Mercifully, Lyra decided to continue going by Lyra in this time, which saved Chibiusa from having to possibly start another row over something as trivial as nicknames. All eyes seemed to be on her, waiting for her reply, after Lyra's admission so she quickly formulated a reply.

"Continuing with what Lyra said, I'm ok sticking with 20th century nicknames since that would probably be easier for Usagi and the whole situation."

She then stole another glance at Seiya. His presence didn't seem as oppressively awkward as everyone else's at this moment, and he was rather handsome, if he was one's type.

He then made her relax more upon suggesting that he and Lyra spend some one-on-one time this afternoon. She didn't care if they tried scheming ways to make Usagi choose their future. If they truly cared about her, they wouldn't but her under any more stress by trying to compete.

Lyra smiled a little to Seiya. He was right of course, her formal name had been musical inspired. But she frowned at Mamoru's words and flinched somewhat as he called the pink girl Chibiusa, as if to reinforce it. It made her want to yell at him but she swallowed it and took Seiya's hand, squeezing it quietly. And the pink girl had agreed to sticking with the decided names, to her disappointment. The girl simply radiated brat vibes, and she rather hoped she would show her true personality. Then she could show how mature and respectful of her parents she was, no matter what the era.


And she didn't entirely like the continuous glances she snuck at her father. She squeezed Seiya's hand a little again. When he made the suggestion about them spending the afternoon together, she felt torn two ways. On the one hand, she dearly would love to be able to spend time with her father's past self...on the other hand, she really didn't want to leave her mother with those other two. What if they convinced her they were the future that should be chosen? She felt like she'd barely had to chance to argue for her future. But maybe...maybe she and her father could pair up in that. She just had to tell him about the future so he understood better.


So she buried her emotions deep, took a breath before she put on a slightly hesitant smile for her father and mother as she nodded. “Alright, Papa. I'd like to spend time with you, and talk with you. And...Can I stay with you, a little? But stay with Mama once in a while too? I want to get to know the both of you in this time as much as I can...and I want to try to tell you everything I can.”

Mamaru was glad that they decided to stick with 20th century nicknames. He would have not liked calling Chibiusa by any other name. He smiled at how his daughter composed herself in the current situation. Maybe she's more put together at the moment than I am. Mamoru thought. He knew that she was trying really hard to stay calm in this situation and it made him proud. He hoped he'd be able to do the same later. 

He heard Seiya suggest Lyra and him leave Usagi, Chibiusa, and himself alone for a while to talk. He actually liked that idea. "I think that may be one of the first things we've agreed on." Mamoru said to Seiya, "Thank you for giving us time." Mamoru was truly grateful for that. He just wanted some time with his family to figure things out. He knew Usagi was distressed and he hoped that by him showing some civility and kindness towards Seiya it would help her feel better. He knew she was going to have a tough time with all of this and he wanted to make it easier or perhaps less stressful for her. 

They were all taking in a lot of new information and since Seiya and Lyra had had some of the day to talk Mamoru was glad they'd have time as well. Maybe she'd thought of a way to help or maybe she was going to ask her friends. Whatever her decision, he believed it'd be the right one. He smiled at Usagi and Chibiusa, his family, hoping things would all turn out okay.

Chibiusa noticed Lyra's piercing stare as she was glancing at Seiya and blushed slightly, clasping her hands and staring at the ground. Looking at Lyra was so strange. It was like staring into one of Nehelenia's distorted mirrors. However, Lyra behaved so much unlike herself that it was eerie to think they were essentially half-sister. It must come from her father's side and despite his good looks he must have quite the fiery, stubborn personality.

Mamoru's words pulled her back into the conversation. She was glad that he seemed to soften a bit after being so defensive toward Lyra and Seiya. She understood this must be hard for him, but he was usually so logical and kind. If he was open to being civil then maybe there was some weight to her fleeting hunch of them not competing against Seiya and Lyra. She's have to talk about it later and was fairly certain Usagi would support that as well.

She was also excited to sleep in her own bed tonight. Somehow that always seemed to make difficult situations better.

Seiya smiled at Lyra and squeezed her hand back. "Of course you can stay with me. You can stay for as long as you like," he replied. He wasn't lying or trying to be polite, either. He liked having Lyra around, and he felt like having someone with him in that big apartment would lessen the emptiness he felt deep inside.

