Crystal Flaws - Part 05 Crystal Ties

The next day, Monday, Terrance was relieved to see Hotaru had accepted the idea that they’d be spending time together. They decided to go to the beach.

After they spread their towels out, Hotaru pulled her t-shirt up and over her head, exposing the top of her pretty, sapphire-blue one-piece. As she brought her arms down, Hotaru absently looked over at Terrance, who had already shed his clothes down to his black swimsuit, and was now looking out over the ocean. This was the first time Hotaru had seen Terrance without his shirt on and she realized his clothes had barely hinted at the physique she was now staring at.

A slew of tired old clichés suddenly had new life breathed into them as Hotaru went down the list in her mind, checking them off. [Washboard abs, broad shoulders, muscular chest, slim waist, trim hips, sculpted thighs and a *really* nice-looking tight…]. Hotaru finally managed to clamp a mental hand over her runaway thoughts. Tearing her eyes off of Terrance, she quickly slipped her shorts off then sprinted toward the ocean. As she ran past him, Hotaru hoped Terrance didn’t notice her scarlet stained cheeks. [I *definitely* need to cut back on the romance novels!] Hotaru thought as she approached the water.

Splashing with her feet in the cool waves like an excited child, Hotaru waited for Terrance. He had never been to the beach before and his senses were filled with impressions of hot sand, salt scented breezes and laughing children as he approached the water at a more leisurely pace. They laughed together as they splashed each other then they swam in the ocean for a while. When they had sufficiently tired themselves they stretched out on their towels to dry and read.

Terrance had tried to read, but his eyes kept wandering. He smiled when he caught Hotaru looking at him once too. She had blushed and quickly looked back at her book. Finally, Terrance gave up reading and closed his eyes. He found his eyelashes made rainbows dance around Hotaru when he barely slit his eyes open to look at her.

On Tuesday, they took a picnic with them to the Moon and saw some of the Museums. As he had when he and Serenity had their picnic, Terrance again employed Jupiter’s skill for the basket. She was thrilled to help. He did check before they left and was happy to see Jupiter had packed a good bottle of wine.

Terrance had never taken the time to visit the Moon before either. Playing tour guide for Hotaru was giving him the chance to do many of the things he had not done before.

Wednesday, they once again spent the morning working out. They had skipped it the last two days, and they knew they’d feel guilty if they skipped again. Unfortunately, the practice field was in use, so they had to settle for working out in the gym.

Later that afternoon they went horseback riding. They rode to the cliff and Hotaru laughed as she tried to imagine Terrance and Serenity jumping off the cliff into the water. Terrance was a little surprised she knew that story. Hotaru told him she and Serenity wrote each other often to keep up with each other’s lives.

Hotaru had noticed it was almost dinnertime and they decided to head back. A section of the trail was too narrow for them to ride side by side so Terrance pulled back to have Hotaru ride ahead of him. Their conversation had lulled and they listened in companionable silence to the woodland’s muted rustling music and the horses’ methodical stepping that kept a rhythmic time to it. The sun was beginning to set and the trees’ shadows intermittently flowed over them as they traveled down the trail. The combined effect of sound and shadow created a tranquil, almost hypnotic atmosphere.

Terrance quietly sighed as he relaxed and allowed himself to fully enjoy the ride. He watched Hotaru ahead of him and noted how pretty she looked with the dusk-tinted sunlight shining on her.

Terrance reviewed the last four days in his mind and was surprised at how comfortable he felt with Hotaru. He was enjoying the time he was spending with her and now understood why Serenity valued Hotaru’s friendship so much. Hotaru doesn’t project expectations on a person. She had the rare quality of being able to like people just as they are. It was noticeably nice to Terrance to spend time with someone who wanted nothing more from him than an honest friendship and to have fun together.

