Title: Only 16 Part: 2B (WARNING, THERE MAY BE A 2C!) By: Azurite Email: sailor_andromida@yahoo.com Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/ Season/Version: Sailormoon R (as usual), American Rating: PG-13, and I MEAN IT!! More romance than I usually do, but nothing explicit... YUCK! Disclaimer: Despite the fact that I COULD make money writing these, I would get my Moonie behind sued off if not CUT off, so here I am, legally DISCLAIMING ownership of the great work of the storyline known as Sailor Moon. Greets: To my Onee-chan's, Sailor Peace and JLaLa, who, even though I haven't talked to them in the longest time (this is what I get for getting a job to become an offical webmistress...), are still out there, hopefully wondering when the heck the next part of this story will come out. And here it is, just like I promised! Oh and of course, to my somewhat annoying imouto, Skylight. Other: Teen Parenting is not impossible nor rare. If you or someone you know is or will be a teen parent, tell them to tell someone else, be it friend, family, doctor or prenatal care specialist. I'm only adding this note for two reasons: 1)my health ed class just learned about this and from what I've heard, it's not fun, easy or worth the... pleasure. 2)I like stories with some kind of moral, Sailormoon or not. ***************************************************************** 'I have to see him again.' Serenity thought upon her arrival on the moon. It was just beginning to become light in the palace, and Serenity knew she had to concentrate in order to get back to her chambers unnoticed. She thought of Endymion just as she induced the teleportation, and she found herself revitalized, in a way. She was instaneously teleported to her room, faster than she ever could have imagined. She collapsed onto her bed, her heart beating faster than she would have liked, but thinking of Endymion did that to her. 'Now I know more about him... and the planet known as Earth. I don't care if it is forbidden. I have to see him again.' Serenity made up her mind to see him again this night, and even if it meant risking her everything, and telling him who she was, she'd do it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "C-Crown Princess?" Endymion stuttered. The woman he had just talked with for well over two hours, the gorgeous goddess who had shyly admitted to have been watching the sunrise, and have snuck to Earth from "far away" without permission, was a princess?! A Crown Princess? Of the Royal Silver Millenium Kingdom of the Moon?! "She is the sole heir to the Silver Millenium Kingdom on Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn, and all other space inbetween, save Earth. She is also the heir of the Silver Imperium Crystal, the most powerful crystal in the universe." "Unless, of course, you're talking about one of her older relatives, like her mom." Nephrite interrupted Zoisite's informational tirade. "He looks kinda lovestruck, I don't think he's talking about the Queen." Jadeite remarked. "He looks kinda shocked to me." Malachite mentioned. "Look, he's about to black out!" Endymion did just that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later that night, Endymion expectantly awaited her arrival. Unbeknownst to him and the arriving princess, the four royal guards were standing on the very balcony above where they were to meet. "Think she's as gorgeous as rumor has it?" Jadeite asked quietly. "Probably. Besides, have you ever known Endymion to fall for anyone less than 'gorgeous'?" Nephrite responded. "When was the last time Endymion 'fell'?" Zoisite queried. "Look!" Malachite whispered, shushing his friends with his hand. A stream of silver light appeared beneath them, and with it, the most gorgeous woman the four of them had ever seen. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Endymion's eyes widened as he turned and faced the arriving princess. When Serenity was finally materialized, she brought a hand to her face, blushing. Endymion was still staring, enraptured with her beauty. "Oh... I'm sorry... I didn't know you'd be here so early." Serenity stuttered. Great, now she'd have to tell HIM everything, including the dynamics of the teleporters which she again snuck into. "I actually wanted to be here early... I didn't want you to wait." Endymion responded quietly. "I... I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly earlier." "It couldn't be helped, Princess." Serenity looked up, shocked. "How... How did you know?" Serenity didn't bother lying. "I wanted to find out as much as I could about you, and my four guards surprised me by saying that Serenity wasn't a common name, but the name of... the most beautiful Princess in the Silver Millenium." "Then... Then they must have been mistaken, because I'm not..." Serenity paused. He was rather close to her, and his deep blue eyes were soft... Her own eyes fluttered in embarrassment and shyness, and she shifted in his light embrace. "Come on." He took her hand in his, and they walked down the same path as before, only now it was lit by the silver light of the Moon, and not the golden light of the Sun. "Tell me everything about you..." Endymion