Hi there!  I'm posting this fanfic for a friend of mine.  Hope you like
it.  :)

Sincerely,

Megane 6.7

     
     Warmest greetings to the FFML.

     This is my introductory fanfic, written a while back and
revised more times than I care to remember.  I appreciate any and
all feedback on it, I can be reached at Lunari@Sprynet.com.  I'm
terribly shy and I want to make a good first impression, so enjoy
this piece of Sailor Moon fanfiction.  

     It really doesn't matter all that much when this story takes
place, as long as its well after the Sailor Moon R episode
introducing the Moonlight Knight.  (You'll understand if you've
seen it recently.)  


Dying Fire
By Lunari


     Cold steel sliced viciously through the almost-frozen layer
of rime that skimmed the surface of the hardened ice.  Frost
sprayed upward and melted against the 98.6 degree warmth above
the bladed boot.  It wasn't just the muscled leg's temperature
that reduced the flying hoarfrost to drops of water, but the
furious pumping of blood beneath the skin.
     Lita's legs scissored rapidly back and forth as she shot
over the ice at top speed.  The cold air whistling past her did
little to temper the boiling rage inside her, and merely tossed
her rich, chestnut-brown hair around the strap and bauble that
held it atop her head. 
     HE was coming.
     Raw emotions; fury, hatred, depression, loss, and love
burned a gaping hole in Lita's chest, and seemed to suck all her
attention towards it.  She couldn't think without HIM being in
her thoughts, she couldn't see straight, or hear properly or even
perform the simplest of tasks, like skating ...
     Her toe-pick caught on a patch of refrozen ice and she
stumbled, her inertia keeping her body in motion but her legs
staying a few feet behind her.  The ice came up hard and smacked
her jaw as she skidded to a halt on the slick surface.  Two small
children skated by, laughing.  One chirping in a pre-school voice
"Mommy, this is so easy!"
     Lita gave the child a look of daggers, and rolled over onto
her rear end to stand.  She picked herself up, feeling damp spots
on her chest and legs.  Good thing I brought a change of clothes,
she thought absently, massaging her sore jaw as she coasted over
the ice.  Dark spots on the butt of my jeans wouldn't go over
well at the scout meeting.  A smile curled her lips as she
thought of Raye fussing over the wet spots and demanding she not
sit on her cushions.  And Serena would NEVER stop teasing her
about it.
     Thoughts of Serena brought her to thoughts of Darien, of
boyfriends, and then of HIM again.  Lita scowled darkly and
twisted around on the ice, facing the open rink.  Only a few
people were here on the warm, Sunday morning.  In fact, the place
was almost dead.
     She wished HE was.  
     And she wished the same on herself for thinking it.
     How long had it been? she asked herself, since that drizzly
afternoon, not a fortnight after what she thought would 'clinch'
the love they supposedly shared.  Less than a year?  A year? 
Could it have been that long?  Lita counted on her fingers, a
habit she'd never gotten out of since taught it in kindergarten. 
Yes, almost a year and a half.  She should be well over him by
now ...
     She pushed out with her skate, sliding forward on the ice. 
Her smile dropped off her face and she flicked her boots, sending
herself further down the ice.
     It was all her fault.  She'd been too pushy, too romantic,
and altogether too much.  Then it was her friends' fault.  They
were all bickering gossips and he didn't like the stories being
told.  Then it was Fate's fault.  They just weren't meant to be.  
     But Freddie ... .
     Lita felt a gnawing in her stomach that wasn't hunger.  She
folded her arms over her abdomen and continued skating.  Her long
fingers pulled at the fabric of her shirt, and her knuckles began
to turn white.
     She should understand this and get over it.  HE already had,
why couldn't she?
     But Freddie ... 
     Lita forced her boot wide and then repeated the action with
her other foot.  Her body moved faster down the ice, and she felt
the cooling water numb her toes and fingertips.  
     She shouldn't make this any harder on him than it already
was.
     But Fredd- ...
     She stopped her leg movements, coasting on her velocity, and
her scrunched up expression slowly melted, like the ice next to a
fresh blade.  In it's place was left the most lonely, anguished
face that ever did grace a teen-aged girl.
     He just didn't feel the same way about her anymore.
     But ... 
     Lita was running out of ice to skate on.  The rim was coming
up fast, and she would have to do something before her current
actions lost all relevance to the hard cement ground before her.
     But Freddie, I love you!
     Lita twisted suddenly, trying to make the turn.
     It makes no difference.
     Her blade smacked hard against the edge, and she tumbled
onto the outside rink, no longer able to keep herself going.
     Good-bye.
     Lita began to cry.