Terrance’s reverie was interrupted when something startled his horse enough to make it snort and look around. As Terrance reached out to pat the horse’s neck it prompted him think of the Pegasus brothers. Terrance remembered that Ceres and Castor\'s date was that evening. He hoped it would go well and that they would have a good time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ceres didn’t have any dresses for dinner and dancing. The ball gowns she did have were much too formal. She thought about it and decided to ask the Planet Senshi if one of them had a dress she could borrow. Ceres knew she and Venus often wore the same colors and they also wore the same size so Ceres tried her first.

As soon as Venus heard she excitedly exclaimed, “I have the *perfect* dress for you!” Wednesday morning Venus brought the dress to Ceres and she agreed it was perfect. The long black silk had a flowing floral pattern finely embroidered in gold thread. The embroidery started over the left breast then diagonally trailed across the front of the dress to the hem where it merged with a smaller pattern of vines that encircled the rippling swing skirt. A smooth fitted bodice, sweetheart cut neckline and thin double spaghetti straps finished the dress off. Venus also brought a light, golden, gauzy wrap to be worn over the shoulders, and a pair of gold, strappy shoes with heels high enough to flatter the leg, but not too tall for dancing.

Ceres tried to keep quiet about having a date, but when she went to her room to get ready, the other Asteroid Senshi were sitting on her bed waiting for her. Ceres had hung the dress on her closet door and three pairs of eyes turned from looking at it to look at her expectantly.

Vesta got right to the point as she asked, \"Who and where?\"

Ceres implored, \"Guys!\"

Juno pointed out, \"You know we aren\'t going to leave so you might as well just tell us.\"

Ceres sighed then resignedly said, \"Fine. Castor is taking me to dinner and dancing.\"

\"Castor!\" the girls exclaimed with surprise.

Vesta chuckled as she added, \"So, you weren\'t just cold at the beach. I thought so!\"

Ceres blushed and her friends giggled.

Pallas jumped up from the bed and grabbing Ceres’ arm, pulled her over to sit on the bed too. With an excited and hopeful expression she pleaded, “Oh, this is so sweet! You have to tell us all about it! Please?!”

No one could resist Pallas when she made one of her sweet requests, and Ceres was no exception.

She looked at her three friends and hesitantly started with, “Well, there really isn’t that much to tell. We really liked being together and he asked me on a date.”

Pallas giggled then said with a sigh, “I don’t blame you for going out with him. I think they’re cute, and I’d go out with Pollux if he asked me. He was very nice and his jokes made me laugh!”

Vesta rolled her eyes. “Pollux’s puns were just silly.”

Indignantly Pallas huffed, “Well, maybe I *like* silly!

Holding up her hands, Vesta conceded, “Fine you can have him! I was just saying that’s not my style. I like guys who are a little more serious.”

Juno said, “Enough you two! I want to know more about Ceres and Castor.” Juno then turned to Ceres and bluntly asked, “So, did you kiss him?”

Ceres looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car as she hesitated to answer. Her expression and hesitation was all Juno needed to see. “You did! You did kiss him already!” Juno triumphantly crowed as Ceres again blushed bright red.

Jumping up from the bed, Ceres hastily said, “I’ve got to get ready!”

Vesta also jumped up and she grabbed Ceres’ arm to stop her from running away. Ceres turned to tell Vesta to let her go when Vesta looked her in the eyes and seriously asked, “Do you really like him that much?”

Ceres sighed then admitted, “Yes, I do really like him. He’s sweet, kind, nice and fun to be with.”

Concerned, Vesta cautioned, “Just remember, he’s a Pegasus. He is different from us.”

Bristling, Ceres reminded her, “Elios is a Pegasus too and he and Serenity are just fine. That shouldn’t make a difference at all!” Vesta let go and Ceres desperately ran for her bathroom and a little privacy.

Ceres had hoped they would get tired of waiting and leave. However, when she emerged from the bathroom they still sat on her bed gossiping speculatively about the couple and giggling. Sighing with exasperation, Ceres tried to ignore them while she got ready. She had to admit though, it was a little nice to have them there to assure her she looked good, and the girls were even kind enough to stay out of sight when Castor arrived.

