Mark Berger First Dance Note: "Eternal Princess" and "Eternal" refer to the 'nude angel' form which Eternal Sailor Moon takes on during the final episode of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon Sailorstars. My name is Tsukino Usagi. You know many things about me, you whom I do not know. You know that I am the pretty soldier-girl Sailor Moon. You know that I love a man named Mamoru who is also a superhero named Tuxedo Kamen and a Prince named Endymion. You know that I will one day, by this man, have a beautiful daughter, whom I have already risked all for, several times over. What you have not been told or shown, yet, is what I am about to tell you. You see, at the age of sixteen, I lost my virginity. Yes, difficult as it is for some of you, who believe me to be pure and innocent, to believe, I have, as they say, known my Mamo-chan for the past two years. And this is my confession. This is how I lost my innocence to my Prince. "'Cause I'm your lady, And you are my man, Whenever you reach for me, I'll do all that I can. We're ready for something, Somewhere I've never been Sometimes I'm frightened, But I'm ready to learn, of the power of Love." - Celine Dion, The Power of Love "The dance of love is slow and subtle, and often keeps its pattern hidden until it's too late." - Tsukino Usagi, December 16, 1996 Saturday Evening, WHAM!!! A blonde girl with two long, silken pigtails trailing from two nearly spherical "odango" on her head slammed into a young man with black hair. These two were Tsukino Usagi and her boyfriend, Chiba Mamoru. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, and he reciprocated the gesture, embracing the fragile-looking girl with the strength of tempered steel gently, as everything about her demanded every shred of his attention. "Usako... Slow down, please! Much though I love you, it's becoming quite painful to meet you at such high speed!" "Gomen nasai, Mamo-chan!" Usagi was wearing a long, plain white dress. Under this simple garment, she wore a white bodysuit to protect her modesty in case of some undue gust of wind, and under that, she wore the new silk lingerie that she had purchased a few days before at Victoria's Secret. The bra was shaped to subtly enhance her apparent bust size. Judging from Mamo-chan's admiring gaze, it worked. She gathered what boldness she had, took the back of his head into her hands, and pulled his lips down to meet hers. Mamoru was shocked by his Usako's sudden attack of bravery, but only for a moment. Then he kissed her back with as much passion as she was putting into her kiss. For a moment, both thought of taking the kiss further, but remembering where they were, they just took a bit of time to get back in order, then Mamoru let her into the passenger seat of his car, got in the driver's side, and they were off. Mamoru was driving a little faster than the law technically allowed, but to hear Usagi's exultant laugh, it was well-worth the potential traffic violation. Although the dinner they ate was very delicious, they barely noticed the taste, so deeply was their attention on one another. After they finished, Mamoru clasped Usagi's hands in his, and gazed deeply into the heart of her beautiful eyes. In the dim light of the restaurant, they were huge, light-absorbent black pools ringed with summer-sky blue. The rectangular, red lozenges that were her fingernails were visible poking out between Mamoru's hands. At that moment, Usagi was totally at ease. Nothing could harm the rabbit of the moon, so long as her protector was about. Finally, after a long, long moment, twin clouds of pale flesh eclipsed the twinned summer skies and her head tilted to the side on its elegant neck. Taking the invitation, Mamoru kissed Usagi. Once again, though, the publicity of their surroundings prevented them from bringing their passion fully to the forefront, and their bodies began to ache with unfulfilled promises. When Usagi and Mamoru reached Mamoru's apartment, he produced for her dessert: a large chocolate cake. The two ate in a very comfortable silence, basking in their mutual love. After eating, Usagi put in Mamoru's CD player a copy of Celine Dion's The Colour of My Love. As Celine sang of the Power of Love, Usagi and Mamoru danced a testament to it. As the singer hit the final note, a high "C," Mamoru leaned over and Usagi leaned back, and the two drank deeply of one another's lips, tasting love and chocolate. The player, as programmed for that specific disc, skipped over the bitter Misled directly to the next track. Although neither Usagi nor Mamoru quite realized it yet, events had been set in motion and were now unstoppable. In a Shinto shrine nearby, Hino Rei was meditating in front of the fire. Suddenly, she had a brief glimpse in the flames that looked distinctly like Usagi, her face contorted and her mouth open in a scream. She watched, and the expression changed from one of pain to one of