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Today had been such a fantastic day. Jenny couldn't remember when she'd had a more productive day. If she wasn't walking home alone down dark, dreary streets, with her hands chock full of shopping bags, she'd be humming. As it was, however, she had the common sense to be as quiet as possible. She was a walking target for terrible people looking to do terrible things. Perhaps there had been a time in her life when she would have had a little more faith in the human race, but experience had shattered that tiny little bubble of happiness she'd once lived in. She knew to be afraid of the shadows now. She didn't blame those poor, misguided souls - but she was afraid of them, nonetheless.

So, she hurried along, making a beeline for her tiny little apartment that she shared with a quiet college mate that she never saw. The bags in her hands hardly rattled as she held them tightly to herself, and her wide, cautious eyes veered sharply around to watch for any impending threat. She even looked up to the rooftops every so often, though those glances weren't searching for a threat. It was imprinted into her mind, that one, shining moment when she saw that heroic figure come down to save her (sigh~). So much time had passed, and her memory may have fudged the scenario a bit (was he glowing? he was glowing, wasn't he?) but at no point would she ever stop waiting for a prince to come down from the heavens and save her.

As she cast her gaze up towards the rooftops one more time, she almost tripped on thin air as she saw something not quite heroic, and yet still similar enough to trigger her fluttery memories. There, perched on the edge, facing away from her, was a prince. He was slumped, and most certainly not on the lookout for his one true love if his posture was any indication. In fact, it all kind of looked.. rather sad.

Jenny's heart leapt painfully. The poor thing could be hurt, or worse. But he was a senshi, and if she wanted to help, she couldn't do it like this.

She tiptoed with exaggerated movements across the street, slipping into the building he was perched on. With a shrug of exasperation, she looked around for the perfect hiding spot for all of her bags - they had just better be here when she came back, because she had not just spent an entire day finding the perfect pair of shoes to go with the perfect outfit just for it to be stolen. After finally settling on hiding it in a dark nook under the stairs, she pushed the button to the elevator. She felt a flutter of nervousness in her stomach - what was she doing? She was just going to go up to him and try to make him feel better? What if he didn't want someone trying to make him feel better? What if he absolutely hated her? What if-

The elevator chimed, and she hopped in. A dainty touch on the highest level floor had the doors closing in front of her just as she started to transform.

When they opened on the top floor, Jenny was gone. Sailor Calypso snuck quietly out of the elevator, and found the stairwell to the roof. She inched up them one by one, and stared at the door. Her heart was beating wildly as she second guessed herself. Third guessed. Fifteenth guessed.

She sucked in a tiny little breath, forced herself to gleen what confidence she could gain from wearing her senshi uniform, and opened the door.

The first thing that greeted her was a cold gust of wind. It made her slam the door shut immediately after opening it. Nice, Jenny. You are the Queen of Stealth. She inched the door open again, and stuck her head out. A tiny, cracked voice tinkled out. "Ummmmmmm. Um. Hi?"

Ohhh, the sound of his voice. There was heartbreak and tragedy wrapped up in a cocoon of loneliness and Jenny just wanted to hug him forever. Of course, she had no idea who he was, so she couldn't do that. Yet. Instead, she slid through the open door, and closed it with a quiet click behind her. Her hands remained on the doorknob for a moment, twisting it nervously before letting it go. What would be the best way to cheer up someone you didn't know? She had nothing to juggle, and her singing voice was terrible - not that that had ever stopped her before. She inched forward, very slowly, until she was just beside him. She moved to kneel down, and then looked at the floor her knees were about to touch.

Ew.

Instead, she settled for sitting in front of him, perched carefully on the roof's edge. Don't look over the edge, Jenny. She warned herself. Then she looked over the edge, and the world swirled a little. She tipped herself towards the building to compensate, and bent her head in to try and get his attention.

"You look so sad," She whispered quietly. Her hand reached out to rest on his knee. "You're too cute to be sad. Why are you so sad?"

He was being so quiet. Calypso wondered if he'd even heard her. She sat up as straight as possible, ready to attempt a louder, more confident (who was she kidding?) line of questioning, when he held the tiny box out in front of her. The lid popped open, and as it did, a shower of sparkles and bubbles filled the air around them. Calypso looked up at Taranis, and she no longer saw the brooding, sad man that she'd found a moment ago. She was looking at something completely borne from her imagination - a shining, smiling prince. Sure, he wasn't on his knees - he should be on his knees - but she wasn't being picky right now. She'd just been proposed to.

The song Dreamweaver was playing in her head as she reached out with a shaking hand, and plucked the ring from it's holder. It was a diamond. A real diamond. It was the most beautiful thing that she'd ever seen in her entire life, and her eyes burst with tears, blurring her vision as they crested over and tracked down her cheeks.

Oh, but she hadn't said anything yet, had she? It wasn't real until you answered, which only left one thing for her to do.

"YES!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, lunging at him and wrapping her tiny arms around his shoulders. He was so tall, she could tell even as she hugged him. He would protect her forever and ever and they would have twenty babies and live happily ever after. She scrambled up as best as she could, and planted her lips against his in a soul-searing kiss of true love.

"Oh!" She squeaked, pulling away only to remain seated on his lap as she slipped the ring on her finger. It was too big - it almost fell off. That was okay, she would have it fitted. She held her hand up, and her head tilted to one side as she stared at how beautiful it looked.

