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When Sailor Neso met Sailor Perseus, it was magical. She was perched beneath an overhang in Chinatown, hiding out from the horrendous pouring rain that had bathed Destiny City in gray, and he was standing in the middle of it, head craned upward and mouth open. His mother told him that rain was a cycle as magical and special as the circle of the life itself and should be respected. Sailor Neso was supposed to be patrolling, but instead, he was honoring the rain, it would seem.

That was when he noticed her -- the pretty girl looking miserable under the flimsy overhang. He jogged over to her, cracking a joke about staying dry. She seemed pleasant but cold. It was still summer then, and Neso was anything but cold. He could feel power all around him, like the whole world was his. In some act of silly chivalry, Neso slipped out of his skimpy half-coat and tried to offer it to her. It was sopping wet. She laughed. He laughed.

And then, at some point, they totally made out.

Since then, Perseus and Neso got together weekly to do pretty much the same thing when both of them should be patrolling. Like tonight. Neso had one arm draped around her while the pair of them laid on top of a faded red blanket on a nondescript downtown DC roof. Neso was explaining the constellations to her and giving her the meanings his mother had told him as a child, almost none of them being based in truth.

One finger pointed toward two bright stars to their left. "That is 'Crying Dove' over there," he said, inching closer to her. "If you squint your eyes, you can see one bright star with a less bright star right next to it. That is the tear from the dove's eye." He squinted then looked over to her. "Can you see it, Pers?"

Neso grinned when Perseus kissed his nose. He didn't let her get away so easily. She was so adorably tiny compared to him, after all, even if it was less apparent when they were laying down. He curled the arm that was wrapped around her closer to his body, pulling Perseus inches from his face. "That wasn't a real kiss," he said softly. Slowly, he moved his face bit by bit closer to hers, laughed, and then kissed her, bringing his other hand up to cup her face, fingers twirling in her dark hair.

It was easy to be with Perseus. That's what he liked about her. It's what he liked about girls in general -- though admittedly, he could enjoy the challenge of a more tempestuous person too. Neso just loved love and he loved loving lovers. Love love love love love. On the roof, kissing her, Neso was absolutely oblivious to the danger that was slowly making its way toward them.

The youma was much more aware. Its back bristled, tiny pin-sharp protrusions glinting in the moonlight. Veiny wings extended, split the air with their flapping. The youma arced high into the air above them and then almost immediately turned on its tail, making a death spiral for the two teenagers busy on the roof.

Sailor Neso loved anything that felt good: sunshine on his skin, warm dirt under his feet, stealing cookies from the jar, kissing Perseus. He lived his life in constant pursuit of positivity and happiness. If he could bring people with him on that personal journey, then it was that much better.

While Perseus felt the p***k of danger, Neso was totally oblivious. He was much more fixated on the girl's lips on his, her body weight pressing against him. It didn't occur to him that anything was amiss until he felt Perseus tense, then scream as broken roofing hit the deck all around them. The pair pitched to the side, rolling out of harm's way at the last moment.

Unfortunately, it was the senshi of illusion that caught the pins. "Perseus!" Neso shouted when she winced. Muscled arms reached out and grabbed at her waist, fought to push her farther out of the youma's vicinity. She was caught, damnit. He sat up, tugging at her cape once, twice -- and then it was free. Quickly, Neso hoisted Perseus up above him and then set her down on his other side, putting himself between her and the youma. It was easier to be brave when someone he cared about was in trouble.

The youma let out a wail and charged just as Neso tried to get to his feet. Combat was still a challenge for him. Neso barely had time to put up his arm before the spined, flying creature tackled him, knocking him backwards over Perseus. Pins pierced his skin, and the senshi of summer gasped. He never hid how much he was in pain, never held in anything if he could help it. One hand gripped for the youma's throat, but it was faster than he was, clamping down on his fingers with its toothed mouth. Sailor Neso let out chortled grunt, the distress clear in his eyes.

Tiny Perseus popped back into the fray like a guardian angel, and Neso found himself thanking her and all-knowing karma profusely. "My hands hurts," he said dumbly. It wasn't exactly the best time to have a conversation, sure, but she had asked how he was feeling. He felt compelled to be honest.

