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Sunday was Makoto’s favorite day of the week. After working the Friday night dinner shift at the restaurant, as well as Saturday brunch, it was the official first day of her weekend. It always meant sleepy, early morning snuggles with her boyfriend.
So on that late November morning when she woke to the sight of snow flurrying against the window, she was surprised to find the bed empty. Niall was far from an early riser; she usually had to poke and prod him just to get him to stir.
She found him standing at the patio door, fixated on the falling snow outside, clad in a gray sleep shirt and plaid pajama pants, his long, chestnut locks tumbling lazily down his back. He looked precious, almost like a little boy amongst the Christmas decorations he insisted were too early to be present. Like he was right where he belonged; her sweet, American born love.
This would be their first holiday season together. The first since his traumatic death at D-Point and recent resurrection: Usagi’s gift to her Inner Senshi following the battle with Chaos. The Senshi of the Moon had told no one, not even Mamoru, of her attempt to revive them using the Legendary Silver Crystal, not wanting to raise hopes in the event it didn’t work. For weeks, it seemed she was unsuccessful, as no Shitennou had magically appeared before her. Rei, however, had quietly sensed them coming a week before they did, as had Mamoru, but it was unsuspecting Ami who first spotted Jin on the train seven months ago. It turned out Endymion’s resurrected and restored generals had spent weeks looking for them, not knowing their civilian identities.
It had been a heartfelt, if not awkward, reunion for everyone. Their souls and their hearts knew each other deeply, but Jin, Niall, Zeth, and Kaysar were complete strangers to them. These men had their own names, families, dreams, and personalities that had been stripped away from them by Metallia. Jupiter had known Nephrite, but Makoto didn’t know Niall.
Seeing him for the first time, dressed so casually in jeans and a bomber jacket, had been jarring. His chocolate brown eyes had rendered her speechless, stammering to find words for this new emotion sizzling through her body.
“Toshiro Niall,” he said softly in introduction. Unsure how to proceed, he awkwardly extended his hand.
“Kino Makoto,” she grasped his warm hand and pulled his large frame to her, throwing her arms around him and feeling him deflate in relief. For the first time in this life, she breathed in his scent of cedar and knew she was done for. He was real, and he was hers.
Getting to know not only Niall, but the rest of the Shittenou as real-live people had been a culture shock, as well as vastly entertaining. Jin had been a gifted soccer player in school with dreams of playing professionally, but after years of being missing it was out of the cards for him. Now he had dedicated his love for the sport into coaching elementary school kids, and Makoto had never seen Rei’s eyes soften as much as when she watched him coaching a match.
Kaysar, who had been the most powerful and aggressive of the Four Heavenly Kings, had a surprising softness to him. Perhaps the worst kept secret among the group was the poetry he wrote for Minako. She had gushed to the girls in the beginning, reciting it with a deep blush on her cheeks. After awhile though, she understood just how personal his prose were, and preferred to keep them close to her heart, right next to him.
Ami loved to braid Zeth’s hair, which Makoto had learned that summer when the ten of them rented a massive beach house for a week. Ami had come downstairs to find a shirtless Zeth brushing a bikini-clad Usagi’s hair and begging her to let him style it in a new way. He had three sisters, he argued in his thick German accent, he knew his way around a bobby pin. Makoto watched with amusement as Ami silently fumed, regretting all the times she’d chastised Usagi at her jealousy over her study sessions with Mamoru.
And Niall, same as Nephrite, was a master astrologer. What had made him so valuable to Beryl was his knowledge of planetary locations and the optimal times for attack, as well as when each of the senshi would be at their weakest. There had been one occasion where the planet Jupiter was afflicted by Saturn around the anniversary of her parents death, leaving Makoto emotionally vulnerable. Nephrite had targeted her specifically for that reason, and she still had the youma scar on her hip to prove it.
Niall, however, had her birth chart memorized and could anticipate her emotional lows and offered her the support she needed. Sometimes it was by distraction, other times it was little gifts or surprises, and some days simply holding her was enough. What Makoto needed most often was assurance that she wasn’t alone, and when he held her, she knew she never would be again.
The man before her had his life stolen from him: stripped of his personality, manipulated into committing heinous crimes, and murdered the minute he discovered the truth about himself. His torment was endless, and there wasn’t exactly therapy for their particular brand of trauma. Yet here he stood behind the glass, surrounded by Christmas camellias, gazing with wonder in his eyes at the falling snow.
“The first snow of the season is always the most beautiful,” Makoto whispered, not wanting to startle him. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and felt him relax into her embrace, threading their fingers together and bringing her hand to his lips.
“I had forgotten,” he mumbled, settling her hand back at his stomach. There was a heavy silence between them at his confession, Makoto unsure whether he wanted to talk about it or not.