He knew Usagi would pick Mamoru. Despite the chance that they might actually have a future together, he knew as soon as Mamoru showed up at the park that he didn't have a chance.

But seeing Lyra made him want to fight for his chance. Whoever she was, whatever timeline she came from, Seiya wanted to save her. And he would fight to his grave if he had to.

"I'll see you all around," Seiya said, his eyes lingering on Usagi's for a moment longer than they should have. Flashing his signature smile, he brought his index and middle finger to his forehead and gave a little salute before pulling Lyra away.

Lyra clearly wanted to have her proper name again, but in the end she decided to do what Usagi asked. There was definitely one thing that concerned Usagi about how different she was to Chibiusa. Lyra seemed like she would do anything for Usagi, when Chibiusa liked to fight her every step of the way. She didn’t know what she preferred; she had come to like the stubbornness of Chibiusa as well, but as she had seen, it wasn’t like Lyra didn’t have her own fire.

The conversation turned to them splitting up for the afternoon, which was just as well. She’d spent so much time with Lyra—and Seiya, to an extent—already, and had been sort of neglecting Chibiusa and Mamoru. Usagi wondered if this was what it felt like to be the child of divorced parents. Having to divide time between one parent and another… it was all so unpleasant. She just wanted everyone to be happy and get along… even if it was a selfish thought. It was easy for her since they were both her family. She could love everyone equally without thinking twice about it. But at the same time she was the one who would suffer the greatest loss when one of them inevitably disappeared.

“Of course you can still stay with me later,” Usagi told Lyra, putting her hand gently on the girl’s head. “But go and enjoy some time alone with your father for now.”

She watched as the two said goodbye, already feeling like she was missing a piece of her. She hugged herself and turned toward Mamoru and Chibiusa, offering them a small smile. “Well. Let us also go somewhere nice and talk.”

Lyra had found a sort of peace, spending time with her father. At times, she could almost forget for a brief time that her existence was in danger. And her father was so funny in his younger age, much much more silly then the future, but he was as ever able to make her laugh easily. And she had spent time with her mother more, sometimes with the other Chibiusa and sometimes without. She had grudgingly but silently admitted a truce of sorts with the pink princess.


She no longer aggressively stood against her, and she only glared once in a while, mainly when she spoke or did something Lyra herself usually did or enjoyed. But she was beginning to, once in a while, express friendliness to the girl, such as a sincere smile or brief compliment. It was a balance she supposed. But her dislike of Mamoru remained largely unaltered.


Her current where abouts were testament to her growing relaxation towards Chibiusa. she was laying on Usagi's bed on her stomach, indulging in the charming unadvanced video games her mother had in this time, while in the same room with her mother and Chibiusa. She pushed quickly at the buttons on the controller, her eyes locked on the screen, though she was still able to talk. She was currently talking about the difference of the games.


“I still can't believe this era doesn't have the holographic projection option for its games. But these controllers are so funny and undeveloped. You could use a controller or hand gestures in my future. I remember on my birthday, when I was seven, Mama and Papa gave me my first console, the Crystalium System, and a bunch of games.”


But she paused now, frowning a bit, even if the pause might cost her the game. She hadn't thought about it, but it had been nearing the middle of June when she left, and she had been here a few weeks already. She quickly sat up and pulled out her Moon-P, flicking open a panel and pressing a few buttons. A calendar projection appeared, and she looked at it a bit stunned.


“Did either of you realize our birthday is in just a few days?” she asked a little numbly. How could she have forgotten, lost track of time so much? Though she did feel a little agitation at the reminder that she and her counterpart shared the same birthday with their mother. Another check on the list of things they shared.

Over the next several weeks, life didn't change too drastically for Chibiusa aside from Lyra's presence from time to time. She was glad that Lyra seemed to be softening just a smidgen. However the atmosphere between them could become tense easily, especially when discussing the future or over their shared knowledge of Usagi.

Chibiusa imagined this is what having a sister would be like, both the companionship and the arguing. When she had such thoughts, she fantasized about having a sister to spend time with in the 30th Century. As much as she loved her parents and the Senshi, she was often not around people her own age.

She was also pleasant toward Seiya when Mamoru wasn't around. She didn't want to make Mamoru uncomfortable or feel abandoned but there also wasn't a reason to be cold or rude to him either. She hoped this would continue the slivers of good will she was slowly getting from Lyra as well.