whispered, not even looking at her, for fear he'd lose control. "Well... your sources are correct... I am the Crown Princess of the Silver Millenium of the Moon. A position I don't like all that much, because there's always lectures, studying, training... It's like I'm a drone, or something, without my own free will to do what I want." "Sometimes you just want to get away, to..." "Break free." Serenity finished. Endymion nodded. "I think you have it luckier though. Your mother is still alive, and she does all the work of running the kingdom. When you're actually the Queen, it'll be different." "I don't want to be Queen. Being Queen means I have to get married, and even if I am the ruler of the Silver Millenium, I'll most likely be bound by the ties of marriage, like some horse to a carriage." "So you rebel." Endymion smiled. Serenity looked up at him boldly and nodded. "Precisely. There's no other way around it. And aren't you happy I did? Otherwise, I never would have met you." "So you're glad you met me?" Endymion asked. "Very." Serenity breathed, her heart beating faster on her ribs. Endymion subconsciously moved closer to her, allowed his arms to slide up her own. He leaned down gently, her lashes brushing his cheek when... *CRACK* "You dunce!" "Shut up!" "All of you, shush!" "They're not kissing anymore, you dolts!" Endymion groaned. Serenity smiled up at him, her eyes asking the questions. "My royal guards." Then, purposefully loud, he said their names, so they emerged from the brush they were hiding in. "Malachite." The tallest one, white haired with dancing pale blue eyes emerged. "Nephrite." The second tallest one, with wavy brown hair and chestnut eyes, came forth from the brush, a branch stuck in his hair. "Jadeite." A short haired blonde with bright green eyes came forth. "And Zoisite." A flushed, long haired, strawberry blonde emerged from the plants, two branches sticking out like rabbit's ears from his ponytail. Serenity tried to bite her tongue, but she only succeeded in giggling some more. Soon, the everyone's surprise, she burst out laughing, small crystal tears falling from her face. "Is she laughing or crying?" Jadeite asked. "I don't know..." Nephrite trailed off. "Get it out!" Zoisite said while hopping around, desperately trying to pull the branches from his hair. Serenity's fit of laughter increased so much, she had to lean on Endymion. She pointed at Zoisite while he steadied her, and he noticed the precarious position the two branches were in. Soon, he himself was laughing, something he hadn't done in a long time. Five minutes later, Serenity and Endymion were out of breath and sighing. They both rested on the grass, Serenity sitting on Endymion's lap. "And...And he looked like a rabbit, hopping... and the sticks... like ears..." Serenity giggled. "I've never seen him that paranoid before..." Endymion chuckled. "It wasn't that funny." Zoisite huffed, turning away. Malachite had helped him get the sticks out of his hair, as had Jadeite helped Nephrite. "You've got to be kidding me!" Endymion responded jovially. "No offense, but you guys looked so silly!" Serenity chuckled. This being the first time she spoke to them directly, the four men turned, made themselves look somewhat appropriate, and kneeled before her. "Wh-What are you doing?" Serenity stuttered, paling. "You are the Crown Princess. You deserve our respect in some manner." Malachite said, hardly lifting his head. "I, uh... I'm... I'm off-duty." Serenity finally said, smiling. "Excuse me?" Nephrite asked, confused. "Off-duty. Whenever I'm here on Earth, I'm not a Princess, so please don't bow or anything. I get enough of that at home." This remark brought laughter to the four formerly embarassed Royal Guards of Endymion, and soon, all six people were laughing in the dark of the night. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It continued this way, for many months, but Serenity and Endymion hardly ever got any privacy. And it only got worse when Serenity became careless with the times she teleported... Endymion was eagerly awaiting Serenity's arrival that night. He wanted to go someplace different tonight, someplace the guards couldn't follow him to. His own secret place, where'd he'd show her the delacacies of Earth. Serenity arrived momentarily, and before any words could be uttered between them, Endymion laughingly grabbed her small hand and they ran off into the night together. "Princess!" A feminine voice sounded. Immediately, Serenity stopped in her tracks. "Who is it?" Endymion whispered beside her. "My cousin, and one of MY Royal Guards, Sailor Venus." "The Legendary Princess of Venus, and the Matchmaker of the Silver Millenium?" Endymion asked. "The very same." "VENUS METEOR... SHOWER!" A bright light shot into the sky and split into hundreds of smaller lights, falling like twinkling stars. The figure of Venus could be seen from several yards away, where Endymion and Serenity stood together, their hands clasped as one. "Found you!" Venus yelled just as the lights started dimming. Venus ran over to the couple rather fast, and tapped her foot on the stone path. "Didn't we tell you not to come here?" Venus questioned, her lips positioned in a half-frown. "But Mina..." "Sere, we warned you!" "And I told you, I don't care. I'm safe with Endymion!" "Eh?" Venus looked up when she noticed the second presence next to her cousin. 