     Out with the bad air, in with the good air.
     Lita practiced this relaxation exercise that was so
painfully simple, it got on the nerves of all insomniacs and
stressed businessmen.
     Off with the bad jeans, on with the good jeans.
     Lita held her breath as she struggled with the zipper of her
Ree's jeans, and grunted as the metal head bit into her fingers. 
She exhaled, paused for a moment, as if trying to fake out the
stubborn zipper, and then inhaled sharply, yanking the metal
handle with all her might.
     Out with the candy bars, in with the salads.
     Lita-honey, she said to her reflection in the mirror.  You
gotta go on a diet!  She patted the very stressed area over her
abdomen, feeling how taught the fabric was.  Well, I won't be
able to skate in these, no doubt.  Sitting would be a chore, but
I could always lean against a wall if I needed to rest.  She bent
over to retrieve her shirt from her duffle bag and felt the
denims dig into her belly.
     I should probably change before going to the meeting, she
thought.  She pulled the floppy sweatshirt over her head and
arranged it around her upper body.  Lita gave the mirror a few
looks, checking her bod.  Yep, same wavy, brown hair up in a
pony-tail with bangs that ALWAYS get into my same green eyes. 
Same fair skin, same long limbs and amazonian height.  Lita gave
a few model poses before grabbing up her things and leaving the
locker room.
     She peered around the sports center seeing that, as usual,
it was next to vacant.  On a warm, sunny day like today people
were supposed to be enjoying the outdoors, not wasting time in
the air conditioning.  She crossed the faded carpet to the rink,
walking easily over the rubber pads set up for those who liked
clumping around in blades.  Her skates banged against each other
as she went, water condensed on the blades dripping onto her
shoes.
     Lita walked up to the large, reusable towel dispenser, and
started cleaning off the blades of her boots, wiping with
practiced ease the moisture and dirt collected on each steel
edge.  She thought about how she never tried ice skating before
that day when the Negaverse had set up a plot to trap the Scouts
using two famed ice skaters; Misha and Janelle.  Misha had been a
major hunk, and Lita was taken aback at his 'kindness' towards
her.  Well, that was BEFORE he and his partner started totally
trashing her and Sailor Moon showed up to stop them.
     After Serena had "dusted" them, Misha never remembered her,
or even remotely cared.  That hurt, a bit.  She wasn't in love
with him or anything, but it felt bad to have someone think you
are the stuff of dreams one day, and rat spoor the next.
     Like HE did.
     She stopped wiping her skates, and thought about exactly
what Ken had told her that morning.  Freddie was coming to this
part of Tokyo today to check out the Tech school and the campus
area before leaving tomorrow.  Ken warned her not to try and
challenge him, because Freddie was quite the martial artist, and
then not to start talking to him because he would only ask her to
come back to him ...
     Lita let her deep green eyes haze over as she thought of
being back in Freddie's arms.  Maybe after all this time, he had
mulled over it like I had, and had come to the conclusion that
maybe she wasn't so bad, and that maybe she had changed to more
suit him.  Lita smiled and thought about the way he kissed her,
with a passion she found exhilarating, but sometimes not in her
mood.
     Her eyes cleared and she frowned, remembering how he blamed
the entire break-up on her and her friends and her fate.  I
couldn't have been all that bad, she thought.  In fact, I know
it!  How dare he go and try to pin everything on me?  Her hand
curled into a fist and she felt the morning's initial anger on
the phone well up inside her like a raging fire, the reason she
came to the rink in the first place; to skate it off.
     Then Lita softened her expression, and thought that maybe
Freddie was confused, and probably changed a lot in the last year
and a half.  An image of Luna came to mind and she thought of a
diplomatic way to find out what really went wrong after she gave
him what he said he really wanted.  
     Perhaps she had scared him off, just like he said.  And
maybe he was just lonely and afraid.  Or else unsure of what
their recent actions would do for the rest of their relationship.
     And maybe Amy's a vampire, Lita thought bitterly.  Freddie's
a major bum and needs to be taught a lesson; all five of them. 
Lita cracked each knuckle on her hand.
     Maybe he still loved her.
     Lita jerked and felt a dull ache in her chest.  The same one
that she felt as Freddie said his last good-bye to her and half