Today was a good day. Lyra had come over and was sharing a pleasantly quiet afternoon in Usagi's bedroom. Chibiusa was reading a magazine while Lyra played Usagi's games on the bed.

When Lyra suddenly mentioned their birthday, Chibiusa paused a second before answering. Of course I know the shared birthday is coming, she thought. She had a small surprise planned...

"Yes,"  she replied slowly. "But I wasn't sure if any plans had been made with everything..." she trailed off.

As weird as it was, the situation had become almost normal. Usagi had stopped obsessing about the burden of choice and had simply enjoyed having both her future daughters in her life. Of course, part of it was selfish. She liked the current situation, so she didn’t want to upset the status quo. And she wanted to keep pretending that things would always be okay like this for as long as possible. She knew Lyra missed home, but… she could come home soon, surely. And Chibiusa spent so much in the past she practically lived there, so obviously that was not an issue.

Chibiusa and Lyra had even stopped fighting, and Usagi could almost pretend they were sisters. Technically, maybe they were? She didn’t know; thinking about it always hurt her head. But oh, how she wanted to keep both of them in her life.

She was listening intently to Lyra as the girl talk about the future, something that always seemed so close and so distant at the same time for Usagi. She glanced at Lyra curiously when she suddenly seemed to be doing something with her Luna-P lookalike.

“Our birthday…?” Usagi echoed. In all the drama, she had completely forgotten what day it was. Not that usually she kept track of it better. But usually she was way more aware about the fact that her birthday was incoming, to better remind everyone about it, especially Mamoru. But now she’d completely forgotten. And it was Chibiusa’s birthday, too. And… “Your birthday’s also…?”

Of course. Of course it was. Her thought flew back to the whole sisters thing, and amended that Chibiusa and Lyra were more like twins. One of those opposite twins.

At Chibiusa’s somber response, Usagi quickly sat up. This wouldn’t do. Chibiusa was always excited about their birthday. Everyone should be excited about their birthdays!

“Well, we have to celebrate it then! A huge party, for all three of us!” she said decisively, smiling wide. “What do you girls say?”

Her heart lifted. A party. That surely could only result in happy things and everyone having a good time. No one would be sad in a party, right? And this might be the only chance she had to celebrate both of her daughters’ birthday.

Lyra turned and looked at Chibiusa, an eyebrow raised ever so slightly, her eyes and facial expression showing she very much noticed the pause before her answer. But before she could question her about it, Usagi spoke and she looked to their shared mother now.

She smiled, a kind of half sad but patient smile as she nodded. “I was born on June 30th, your birthday too before I came along. I figured..Chibiusa was also born on the same day too.” then Lyra blinked at Usagi's very sudden and exuberant outburst, talking about a huge party for the three of them.

It was amazing how the little things still stung after all this time, and she found herself wishing, not for the first time, that it was just her and her mother, and not...She brushed the thought away. It wasn't her choice to make. It never was.

“Is there really enough time to organize a big party...? Where would we even have it?” She could't help but smile as she thought of her next question. “My aunts will be there right?” She had fond memories of many birthdays, the cake, the dancing, the presents. She paused mentally and glanced sideways quickly at Chibiusa as she mentally realized it would only be courteous to buy a gift for her counterpart.

It wouldn't be difficult of course, all she'd have to do is get the girl something sickeningly cute and pink, and she'd probably love it. And she couldn't imagine she'd have trouble finding a gift for her mother. The matter of money was minor...she could ask her father for some.

Lyra looked doubtful, which made Usagi worried. Was a birthday for them both a bad idea after all? Would it make everyone feel worse? Had she been dumb and insensitive again? Fear gripped her for a moment, until she heard Lyra’s questions.

“Oh, don’t worry, my friends are experts at throwing parties. I’m sure Mama can help, too. We can have it right here in our house or in the Crown Fruit Parlor if Motoki-kun doesn’t mind us hijacking the place for a day. He probably won’t.” Usagi figured her house was the only fair option, rather than using Mamoru’s or Seiya’s apartment. Her house was like Switzerland. Neutral ground. Or was that Sweden? Usagi could never tell the difference.

She brightened when she saw Lyra crack a smile. “Of course! Everyone has to be there. None of them would want to miss this for the world.” Well, maybe Pluto who was still missing. She wondered how Chibiusa would feel about that, not having one of her best friends in the world on her birthday.