ecstasy, and Rei understood fully. She prayed for her best friend. Let this be a night Usagi would never forget. Not fully aware yet of what was to come, Mamoru and Usagi had gone to Mamoru's bedroom, and Usagi had taken her dress off, hanging it carefully on one of Mamoru's hangers. She had slept over at Mamo-chan's apartment before, and neither had really thought much about it, so natural did it feel to them. Usagi thought about it for a moment, then pulled the hairpins from her hairdo, allowing it to spill out and cascade down her back nearly to her knees. She slid under the covers with her Mamo-chan, and cuddled up close to him. Then, they did something they hadn't done before: instead of Usagi kissing an already-slumbering Mamoru on the forehead, Usagi and Mamoru kissed each other's lips. As the kiss lingered, both young lovers found it igniting a fire, as their earlier passion clamored for full release. The kiss grew deeper and more passionate with each passing second, and Usagi found herself kissing Mamoru harder and deeper. Unlike most of their previous kisses, this one had a taste of desperation to it, as though both wished it would never end. It had to eventually, though, and Usagi leaned her head back as Mamoru kissed and nibbled his way along her jawline and all over her tender, white throat, and she moaned his name softly. Usagi pulled off Mamoru's shirt, as Mamoru's fingers unsnapped the crotch of the bodysuit, pulling it up over his girlfriend's head. He cursed his clumsiness as his fumbling fingers, trying for the first time, successfully unfastened Usagi's bra, and growing more sure began to massage her high, firm breasts. Her nipples became engorged and aching, and she cried out to him as his large, sensitive hands massaged them. Mamoru's expertise was born of the necessity to give this girl, on the brink of her womanhood, the ultimate pleasure. "Mamo-chan," moaned Usagi as she ran her hands along her boyfriend's body. She felt feathery as her burning passion began to take hold, and heard herself begin to purr lightly in the back of her throat, like Luna did when she was getting her belly scratched, if for a very different reason. She felt her mind begin to haze over, filled with pleasure and energy. She stroked down Mamoru's sides to tug down his boxers, and at the same time felt her wet panties being removed by him. Mamoru began to massage Usagi's most intimate parts, feeling the tiny pearl of flesh swell beneath his fingers, slickened with her juices. He brought the hand up to her mouth to taste. She gingerly touched her tongue to his fingertips, then eagerly divested the rest of his fingers of their coating, enjoying her own taste. Mamoru himself couldn't imagine anything more pleasant, as he licked his Princess's most sensitive place aggressively. It took all of Usagi's self-control to prevent her from grabbing the back of Mamoru's head and forcing it as far into her as she could, to get as much of the pleasure as possible. She had played with herself on occasion, but it had never been anywhere near to this nigh-earth-shattering experience. Finally, he brought her past the point of no return, and her muscles involuntarily locked down on Mamoru's fingers, exploring her soft, open womanhood. He dimly heard Usagi cry his name, and as her orgasm subsided, he looked up to see her face wet with tears of passion and joy. Usagi moaned Mamoru's name several times more, then felt his hardness move, to rest on the outer folds of her womanhood. Her hips twitched slightly downward, and she whimpered in anticipation. "Usako... I'm sorry." Mamoru had hoped to wait until their wedding night to have sex with her for the first time, but his hormones, and hers too, were pushing them too fast. Though his body wanted to make love to her immediately, without delay and until both lay together, sated and immobile, Mamoru realized the problems a pregnancy would pose, and painfully got up, walked to his dresser though his body protested the separation from the lovely young woman lying on his bed, and pulled out a package of condoms. He put one on, then returned to the bed. At Usagi's questioning glance, he said, "Just in case..." and retook his previous position. "Why, Mamo-chaAAAHH!!" Mamoru's first thrust, and the taking of Usagi's virginity, were accompanied by an intense wave of pain, but he kept thrusting, and the pain faded back to pleasure, more intense than anything Usagi had ever known. Her breasts bobbed up and down as she rocked back and forth in time with her Prince. Her face was contorted with ecstasy, and her breath surged and caught in her throat, making small huffing noises when she exhaled and gasping when she inhaled. Her mouth gaped wide open as she repeated, "Oh, Mamo, Mamo, Mamo..." She felt a tremendous surge build within her and she screamed, "MAMO-CHAN!!!" Her body twisted and jerked mightily under the effects of her orgasm. The sign of the Moon burst