"We should have a spring wedding!" She was already planning. "Flowers, everywhere, and oh, no, it should be all Disney themed! Like, FANTASIA! With little fairies dancing on the tables and - oh! But we shouldn't get married for at least a year, so I can have a sip of champagne at my own wedding." She'd said this last part solemnly, finally looking up at him as she did so. Then, her face burst into a blinding smile.

"So, what's your name?"

Nice.

Calypso didn't hear his first words. Perhaps it was her own fragile mind blocking out the possibility that this was not exactly what she thought it was, or perhaps she was too busy counting out exactly how many place settings the head table would need for all of her bridesmaids.

One hand was ticking off against the fingers of the other - it was safe to say the answer was a mixture of both, if not wholly the latter.

She did, however, choose to hear his next words, and her eyes looked up at him with such fervent, innocent faith as he said he'd asked the girl he loved (loved!) to marry him tonight. The wording had been so perfect, so romantic, that she'd almost missed the end of his sentence.

Almost.

Her hands dropped down and folded carefully in her lap. Her smile was still bright as the sun, but there was just a flutter of doubt in her eyes. She looked like a china doll perched on the edge of a precipice - one soft nudge, and she would shatter. "Ah, no I didn't. I said yes, silly!" She couldn't help herself. If her sweet, hopeless mind could somehow process how embarrassing this would be later on, she would have stopped before making things worse.

The sound of his name made her think of butterflies on a Sunday afternoon. The sound of him asking for the ring back made her think of a tiny little glass heart shattering into a million pieces on the floor.

Oh. That was her heart she was picturing.

Oh.

"You.. you didn't mean it?" Her smile vanished, her eyes glimmered with moisture, and her lower lip quivered. Still, her hand clenched tightly - getting this ring back was not going to be easy.

Despite the way her heart was about to be crushed into a million pieces, there was still a romance here. It wasn't her romance, as she'd previously thought. But.. still.. this boy had been ready to propose to someone that night.

And she'd said no. This girl, this crazy, horrible girl. How could she say no to a prince like him? Why would ANYONE say no to ANYONE!

That was their happily ever after!

Reluctantly, Calypso slipped the ring off her finger. It didn't feel like hers anymore. She set it down gently into the box - and not Taranis' hand. She settled it perfectly, treating it like a precious commodity, before closing the box with a sigh.

Maybe next time, Calypso.

"I'm sorry." She whispered out quietly, lifting her gloved fingers to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I guess I just.. I just wished it would be me for once." She sniffed, and rubbed her face over and over with her hands. When she dropped them, her skin was red.

"I.. I don't know you, Taranis." He'd asked her name, hadn't he? "My name's Calypso, by the way! But ummm, I don't know you, like I said." A tiny, half-hearted giggle escaped her. "But I think it's really sweet that you loved someone enough to ask her to marry you. And, umm. She's a really lucky girl. I hope she comes to her senses soon."

She shrugged, and put both of her hands up in the air. "If she doesn't.. you can always ask me again?" Her voice squeaked as she tried vainly to make a joke despite her precious little heart breaking inside.

Though Taranis could feel the lie in his own words, all Calypso could hear was hope. Her cheeks squished as she smiled through her tears, feeling just a little vindicated in her ability to help him see things in a positive light. At least, this was how she saw it.

His warnings had a layer of truth to them, but she just laughed and shook her head. "Don't be ridiculous. You're a senshi. That means you're wonderful. Besides, I can tell you're going to make some lucky girl happy one day. You had the courage to do something most men can't even think about without twitching. That's enough character for me!" She could tell he was trying, maybe a little too hard, to sound gloomy and sullen. It wouldn't work around her. She expelled pure joy, even as her heart lay battered on the floor.

"You just need time! And fun! And then, everything will feel better. What do you do for fun? Or.. umm. Am I not supposed to ask you things like that? I still don't know how this whole thing works.." She tensed her shoulders up and giggled nervously. "Well, just think. Whatever it is you like to do, you should spend all day tomorrow doing it. I'd offer to do it with you, buuut I'm sure you don't want me around anymore." Her lips thinned and her head turned to one side. "Besides, all that matters is you. Do something for you. Anything! And I bet that handsome face of yours will be smiling by the end of the night." She patted his cheek softly.

Calypso did not take negativity for an answer. When the evil beast of negativity loomed it's mighty head, she only smiled back at it and unleashed the full fury of her power.

That power being sweet, candy-coated good will.

"Nuh uh." She murmured quietly. "You don't get it. I know you love this girl. And that's beautiful! And you totally should never lose that feeling, even if it hurts right now. All the pain you're feeling - it's worth it, because there's twice as much blissful joy waiting for you later on. But that doesn't mean that's ALL there is, you know."

She reached out - she had to lean extremely far, her shorter arms hardly reached - and patted his chest where his heart was. "You're Taranis. You, right here. That's you! You're not the sum of all your love for one girl. That makes up a part of you, and that's fine. But you are your own person, and YOU have to have things that YOU like! So tell me something you liked doing before you even met.. Dani?" That was a boys name! Her eyes widened - had she been talking about a girl all this time, when he was in love with a boy? Eeeeeeeeee, how embarrassing! Her cheeks blossomed with color. No, he'd said he'd proposed to the girl he loved. Whew.