Castor hadn’t had much better luck trying to avoid his brothers. By using threats and pleas, Castor had barely managed to keep them from following him.

When Castor landed at the Palace, he transformed right away. He wanted to greet Ceres in his human form.

Castor walked toward the main Palace door for the garden and saw Ceres sitting on a bench waiting for him. She stood up and Castor stared at her. She was so beautiful he couldn’t speak.

Ceres had taken out her customary braids, letting her wavy, strawberry-colored hair fall nearly to the floor. She had pulled it back from her face with a black, satin ribbon in a fashion similar to the one Venus favored.

As Castor stepped up to her, he reached out and gingerly touched her hair. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered. Ceres smiled. He smiled back and said, “All of you is beautiful.”

Ceres blushed. She was mindful of the other girls watching and listening from a second story window above them. Ceres said, “You look very nice too.”

Castor wore a black suit coat, a white dress shirt open at the neck, and black dress pants. He slightly blushed and admitted, “I do have a tie, but I refuse to wear it unless I really have to.”

Ceres reached up to straighten his collar a bit as she said, “As far as I’m concerned, you don’t have to wear it.” She quietly whispered, “I like the neck of your shirt open.” Ceres could tell by the look in Castor’s eyes that he wanted to kiss her. Blushing, she looked down and subtly shook her head no.

Castor got the message and realized they probably were not alone. He said, “If you’re ready, we can leave.” Ceres agreed. Castor offered her his arm and they walked down the path to the end of the garden.

As he stepped away from Ceres Castor transformed into a Pegasus. He knelt down and Ceres carefully situated herself on his back. They took off and finally they could talk together in peace.

Ceres asked, “Do you still want to visit a tattoo place?”

Castor answered, [Yes, if you don’t mind.]

“I don’t mind,” Ceres responded, “I asked Sailor Mercury for a reputable recommendation and she told me about a place in Crystal Tokyo’s shopping district. She said she had seen their work on some of the soldiers and it was always clean and well done.” Ceres started to giggle, “She thinks I want the tattoo. I didn’t say that, but she assumed it and I didn’t correct her.”

Chuckling, Castor said, [Well, you never know. Maybe you’ll get one too.] They had reached Crystal Tokyo and Ceres directed Castor where to land.

They found the tattoo studio easily. Inside was well lit with many artistic designs and examples on display. Ceres thought many of them looked gaudy and some vulgar. More than once Castor had looked at something with a puzzled expression. With a silent groan, Ceres realized she would end up trying to explain some of this to him at dinner.

The owner came out from the back and greeted them. Ceres noticed he was clean and neat and looked to be a serious artist. She explained they were considering a forearm tattoo for Castor and wanted to look at the available designs.

The owner pulled out three large books and said, “Anything you see on the walls and anything in these books can be done. I’m also good at putting together original designs if you’d like some suggestions. The price depends on the size and detail of the design. If you have any other questions, or if you decide on a piece, just call back there for Bob. I’ll come as soon as I can. Thank you and have fun looking.”

Bob had tried to get a good look at the jewel on the large man’s forehead without staring. He was sure it wasn’t a tattoo. It was too three-dimensional. He knew however, that one of the reasons his business was successful was because he didn’t ask his customers too many questions so he kept quiet.

Ceres and Castor sat down and flipped through the books. They noticed a nice Earth and even a Pegasus. Castor was surprised to see it. Ceres explained, “Most surface humans know about Pegasuses, but they think they are mythical fantasy creatures and only a part of their dreams.”

After the last book, Castor sighed and said, “Some of these are nice, but I didn’t see anything I think is uniquely me. The ones I’ve liked can apply to my brothers also.”

Ceres asked, “Is there anything that only you do? A hobby or a job or something that you think is special?”

Smiling, Castor quietly flirted, “I think you’re special Ceres. Can I put you on my forearm?”

Ceres blushed and said, “I don’t think that would be a good idea. Does anything else come to mind?”