out on her forehead, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. Her body was wracked with the aftereffects. Mamoru wondered if Usagi would be able to continue after having such a mighty orgasm, until she began again to pump along his length hungrily, wanting more. This time, he thought, he'd come with her for sure. A blissful eternity later, Mamoru proved himself right, and he came with Usagi. The shared orgasm brought both to a higher peak. "My love, it was beautiful," breathed Usagi, suffused in the afterglow. Her hair, sticky from their lovemaking and matted in sweat, sheathed her body, making it look to Mamoru as though his lover were made of gold as she shimmered in what little light was let in Mamoru's windows with the blinds pulled. "My love, YOU are beautiful," responded her Prince and lover. The two lay, entangled in each other, until they slept. Mamoru's last conscious acts were to remove the used condom, throw it in the wastebasket by his bed, draw the covers up over him and the slumbering Princess whose nude form rested comfortably against his own, and wrap his arms back around his little golden rabbit. His last conscious thought, as he slid blissfully into sleep and dreaming, was that he would protect her, no matter what. Morning In the quiet of the early morning, Usagi awoke lazily and rolled over. She gently moved out of Mamoru's -- no, *their,* bed and tied a snowy-white bathrobe about her slim body. Her stride felt off-balance, as though her pubic bones had been pushed into a different alignment by the act of lovemaking, her matted hair itched slightly, and she felt a slight pain remaining in her lower abdomen. Despite these problems, she still felt wonderfully at peace with herself and the world as she padded toward the shower. Taking a long, leisurely time, she cleaned her golden hair until it again slid finely between her fingers and washed the slight traces of her blood from her thighs. Entering Mamoru's kitchen, she selected a few things that would be good to fix for breakfast: eggs, bacon, orange juice, coffee. Taking a moment to think about her plan of attack, she decided to set the table before beginning to cook. Dimly, through his sleep, Mamoru felt Usagi leave the bed and rolled into the place her body had just occupied. Mamoru awoke some time later, to an empty bed and the wafting scent of incipient breakfast-for-two. The first aroma he detected was coffee brewing, followed by the slightly pungent odor of bacon frying. Realizing his bed was, other than himself, empty, he decided to check the kitchen. He put on a dark-blue bathrobe. When Mamoru entered the kitchen, he saw Usagi with a gentle smile on her face as she removed the fried eggs and bacon from the pan and put them on the serving platter she'd presented him with on his birthday, less than a month before. As she brought the food over to the table, followed by a pitcher of orange juice and a pot of coffee, which she poured and put back on the coffee-maker to keep warm, Mamoru took a cautious sniff while his girlfriend's back was turned. It smelled as good here as it did in bed. When Usagi returned to the table and sat down, Mamoru said, "It looks wonderful, my love." "The food, love, or me?" Usagi smiled charmingly at her boyfriend, flirting shamelessly. "Either, both," said Mamoru. The two began eating. Between bites, Usagi looked up questioningly at her lover and asked, "Mamo-chan, last night, what did you mean by 'just in case?'" Mamoru hemmed and hawed for a full half-minute while he recovered his thoughts from the red-alert panic Usagi's question threw them into. "Well... since we've no real idea whether or not you might have become pregnant, it just made sense to take precautions to prevent that from happening." At Usagi's slightly skeptical glance, he continued, "I know it was both of our first times, and so neither of us would have had any STDs, but using protection is always a good idea. Or at least that's what Andrew said. And in any case, we really don't know if Chibi-Usa will really be our first child." "Mamo-chan, if that was your first time... where did you get those condoms?" "It was Rei's idea. . ." Despite her questioning, Mamoru's heart suddenly lifted: his girlfriend was no longer the naive child she had once been, taking everything at face value. "I'd say I'm going to have to have some words with our little Shinto shrine maiden here." Serena knew full well that the priestess had meant well, and probably had intended it for Usagi's protection, but prying into her love life was a bit low for the usual behavior of the Warrior of Fire and Soul, Sailor Mars. After they finished eating, Usagi turned into her Eternal Princess form. As the Eternal Princess, or 'Eternal,' she looked like an angel in the nude, complete with two snowy-white wings. As soon as she transformed, her hair was back up in the 'odango.' "Usako. . ." The Eternal Princess was turning Mamoru