“There was so much snow there,” he continued grimly, trapped in his memory.
Makoto rubbed her thumb along his hand as he took a deep, steadying breath. “This feels different,” he stated pointedly. “Like if I reached out and touched it, the snow would be warm. I don’t know if that makes sense.”
Of course this was warmer. Niall was surrounded by things that made him happy. He was allowed to be happy. He had free will, and people who loved him. Sometimes he needed those words of affirmation though, and Makoto would always provide them.
“It makes perfect sense. This is happy snow.” She pressed her cheek against his back. One of his arms came behind them to twist her around so their positions were reversed, Niall now holding her from behind so they could watch the snowfall together. His cheek rested at her temple.
“And I never have to go back...” It was a mantra they repeated when he needed assurance, but today it sounded more like a question.
“Never,” she promised, bringing his fingers to her lips, “I forbid it. You’re staying here with me.”
He squeezed her a little tighter, kissing her hairline. “Okay,” he murmured, his deep baritone heavy with vulnerability.
Makoto was used to being the protector, whether in her senshi form or not. If it ever came down to it, she would die protecting this man, and she would do so happily. She had found her purpose and her family when she became Sailor Jupiter, but with Niall she had found her home. Here, wrapped in his warm arms, his kisses trailing down her face, was where she belonged.
“Such a perfect view,” she mused, content to stay in his embrace all day.
“I couldn’t agree more,” his breath tickled her neck and a finger slid into the neckline of her t-shirt, giving himself a peek. She giggled and tilted her head further back, giving him better access to her throat.
Niall giggled almost like a child and buried his face into her. After a moment, she felt a drop of moisture hitting her skin, then another. She sobered a bit, and her palm raised behind her to cup his cheek. This happened sometimes too, the weight of his past occasionally releasing through his tears.
“I never thought we’d get moments like this. That I can have you in my arms and kiss you whenever you let me.” He squeezed her a little tighter.
He needed her right now, that much was clear. There was such remorse in his voice and it stained her heart. Makoto’s raised hand angled his face towards hers and she grazed her lips against his, feeling a heat in her chest at the barest of contact. His warm fingertips brushed the hair away from her eyes so he could see her fully, and she met him again with a solid, reassuring kiss, his lips melting into hers.
Every moment of passion was always savored between them; her soul had longed for him before she even remembered him, their time together in their previous life cut short by a jagged blade. Niall’s mouth was dangerous territory for her. He was like a rich, elegant wine; irresistible, and she could never have just a taste. The kiss deepened, his desperation for comfort and her physical need fueling their embrace.
“I’ll let you do a lot more than kiss me,” she whispered against his lips.
He took her words as his invitation to devour her. She moaned as his tongue entered her mouth, her fingers raking through his long, tangled hair. His growing hardness against her lower back had her grinding her ass against him. One large hand cupped her cheek while the other roamed underneath her oversized tee, sweeping against her heating skin, catching one of her breasts.
As much as Makoto cherished her role as the protector, she equally loved that her partner was bigger than her, stronger, and had the strength to throw her around a little. Her back arched as Niall leaned her back, his arm supporting her.
Her hand came up to cradle his jaw and brush away the last errant tear that had escaped, bringing her attention back to his emotional needs. She breathed out between kisses, “Don’t you want breakfast first?”
Niall smirked against her lips, angling her head back so he could trail his lips down her neck, his husky breath against her neck making her shiver. “The only thing I want to eat right now is you.”
Makoto gasped in delight as he bent down to scoop her into his arms bridal style. In a flash, he set her down on the kitchen table and kneeled on the floor between her legs. Her lover’s sturdy hands caressed her thighs and his mouth came to her core, kissing over her underwear. He began slow, torturous licks, knowing this kind of teasing drove her absolutely wild, and she savored every moment.
When his fingers hooked into the fabric, she leaned back onto her elbows and lifted her hips, allowing him to hastily remove them. Niall took a moment to kiss her youma scar, as he always did when he caught sight of it, his way of repentance for disfiguring her skin. His lips then trailed down until they reached her desired destination.
“My Goddess,” he whispered into her pussy before lapping up the moisture already dripping from her. Makoto groaned at the contact, splayed out on the kitchen table like the perfect meal while his tongue found her entrance and pushed inside.
Makoto was sensitive, most vibrators were too much for her and the orgasms were often lacking. Niall, however, knew exactly how to handle her: slow build, then in for the kill. His nose gently massaged underneath her clit, right where she liked it, while he fucked her with his tongue.
The pressure was building quickly. Her hands gripped his hair and her hips started thrusting against his face, craving what he wasn’t yet giving her. He moaned into her sex, savoring the divine build.