Castor thought about it more seriously then said, “Some of these designs have decorative script in them. At the Shrine, I’m an apprentice scribe and should earn my master’s level soon.”

With a surprised smile, Ceres said, “So, you’re an artist! I didn’t know that. Are any of your brothers scribes too?”

Castor shook his head no and Ceres said, “Then that’s it. I’m sure we can find something to represent you as a scribe. Bob also said he’ll do original work. If you want to, you could probably draw something yourself.”

Castor thought a moment then a smile crossed his face. Picking up a pencil and piece of scrap paper from a pile on the table, he began to sketch. When Castor was done he showed it to Ceres. She saw a stylized design with wings and an inked feather quill poised over it as if it was used to draw the picture.

Ceres said, “It’s beautiful! Do you do your scribe work with feather quills?”

Nodding his head yes, Castor explained, “Pegasus feather quills.”

Ceres thought to herself, [That makes sense I guess.] She then pointed to the design in the sketch and asked, “What is that?”

Castor turned the paper back to him and darkened a few curved lines.

Ceres could now see it was very fancy script of two intertwined letter Cs. She looked up and asked, “One C is for your name, but what is the other one for?”

Castor simply replied, “Ceres.”

Looking down Ceres blinked back tears and took a deep breath. She was honored he wanted to include her in this. Ceres looked up and said, “Putting my initial there is risky. It’s permanent. What if we don’t stay together?”

Castor looked up at her and sincerely said, “I’m not planning on going anywhere. Are you?”

Blushing, Ceres thought, [It’s odd to think of this on our first date! However, I feel like we’ve known each other forever.] She looked back up at Castor and tentatively said, “I don’t think I am, but how can you be so sure?”

Castor smiled and quietly answered, “I’m sure because you’re very important to me. I want you to always be a part of my life.

Ceres’ eyes opened wide and she was very surprised by Castor’s earnest and resolute words.

Before she could consider a response however, Bob came out from the back and interrupted them. He looked over their shoulders at the quick sketch and exclaimed, “Wow! Who drew that?”

Ceres mutely pointed to Castor and Bob said, “I’m really impressed. It’s beautiful! Is that what you want on your arm?”

Castor nodded his head yes and Bob said, “I’ll total up a price for you.”

About an hour and a half later Ceres and Castor, with his sleeve rolled up and a bandage on his forearm to protect the tattoo until it healed, left the tattoo studio.

Ceres, who by this time had forgotten about their previous conversation, giggled as she linked her arm in Castor’s other arm and said, “Bob was very impressed with your talent! It’s funny to think one of Elysion’s Holy Scribes could quit and take a job offered to him as a tattoo artist in Crystal Tokyo. Bob sure looked disappointed when you said you already had a job.” Together they laughed at the funny situation.

Castor then looked around and said, “The restaurant is pretty far from here. I should transform so we can get there.”

“I’m not sure if transforming will affect the tattoo because it’s so new, or make it hurt,” Ceres said as she looked at his arm. She offered, “How about we do this the way surface humans do this time?”

Intrigued, Castor agreed.

Ceres stood next to the curb as lots of traffic went by. She raised her hand and to Castor’s amazement, a transport pulled up in front of them and stopped. Ceres opened the door and they both climbed in. She said the name of the restaurant out loud and they drove away.

Impressed, Castor asked, “How did you do that? Why did the transport stop for us?”

Laughing, Ceres explained about cab service. They arrived at the restaurant, paid the cab and went inside. The place was a nice upscale restaurant with a large dance floor. They were seated then ordered their dinners.

Many couples were dancing and Castor asked, “Ceres, would you like to dance while we’re waiting for our food?”

Ceres liked that idea too so they moved out onto the dance floor. Castor took Ceres’ hand and pulled her close to him. He put his arms around her and held her. Smiling, he whispered, “Do you mind dancing like this?”

Ceres smiled back and responded, “I don’t mind at all.” She rested her head against Castor’s chest and could hear the steady rhythm of his heart as they danced.

