Forbidden Tryst: Fire and the Rose


What does one say when the beautiful dream ends?

Sakura so sweet but her petals have died upon the wind,

However, my heart is steady on its course,

Love knows when I will find solace,

But then a spark,

She tugs at the corner of my world and catches my eye,

I am captured in love’s fiery power,

Dare I refuse her?


Endymion

Crystal Tokyo 3031


After the fall of the Doom Phantom, life in Crystal Tokyo began to change rapidly. The new Crystal Estates and infrastructure had drawn people out of the hovels beneath the battered city into the renaissance of change that was sweeping the capital and the entire planet. Things were definitely looking up.

Mamoru spent a lot of his free time visiting the outer settlements mushrooming all-around Crystal Tokyo. He would walk for hours, just breathing in the scent of the fresh air, incense coming from an assortment of Crystal Temples set up as the new cultural trends proliferated throughout the city. Over the last few months, he had asked Sailor Vesta to join him on his forays into the city. He liked her and she was good company, laughed at his jokes, and listened. Perhaps that was her best trait. In addition, she was a lovely young woman with a heart of gold and made him forget his pain for a little while.

----

He could smell the flowers, especially his signature roses, as well as jasmine, sakura and many other varieties. The fruits and vegetables of the busy marketplaces and the aromatic foods of all kinds from the cornucopia of restaurants dotting the old quarter enchanted him.

Unable to explain it, Mamoru felt something akin to joy as several of Crystal Tokyo’s young children ran to the redheaded senshi and she squatted to hug the girls and ruffled the hair of the boys. She was so good with children he thought, the sight bringing a smile to his lips. She beamed at him, and he soon found himself joining in the fun.

---

The peoples settling in Crystal Tokyo had migrated from all over Japan and the world. These were clean and impressive communities, and the artisanship of the new generations truly impressed him.

Around the palace precinct that extended some twenty-five kilometers in area, the new crystalline skyscrapers under construction were something he appreciated, especially at dawn.

The people knew that King Endymion lived for sunrise, he said as much during an interview with Crystal Palace Life. He waxed lyrical about his passions, dawn being his favorite time of day. The shining orb of gold awash with pink, orange and purple light spilling over the city skyline was beyond compare.

Mamoru would meet the breathtaking new day alone these days. Usagi was often up before the birds and had breakfasted before he rose to greet the rising sun. Often she would be off world more times than he would like. Some said she had a secret lover, but he ignored these rumors and lost himself in his work, music, books and other hobbies.

His once Chibi-Usa, now known to all as Serenity Dawn, and her husband Helios would join him at breakfast and knew he was dying inside, that for some inexplicable reason, the thread between he and Usagi was cut. They did all they could, but to no avail.

He let out a frustrated breath at the thought of his wife and queen of his people and heart. Alas, she was close but so far from the warmth of his arms these days. He cleared his head and tried to think of something else.

---

Mamoru was an architect of images, and took up painting. He was quite good and his works were acclaimed throughout the world. Images of children, their mothers and fathers, natural settings, fantasy worlds, and portraits his specialty. He painted them all, the portrait of Vesta was especially beautiful, and he kept it in his studio under a curtain and planned to give it to her for her birthday.

---

He drank in the sights, and looked at Vesta who was running scans, if only she was his Usagi, but she wasn’t. But she was a welcome distraction. In the background behind the red-clad uniformed girl lay the majestic sight of the ancient Fuji. The old mountain now divided into two massive volcanic vents giving off steam as if in sympathy with his restless heart. Mamoru thought its mists beautiful and the perfect tableaux for how he felt in that moment.

---

Earth was a far more peaceful place nowadays. The Big Freeze over and the ice gone for well over two decades or so now. The city was vibrant. Yet Mamoru remained troubled.

He felt he’d failed to reach all the survivors of the Big Freeze, most living underground by day and rising to greet the light of the moon at night. Like him, these citizens would wander the surface world, trying to find themselves and a new sense of meaning in their dislocated lives. He empathized with them, as like him, they were estranged and finding it difficult to cope with the new life they all led in the capital of the new galactic center of trade, diplomacy and military power in the Milky Way Galaxy.