“So… is this okay with you both? If so, I can call Minako-chan so she can start getting all the details sorted.” She looked back and forth hopefully between Chibiusa and Lyra.

Chibiusa smiled as both Lyra and Usagi became more enthusiastic about a birthday celebration. It felt like the large stone on her shoulders had its weight lessened slightly. It seemed the best way to break through the tension and awkwardness. And now she'd have an excuse to give her surprise gift to Lyra. Hopefully it would go over okay and not be met with arrogance. 'Why did you get me that? There's a ton of these lying in the castle archives in MY future' she could hear, but hopefully that wouldn't be the case.

"Go right ahead!" she replied enthusiastically, "Minako-chan will probably have all the ideas scribbled down by tonight and leave it to the other three to bring it all together, as always."

Lyra looked surprised but rather pleased to hear the ideas of having the party at the house, aided by her grandmother or else at the parlor. She was used to having it in the Palace, but liked the idea of a change, even if there was an additional person celebrating the same day. And it was a relief to know her aunts would be there, though she had quickly gathered the outer senshi weren't really around. It made her a bit sad she wouldn't be able to see them, but was content to see her inner aunts. She smiled at her mother's questioning and giggled a little. “Yeah! Let's do it then, mama!” She was surprised when her reply synced up with Chibiusa's, in timing and tone. She glanced sideways at the pink haired girl with a sort of weary smile.

But she found she was excited to be able to celebrate her party with everyone she loved. She could only imagine the sort of party her aunts would throw in this era, and had a feeling it would be spectacular, even with the limited time frame.

Lyra was, in a word, astounded. Her aunts had surpassed themselves, and the party was wonderful. They had even managed to coax the owner Motoki to let them have the entire parlor for the whole afternoon and part of the evening. Makoto had nearly singlehandedly made a feast of foods and punches, and she still couldn't believe the cakes she had made! She had taken the time to make a medium sized cake for each girl, decorated in their favorite colors.

Usagi and Chibiusa's were white and pink, decorated with silver sparkles and edible pearls, while Lyra's cake was navy and gold, with gold sparkles and the edible pearls. Each eloquently had “Happy Birthday!” written on it, with their name, and each had a handful of candles scattered around the cake, waiting to be lit and blown out. She had nearly cried when she saw how much cake her aunt had taken in making each of their cakes, even her own, and she hadn't spent much time with her yet. She had hugged the tall brunette and thanked her fervently.

And then there was the party itself. Her aunt Minako had overseen the decorations, directing the parlor to be decked out in their favorite colors in a way that surprisingly didn't look garish at all, and chosen the music herself, which was currently playing over the speaker system, with a space cleared out near a wall for people to dance. The others had set up a table, where Lyra's eyes continuously darted excitedly often, where all the presents for each of them had been piled up. They were separated by their recipient, but Lyra was surprised and excited that her pile was just as big as Chibiusa's, something she had been admittedly worried about.

She hadn't been able to quite banish the grin from her face ever since she had stepped through the doors with Usagi and Chibiusa. Yes it was different from the parties she had in the palace, but it felt just as special as all the others. She wove her way through the crowd, delighted by all the familiar faces.

Minako had spent a good amount of time preparing the party for Usagi, Chibiusa, and now Lyra. The new possible child of Usagi was slowly becoming part of their lives. It almost started to feel normal having her around. She was so different from Chibiusa, but also similar. It was strange that Usagi could have had a child with Seiya, I mean they all knew that Seiya had feelings for Usagi, but the thought of her returning those feelings was very strange. This was mainly because of all they went through for Usagi and Mamoru to be together. However, she knew this was important and she just wanted the girls to have a good time, with no problems.

It was a truly wonderful birthday. Usagi got to celebrate her day not with one, but two daughters! And this might be the only time she might get to do something as amazing as that. She wanted to savor it for as long as possible and she planned to enjoy every minute of it.

And her friends did not disappoint. They’d gone above and beyond and created the biggest party yet. They were borrowing Crown Fruit Parlor for the day, Mako had made all these delicious treats, and everyone was just happy. Usagi never wanted this day to end.

“Look at these gorgeous cakes!” she exclaimed, stars in her eyes as she stared at their three cakes. “And the presents!” she grinned. She hoped everyone got her great video games and manga! She automatically wondered about what Mamoru would give her… then her gaze fell on Seiya and tentatively wondered if he’d gotten her something, too. As a friend, that was. “Isn’t this the greatest party ever?”