Their food came so they returned to the table. They talked while they ate and laughed together as Ceres tried to explain some of the strange things they had seen at the tattoo studio. When they had finished eating, they went back to dancing.

Castor and Ceres enjoyed dancing together in their own little world and were totally unaware of the many people who pointed out to each other, the unusual and striking couple. As they returned to the table for a drink between dances, Ceres looked at her watch. She asked, “Castor, did you know it’s after eleven already? Don’t you have work tomorrow?” Reluctantly, Castor admitted he did have work the next morning. They agreed they should probably go.

Out in the cool night breeze, Ceres was glad to have the wrap Venus had lent to her. Castor transformed and Ceres noticed the bandage hid the tattoo. He said it felt okay so they headed back to the Palace.

They landed in the garden and Castor transformed again. Concerned, Ceres carefully peeked under the bandage and saw the tattoo was fine.

They stood in the shadow of a flowering shrub for some privacy, and Castor finally got to do what he had wanted to do all evening. He wrapped his arms around Ceres and gently kissed her.

Ceres sighed into their kiss then reaching her arms up, she tangled her fingers in his soft wavy hair and pulled him closer.

Castor hugged her against him as they deepened their kiss. After a few moments, Castor released Ceres’ lips and trailed small soft kisses over her cheek and down her neck. He buried his face in the silky strands of her hair and breathed deeply. Quietly, he murmured, “Hmm…, you smell *so* good!”

Slowly, Castor continued his kisses along Ceres’ collarbone and she clung to him. The feel of his lips on her skin made exciting and incredible feelings course through her. When he reached the base of her throat, he kissed his way back up her neck to her lips. Their passions intensified as they kissed again.

Castor released her lips then hugged Ceres close as he tried to catch his breath. He realized if he didn’t stop now, he wouldn’t stop ever.

Ceres was disappointed. She wanted him to kiss her again and to keep on kissing her. Castor held her close and slowly her ability to think and reason returned with her breath.

Clearing his throat, Castor whispered, “I’ve never felt like this before.”

Ceres quietly responded, “Me neither.”

Castor lovingly rubbed his chin against Ceres’ hair then said, “I don’t want to, but I think I better go. On Saturday, would you like to visit Elysion? It’s not a huge place like the Earth, but we could have a picnic together and I can show you around.”

Looking up at him, Ceres smiled. Castor forgot to listen to her words as he internally fought against the strong urge to kiss her again and again. Shaking his head to clear it, he laughed at himself.

Ceres looked puzzled as she waited for an answer to her question. Castor blushed as he admitted, “I, um, didn’t pay attention to a single word you just said. Please repeat it?”

Sighing, Ceres again said, “I would love to see Elysion. How about I bring the picnic basket?”

Nodding, Castor answered, “That sounds fine. Is ten too early to pick you up?”

Ceres said, “Ten is fine. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Finally, Castor felt like he could handle kissing her again. Their lips touched and Castor felt his passion for her slam back into him full force. He crushed her to him tightly while they kissed then he sighed as he forced himself to release her lips.

Shakily, Ceres tried to keep her balance as Castor stepped back from her. He hoarsely whispered, “Good night.”

Breathlessly Ceres answered, “See you Saturday.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Terrance and Hotaru ate breakfast together and discussed what they wanted to do that day. Terrance asked, “Is there something that you’d like to do that we haven’t done yet?”

Hotaru thought a moment then blushed. She said, “No. Not really.”

Terrance now knew Hotaru well enough to know she had thought of something, but for some reason she was reluctant to suggest it.

Smiling, Terrance cajoled, “I’m sure there has to be something. Maybe something you enjoyed doing as a kid here on Earth?”

Blushing redder, Hotaru looked down. Hesitantly she admitted, “There is something. You have to promise not to laugh and if you don’t want to, we don’t have to do it. Okay?”

Terrance nodded his head yes and waited patiently for her to tell him.