“Please,” she begged, “Please, I need you,” were the magic words. He exited her and licked the flat of his tongue up her vulva, finding her clit and circling with just the right pressure. Her orgasm exploded white hot into her body, her thighs squeezing her lover’s head while he continued to circle her clit, easing the pressure so she could ride out her high as long as possible. The Goddess of Thunder writhing under his touch was among his favorite sights in the world.
Panting and heavy-lidded from Niall’s treatment, she didn’t notice him slipping out from under her thighs until his muscular arms were under her again. He carried her back to the bedroom to make love to her properly, depositing her limp body onto the bed.
“Divine,” he whispered against her lips before claiming them, bringing her back to him at full attention. Her arms wrapped instinctively around his neck, one hand taking a fistful of his hair to keep him close. Warm hands slid beneath her shirt, breaking their kiss to pull it over her head and leave her naked before him.
He hummed with satisfaction, slowly lowering his lips to her sternum, countering her own frantic attempts to remove his clothes. A growl rumbled through his chest as she managed to tug his shirt over his head. He took her hands and pinned them by her shoulders, allowing his tongue to glide over one full breast and take it into his mouth.
The moan that escaped her lips was guttural, deep with wanting. “You’re not playing fair,” she whined at the sensation of his gentle bites. He knew he was torturing her, so he allowed it when she used her feet to shimmy his pants down his legs.
“You know I like to savor every meal you give me.” He moved to the other breast, rubbing his now freed cock along her center and getting it slick with her fluids.
“Yes,” she moaned, trying desperately to guide him, “but if you’re not inside me in the next five seconds I think I’m going to lose it.”
He chuckled low as his mouth released her breast with a pop and found its way to the shell of her ear. “I would like to see that,” he murmured.
“Too bad,” her right hand broke free from his grasp and took hold of his length. He hissed at her touch, his blackened eyes boring into hers, challenging her. Finally, he ran his hand down her thigh and hooked it around his hip, entering her at a torturously slow pace. The two of them groaned together at the contact as he filled her.
Makoto was electrified, feeling his heat and passion for her as he thrust to the hilt. Each pump into her body brought her closer to him, wrapping him protectively inside of her where he was undeniably safe. Her body and heart would take expert care of him today and every day of forever.
She gave his shoulders a gentle push, and Niall took the signal to roll onto his back, allowing her to sink down onto him so he could see all of her. His hands gripped her thighs, guiding her motion as she took every inch of him.
“That’s good, baby,” he groaned, “keep riding me just like that.”
A low, throaty cry escaped her when he squeezed her ass and brought her down even deeper. Sweat glistened on her lover’s chest as his thrusts into her became more rapid, their pace building along with the pressure in her lower belly.
With a little effort, he sat up and took her in his arms, holding her in place while he rammed into her from below. Makoto was on fire. The deepness of his thrusts with the added pressure on her clit had her gasping out his name in ecstacy. Niall watched the breathtaking display as she threw her head back, mouth gaping, moaning loud and high as she reached her peak. Niall buried his face between her breasts as he felt his own release, pumping into her and rocking them as they rode out their orgasms together.
Gentle kisses to her neck brought Makoto back to awareness. Their sweaty bodies pressed against each other, she could feel his pounding heart through her chest, rising and falling to catch his breath. Niall layered kisses along her jaw, finding her lips and sealing them with his own.
“Have I told you I love you today?” His deep voice cooed as he nuzzled his nose along hers.
“Not with your words,” Makoto giggled.
He smiled, cradling her face in his hands. “I love you. More than my own life.”
The warmth in her chest returned as she gazed back into his dilated eyes.“I love you even more than that,” she tightened her arms around his neck and held him tight, the two of them kissing like teenagers. His grumbling stomach was the only thing pulling her away.
“Now do you want breakfast?” She giggled.
“No, stay with me.” He mumbled into her neck and squeezed her tighter. His hand ran up her spine and laced his fingers through her hair. Clearly he was still a little fragile, and needed more attention, as well as comfort food.
“Let’s make an American brunch,” she suggested, “We’ll do sausage, scrambled eggs, I can make biscuits-”
“-and gravy?” He interrupted.
“You bet,” she smiled, “it will keep us nice and warm when we go play in the show. Are you up for it?”
He rested his forehead against hers and hummed in delight. “I like that plan,” he said softly.
“I like you,” she kissed his nose. “Now tell me who you are.”
He took a breath before reciting the mantras. “My name is Toshiro Niall.”
“That’s who you are.”
“I will never go back to that place.”
Makoto nodded as he spoke, confirming the mantras.
“I am safe, and I am loved.”
“Yes you are.” She kissed his forehead if affirmation. “Always.”
His chocolate eyes gazed into hers, and he gave her a reassuring smirk. “Forever.”