---

Ami was glad everyone seemed to be enjoying herself in this party, but she couldn’t help the feeling of nervousness about this whole thing. Lyra’s presence here made no sense; the future did not work like this. It did not diverge into two different branches with two different possibilities. They had known one future to be true… so how could there be another one now? Time was linear as far as she knew, and there was no logical way to explain this. The only conclusion she kept coming back to was that Lyra came from an alternate future. Both simply could not exist at the same time.

So how soon before one of them disappeared?

Trying to hide her anxiety, Ami forced herself to smile so that no one noticed all the questions going through her mind. Usagi was already under so much stress as it was, thinking if one of them disappear it would be her responsibility—Ami had been on the end of a tearful phone call after Usagi got one such nightmare one time, and her heart had broken when Usagi begged her to fix it. It killed her to not know the answer. She was the one who was supposed to always know the answer.

Rei had been Minako's second-in-command when pulling together the party. She had helped to lug all the bags of decorations first back to the shrine for storage and then to the Crown Parlor on the big day. Since the situation had been sensitive since Lyra's arrival, Rei was trying VERY hard not to start yelling at Minako when she'd get distracted during the process. Thankfully, Minako's strong suit was making sure the setting itself was perfect and Motoki had been there as a buffer which helped things go even more smoothly. Ami and Makoto had come to help too once the food was ready, though Ami looked a bit frazzled from trying to keep three cakes in tact on the journey over. And it was all worth it to see the happiness on their faces when Usagi, Lyra, and Chibiusa entered through the front doors.


Chibiusa gasped in surprise once she saw the beautiful birthday set up. The others had done such a wonderful job and she could hardly believe how well everything had turned out. She ran between Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako hugging and thanking them all. She also exchanged a beaming glance with Usagi as they basked in the happiness of the day. She was excited to do everything that had been set up and excused herself to take off her small backpack. She glanced to Lyra to make sure the other girl wasn't watching her and quickly added her wrapped present to Lyra's stack. She then greeted Motoki and Seiya before grasping Mamoru's hand and smiled up at him. "I'm so happy Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru got to the party and saw that their friends had set up such a fantastic party. The set up was just as he'd imagined a party for the two special girls in his life. He saw both of the girls smiling and happy with how the party looked. He smiled at Usagi and Chibiusa, as he put the presents he'd bought for them on the pile. He hoped they'd both like what he'd gotten them. It seemed like just the thing needed to keep them both in good spirits. He looked over as Usagi grabbed his hand and told him how happy she was. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her, "I'm happy that you're happy." He told her.

Lyra wandered through, smiling at people and nodding to the ones she knew. The music was pleasant to her ears. She went to the buffet table and began putting food on a plate. She was hungry after all the anxious waiting for the party, the rush to get properly ready before coming over. She glanced around the party until she saw Usagi, Mamoru and Chibiusa together, looking so happy, and the party darkened a little as her smile faded.

They looked very much like how she and her family looked, with subtle differences. She looked down, quietly putting some vegetables on her tray with dip. How had she ever though she'd have a chance to save her future? She was in their eyes probably just a fantasy. They had their future set up. Lyra closed her eyes tightly, fighting against the tears welling in her eyes.



Makoto had been smiling with pride. She had worked all day yesterday and the majority of last night to do this party the way it should have. It still boggled the mind that it was a party for Usagi and her two daughters, with different fathers no less! She glanced Seiya through the crowd. She knew he had had feelings for Usagi, and Usagi was friends with him, and a complete fan girl for the musical group, but was it possible for love to blossom from that? Against her will, she had to half admit it made a rather romantic idea.

But then she saw Lyra picking food from the table, and smiled. She was a nice girl, so different but so similar to their dear Chibiusa. She had her good and bad points. But Makoto frowned a little when she noticed the girl had frozen up a bit, her head tilted downward. She felt the strong urge to go talk to her, ask her what was wrong, but it felt...off. She bit her bottom lip a little. What could she say to this girl she barely knew, who was trying to save a future none of them knew anything about? She walked over to Usagi and gave her the best smile she could, still worrying about Lyra. “Have you tried any of the food yet, Usagi?”

