven hair that fell in her face. “Eww! Scratch that. Bath, I need bath.” For the first time, Raye noticed that she was exuding a smell, her own smell mixed with perspiration and the smell of heat. It wasn’t bad, per se, it reminded her of airtight dorm rooms, when the windows and doors were shut tight, and one or more occupants had been asleep in the room. When someone left that room, the first thing that hit them was the smell of fresh air, and upon returning one could smell the odor that had clogged up the room unbeknownst to the slumbering occupants. Amy’s friend Erin, in Bedford Hall, had dubbed the stifling aroma “moofus,” for want of a better word. Raye took stock of her situation. From what she gathered, her children (or Chihuahuas) were staying with Serena, Serenity now, and were most likely safe and well taken care of for the time being. Her faceless husband was at work, wherever that was, and no one else was home. << I guess I have time for a shower. I can’t go outside with dirty hair, smelling like dead moofus. Now, where’s my bathroom? >> After opening up several linen closets, Raye found the door to her bathroom. And what a bathroom. She was sick of gasping already, so she let out a muffled squeal instead upon seeing her enormous bathtub. It was the size of a twelve-person Jacuzzi, at least, so high that stairs had been carved into the white porcelain to enter it. Glass bottles, candles and Casablancas lined the sides, and the spigot was an enormous brass fish, standing on its tail with its mouth open. She decided on the spot to scrap her original intentions of showering, even though the shower was indeed impressive, with its waterfall showerhead and soft surround lighting, and bathe instead. Like an eager child she ran up to the faucet and cranked both handles up, and water began pouring from the brass fish’s mouth, filling up the gigantic bathtub. She picked up several glass bottles, noting with disdain and extreme exasperation that they were all unlabeled, until she found one filled with amber liquid that seemed to have the consistency of bubble bath, although it also could be shampoo. Taking her chances, she dumped a liberal amount under the stream, and internally gave a little victory cheer when foam started erupting in the water. A box of matches lay nearby; she struck one and lit the cream and red candles and was rewarded with the aroma of vanilla and cranberries. She lowered herself into the foam-capped water, her entire body sighing in relaxation. Only then did she realize just how stiff she was, and sore. << Jeez, it feels like I had a rough night. >> Slowly, ever so slowly, the evidence built up in her mind. << Woke up naked, all sweaty, sore as hell… >> Her face turned scarlet and she submerged her head under the water to cool off. She scrubbed her hair with shampoo that smelled curiously like watermelon, and was in the process of rinsing it under the fish’s spout when she noticed a black remote control lying incongruously among the flowers and candles. A yellow Post-it was stuck to it. “PRESS PLAY.” She picked up the remote and pressed the play button, unsure as to where to aim it, so she aimed at the ceiling, figuring that the signal would ricochet off and hit the desired target. Acoustic guitar seemed to come from all directions. She swiveled around, swirling the water around her before she noticed the small white speakers fastened in every corner, and a CD player tucked away in a cabinet. At least, she guessed it was a CD player. It could have very well been something else, something that hadn’t been invented in year that she feel asleep in her dorm room in Goshin Hall that she shared with Mina.She lay back in the water, her head resting on a foam pillow stuck to the side of the tub with suction cups, and completely and utterly relaxed. An hour passed before she dragged her pruney body out of the now-tepid water, and toweled off, her eyes locked on the array of products lining the counter of the double sinks. The brand names were at least familiar: Rembrandt, Gillette, H2O, MAC. There were others that she didn’t recognize. She picked up a razor, still wet and flecked with shaving cream, twirled it between her fingers, and wondered about the hand that picked it up in the morning. She tried to imagine the face it dragged across, the eyes that watched the whole process in the mirror. She toweled off, blew dry her hair, which fell just a few inches below her shoulders, and opened the glass door to what she figured was another room, but which turned out to be her closet. “Holy crap,” she muttered, eyeing the rows of clothes lining the walls: the overflowing shelves and drawers, the rows and rows of shoes, belts hanging from a hanger, coats and formal dresses