With Perseus on the business end of many of the pins, Neso felt charged to action. He didn't like to be violent, but youma were nothing but pockets of negative energy polluting his happy bubble. The senshi felt no guilt in eradicating them. The kick thrown by Perseus sent the youma flying, but it had the added annoyance of wings.

Veiny black appendages sprung up to stop its fall. Neso thought fast, diving forward and grabbing one wing with both hands. He channeled whatever training was left in him from his years spent on the track team in high school and attempted to send the thing flying like a shotput. Neso spun in a circle, the youma flapping wildly, and then let it launch, hoping the distance would give him enough time to charge up his attack.

Blue eyes flashed to Perseus. "Should we run?" It was a solution to battles that Neso most often chose to use.

Sailor Perseus was the voice of reason in Neso's head. "You're right," he said, chasing up beside her. Jeez, she was so much better at this battle stuff than he was. It made him smile briefly. He couldn't hold the compliment inside. "Man, you're so good at this," he said, reaching out as if to hug her.

The youma let out a screech and began to barrel towards them.

Oh right, this was a battle.

With autumn in full swing, Neso's power was at its weakest. He could just punch wildly like he might have in the summer, not to mention the fact that his aim was still pretty awful. Taking a page from Perseus, he darted off to the side and picked up a two foot long piece of pipe. The senshi of summer gave it a few test swings.

As the youma made its approach, Neso swung with all his might!

And totally missed.

The metal pipe went swinging blindly as the youma dodged it. It slammed into the concrete of the roof with such force that Neso's arms rattled from it.

The pipe fell from Neso's hands with a loud clatter. It rolled along the uneven concrete before coming to rest on the far side of the roof. Sailor Neso spun back around toward the youma. He had no idea what to do, no clue how to finish this. Again, Perseus took charge, slamming the screen down on the youma and lodging it there.

Wow, she looked so pretty, even in battle. How did she do that? Even as she was gritting her teeth and slamming the screen with all her might, Perseus still managed to... swish. Her dark hair was a flowing sheet all around her. Her cape fluttered like wings. Her skirt twirled like a ballerina. Man, he was so lucky to spend time with her...

Oh right. Battle.

If Perseus had not encouraged him, Sailor Neso probably would have done nothing. He would have kept standing there, mesmerized by her, until the youma came after him. Lucky for the pair, Perseus was okay taking charge. "Okay, Pers! I'll try." Neso shouted, filled by a sudden confidence she had given him.

His eyes fell shut, and a cool calmness wrapped around his body like lapping waves. When he opened them, his fist was high above his head. Ribbons of light and waves of heat swirled around it, growing brighter and brighter. Neso took a running start and shouted, "Summer Heat Strike!" His sandaled feet catapulted off of the roof, sending him high into the sky.

At the peak of his arc, he brought his fist down, concentration in his eyes. Perseus had the youma distracted, and as his fist made contact, Neso could feel the very fabric of the youma tear apart beneath his knuckles until it disintegrated into a cloud of dust. There was too much momentum to stop his attack, and his fist bit into the concrete sharply.

Neso fell backward onto his a**, his wrist aching. It took him a second to realize that the youma was gone. "I did it..." He sounded surprised. "Pers, I did it!" Neso jumped to his feet, ran over to the other senshi, picked her up, and twirled her in a circle. The motion made something in his wrist flare up in a hot flash of pain. He set her down abruptly to cradle his wrist, pain creasing in his brow.

Then he smiled again. "I did it." Neso sounded like a toddler who had just gone pee-pee on the big boy toilet by himself for the first time.

Neso held his hand out gingerly in front of him. He trusted Perseus to make it feel better, relaxing immediately under the softness of her touch. His good hand reached up to gently hold her chin. "I couldn't have done it without you," he said. Neso bent his head to hers and kissed her softly.

He pulled back. "Man, how did you think to use that screen? I never think of stuff like that! I just sort of run around." Neso waved one hand over his head to imitate it. "You're a hard act to follow, Pers." A wide grin split his lips.

Their blanket was just where they had left it across the roof. Neso let his eyes roam over to it and then back to Perseus. "Did you want to.." He gestured with his head. "...finish our date?" His smile didn't faltered. It hardly did.