'She has GOOD taste!' Venus thought. There was something... something about him... a strong energy force... linking to Serenity? "Well... he seems nice enough... but only this once, Sere. Ja!" With a small wave, Venus turned around and teleported away in a burst of orange-gold light and stars. However, Princess Serenity disobeyed, for she was, as she had told Endymion before, the rebel. Venus, as her first royal guard, naturally followed her, and stopped her again. "Princess! You're here again?! We have to go home!" Serenity cringed, embarassed at how Venus was treating her in front of Endymion. "It must be hard having a bundle of curiousity for a Princess." A deep voice interrupted. Venus' head snapped up. That was NOT Endymion's voice... did that mean there were other people there? 'Oh my...' Venus looked at the person who the voice belonged to... a handsome, powerful, ice-eyed man with shoulder length, snow- colored hair. "Mina, this is Malachite. Malachite, Mina, Princess of Venus." Serenity introduced, slipping out of Venus' grasp. "Malachite!" Endymion said, seeing his best friend chuckle and flirt with Serenity's First Guard like that. Besides, he had been spying on them... AGAIN! "Oh I uh... nice to meet you." Venus blushed and suddenly looked at the moon. "Oh, look at the time. I better get going... Ja!" Venus waved again and vanished in a burst of light and stars, leaving a stunned Malachite and two smiling royals in her midst. Seeing the opportunity, Serenity and Endymion dashed off, not noticing Malachite still standing there, staring off at where Venus had been. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "What's this?" Serenity asked, picking up a ripe peach. "That's a peach. They aren't in season, but the gardens at the palace are specially treated, so we can have any fruit whenever we want." "Is it good?" Serenity asked curiously, rolling the fuzzy fruit in her palm. "Of course... I wouldn't have brought it if it wasn't. Go ahead, try it." Endymion encouraged. It had been forty minutes since they had dashed away from Malachite, and something told Endymion that Malachite was probably still there, staring at space. They had gotten to his 'secret spot' in the Terran Woods twenty minutes previous, and they had spent the first ten staring at the stars, while Endymion questioned her about her, and everything she liked. He found out about all her guardians, and chuckled when she started pairing them with his Guards. "It's true! Raye, Mars, she'd be the perfect match for Jadeite, and you saw Mina and Malachite click like that! And Zoisite and Amy, she's Mercury... and Jupiter and Nephrite! They'd be perfect matches!" Serenity had giggled. She'd continued, telling him how her aunt was the Queen of Venus, and how her father had died long ago in a war. She told him of her guardian cats, Luna and Artemis, and her mother. But soon, she was overwhelmed with curiousity as to what was in the basket Endymion had brought with him. Endymion had given her some of the food he brought with him, and with each new item, Serenity had another question. "Umm. You're right, Endy! This is GOOD!" Serenity said happily, biting into the peach again. 'Endy? I like that...' Endymion thought to himself. This was progress... Serenity finished off the peach, knowing after Endymion's previous warning on the nectarine not to eat the pit. She had a small splotch of peach juice coating her rose-colored lips, and it made them shine in the bright moonlight. Seeing her so relaxed and beautiful, with him... him of all princes in the galaxy... Endymion leaned closer to her, and they fell asleep on each other's shoulders, content. Some time later, Serenity woke up. The feeling of warning, telling her to retutn, set off in her head. She gently shook Endymion, who had somehow fallen asleep in her lap. Serenity's own head had been resting on a tree trunk, so she had a small crick in her neck. "Mmm?" "Endy, it's time to wake up. I have to go now." "Mm-must you? Stay here tonight." Endymion muttered drowsily. 'He mustn't be awake. He's paranoid or something.' Serenity was still silent, so Endymion opened his eyes. "Sere?" "Good, you're awake." 'He called you Sere!' Her mind cried overjoyously. "Well?" "Well what?" Serenity repeated nervously. "Stay here tonight." Endymion said, rising. Serenity flushed scarlet, and then shook her head slowly. "Endy, I wish I could, but you know I can't." "Then..." He started, pulling her to her feet with him, "At least let me give you a good-night kiss, my Princess." And Endymion slowly lowered his lips onto hers, until they met with a spark of passion and the taste of peach. Somewhat dizzy and still recovering, Serenity swayed as she teleported away. Endymion was smiling as well, and looked rather pleased. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serenity tried to teleport the next night, but a rather annoying cousin stopped her... "Found you, Princess!" Venus called. Serenity nearly tripped. For almost a whole week, Venus hadn't noticed her missing, and she picked NOW, tonight of all nights, to stop her?! "Are you running off to see the Prince again? It's dangerous to meet him just for fun!" Venus told her cousin, concerned. "It's not just for fun!" Serenity cried, turning around. She flushed lightly at the statement, the way it sounded. Small tears welled up in her eyes that Mina, Goddess of Love, would think such a thing. "You don't get it Venus! Because you've never fallen in love before! You don't understand my feelings!" Serenity childishly stuck her tongue out at Mina and "Nyyah"-ed her before rushing off. Venus carefully absorbed what Serenity had said, and immediately thought of Malachite. "Venus?" Mercury asked, interrupting her thoughts. Jupiter was waving a hand in front of her face impatiently. "I'm worried about her... One day, she'll be Queen, and her duty will be to watch over Earth and protect the Silver Imperium Crystal. She won't get hurt by falling in love, will she?" Venus asked. It was a rhetorical question, and she didn't expect an answer. Of course, none of the scouts could give one, anyways. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I feel safe here, watching the sea and feeling the breeze. Just here with you." Serenity laid back on the grass with Endymion, simply enjoying being with him. "I feel the same... I love being with you." Serenity blushed at Endymion's bluntness. 'Why do I have to be so poetic when trying to tell him how I feel?' "We mustn't keep meeting like this." Endymion said seriously. Serenity sat up, and looked at him. "Why?" She felt a great emptiness well up inside her. He wouldn't leave her... he couldn't. She LOVED him! "Communication between people of the Moon and Earth is forbidden." Endymion gathered her into his arms, and played with the golden tendrils of hair swirling around her ear. Her own hands brushed his cheek gently, sending tingles down his neck and spine. "It is the way of the Gods." Serenity agreed, tears falling. He hated seeing her like this, so upset. Gods, he loved her, but there was no way they could be together without risking everything. 'We mustn't fall in love.' They both thought at the same time. 'But it's already too late.' Endymion and Serenity clasped hands as he kissed her once again, slowly and passionately, his arm holding her against him, his warmth flowing through her shoulders where he held her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serenity heard the knocking at her door, and her senses tickled. 'Endymion!' "Come in!" Serenity tried to push back the excited feelings of not seeing him for well over a month. She was SO excited that he finally got to return to the Lunarian Kingdom... once her mother had heard about the relationship, she had given her blessing... but she never made it public, as the Lunarians wouldn't approve any more than the Terrans. Endymion pushed the door open slowly, and Serenity knew it was because he was expecting her to barrel into him. When she didn't, he drew her into his embrace for a long-awaited, long-needed kiss. "Sere..." "Umm..." Serenity parted her soft lips slowly, wanting Endymion BADLY... but he stopped before the kiss could get any deeper and... *ahem* out of control. "Endy, what's wrong?" Serenity asked, her arms still wrapped around his warm neck. "Serenity..." Serenity gasped slightly; Endymion never used her full name unless something really WAS wrong... 'But the look in his eyes... his smile... oh dear...' "Serenity, I want to ask you something." Serenity's senses went into overload and she panicked. 'Oh no... is he going to ask if I'll let him see other girls? Oh heavens, what made me think he loved *me* ?! I'm just the little blonde, weak princess... with an entire kingdom and the universal power at my fingertips... what if he only wants me for power?!' "Yes, Endymion?" Serenity pronounced softly, not giving away her true emotions. As soon as she finished, she bit her tongue in order to hold back what she was feeling, what she was so tempted to say... she ended up hurting herself and two tears formed in her eyes. "Serenity, I...I..." And, despite the tears, Serenity smiled. 'He never was good with emotions. Not since his parents died in that attack so long ago.' Serenity had only had a small glimpse of what Endymion had been like for so long... cold, unfeeling, and lonely. "You changed him." Malachite had told her. "He had never been like this! I mean, he's usually so cold and callous to girls, especially Princesses, but YOU!" Serenity remembered Jadeite saying to her. "Yes, he was always so close-minded, and never romantic, like he is now." Nephrite had added. "Now, every time he comes back from the Moon, he's mopey because he's not around you, or smirking because he's planning something new to do or buy you, or ramble to you..." Zoisite added cheerfully. Serenity smiled. He really *did* care about her, didn't he? "Serenity, I..." Endymion suddenly fell silent and dropped to one knee before the Princess on her bed. "Will you marry me?" Endymion asked simply. Serenity arose from her stupor and looked at him. His midnight eyes were actually wavering