sealed behind clear plastic bags, handbags gathered together in clusters, lingerie laid out in neat rows. She picked up a pair of tan mid-heels, and caught her breath when she noticed the designer. “Louis Vuitton. Dear lord.” She wasted another hour rustling through her clothes, picking through drawers and shelves, and couldn’t resist trying on dozens of outfits, some from designers she knew, some she only knew because Mina had modeled for them, and some completely unfamiliar. She put ever article of clothing exactly the way she had found it, not wanting to damage any of it. She finally dressed for the day, resisting the urge to throw on her best designer duds, and slipped on white pants and a sheer white top. As she passed the doors in the hallway, she was overcome with curiosity about what was behind, but shook it off with the reasoning that she wanted to see her children first, and she would have plenty of time to poke around once she saw them, and took them home. She descended the spiral staircase and noticed that the walls of her majestic living room were completely stripped, and the furniture pulled away from the walls. Sealed cardboard boxes were haphazardly thrown around, like overgrown land mines. She let her mind dwell on it for a split second before she headed to the foyer. << Great Gatsby, my room back in Goshin could fit into here! Twice! >> A pile of shoes sat in front of the French doors, a two pairs of brown sandals, one much larger than the other, and two pairs of pink and yellow, flowered flip flops that fit into Raye’s hand. She bent over and picked up one of the miniscule shoes. << One of them’s a girl. >> She deduced, turning the rubber sandal over and over again in her hand. A smile teased her face; her spirit was renewed with the urge to see her daughter. As soon as the glass door shut behind her, Raye realized that she had ventured outside into unfamiliar territory without so much as a dollar, much lest ID. And to top it off, she had probably locked herself out. << I am such a friggin’ idiot! How could I be so stupid and lock myself out? I’m making Serena look like Stephen Hawking here! >> She jiggled the handle ineffectively several times. “Shit!” she shouted, not caring if children or nuns were around. The door immediately clicked open after her outburst. “What the-“ she said, opening the door just to make sure she wasn’t imagining things. Suddenly, it dawned. She shut the door again. “Open,” she said. It obeyed. << It recognizes my voice! Wow! If only Amy were here to see this! >> “There you are.” She was still giddy with her newest discovery, and the voice that suddenly spoke up from behind her almost sent her into cardiac arrest. She jumped and swiveled around, almost ready to attack, when she realized she wasn’t face to face with the newcomer. She was face to chest. “Mako?” she said, forgetting her friend’s American name. “Yeah?” It was Lita, all right, not aged a bit, her same Lita. Still a head taller than Raye, her hair fell around her exquisite face in shiny brown ringlets. Her eyes were the same marvelous shade of green, framed by long, feathery lashes that brushed the tan skin of her cheeks when she blinked. She wore a simple blue sundress with a halter top, showing off her tanned legs. Mako was still the same, after God knows many years, except for one minor detail. She held a small girl, about two or three years old, against her hip with the practiced ease of a mother. The girl was adorable, her soft curls and illegally long eyelashes the same as Makoto’s, but her eyes were different, a deep, chocolate brown. Makoto noticed Raye’s white face and leaned in closer. “What’s the matter? You OK?” “Aunty Way!” the toddler chirped, holding out her arms. Makoto held her out, and Raye accepted the child with trembling arms. “Hi,” she breathed against Raye’s cheek. “Hi,” Raye responded, staring into the little girl’s brown eyes, trying to hold back the tears in her own. << Mako’s a mom. Oh, I can’t believe it! >> She kissed her on the nose. “You are so beautiful, darling.” “What do you say, Astraea?” << Astraea. Astraea means “Starry.” >> “Tank you.” “Now get down, Aunty Rei can’t carry you the entire way! You’re a big girl, you can walk!” Mako smiled down at her daughter, who, once on the ground, reached up to take her mother’s hand. Raye caught a glance of Mako’s hand, and a diamond as big as Raye’s, flanked with two emeralds, winked back at her. << Makoto’s married, too. I wonder to whom? >> “Enjoying your day off? I sure am!” Makoto pronounced in her usual energetic manner. She began walking, and Raye followed. For the first time she looked around, and found that they were walking along a cliff’s side, on a stone patio that crept to the edge and was blocked