As Chibiusa went up to Mamoru to exclaim how happy she was, Usagi followed suit. “It really is a wonderful party, Mamo-chan!” she chimed in, grinning. When Mako came over, Usagi nodded excitedly. “I tried the pudding earlier! And the chocolate and candies! I know I should probably slow down with the sweets but I just can’t resist! When do we cut the cake? We all need to sing!”

She looked around excitedly again and her gaze fell on Lyra, looking morose even as she was putting food on her plate. Oh, no! How was that possible? No one should be sad at a party. “Excuse me for a moment, Mako-chan!” she said quickly, before moving toward her other daughter. Usagi put her hand on Lyra’s shoulder from behind, gently so as not to startle her. She was surprised to see that Lyra seemed on the verge of crying.

“Lyra, what’s wrong? The food is great, right?” She looked down on Lyra’s plate and blinked. “Wow, I must be a pretty great mother if I managed to get you to eat vegetables willingly.” Even her own mother still needed to needle her about eating her greens.

Makoto watched with some relief as Usagi noticed Lyra and went over to her. Good, she was hoping that would happen. It might be better to let the future mother take care of her daughter. She did seem well on the way to bonding with her anyway. Makoto smiled a bit, gave a nod to Mamoru and wished Chibiusa a happy birthday before she went off. She had to make sure the food was still the right temperature, and the chocolate fountain was still running smoothly.


Lyra was nearly done picking out the things she wanted, her plate nearly full when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mothers face, looking a bit concerned. She swallowed the sadness and forced a bit of a smile. She looked down to the food again, trying to avoid answering exactly why she was sad. It wouldn't be fair to her mother to make her sad on their birthday, and she was already having enough trouble with the fact that she had to choose between futures. Her mother didn't need reminding of that.

“The food looks great. I haven't gotten to try any of it yet. And...you and papa both taught me how to really like vegetables. I just can't stand turnips.” She let her nose wrinkle at the thought of her most hated food.

“It’s weird but I admire my future self so much right now,” Usagi giggled. She wouldn’t be surprised if Seiya had more of a hand in that, though. “For me, the vegetable I hate the most is carrot. But you probably already know that. In any case… it’s our birthday. You should eat whatever you want, even if only for today.”

She thought about what could have possibly upset Lyra, but couldn’t quite figure it out. Finally she decided to just ask. “So… you want to tell me what’s wrong? I mean, you don’t have to, I guess… I just… I just wanted this day to be perfect for all of us.” She thought about how the situation was already probably the opposite of perfect and smiled sadly. Maybe she was just being naïve again.

Lyra couldn't help but smile a little, albeit sadly, as her mother giggled at the odd notion of admiring her future self. She nodded a little. “Papa always teases you...Sometimes he calls you his little rabbit, and asks if you're sure you wouldn't like some tasty carrots. When you say no, he gives them to me, calling me his other little rabbit.” The memory warmed her heart, but at the same time, it made tears want to well up in her eyes. She gulped slightly as she nodded to Usagi's insistence she eat whatever she wanted.

Then she asked again what was wrong, and the uncomfortable weight dropped in her stomach again. She just couldn't tell her mother exactly what was wrong, the thoughts of her certain impending erasure, the wondering why she couldn't save herself and her future or how she had ever thought she had a chance. She looked at her mother then looked away slightly. “Can...can we talk about it later, please? After the party?” She begged, a note of desperation in her voice. She could only hope her mother would agree, and the excitement of the party would help both of them forget this moment. She wasn't going to ruin her mother's birthday for her.

Chibiusa looked on as Usagi went over to comfort Lyra. It actually made her a little sad to see Lyra's slight unhappiness. The situation still wasn't easy no matter how peaceful things had been.

It also made Chibiusa impatient to get to the present, mostly because she hoped her silly little gift would brighten Lyra's day. It had not been easy to acquire, but she hoped it was something special enough for Lyra to appreciate.

"Mamo-chan, let's go check out Makoto's cakes," she suggested, trying to give Usagi and Lyra some space. Seiya had been a little distant so far, but she figured he would also step in seeing his future daughter upset.

Mamoru looked over at Chibiusa when she spoke to him. She asked him to go check out the cakes with her. "Okay Chibiusa, we can do that." Mamoru said, smiling at her. He was excited for her, she seemed to be having fun, but also seemed a bit impatient about something. He walked over with her to the cakes, they looked delicious and he was interested to see what kind of cakes they were. "Is something on your mind Chibiusa?" Mamoru asked her. Maybe he was misjudging that something was wrong or was just imagining this being strange for Chibiusa as well, but who knows.