on like a light switch, and the sudden huskiness in his voice surprised both of them. When he had seen it as Tuxedo Kamen, conditions had been such that he'd not the inclination to truly notice Usagi's state of undress, but now, with only the two of them and nothing else to focus on. . . "Mamo-chan?" A thought occurred to Usagi, one that would never have before today. "What is it, Usako?" He began to stroke his fingertips along the smooth feathers of Eternal's wings. "What would it feel like. . . if you were to make love to me in this form?" The feel of Mamoru's fingertips smoothing along her feathers was exciting, especially when his hands ran over the small, fine pinfeathers near the place her wings met her back, and it made her voice shimmer with delight. She moaned with pleasure as Mamoru repeated his motion over the base of her wings, then started to massage the feathered flesh with small, circular motions. *Hell with exciting,* she thought, *it's really turning me on.* She felt herself getting wet again, and it thrilled her. "I suppose we could always find out, Odango-atama." Mamoru's voice was becoming huskier as he smelled Eternal's intimate scent, the same and yet different from Usagi's, a stronger and huskier scent than he had smelled last night. If Usagi's scent was a light perfume, there only to be noticed, Eternal's drew one's attention. Both were separate aspects of the girl who was the center of Mamoru's life. Through the veil of pleasure, Eternal stuck out her tongue when Mamoru used that old nickname. The two made their way fuzzily back to the bedroom, and Eternal ran a hand over her own wing, searching for a loose feather. Finding one such feather, her hand brushed it loose, and she dragged it gently across Mamoru's member and stomach. He shivered violently from a massive attack of arousal. It felt like the sensation turned him inside out, so intense was it. He groaned, "Usako. . . that was amazing!" Smiling gently, Eternal hugged him tightly and whispered, "It's only just beginning," revelling in the accomplishment of her intention. As they sat on the bed, Eternal wrapped her wings around and stroked them along Mamoru's back. She shook with arousal as Mamoru's hands busied themselves with her, roaming her body freely and gently. When the two sank to the mattress, she pulled her wings from around him, to prevent the delicate limbs from being crushed by her lover's weight. Having more than five kilos directly pressing on her wings was painful, and Mamoru's full weight could conceivably crush them. They began to move rhythmically together, stoking their passion to a greater height than the previous night. Eternal felt her orgasm approaching and fought it back until she felt Mamoru about to come, and then began to pump hard, unconsciously beating her wings. Mamoru felt the gusts of wind coming from above his small lover, and realized that a loss of control was imminent on both sides. He thrust twice more before his orgasm took him. Feeling her boyfriend shoot off inside of her was too much for Eternal. She arched her back, nearly bending double-backwards as she came down over his invading member. When she cried out with her orgasm, she extended her arms high above her head, clawing for the sky, her wings stretched to their fullest extent and she shook for a long moment as her hips twitched back and forth involuntarily. Her wild energy spent, she finally crashed to earth on top of her lover, her limbs trembling slightly with spent energy and passion. Her wings eventually folded over her back, and her breathing grew longer and shallower. As her arousal bled away, she became Usagi again, no longer the Eternal Princess. She embraced Mamoru and the two lay there for a long time, allowing themselves to cool down. Becoming aware of her weight crushing down on Mamoru, Usagi rolled off the top of him. Drowsing, Mamoru remembered the first time he and Usagi had almost had sex. She had been over at his apartment for a lazy afternoon together. * * * "Mmm... Mamo-chan..." Usagi's questing fingers traced a formless pattern along Mamoru's back and neck, raising his temperature quickly. He moaned a response as he felt his control slip away like a discarded garment. He reached for the sash of Usagi's lovely dress, dimly noticing that she was helping him. It had been warm in the room, but nothing compared to the heat the two were generating between one another. "Usako... Usako..." Mamoru's lips and teeth nipped at Usagi's neck, eliciting a coo of approval. Her own lips burrowed through Mamoru's hair as he did so, and she then slithered down his body to return the sensual experience, nibbling briefly on his ear. After several minutes, both of their perceptions shifted, and they realized exactly how stupid they'd been about to be: sex with no protection, no forethought, nothing except for blind, wild passion. Each suddenly recoiled from the other's body, in shock and horror