off by a marble railing. Benches were set up periodically along the rail, and also an occasional table. Raye stared down at the forest below, dotted here and there with waterfalls cutting down into pools at the base of the mountain. “What did you do this morning, go insane? This is probably the first time you’ve been separated from the girls for a period of time.” << Girls. They are both girls. >> “I took a bath.” Makoto tossed her marvelous curls back. “Must be nice! I had Rosey watch Astraea while I soaked, but she kept crying for me to come out. I don’t even think I got wet.” She looked down at the diamond- encrusted watch around her left wrist. “We’re not late, that’s Minako’s job. Although I don’t blame her; her ankles are so swollen she can barely stand.” << Something’s wrong with Mina? >> “Is she OK?” Mako rolled her eyes in response. “She’s just being Minako; you know how she exaggerates things!” They headed further inland, through a magnificent grove that stretched out into a simply breathtaking garden, complete with marble fountains and ponds, gazebos and probably billions of flowers, trees, and bushes. Astraea let go of her mother’s hand and ran ahead. “Aunty Mi! Aunty Mi!” They rounded a corner to see Mako’s daughter fling herself into the arms of a petite, blue-haired girl that wouldn’t blend into any crowd on earth. “Hello, Astraea,” Ami hugged the little girl, mini-computer still clasped in one hand. Her blue hair was still cropped short, her skin still luminescently pale. But there was a huge difference; Ami was smiling, not the same sad smile of her youth, but a grin of contentment and happiness, and total fulfillment with her life. Raye figured it had something to do with the rings around her fourth finger, too. She pulled Astraea up onto the stone bench next to her. “Ami,” Raye said a little too seriously. In reality, she was choking back more tears. << Amy, if you could see yourself now. You’re so happy; you’re married-- >> someone rustled behind her and then flew past towards the bench. << And you have a son. >> “Mommy!” The little boy couldn’t have been more than three, his blonde hair sticking up in an Alfalfa-like cowlick in the back. To Raye’s horror, she saw that he was clasping a very big, very large, very black and antennaed click beetle in his hand. “Mommy I found that bug!” Ami held out her cupped hand to receive the bug. Raye choked back a wave of revulsion. She held it up to her face. “Hmm, same exoskeletal pattern, antennae, mandibles…” She smiled and kissed her son’s forehead. “Very good, Evander. Why don’t you show Aunty Rei?” <> Raye thought as Evander ran up to her with the scary beetle in tow. He held up his hand, and his green eyes glittered with triumph. “See?” “Yes, I see, that’s nice please get it away from me, thank you,” Raye said all in one breath. Evander cupped the beetle in his hand and ran up to Makoto. “See?” “Dear lord get that thing away from me!” “Evander.” He turned at the sound of his mother’s voice. “Why don’t you let the bug go? You’re scaring your aunts.” Evander held the beetle to his chest. “But I want to show Daddy.” “We can catch another one later, OK, sweetie?” He nodded reluctantly and placed the beetle gently in the grass. The tears that had been threatening to overflow in Raye’s eyes broke free and splashed down her face. Her throat constricted; she remembered how she and the others felt in the past. Usagi was destined to be with the man of her dreams, and the four of them, well, they were just kind of there. Alone. Destined, she thought, for a life of guarding their princess, establishing peace throughout the earth, defending against outside threats…forever solitary. Raye had lain awake at night; just as she knew the other inners did, wondering if happiness, if LOVE, would ever drift her way, or instead forever dangle just out of reach. Who would want to be with someone whose main concern was not their partner or themselves, but for Serenity, always Serenity. How could a normal person understand the position that she was in, and who would want to share in that kind of life? Who did she know that even had an idea of what undying devotion was? These questions intensified Raye’s need for the identity of her life partner. << What, did I marry a Secret Service agent or something? >> And yet, here they were, with rings on their hands and children at their feet. Ami had lost the squelched, defeated look that she carried, and Makoto had slid effortlessly into the role of wife and mother. Raye could tell just by the way she wiped down the children’s hands with a Wet-Nap. Makoto was the first to notice her tears. “Oh God!” She jumped off the bench and swept Raye into a mammoth hug. “Oh,” Ami breathed, also rising. “Raye are