But he was determined to reach them. He and Vesta would often enter the underground realms and entertain the children. The King would arrange to relocate those families willing to bring their children to the surface. Mamoru sponsored their education and made sure they were fed, clothed and sheltered and looked after by the palace. This was worthwhile work and Vesta and Mamoru were getting quite a reputation for philanthropy.

---

The subterranean enclaves had long since been abandoned over most of Japan. At least that was the official position; but Mamoru, the Shitennou, and Senshi knew better.

New continents and colonies across an unrecognizable planet had no such adjustment to make, as these were settled by Earth’s own displaced peoples and those from the stars after the celestial conflict against the dark alliance. But for a significant number of those subterranean peoples, old habits it seemed died very hard.

The younger families sponsored by the Crystal Kingdom were revivifying the old quarter and beyond. Life was also thriving both in the natural and human world, a population of just on 111000000 human and off-world emigrants planet-wide.

---

A few days later, the monsoon was over. The sun bore down on the thirsty city with relentless intent, sucking every drop of moisture from the parched ancient pavement.

Mamoru took time off this day to walk with Sailor Vesta through the parts of the city, places where the efforts of the Crystal Tokyo Guard had little control only a few short years before, but now enjoyed somewhat of a period of prosperity and cultural renewal. However, places like the subterranean realm of the Underworld needed help to overcome the effects of residual negative energy from the old war with the Dark Moon Family. But the discontent and sheer squalor in these isolated pockets of discord Mamoru and Vesta were determined to clear up. The Kinzuishou was neutralizing the dangerous depths that lay beneath the city with each sojourn into the dank world under their feet.

“Mamoru. We need to do something about section five, the last negative energy point. Ready to go?”

“You bet, let’s finish what we started,” he said, following the willowy young senshi down its granite stairwell.

---

There task complete, they emerged into a sunny afternoon and sat on a carbon fiber bench and ate lunch.

“You always make the best ham and cheese sandwiches. I love your dressings, Vesta. What’s your secret?”

“If I told you that my dear majesty, it wouldn’t be a secret now , would it,” Vesta laughed, the sound like music to Mamoru’s ears. Smiling up at him, she bit into her apple to signal the topic was closed. “Why are you smiling?”

He waited until she had finished her apple and then began, “C’mon, I’ll show you!” Mamoru didn’t know what possessed him to do this, but he grabbed Vesta by the hand, and she looked at him confused. But feeling the strong warm hand of the king covering hers, who was she to resist his impulsiveness, after all, she’d always had a crush on him.

‘Besides, this could be fun!’

~*~

Vesta wasn’t prepared for what he had in mind. He was excited like a boy and she just shrugged as the door girl bowed to the king and senshi and let them pass into the old stadium. A symposium on the arts. Her interest was piqued now.

Mamoru sat listening to the presentation and taking notes. He felt relaxed. Vesta smiled at him, examining the line of his jaw, his expression, and the magnificence of his body. She blinked, pushing away the forbidden thought, but she couldn’t help herself.

She’d never sat so close to him before. He needed female company, and she knew it. They were a team and had traipsed the old quarter so many times together and each time without incident, and were growing closer as friends.

‘So, what was the harm in admiring him anyway?’ She asked herself, crossing her legs and leaning forward to listen to the speaker doing her holographic presentation.

---

Mamoru was getting so much out of the conference, but it seemed he was being observed. He was aware of Vesta, her scent, her warmth. Was he crazy? He couldn’t help but be distracted by her physical beauty. But why? He’d never thought about her before other than a close friend, a kindred spirit who understood the city and loved it as much as did he. But as his eyes drifted over her bared thighs, he felt a disturbing stirring that was usually only reserved for Usagi and he stiffened, but didn’t look away.

Her perfume rose to his nostrils and he looked up, and met those strange haunted, but irresistible eyes, she knew. She blushed, looked down, and he wanted to touch her soft red hair.

“Mamoru, are you all right? You seem a little… distracted,” she said, her voice tinted with amusement and yet she was blushing profusely.

She batted her lashes coquettishly in response to his look of admiration. He had tried to hide it, and had failed big time. Vesta licked her lips. Apparently, she too had just had an epiphany.

He didn’t stop himself as he leaned towards her, his eyes never leaving hers as he took a strand of silken vermilion and caressed it between his fingertips. His hand shook and she reached out and held it steady.