with tears, some unreadable expression covering his skin and lips. "Oh my... Endy..." Serenity gasped even louder when he brought out the gorgeous ring. It was simple, something that both he and Serenity liked. "Oh, I really don't like gawdy, showy stuff. It makes the owner look like they've got an ego bigger than the moon!" She had told him long ago. A simple pair of bands, one silver and one gold, held a medium-sized diamond. Two tendrils of gold and silver met at the diamond, and curled to hold a pearl in one, a ruby in the other. Tiny crescent moons and Earth sigils were engraved on the two bands, and where they met, they meshed into a single symbol: a circle containing a crescent moon and a cross covering it. "Serenity, please, make me the happiest man alive, and marry me. I love you." Endymion whispered. His breath was ragged and nearly caught in his throat as he asked her to become his one and only. If this wasn't risking everything for love, he didn't know what was. "Endymion." Serenity breathed, taking his hand in her own. When they stood, Endymion still held her small hand in his own expecting an answer... 'What if she says no, and wants to break up... because she's found a better prince, someone who can offer her more...' "YES, YES, a million times YES in a moon minute!!!" Serenity squealed, leaping into his arms. Stunned, Endymion hardly moved, the words melting into his brain long after she had said them. 'She...she said yes!' "Endy?" Serenity asked worriedly. No response. "En-" Serenity was cut off this time by the warmth of Endymion's mouth on her own, kissing her passionately. "Umm..." Serenity found herself groaning slightly. Breathing deeply, they both pulled away from each other's lips, still in each other's arms. "Sere, I love you." For the first in a long time, tears fell from his midnight eyes willingly. "Oh Endy, I love you too, now and forever." Serenity smiled back, tears rimming her eyes. Endymion slid the simple ring on the appropriate finger, while small tears tracked their way down Serenity's face. He brushed them away with his fingertip, and kissed any following ones away gently. The short kisses became deeper, with Endymion's lips traveling across her face and down her neck. Serenity moaned lightly, having never felt this way... been treated this way before. Her legs suddenly felt like water, and she collapsed backwards onto the bed, Endymion still on top of her, kissing her passionately. It was this way for many minutes, until he pulled her to her weak and unstable feet. There was an unmistakable heat inbetween them, more so than had ever been there before. Something was about to happen, and they both knew it. He was breathing heavily, his head resting in the curve of her shoulders. Her own head was bowed on his shoulder, the cold armor tingling her warm skin. Her delicate hands fumbled with the complicated straps and finally managed to get the armor off his shoulders. She heard him inhale sharply as the heat and sense of protection the armor provided clattered to the floor resoundingly; that breath wasn't let out. She closed her eyes and let her senses flood her mind; a spark lit inside of her and continued to grow until she opened her eyes again. The armor on his knees was sooner gone, as were his hard metal boots and belt at his hip. They were in each other's arms once more and the humidity of the room was rising quickly. His hand suddenly brushed the clasp of the dress near the small of her back, and it felt unusually cold. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Endymion asked hoarsely. "Never been more sure of anything in my life." Serenity replied, pulling his face back down to hers for a deep kiss. His fingers brushed at the clasp, which released, and with a swift movement, the silk fluttered to the floor beneath them. Moments later, Endymion's own clothes joined the dress on the floor, and the two lovers were making love to each other in the Princess's Royal Chambers. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'So warm... when I'm with you... It feels like my heart is transparent... I feel my power growing... I wish I could stay like this forever.' Serenity felt warm and content, Endymion holding her gently. He was still asleep, but his arms were wrapped around her bare shoulders and around her bowed golden head. Her eyes were barely open, but from the haze, she saw his bare chest, rising and falling in time with her own breathing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *END DREAM* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************************************** End of Part 2B, as indicated by the double star and squiggly lines. I know I read that from somewhere else. Someone please tell Lilac Summers to finish "First Truths" (if you haven't read it, do so NOW, and you'll know what I mean), because my rants, raves, begs and orders have all gone unheeded. I admit, she is a busy college girl, but she DID say she'd have an epilogue out in two weeks, and its been... what, four months? PLEASE LILAC!! I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!!!!! Oh yes, and my email is sailor_andromida@yahoo.com, in case you're curious.