you OK?” Astraea and Evander ran over and wrapped their arms around each of Raye’s legs, chirping, “Aunty Way. Shh-shh,” in an imitation of their own mothers. “Yes,” she croaked before Makoto interrupted. “It’s because of the girls, isn’t it?” She rambled on without receiving a solid response. “Oh, Rei hon, I know it’s hard to be separated from them, and it’s natural to feel this way. But you haven’t spent a night alone with your man in lord knows how long, and you need some down time. Come on, admit it. You had the time of your life in the bathtub this morning!” “Not to mention last night,” a third voice said from behind Raye. There was only one person who would blurt something out like that, like the rules of etiquette didn’t exist in the subject of love and sex. Minako was as breathtaking as ever, the classic blue-eyes blond with enough je nois ques so to elevate her to goddess. She even managed to look good while being dragged, halfway unconscious and completely polluted, up the stairs of Goshin Hall, Raye remembered bitterly. Her hair was curled into soft waves at the ends, and they bounced whenever she took a step. Minako still managed to bounce when she walked, which was quite remarkable now, being that she had to be at least eight months pregnant. Raye was struck speechless by the sight of her best friend in the family way, and was about to say something when Makoto released her and turned on Minako. “That’s what got you into your condition!” “Darn right,” Minako giggled, running a hand through her blond mass. The yellow diamond on her ring finger caught the light and twinkled. “Hope you guys don’t mind I dressed down; my back is killing me!” A gray, hooded sweatshirt stretched over her round Buddha belly, emblazoned with two Greek letters. <> Her shorts were light blue, mesh, incredibly old, and emblazoned with an UCLA logo in the corner. << Hey! I think those are my shorts! Dan from down the hall lent, uh, I mean, GAVE them to me after I spilled coffee on mine during Comp Lit! >> Astraea and Evander released their death grips around Raye’s legs and sprinted over to Minako. “Aunty Na-na!” She lowered herself with obvious effort. “Hi guys!” She hugged and kissed both of them. Evander ran over to retrieve the click beetle, which had moved and entire inch from where it was placed five minutes ago. “Aunty Na-na! I want to show you something!” “If it’s another dead bird, I going to have to politely decline.” She straightened up and elbowed Raye. “So, how was your twenty-four hours of un-interruption?” Makoto smiled. “Next time I’m having Serenity watch my kid, too. I really envy you.” Ami smoothed her long flowered skirt down. She wore a white tank top that showed quite a lot of cleavage, uncharacteristic of the old Ami Mizuno. << Then again, I almost left the house wearing leather Versace pants and a booty-ho top. I guess everyone gets a little crazy when they find out they suddenly have breasts after years of water- bras. >> “I think Raye deserves it; she doesn’t have a moment’s peace between the two of them.” “Yeah, it’s weird, Raye. They both look exactly like you, but they sure don’t act like you!” Makoto scampered behind Ami. “Drop the bug, Evander.” “They act like their father!” Minako giggled, and everyone except the toddlers and Raye burst out laughing. Heat ignited under her skin. << Will someone please tell me who he is before I scream? Everyone else seems to know! >> “There they are!” a female voice called. Raye turned to see who it was, and immediately froze. Two little girls were running directly towards her, each chirping, “Mommy! Mommy!” in their high baby voices. The hair trailing behind them was as black as the night sky; their eyes a paler shade of violet than Raye’s own. They were both the same height, the same age (about four) and most remarkable, they shared one face. << Twins. I have twins. >> More tears leaked out of Raye’s eyes, the eyes she shared with her daughters. She knelt down and let the girls run into her open arms while she sobbed against their small heads. She inhaled the scent of baby shampoo and milk, the smell of infancy and youth. They nestled against her neck like baby birds. “Mommy! We missed you!” one proclaimed, reaching up fingering a long black lock of her mother’s hair. “Aunty Ree made us waffles!” the other announced, completely unaware that her mother was having what equivocated to an emotional breakdown from meeting her progeny for the first time. “And Callie used up all the whipped cream!” “I did not!” The one named Callie lifted her head up and scowled at her twin. “Mommy she didn’t save me any!” Thus commenced a four-year-old’s argument, filled with “did nots” and “do toos,” until Raye was suddenly thankful that Serenity kept them