Haruka leaned against the balcony railing of their hotel room, drinking in her first look at the ocean view below, and feeling the caress of the sea breeze on her face.

The water was vast and sparkling beyond the window, framed by trees and the skyline of seaside snack shacks and the vibrant color of cars parked in preparation for a day at the beach.

A soft pad of footsteps on plush carpet turned to the gentle rustle of bare feet on the wood of the balcony before a pair of arms looped around her shoulders accompanied by the soft and affectionate laugh she knew so well.

“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it? The sea stretches out beyond us from our comfortable, luxurious room. I can hear its voice clearly all the way out here.”

Haruka leaned back against her, looping her arm around Michiru’s waist. “What’s it saying right now?”

A smile played at the edge of her lips.

“It’s saying that it’s pleased you took its patron guardian to such a lovely hotel, and hopes you plan to absolutely spoil her… and perhaps get in some of the more amusing exercises the chaos of the last few months intruded upon.”

Michiru’s smile was subtle, as it often was, but absolutely full of mischief. “The ocean is happy for us to have a vacation like this, after all our hard work.”

“Well, I’m glad the ocean’s happy,” Haruka chuckled, and drew her even closer. “Because I’m happy too.All of that work… I’d say we finally deserve a vacation, don’t you?”

Michiru leaned her head against her, the tumble of her aqua hair falling down Haruka’s arm. Her intelligent eyes were cast out to the wide and open sea beyond.

“I’d say so, saving the world from the encroach of dark universal threat is feat enough to warrant a little rest. The inner guardians can handle things without us for a while.” She chuckled softly “besides. Almost dying always leaves me a little restless. This will be good for us.”

“Always, huh? I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” Haruka chuckled. “Want to get a drink with me and have a look around?”

A little restless. That was the way Haruka felt too. Restless and at frayed loose ends. The danger was over. The wind was calm. But her body was still keyed up.

Michiru closed her eyes for a moment, seeming to savor the sea breeze as she took a deep breath. After her moment of calm, she leaned back and tilted her head to kiss Haruka’s chin “That sounds lovely—I know you’re the type who likes to keep active. I’d hardly want for you to be bored.”

She teased—she always teased Haruka since the day they met—but it was certain she felt the same way. Things hadn’t ended cleanly—and it was likely that this wasn’t the last threat the guardians of this solar system would face.

It wasn’t the last threat. Their job would never truly be done. But maybe this peace would last just for a little while. Just long enough for them to enjoy one another.

“Even without the world ending, how could I ever be bored with you around?”

---

Michiru reclined back as the melting ice in her drink slid and collapsed with a subtle ‘tink’ against the wall of her glass. She’d wanted that drink—but she hadn’t wanted to have one in the currently quiet hotel bar.

She wanted to be outside, under the azure sky and the hidden gaze of the celestial heavens above. So she’d taken Haruka out to the poolside bar and ordered them each an expensive pair of hand-pressed juice cocktails.

Reclined in a chair with her hair tumbled over her shoulders and her sunglasses tipped down over her eyes, she almost felt relaxed. The call of the ocean was still strong—but it was calm and placid for the moment. It stood in her mind’s eye as a great mirror reflecting her true purpose—her true memories that had awakened inside her the moment she found the purpose she’d been lacking in her earlier life.

She glanced sidelong at Haruka, her eyes scanning her handsome form for a long moment. She wasn’t yet relaxed—she still felt the coil of stress inside her that refused to unknot even after the last Daemon was vanquished, Sailor Saturn was reborn, and they’d sworn their fealty to their future queen.

She wasn’t relaxed—but Haruka’s presence soothed her more than anything. They were meant for one another, after all. Partners, in every sense—and at the moment, partners on the vacation they sorely needed. One couldn’t be bound to duty all the time. That was a lesson their comrade Setsuna needed to learn.

Haruka, who was reclined on the long chair next to her, leaned over, and reached a hand out to brush it against Michiru’s free hand.

