Title: Vacation --Part 1
Author: Lilac Summers
Rating: PG
salaices@leland.stanford.edu

  Hello everybody!  It's been a long time since I've sent anything in,
huh?  Yeah, I guess I was being lazy.  But no longer!  I've been working
on a number of stories, and this is one of them.  I hope you enjoy it!

  "Vacation" is set in Crystal Tokyo.  As you know, it's one of my
favorite time periods in the Sailor Moon universe.  It's light-hearted, a
comedy actually, surrounding the monarchs we love the most: King Endymion
and Neo-Queen Serenity.
  I'd set this as a year or a year and a half after Neo-Queen Serenity
breaks out of the crystal during Sailor Moon R.

Thanks to A Sailor Moon Romance for being THE best site on the net!  And
to all of you who continued to write me and keep my spirits going!

Disclaimer:  Sailor Moon, regrettably, continues to not belong to me, but
to a brilliant artist whom we shall call "Mistress Takeuchi, Loyal Queen
of all that is Fair and Good."  I use her characters without permission.

****************************************************
~Vacation~
Part 1

by Lilac Summers
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the future.....

   Neo-Queen Serenity, regal in a diaphanous white gown, stepped elegantly
through grandiose doors.  Refinement and grace in her every movement, she
glided more than walked down the glistening marble hallway that led away
from the Main Conference Room and into the section of the castle reserved
only for the royal family and its guards.

  Silver ponytails cascading in her wake, Serenity radiated majestic
bearing.  Slowly, flowingly, achingly beautiful, she turned the corner
marking the beginning of the private halls and stepped through the
magical doorway.  Slim white hands reached up to cup around a perfect pink
rosebud of a mouth . . .

"ENDY!!!  ENDY, where in the moon's name are you hiding?!"

  In one swift movement she gathered fist-fulls of white silk up past her
knees and sped pell-mell down the hall.  Somewhere along the way she
kicked off her shoes in practiced motion and nailed, unerringly, a hapless
parlor maid on her way.

  "Sorry!  Didn't quite see ya there . . . . OOPS!"  With flailing hands
she reached out blindly to clutch a nearby column as she spun around a
corner.  Her feet slid beneath her and came dangerously close to toppling
a huge ornate vase filled with roses.  After a few huffs and puffs, she
managed to control her wayward feet and flung herself down this new
corridor, undaunted by the near miss.

  "ENDY!  Endy, Endy, Endy, Endy !!!"  Footmen and maids  threw themselves
out of the whirlwind that was their Queen.  Liberated for the day from her
many duties, she had reverted to the carefree, ageless woman-child  whom
they had learned was the real Queen.

   The man whose name she shouted  repeatedly stepped out of the study
just as a vision of white and silver barreled past.  Instinctively he
reached out one hand and plucked his wife from the hallway, lest she run
smack into the lovely end-table at the end of the hall.  That had been a
gift from Luna, after all.

   "Whoa there, angel!  What war broke out?"  he teased as he looked down
at his lovely, bedraggled wife.  One of her pigtails had come undone and
the bow at the back of her gown had unraveled along with it.  Her cheeks
were flushed becomingly and she held one high-heeled shoe in her hand.
Only God knew where the other was.

  "THERE you are, Endy!  I've been looking everywhere for you!"  She
kissed him enthusiastically and he responded obligingly until the discreet
coughing of a nearby maid, who'd followed to return the shoe in question,
broke them apart.  Serenity flushed and accepted her shoe as Endymion
began to chuckle quietly and the maid scurried away.  Serenity began to
tug her drooping bodice into place.

  "You know, I think we give them more to talk about than the entire
amorous exploits of all the Senshi combined," he remarked, turning her
around so he could retie the bow at her back.

  She grinned over her shoulder slyly and winked in an exaggerated manner,
making him laugh even louder.  He finished with the bow and proceeded to
redo her hair, his movements quick and efficient, as he had done this
service for her many times.  "All done.  See?  Good as new."

  Serenity flounced around and batted her eyelashes at him.  "Endy, you've
always been *so* efficient!  At *everything*."

  "Ooh, now you're gonna get it, you tease!  Come back here!"  He made a
grab for his wife just as she danced out of reach, laughing at him.

  "Too slow!  Too slow!  Getting a bit cranky in your old age, Endy?"  She
roared with laughter as she took off down the hall, kicking her shoes off
in the process again.

  One nailed Endymion, who was hot on her heels, on the head.

  "Sere!!"

  Their laughter could be heard throughout the palace.  Sure that the
danger had passed, footmen and maids stepped out of every available place
of shelter, secure in the knowledge that their mistress' shoes had done
all the damage they could do for one day.

  Offhand one of the maids looked at her companion.  "Think he'll catch
her?"

  The other cast an amused glance down the hall.  "I think the question
is, think she'll let him catch her?"

  High pitched giggling erupted from somewhere down the hall, only to be
silenced abruptly.  Both maids cast one longing glance in that direction
and sighed simultaneously:

"Yes"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

  A few pleasurable hours later, and after spending some time with their
daughter, Princess Serenity, the King and Queen stepped back into
their private chambers.  Both had shed their public clothing for more
casual outfits...Well, as casual as monarchs are allowed to get.

  "Small Lady gets older and more beautiful every day," remarked Serenity
as she dropped, exhausted, onto a cushioned settee.

  "And more energetic.  How many times can a ten year-old want to ride
around the palace grounds?"  With a heartfelt groan Endymion perched
carefully on the edge of the same settee.

  "Oh, you know she is just full of nervous energy because Saturn is
finally going to get back from patrol, along with the other Outers, and
she can't wait to reunite with her friend."  Serenity shifted aching
muscles and effectively nudged Endymion off his perch so he fell with a
thunk on the thickly carpeted floor.