overnight. “Clio! Calliope! Cut it out!” Serenity appeared overhead. “I went and got more, remember?” She smiled, her expression more mature than any other that she wore in the past. She exuded peace and authority, and the twins fell silent in Raye’s arms. She looked up at her princess, now queen, down on her knees in front of her sovereign. Usagi had grown up, now she was a queen in every sense of the word, authority in every graceful step, every fluid gesture. Raye didn’t know how long she spent kneeling in the grass in front of her Queen, awestruck by the transformation of the whiny, air-headed girl she knew in her youth to the regal, elegant woman standing before her. It felt like an eternity, until Serenity opened her mouth, and instead of a proper statement, Raye was rewarded with: “For the record, I was the one who used the last of the whipped cream.” A small, pink haired head popped up from behind Serenity, and Raye’s heart leapt into her throat. <> Chibi-Usa was younger than Raye remembered her, maybe six at the most. She bounced her Luna ball idly. “When can we eat, Mommy?” “Yeah, let’s head over,” Minako said. “I’m starving.” “That’s a surprise,” Makoto deadpanned, voicing what Raye had been thinking. Calliope (Callie) and Clio raced over to the blond girl. “Aunty Na-na! Can I feel the baby?” They pressed their small hands against Minako’s bulging middle. “I think she’s sleeping,” Minako said. “She hasn’t kicked me in a while-OK never mind. Field goal.” She rubbed her stomach. They began walking down the stone path, each of Raye’s hands occupied with one of her daughter’s. “You know it’s a girl?” Raye’s question came out more like a statement. Ami spoke before Minako had a chance to answer. “No, she THINKS it’s a girl. She wouldn’t let me check and she swore my to confidentiality if I knew.” “Do you know?” Serenity asked teasingly. “I plead the fifth,” Ami said, scooping up Evander, who had been begging to be carried. “But you WOULD tell us, right?” Makoto said. “Guys stop!” Minako burst out. “I’m her mother, and I know certain things, and I’m completely positive that she’s a girl. I can feel it. Call it motherly instinct or whatever.” Curious, Raye let her body relax, her mind open up, and tried to catch some psychic signals from Minako’s body. She felt the presence of everyone around her in turn, and when she focused on Minako, she almost burst out laughing. She was giving off a veritable A-bomb of masculine energy; the baby she carried was definitely male. << Should I tell her? >> She snuck a peek at Minako’s face, and then remembered how she had to drag her sorry, drunken ass up the stairs of their dorm. << Nah, I’ll let her find out on her own. I just hope she didn’t decorate the nursery yet. >> Meanwhile, Raye was completely fascinated with the feel of her daughters’ tiny hands in her own. She squeezed each of them in turn; her eyes still prickling from unshed emotion. She had just met them, yet she loved them so purely and so deeply that she half-wished she could stay in this fantasy world that she woke up in, real or not. <> She rationalized. << This has to be real. >> Their hands were small and hot in her own. << It has to. >> They reached their destination shortly after, a sort of double- porch swing with a table in between, covered with a white canvas canopy. Nearby, a clothed table was covered in food, every morsel more decadent than the starchy dorm food Raye was used to. A young girl was just finishing laying everything out as a toddler at her feet pulled at her skirts. Callie and Clio let go of Raye’s hands and ran towards the swing/table, followed by Chibi-Usa, who was tall enough to climb on the padded seat herself. “Mommy! Help me!” Clio called. Raye smiled as she correctly identified her daughter, like she had really been doing it for four years instead of ten minutes. Clio had slightly rounder eyes and a higher mouth than her twin, and her hair was cut about an inch shorter. << Serenity must have dressed them in matching outfits, because I could never be that cruel. >> Just as she suspected, the next words out of Serenity’s mouth were: “Don’t they look cute dressed alike, Raye? You should do it more often.” Rolling her eyes, Raye lifted Clio up and placed her on the swing, which Chibi-Usa was already starting to rock back and forth. Raye had a feeling it was going to be a nauseous lunch with the perpetual boat-like movement. “’More often’ would be once, Serenity, because she never does it,” Makoto said, sliding in after Ami. “Why don’t you sit down and join us, Rosey? You hungry?” The girl smiled and picked up the baby. “Love to, but Tyreke needs his nap. He’s been fussing for an hour now.” She waved one of Tyreke’s arms at the group. “Ja ne, minna! See