walked, half ran into the rain, his umbrella bobbing as he faded
from sight.  It wasn't supposed to rain that day.  Maybe the
heavens were weeping for Lita, or else mocking her and trying to
squelch the small ember of love that remained in her heart. 
Either way, the rain did little to coax the tears from her eyes.
     No, it wasn't until the rain suddenly stopping falling
around her, and she saw that there was still someone who cared
for her, cared enough to hold an umbrella over her head so she
wouldn't get wet, that she cried.  Her tears blended with the
rain, and fell until the storm cloud moved on.
     The ache burned like a dying fire, that once was lit with
attraction, kindled with attention, raged with passion, and then
almost killed with depression.  It glowed faintly now, begging
for something to feast upon.
     Lita backed away from the towel, and turned to leave the
center.  Ken's words echoed in her mind as she walked the
twisting path to the exit, "Try to avoid him.  He's no good to
you and will only bring trouble."  Lita closed her eyes and put
her hand to her forehead, feeling heat from under her skull and a
headache being conceived behind her frontal lobe.
     She opened her eyes and saw HIM.
     Each member of the Sailor Scouts could attest to the fact
that a great deal of men and boys reminded Lita of her old
boyfriend.  But truth be told, he resembled Lita herself more
than anyone else.  His thick brown hair crowned his head like a
thatch of chestnut-colored twigs in a birds nest.  His bangs
loped over his eyes in an obtrusive fashion, and when his eyes
were visible between the strands, they shone a deep shade of
green.  His skin was light colored, showing he cared more for air
conditioning than sunlit days outdoors.  He was tall, taller than
Lita, and had long legs and a lanky body that looked as if
someone stretched him about six inches longer than he should have
been.
     He was leaning against the top of the information desk,
talking with the bored manager seated behind it.  He was holding
a hand-drawn map and was pointing to it, the manager gesturing to
directions outdoors.  He didn't see her, and Lita's heart began
to hammer against her rib cage so hard she thought it would burst
from her chest like some gory alien movie.  
     Ken's words sounded in her head.
     Her fist clenched tight.
     Her mind buzzed with explanations.
     Her heart ached, longingly.
     Lita started walking towards the door and Freddie.  Freddie
gave the manager a confused look, and then flipped the map upside
down.
     Ken's words sounded.
     Her fist clenched.
     Her mind buzzed.
     Her heart ached.
     Lita walked a careful tread, within two yards of Freddie. 
Freddie thanked the manager, and stooped to pick up his backpack.
     Ken's words.
     Her fist.
     Her mind.
     Her heart. 
     Lita was an armslength from Freddie now, so close she could
hear him sigh.  Freddie hauled up his pack and stood, facing
Lita.
     Words.
     Fist.
     Mind.
     Heart.
     Lita walked up to him; she could see her reflection in his
eyes.  Lita walked beside him, her shirt brushing against his
sweater.  And Lita walked past him, through the double doors, and
out onto the street.
     She waited until she had covered at least a block before
breathing again.  Her pulse was racing, her palms were sweating,
and her head was throbbing, but she'd never felt better in her
life.  Lita laughed out loud, giddy with accomplishment.  She
laughed again, hearing her voice echo through the streets.  She
continued laughing hysterically for about five minutes until lack
of oxygen made her stop, and tears on her face made her start.
     She blinked in confusion a few times, and made to brush the
tears from her face, but stopped.  She instead turned her head to
peer at her reflection in a shop window.  Lita stared back at
her, tears streaming down her face.  She looked into her eyes,
and into her heart as a tear dribbled down her cheek and dropped
off her chin.
     Lita saw the tiny glowing ember the remained to ache and
yearn in her heart, and watched it die as the tears fell upon it.
     Lita smiled.
     If the reflection of the street behind her, she saw a tall,
dark haired man with glasses and a terrific bod walking on the
opposite sidewalk.  She turned, her hand brushing all traces of
moisture from her face, and crossed the street at an eager pace.


The End


(As usual, Sailor Moon, the Sailor Scouts, their names,
likenesses and all that assorted legal stuff are copyrighted by a
gazillion different companies, and I am not challenging those
rights in any way.)

Completed 8/96
Revised most recently 12/97