Haruka’s hands were gentle, but strong and calloused, and reassuring against her own.

Her fingers stretched out for a moment, before she parted them enough to grasp Haruka’s fingers between them. She’d fallen in love with Haruka from the moment she’d first seen her race—and when her memories came to her, she’d known those strong and hardworking hands were in perfect compliment to her own. The gentle grasp of a warrior.

They shared a sort of communication between themselves. There was no doubt she knew how deep in her thoughts Michiru was. So instead of saying it out loud, she smiled and murmured something else instead.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sky so unclouded—or cast in such a brilliant blue.”

“I don’t think it’s been this blue since the day that we took that drive.” Haruka’s fingers tightened around hers momentarily. From the distant, soft look in her eyes she was remembering that moment. That moment they’d truly connected.

Her heart pattered in her chest for a moment at the mere memory, and her fingers squeezed Haruka’s back. The sight of the sea flying past them as the wind whipped their hair, and the look in each of their eyes of connection—of recognition.

It was an awakening in so many ways. Awakening to their true selves, awakening to their entwinement, awakening to love—Michiru would never forget that drive, no matter how many lifetimes she was flung forward into. It was the moment her dream of being the girl driving by the sea at Haruka’s side came true.

But here, under the sky once more after nearly losing everything, the sky was just as brilliant as it was that day.

Michiru nodded her head. “Me neither. I’m certain of it—I’d call that a good omen. That last time was a moment that changed everything for us.”

“It was. Maybe this is the omen that the period of change is finally over. And we can settle into our new selves. That would be nice, don’t you think?”

Haruka smiled over at her, tender and soft at first, but blooming into the wild, carefree smile Michiru sometimes saw on her when she was racing. The smile she’d seen less and less of as the weight of their mission grew, and grew.

It was the smile Michiru had fallen for at first glance. That wild smile—that carefree passion that seemed to consume her every action as she raced to grow ever faster. Her heart skipped a beat, even if it didn’t reach her face.

She chuckled into her hand, before she allowed herself a widening of her smile.

“Maybe it is—the enemy has been defeated, we found our true messiah—I would say we’ve passed the period of change.” She tipped up her glasses to meet Haruka’s eyes. “So now it falls to us to settle into these new selves, and our old memories. I think it’d be lovely, growing closer to you as we find our footing.”

“I’m not sure how much closer we can get, but I am very much willing to give it a try.” Haruka’s wild grin only widened and she chuckled, low in her throat, the innuendo obvious.

“Close enough that the poor inner guardians grow flustered whenever we’re around, perhaps.” Michiru teased as she shifted in her chair to hold her hand more firmly, letting innuendo drip in her own tone. “—but I’m very willing to experiment in closeness tonight. After we enjoy the sights and sounds of the seaside, of course.”

The throaty chuckle again. “Of course. It’s more fun the longer you wait. …up to a point.”

“Up to a point,” Michiru agreed with a catlike edge to her grin. Slowly, she raised Haruka’s hand with hers to her lips, kissing the back of it with a coy glance. “Though I admit it’s a bit fun for me to see how long it takes to get to that point, darling.”

“Have any bets?”

Michiru kissed slowly towards her wrist—uncaring of the people who may have stared. Be it taboo, or not, they were guardians of this solar system, she cared little for the judgements of others.

She glanced up at Haruka with a half smile. “I expect I’ll have you accosting me to some quiet changing room halfway through our trip to the beach. The ocean seems to agree.”

Haruka leaned toward her, not seeming to care about stares any more than she did. She caught her lips in a kiss for a moment, almost as quick as the wind, and just as lingering.

“Maybe I’ll surprise you, and it won’t be all that quiet.”

“Oh dear, how absolutely scandalous,the papers would lose their minds if they found out just what their favorite classical musician and racer were up to,” Michiru placed her fingertips against her lips, the sensation of Haruka’s lingering there as her own soft and subtle smile took on the ferocious passion she longed to see again and again in her partner. “I can’t think of any better way to start our vacation.”