you tonight, Mako.” “Later, Rose,” Makoto said, over Astraea’s thunderous “BYE!” “Let’s eat,” Serenity announced, making a beeline for the table heaped with food. Her ravenous expression was reminiscent of her younger self. “Oh, Mako, it could be one year or a thousand, but I’ll never get sick of your chicken salad!” Minako picked up a piece of cantaloupe and dipped it in the chicken salad. “Mmm, you’re right. This is steller, Mako.” Makoto wrinkled her face up. “That was nauseating, Minako. Please don’t abuse my chicken salad that way.”They settled down to eat, Raye finding that it was a particularly difficult endeavor feeding two four-year-olds who absolutely could not sit still for more than four seconds at a time. She had wisely separated them so that she was in the middle, and Minako was on Callie’s left, and Serenity was on Clio’s right. Ami and Makoto sat on opposite sides of the other swing, their children and Chibi-Usa in the middle. Raye watched her friends giggle and gossip, stopping occasionally to wipe faces or cut up fruit. She thought of how she could ask about the man she was married to without making it completely obvious that she had no idea who he was. << How can I find out without sounding like a lunatic? “Oh, hey, guys, whose children am I the mother of, because I woke up this morning and just plumb forgot! Silly me!” >> There would be a two second pause before Ami had her committed. << As soon as I get home, I am TEARING the place apart and finding out! I don’t care how many of those stupid boxes I have to open! >> An idea dawned. “I wonder what Daddy is doing right now?” She posed the question to Callie, wondering how she would handle it. Callie merely swallowed her mouthful of juice and declared, “Sleeping.” The table erupted in laughter, first at Callie’s response and then towards the fact that Serenity choked on her iced tea from laughing so hard. Minako gasped, “Oh my gosh, she knows him so well!” Raye forced a smile as to not look completely lost. Ami tried to calm down. “He still falls asleep during those meetings just like he used to during class! We all had that speech class together, well, except you, Raye, and whenever I looked up at you guys, his head was down and he was out!” Raye flipped through her mental catalogue. << I don’t have speech this semester. But this means I meet him during college! See, now I’m getting somewhere! >>“Can I go play, Mommy?” Evander tugged on Ami’s arm and pleaded with her with his impossibly big, impossibly green eyes. << Whoever Ami’s married to, he obviously is a green-eyed blond. Who do I know with green eyes and blond hair? And how does Ami keep from hugging him all the time? He’s so adorable! >> Obviously, Ami couldn’t help but hug him all the time, because she enveloped him in her arms and planted a kiss on his head. “OK, sweetie, but stay within the hedges. I’ll be watching you.” “OK,” he agreed, wiggling to the end of the bench. Clio and Callie instantly started in on Raye. “MOMMY CAN WE GO TOO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…” “Yes, sure, go on,” she said hurriedly, for the sake of her ears. She let her hand drift down Callie’s hair as the small girl leapt off the bench and joined the other children. “Watch them, Chibi-Usa,” Serenity instructed. The pink-haired girl turned and solemnly nodded.“I will Mommy.” She held out her hand for Astraea to hold. “Why don’t I do that for you?” The speaker had been standing on the opposite side of the bench, and nearly scared Raye half to death. She swiveled around to face a young girl with a neat fringe of black hair, deep violet eyes, and toting a large book in one hand. “Hotaru?” she whispered. “Hotaru!” Chibi-Usa threw her arms around the older girl. “Can we play jump-rope?” Hotaru smiled, the smile a shade reminiscent of the haunted, hollow look she wore when Raye had first met her, years ago in Japan. Except this time, it wasn’t so much haunted as…guilty. Sure enough, Serenity spoke up. “Last time I checked, it was Monday, and traditionally, isn’t Monday a school day, hmm?” Hotaru flushed the color of beets. “Oh, yes, I know.” “Who said you could skip?” “Well, actually, it was King Endy-“ “I knew it!” Serenity puffed up. “He would be the one to declare some kind of holiday just to get you out of class! Let me guess, he had some support from his ‘advisors,’ didn’t he?” Hotaru scratched the toe of her shoe in the grass. “Well, yes, except for-“ “My ‘advisor,’” Minako finished. Hotaru nodded. “Yeah, he’s no fun, isn’t he?” “Do your parents know?” Ami asked, sweeping crumbs off of the table with a red cloth napkin. “I think so.” “Are they enjoying their day off?” “Yeah. I think they wanted to spent it alone, though, so I grabbed a book and took off.”