Taking a deep breath, Hotaru quietly said, “As a child I really liked going to the zoo.”

Terrance offered, “I’ve never been to a zoo and I think it’s a good idea.”

Hotaru looked up and shyly smiled. She said, “I hope you like it too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ceres hurriedly got ready. She had overslept her alarm and had already missed breakfast. If she didn’t get moving she’d be late for fighting practice too. She hated oversleeping but she couldn’t help smiling as she thought about her date the night before.

Entering the gym, Ceres quickly joined the other girls as they stretched. She looked around and was relieved she didn’t see a Planet Senshi yet. At least she didn’t have to answer any questions from them about why she was late. She knew she wouldn’t get out of answering her so-called friends’ questions though.

During the practice Sailor Jupiter caught Ceres spacing out, twice. The other girls hid their giggles behind their hands when Jupiter asked, \"Ceres, what\'s up with you? That\'s the second time I\'ve repeated myself for you today! Did you have a hot date last night, or what?\"

Ceres\' face turned a bright shade of red as she apologized and Jupiter realized she had probably hit the proverbial \'nail on the head\'. Nodding her acceptance of Ceres\' apology, Jupiter winked and said, \"Good for you! You girls don\'t get out enough in my opinion.\"

As soon as they entered the locker room Ceres was accosted by three very curious girls.

\"Spill!\" Juno demanded with a feral smile.

Vesta was only a little more polite as she excitedly added, \"Details please! We want *all* the details!\"

Pallas with her big, bright eyes and excited expression didn’t need to say a word.

Ceres didn\'t want to tell them anything, but she knew they wouldn\'t let her get away with that. She said the meal was nice, the place was pretty, dancing was fun and they had a good time.

With a grin, Vesta noted, \"You must have been having a good time since you didn\'t get back to your room until after midnight!\"

Ceres blushed and sighed. She muttered, \"Won\'t you guys give me even a little privacy?!\"

Juno laughingly answered, \"Of course not!\"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening Ceres took a walk in the garden. She sat down on a bench and pensively stared at the fountain.

Pallas found her there and asked if she could sit too. After a few moments Pallas asked Ceres what she was thinking about.

Ceres sighed. “Is it possible to fall for someone when you’ve only known that person a few days?

Smiling, Pallas responded, “Of course! Do you think you’ve ‘fallen’ for Castor?”

Ceres looked down and said, “I don’t know. I really like being with him and I feel very comfortable and secure around him. Even though I know we’ve only known each other a short time, it’s like we’ve known each other forever.”

Pallas nodded her head and asked, “Do you know if he feels the same way about you?”

Ceres smiled as she thought about the tattoo and what he had said. She answered, “I’m pretty sure he does.” Ceres then quickly added, “But isn’t this too fast? It’s scary really. I’ve never felt like this about someone before.”

“I think your heart is talking to you,” Pallas offered, “and sometimes hearts don’t follow all the rules.”

Ceres sighed again. Pallas smiled as she gave her friend a hug and encouraged, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, Ceres. Don’t worry!”

Smiling back, Ceres said, “Thanks, Pallas. I guess you’re right. It’ll work out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Friday, Terrance and Hotaru worked out in the morning. The practice field was being used again, so Terrance suggested a hike and some rock climbing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning the King and Queen were walking to the breakfast room. They turned the corner and Usagi stopped Mamoru as she whispered, “Look at that.”

Mamoru looked in the breakfast room and saw Terrance and Hotaru sitting at the table with cups of coffee. They were talking quietly together and Hotaru laughed at something Terrance had said.

“Don’t they look cute together?” Usagi asked her husband.

Raising his eyebrow at her comment, Mamoru cautioned, “Usako, don’t read more into it than there might actually be.”

Usagi gave him an annoyed look and said, “Well, I think they’d be great for each other and they certainly seem to be enjoying spending time together.”

Patting his wife’s hand Mamoru said, “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Terrance and Hotaru looked up as the King and Queen entered the room. Greetings were made, plates were filled with food, and when they sat down, Terrance stated, “You’re just the two people we needed to talk to.”