  He didn't seem to mind, too tired to get back up and resume his seat.
They stayed that way in companionable silence for a moment, until Serenity
raised up on one elbow and looked over the edge of the settee.

  "You know, Endy, I've been thinking."

  "Ha ha."

  "Shut up, you!"  She threw a cushion at him, effectively silencing him.
"Seriously, I've been thinking we should take a vacation."

  Endymion plucked the cushion off his face and shoved it beneath his
head.  "Sere, we can't take a vacation.  We have too many things to take
care of here."

  "No, no, listen to me.  The Outers are coming in for the bi-yearly
conference, right?  The Inners are here, as always.  Each and every one of
them has had their private vacation within the last year, so don't tell me
they aren't rested.  There is absolutely no threat from any sector and
it's been positively stagnant here!  What's more, Small Lady won't even
miss us with Hotaru here and, most of all," Serenity paused for dramatic
effect, "I wanna go on vacation!!"

  Endymion laughed at her petulant expression.  She had conjured up the
most pathetic look possible.  "Are you trying to influence me with
that puppy-dog look, your Majesty?"

  Serenity made her eyes get even more watery and forced her lower lip to
tremble.  "Is it working?"

  He looked at his adorable wife for a second or two, considering.  "Hmm .
. . Well, I guess I'd have to say . . . NO.  It's not working."

  The puppy-dog look was gone instantly and replaced with pure mischief as
she launched herself off the seat and sat on top of him.  When he reached
for her she cast a minor spell that effectively bound him to the floor.

  At first, when he found he couldn't move, he was purely shocked . . .
then he was interested.  "Sere . . . what are you doing?"

  She grinned down at him as she straddled him, slipping into a very bad
yet highly alluring Russian accent:

  "Why, Misster Chiba, I gvess I must torture kompliance vrom you through
any meanz possible . . ."

  Endymion's breath caught in his throat as she moved her lips close to
his.  "W-What are you going to do, Miss Torturer?  I'm open to
suggestions," he breathed.

  Serenity's eyes sparked with deviousness that Endymion was too dazed to
notice.  "Misster Chiba . . . you can't know how pleesed I am to hear
that, because I plan to . . ."

  She leaned over him, her lips slightly grazing his ear, and felt him
shudder.  It took all she had not to laugh out loud.  With a whisper, she
began:  "I plan to . . . TICKLE IT OUT OF YOU!"

  She leaned back just in time to catch true horror in her husband's eyes,
and chortled gleefully.

  "No!  NO, Sere, really . . . don't you dare--!"  But she had already
begun to tickle him mercilessly and tears began to stream down his face as
laughter shook his body.

  "Are we going to go on vacation?" Serenity ran her fingers over his ribs
and he almost choked.

  "Sere . . . we can't . . . go . . . aaarrgh!"  His mind fought
for the right spell that would release him from the floor, only to go
blank as she went for the backs of his knees.

  "ARE WE GOING ON VACATION!!"

  "Sere, be . . . reasonable . . . Gyahhh!!"

  Serenity dove for her last alternative.  "Okay, Endy, I didn't want to
do this, but you leave me no choice."  She yanked his shoes off and began
to tickle the soles of his feet furiously.

  "AAAHHH!  Serenity, PLEASE!!"  He broke on a scream of laughter when she
moved on to his big toe.  "Yes!  YES, WE WILL GO ON VACATION!!"

  "Promise?"

  "PROMISE!!"

  Serenity collapsed beside him, gasping for air.  Even the spell had not
been strong enough to keep him from writhing enough to throw her off once
or twice. Meanwhile, Endymion gulped in great lung-fulls of air as he
caught his breath.

  Endymion shot her a look filled with promises of retribution.  "I
thought I was going to die there for a minute.  I refuse to be coerced!"

  Serenity sat up and kissed him on the nose, secure in the knowledge that
he was still safely bound to the floor.  "You promised."

  "Promises made through torture don't count!"

  She kissed his nose again.  "Ahh, Endy, come on!  Don't you wanna go on
vacation?"

  "You know I do," he grumbled, "but we can't just leave whenever we
want."

  "Oh, posh!  We are long due a vacation!  Last one we took was over a
year ago.  And don't you want to make me happy?  I'd dearly love to go on
a vacation."  She shamelessly applied her puppy-dog look once more.

  Endymion groaned in defeat.  "Fine, you win!  We are going on vacation.
That last one really did it."  He smiled at Serenity lovingly.  "Now, let
me up off the floor."

  "I can't let you off the floor because you'll come after me.  You have
to cool down from that bout of tickling."

  He grinned at her wolfishly.  "You know I'll get even eventually.  And
you'll never know when, and you'll never know how . . ."

  Just to annoy him, she kissed him on the nose one more time.  "I'm sure,
whatever you plan, I'll enjoy it.  Now, I've got to go make preparations."
She stood up and dusted her violet skirt off, looking down at her husband
in blatant appreciation.

  "Okay, okay, I promise not to come after you . . . just yet.  Just let
me up and tell me where we are going.  The private island?  France?  One
of the other planets?"

  Serenity, who was just about to recant the binding spell, suddenly
blushed to the roots of her silver hair and began to back out the door
slowly.

  "I'm afraid I can't let you off the floor just yet, my love," she began,
grinning nervously.

  One ebony brow raised in question.  "Why, pray tell?"

  "Because I'm quite sure that you are going to want to stay here,
counting slowly to 1000, for the next few hours . . ."

  Endymion stared at his wife with pure suspicion, almost afraid to ask
again.  "Honey, where. are. we. going?"

  Serenity reached the door and flung it open, pausing just long enough
before she ran out to say:

  "Why, Endy dearest, we're going camping!"

  The door shut on the sound of Endymion screaming.