at what they'd been about to do. "M... m... Mamo-chan, I almost..." Usagi stammered with shock that she could do such a thing as take advantage of Mamoru. "M... m... me too, Usako." Mamoru wrapped Usagi in an embrace that was as warm as his previous one had been passionate. Usagi melted into that embrace, returning its warmth. The two had held one another, stilling each other's fears and calming their bodies' shaking, for a long, long time. * * * Compared to the previous time, when blind, untempered passion had ruled the couple until the last second, Mamoru realized that this time had been a slow, deliberate dual seduction: all of their actions the previous day had been, consciously or not, aimed at the eventual end of making love to one another. Usagi slowly and languidly sat up next to Mamoru, toying idly with his hair. Finally, she got up and padded nude to the small footlocker with her spare clothes that she'd secreted into Mamo-chan's apartment. Pulling out a simple cotton bra and panties, she pulled them on, followed by a light-colored, long skirt and a darker t-shirt which read, 'Sure, just because I've got writing on my shirt, you look at my chest.' By dressing, she dropped the curtain with finality on a most memorable day, a milestone in their relationship. Mamoru got up and dressed himself, then the two began stripping his bed to change the sex-sodden sheets. At the shrine, Rei decided to phone Mamoru's place before coming up. After all, she thought, it would be a good idea to give them time to make themselves presentable. After two rings, Usagi picked up the phone. "Moshi-moshi." "Usagi! How are you doing?" "We're doing just fine, Rei-chan. Mamo-chan's doing the wash, and I'm working on lunch." "Listen, Usagi, I was thinking of joining you and Mamoru-san for lunch, if that'd be okay." "Mamo-chan just walked into the room, I'll ask him. . ." There was the sound of Usagi talking to Mamoru, and she came back on the line saying, "Mamo-chan thinks it's okay. I'll just put on a little extra." Usagi had been getting much better at many things since the Three Lights had first appeared - cooking, balancing, you name it. Rei was looking forward to it. "Sounds great, Usagi. I'll be over in about ten minutes." As she hung up the phone, the blonde cut up more of Mako-chan's baked chicken to put into the saucepan. When she was working with Mako-chan's leftovers, she had learned early on to never mess with what had already been done. Adding Mako's gravy to the mix, she prepared Mamoru's thick, homemade bread for service in sandwiches, slicing three seven-inch-long loaves lengthwise. Humming merrily to herself, she warmed a plastic dish of mashed potatoes in the microwave. Rei entered just as Usagi was recovering the potatoes from the microwave, and giggled when her friend anxiously bobbled the hot dish from hand to hand. "You gonna stand there, Rei-chan, or do you wanna help me here?" Rei laughed again when she saw Usagi's t-shirt. "Okay," Rei lowered her voice until it was barely audible, "How was he?" Usagi tried to feign innocence and failed miserably, "How was he, what?" "Last night, I accidentally saw a vision in the fire of the two of you getting. . . intimate. The clarity of the vision indicated that it would happen within the next twenty-four hours, and since you slept over here last night. . ." "Psychic Peeping Tom. . ." grumbled the blonde, then she continued more lightly, "If you must know, it was little short of magical." "Short of magical," cut in a familiar, arch voice, "My. . . I'll have to try harder next time!" Usagi and Rei jumped an easy six feet. "What were you girls talking about now?" "Well," Usagi had never seen Rei blush this red! "I saw a vision of you two in the fire yesterday, and I just. . ." She anxiously wrung her hands together, "let my curiosity overwhelm my good sense. I was out of line, and I'm sorry." Usagi finished dishing out three equal portions of chicken and gravy and potatoes to the three plates, and Mamoru pulled up one of his extra chairs to the table as the three sat down to eat. "Apology accepted, Rei." Mamoru hadn't really *loved* the fiery Senshi, save as a good friend. Their dates hadn't *meant* anything, not in the way that his relationship with Usagi had redefined his life, given him a true reason to live, but they had built a strong and trusting friendship. Mamoru cut off a chunk of bread and chicken with his fork, and lifted it to his mouth. He blew on the steaming bite for a second, then ate it. Usagi was now a very good cook, what with Mako-chan's help (although Minako-chan was still hopeless in the kitchen - some things never change), and almost on a par with her mother. The chicken was, of course, Mako's, but the presentation was definitely Usagi's. After the meal was finished, Usagi and Rei helped Mamoru wash up the dishes, then the two girls exited. "See ya later, Mamo-chan," called Usagi, and then she was gone.