Mamoru paused from drinking his coffee and looked up.

Usagi, who had a bite of egg on her fork that was half way to her mouth, stopped it mid-air and curiously asked, “Yes? Why?”

Slightly taken back by their sudden intense attention Terrance answered, “Um, Hotaru and I decided to go shopping in Crystal Tokyo today. We figured we could pick Serenity and Elios up at the station on the way back this afternoon.”

Mamoru said, “Oh. Okay.”

Usagi finished putting the bite of egg in her mouth, chewed and swallowed it. Hiding her disappointment she said, “That’s a good idea and it’s nice of you to offer.”

Terrance was a little perplexed by his father’s and Usagi’s odd behavior. He said, “Okay,” then turned to Hotaru and suggested, “We should probably get going.”

Hotaru agreed so they said good-bye and left the breakfast room.

After a moment of silence Mamoru slowly shook his head and smiled. “Usako, we need to be more careful about our speculations.”

Giggling, Usagi agreed. “I guess we may have been a little premature but you have to admit, they do act like a couple already.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week after the wedding, Serenity and Elios stepped off the planet transport and back onto the Earth. Elios couldn’t help sighing with relief. The planet Venus had been nice but he was happy to be home.

Serenity looked around and saw Terrance and Hotaru waiting for them.

Hotaru had spotted them too. She smiled as she walked up to Serenity and gave her a big hug. “Welcome back,” she greeted. “Was the resort on Venus nice?”

Serenity started to answer her, but Hotaru suddenly pulled back, held Serenity at arms length and looked her up and down. Teasingly, she observed, “Serenity, how much did you eat while you were away?”

Blushing, Serenity put her hand on her slightly rounded stomach. “I guess the babies grew a lot over the last week. The clothes I brought with me barely fit anymore.”

Hotaru hugged her again. “You’re starting to look like you’re pregnant. It’s a cute look for you, but you definitely need maternity clothes. We’ll have to go shopping next week and get you some.”

Serenity smiled. “Yes, that sounds like fun!”

The two men returned with the luggage and they all piled in the Palace transport.

Back at the Palace, Serenity had barely enough time to give everyone a hug and their souvenirs. She could tell Elios was anxious to get back to Elysion and see how things were going at the shrine.

Pollux had been waiting at the Palace to bring the newlyweds back to Elysion. He said good-bye to Pallas, who had kept him company while he waited, and soon the three of them were on their way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost dark when Ceres had returned from her and Castor’s picnic in Elysion. She had just dropped the basket off at the kitchen and was heading for her room when Vesta saw her and called to her.

Startled, Ceres turned around.

Vesta caught up to Ceres. “You missed Serenity and Elios but Serenity left a souvenir for you in your room. They’ve already left for Elysion but…” Vesta stopped as she realized Ceres wasn’t listening and seemed very preoccupied. Looking more closely at her Vesta asked, “Are you all right?”

Ceres stepped back from Vesta and quietly answered, “I’m fine. Um, I’m tired though. Can we talk tomorrow?”

“Sure, but are you really okay?”

Quickly, Ceres repeated, “I’m fine! I said I was just tired. Bye.” Turning, Ceres quickly walked away.

Vesta’s keen observation skills were telling her that Ceres was lying but she knew she couldn’t force the issue.

Continued...


Thank you for reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did like my story, or if you have any (kind and gently worded) suggestions/comments about my story, please let me know. I truly appreciate feedback. You can email me at ndeblock@att.net .

This story was edited and enhanced by the great mind and imagination of Sophia Prester. Her help and ideas have been of great value to me! Thank you Sophia! ^_^

Sophia Prester is also the author or a *wonderful* continuing Sailor Moon epic called “Empire of the Sun”. Her story is very intricate and absorbing and I highly recommend reading it! The most up to date version is on Fanfiction.net . ^_^

Bye, Luna Hope