She was distracted from her thoughts by the cakes. Mako-chan had done an amazing job as usual and her mouth began to water just from the smell of the sugar. Suddenly Mamo-chan pulled her out of her mental paradise of sweets.

"I have a secret Mamo-chan," she whispered with a smile. She looked around to make sure no one was looking in their direction.

"I found something for Lyra and I really hope she likes it. She doesn't even know I'm giving her something and I didn't put my name on the present," she relayed to him even more quietly.

Chibiusa responded to Mamoru and he was a bit surprised by what she said. She told him she had a secret, which he wasn't sure if it would be a good thing or a bad thing. He listened to her intently to see what was going on. She whispered to him and he leaned over to her to hear her better. She told him, she'd bought Lyra a present and it was a secret because she didn't even put her name on it, but she thought it was perfect for Lyra. He smiled, "Your secret is safe with me." Mamoru said to her. He was proud that she was happy, but he wasn't sure how he felt about them becoming friends. Didn't she realize that there was a possibility of one of their timelines disappearing, meaning that one of them could disappear as well? He took a deep breath, of course Chibiusa knew that. He didn't want to make her worried so he just smiled at her and hoped things would work out somehow.

Seiya had spent the last several days agonizing over what to get for Usagi and Lyra for their birthdays. After hours upon hours and blank spaces in his brain, Seiya finally decided on what he thought were the perfect gifts for his two girls.

He just hoped that they liked them.

Unlike everyone else, Seiya didn't put his gifts with the rest of them. They remained tucked safely in the inside pocket of his jacket. He sat a booth in Crown, twirling a straw between his fingers. He didn't feel like he belonged here. This wasn't his home, and it never was. He was the odd one out in this group of friends, but he wasn't going to let the disrupt his time with Usagi while it lasted.

Seeing everyone here today reminded Seiya that he was never meant to be in Usagi's life.

He missed Taiki and Yaten. But for now he would just have to make do. So he got up and approached Ami, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. "You girls did a really nice job with this party," he said, trying to start a conversation.

Lyra’s story made her smile—it was strange how easily she could picture it; that future that would never be. At least, that she never imagined would be until Lyra fell from the sky. It made her wonder about Seiya again, and his feelings, and all the confusion surrounding it. She glanced his way across the room, wishing she could understand what he was thinking right now.

“Okay, we’ll talk about it later,” Usagi agreed, stroking Lyra’s hair comfortingly. She hated the thought of upsetting the girl even more, especially on this day of all days. “Don’t worry about it now.”

She wondered what would make Lyra happy. She hated that after spending a few weeks with her, she still knew so little about her own daughter that she was so clueless as to how she could cheer her up. Finally Usagi decided on just asking outright. “So what would you like to do? Should we gather everyone to cut the cake? Open the presents?”

---

Ami almost jumped when Seiya suddenly appeared beside her, so lost she had been in her thoughts. She also didn’t expect Seiya to approach her of all people—during his time in their school, she could count the number of their interactions on one hand, and mostly it didn’t involve more than a few polite words. Among the Three Lights, Ami talked most extensively with Taiki because of their shared interests. Seiya was more outgoing and charming and the kind of person Ami would never expect to be interested in her even just to talk to.

But now here he was.

“Uh, thank you! It was a group effort, really,” she admitted. “We will do anything for Usagi… and these girls.”

She still didn’t know what to feel about Lyra, or about this entire possibility of another future. She’d always been aware that Seiya harbored feelings for Usagi—Usagi was the only one in the entire world who didn’t know—but she never imagined that an entire future with both of them could exist.

She was relieved when Usagi agreed to talk about it later. She knew it was a strong possibility her mother would have forgotten about it by the time for them to talk came. She was turned back to the table to get some more food when she realized Usagi was asking her more questions, and she looked up to her slightly stunned. She was asking her what she wanted to do? Not her counterpart? She was struck momentarily mute as she felt her throat clench with emotion.

Those simple questions made her feel like she had a chance again. That maybe her traveling to the past wasn't in vain. Fighting against the tears that wanted to well up in her eyes, she did nothing to stop the smile that spread out over her face. She turned to look around the party a bit, eyeing the cakes and the presents. But the pull was undeniable, and in a vaguely shy tone, she asked, “Can we open the presents now...?”