“Sorry, Vesta…I don’t-“

“You don’t need to apologize, Mamoru. I don’t mind, really. We’re buddies are we not? Besides, its not as if we’re doing something wrong, is it?” she croaked as he squeezed her hand and sat back in his chair.

He then broke the silence; it was intermission. “I shouldn’t say this, but I like spending time with you. You’re a wonderful friend, and I have grown far closer to you than I realized, and should. Usagi has drifted away from ne and I don’t know why. But I am so in need of…” Mamoru let the sentence hang and sighed. He reached for her hand, not caring if it was wrong.

The softness and heat coming off the skin of her thigh through the back of his hand switched something on in both of them. They each knew it and they sat like that, hand in hand for the rest of the presentation.

Vesta’s breaths came in short bursts as she felt like she’d stolen something precious, and she had, the king’s heart, and it seemed, his desire.

---

As they walked in the dark, holding hands, he led her inside a tavern. The food and wine was good and the dancer’s were performing a risqué version of a Moulin Rouge classic from the 21st Century, and this quickened her heartbeat as she felt his hand on her knee as they watched the performance from their intimate candlelit table. She was in a dream.

‘This couldn’t possibly be real, could it?’ she breathed a shuddering sigh as his hand ran under the hem of her fuku and slid back and forth down her thigh. She was resting her head on his shoulder now, breathing in his rose scent, smiling to herself.

Here she was, the trusted protector of Mamoru’s daughter, she was being drawn to him, and she didn’t care.

‘Would Usagi kill me for this? No, of course not,’ Vesta told herself.

As the alcohol melted away their inhibitions, they got up to dance.

---

She knew his need. How could she not sense his longing. With those eyes, as incisive as those of a cat. That smoldering presence that compelled him to give her it all -- everything he wished he could give Usagi. But now, right here in this sultry setting, Vesta was his sole focus.

---

He kissed her passionately. She did not resist. The sighs and moans from each of them, in a crowded ba serving as aphrodisiac. It was dark, but for the occasional candle. Mamoru felt her pushing her breasts against his chest and he grabbed her rounded rump and pulled her to him. Her tongue jousting with his, He was hers and knew it.

“I need you, so much, Vesta. Let’s find a more private place. I will arrange it,” he whispered, cupping her face in his large palm.

---

Stripping a senshi was exquisite. Vesta’s long bared limbs covered in sweat, she looked sumptuous: chest bared, her skirt and choker her only raiment. Vesta’s long ruby hair in delightful disarray. Mamoru massaged her breasts. He had already peeled off her panties, brushing lightly the soft down of red between her legs, exploring the floral opening to that realm of passion that he then bestowed with tender kisses as she lay back on the bed.

She took his hardness into her hands, slender fingertips caressing him, her mouth working its magic as he gasped with the pleasure of her touch. Mamoru was suspended on the brink, but she guided him back to a level where they could pleasure each other without reaching the stars too soon.

“You’re so beautiful. Breathtaking. I want you Vesta. I won’t hold you responsible for this, no, I am ever in your debt. I am starting to feel something building up, and I need you now!”

She opened herself to him like a flower yielding to the honeyeater. Arching her back, she took his manhood into her fiery depths. They moved as one being, moving thrust for thrust, gasp for delicious gasp and made love, rising and falling upon the tides of their sheer passion.

Finally, he exploded inside her. Vesta cried out as she moved in a rippling motion as wave upon wave of ecstasy opened her to orgasmic tides that began their almost ceaseless refrain as they whispered endearments to one another.

They’d rest a time, then begin the lovemaking all over again, the cycle continuing late into the early hours. Exquisite.

---

He brushed the red tendrils out of her eyes as she slept. Then he massaged her back ever so gently as she stirred awake and sighed in contentment, as he kissed the top of her head.

“Kamis forgive me, but Vesta,” he whispered.

“Hmmm?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, and I am here for you, always Mamoru.”

“I know my darling. I know.”

Before pulling the coverlet over her shoulders, he felt the sadness of the knowledge that once the love light had died in Usagi’s eyes, he would need to move on, and now, he had.

“Good-night, Mamoru, my dear one.”

“Good-night my fiery bloom and sweet dreams.”

They fell asleep; he deep inside her as dreams clamed them.

Vesta and Mamoru found a new love and empathy beyond words, a unique connection that would see them through the rest of their lives as lovers and parents of two children, a son and daughter: Taren and Kallista.


End