Title: Spoiled
Author: shadowravyn
Theme: Wrong; 04/17/07
Genre: General
Version: Animanga/Crystal Tokyo
Rating: G
Words: 1564



King Endymion pushed his glasses up into his hairline and tiredly massaged his temples, trying to pretend that the mountain of paperwork on his desk didn’t exist. Being a king was hard enough, but being a conscientious king was an order of magnitude more difficult. Add onto that the duties of a loving husband and father…even the wielder of the Golden Crystal couldn’t do much when he ran out of hours in a day. For a moment, he allowed himself to wish for those idle, carefree days of his youth, when he was plain old Chiba Mamoru, and the combined pressures of adoring spouse, playful father, and responsible monarch were far ahead.

Only to remember the days of college, double majoring in biology to become a doctor as he’d always wanted, and political science to prepare for the future, or the nights as an ER intern, working multiple shifts on no more than a pot of coffee and a candy bar. Those very same halcyon days when he was also spending precious sleep time fighting evil as the superhero Tuxedo Mask, and keeping his future wife and daughter from each other’s throats. No, even as Chiba Mamoru, his life had been anything but leisurely or relaxed.

But then, as now, those same two females made his entire life worthwhile.

With a smile, Endymion glanced back at his desk, eyes carefully avoiding the documents awaiting his attention, to the one clear spot on the corner. Nothing was allowed to accumulate on that corner that could possibly obscure the picture that rested there. In it, his daughter sat on her mother’s lap, surrounded by more toys and dolls than she’d ever have the time or desire to play with. The only thing that kept him from feeling guilty about the pile of toys that threatened to engulf both of them was knowing that less than a month after the picture was taken, almost all of the toys that Small Lady hadn’t immediately taken to (as well as any toys she’d appeared to have outgrown) had been fetched, cleaned, and donated to hospitals, children’s centers, and orphanages across the world.

It was no secret that the princess of Crystal Tokyo was spoiled rotten. For the most part, her sunny disposition kept it from being a real issue, but still, there was no denying the obvious. After all, she had been given a floating ball with mind-control powers, and it was only due to the minimal amounts of psychic training the palace staff received as a matter of course that kept the Luna-P from being abused by his incredibly precocious little girl.

This was, of course, all his fault. He freely admitted that he was the one who started spoiling Chibi-Usa, and even if he hadn’t remembered doing so quite clearly, his wife was more than happy to point this fact out to him any time their daughter did something to illustrate that less-than-desirable little trait. It had all started out very innocently. Nothing was more natural than wanting to buy little gifts and presents for a new child, and he and Serenity hadn’t been any different in their regard. What set them apart, however, was their status as reigning king and queen of most of the known world. Where most parents had to settle for just wanting to offer the world to their precious newborn, the two of them had been in the position to do just that. And with four adoring surrogate aunts wanting to do the same…well, it was easy to see how that could quickly spiral out of control.

The desire may have faded as Chibi-Usa aged—except that she didn’t. She remained their sweet little girl for over nine hundred years, both in body and in spirit. Fortunately, she was never a woman trapped in a six-year old’s body, but she still felt her enforced, elongated childhood keenly as she watched friends that she played with grow up, marry, and die, leaving her and childish pursuits behind forever. Then, the gifts and the toys and the clothes became a way to distract her from the grief of watching generations of friends fade to dust while she stayed behind.

More recently, the motivations for spoiling Chibi-Usa had changed again. The Nemesian invasion had begun; the delegation had arrived and was infesting the Court and the city of Crystal Tokyo. There were no open hostilities yet, but Endymion watched as they slowly began circling, like vultures over prey. More than anything, Endymion wanted to send a few roses Demando’s way as he began his no-so-subtle courtship of Serenity, but there was nothing he could do. He and the Senshi were tied, stuck waiting and watching, hamstrung by their knowledge of the future. The feeling of helplessness was starting to grate on all of their nerves, and already some of the servants were noticing that all was not well with the Royal Court. Only Chibi-Usa seemed to be ignorant of the coming storm; other than the strict curfew, she’s never had a time when she had so much unrestricted freedoms or an inundation of new toys. In a few short weeks, her life would be turned upside down—her mother encased in crystal, her father little more than a computer hologram, the Senshi would be incommunicado, giving their energy to protect the city, and her beloved home under constant attack. Was in any wonder they wanted to spend these last hours together giving her anything she wanted, when so much was about to be taken away?

The future wasn’t written in stone. Even though they had already defeated the Nemesians in the past, there were no guarantees for the future. Yes, it was the wrong way to handle her, but they were happy just to see her smile—each smile could be the last.


As if the thought had summoned her, the sound of a chubby fist against his study door echoed through the room. He rolled his eyes, and barked a gruff “Enter.” She had been told that when Papa was in here, he was supposed to be left alone, but rules meant little when she they stood in the way of something she wanted.

The door slowly swung open, and his daughter stood in the doorway, clad in her nightgown and slippers, Luna-P floating protectively behind her. Her face was woebegone, her cheeks stained with tear tracks, and there was a definite pout about her lower lip that grew more pronounced as she took in his overly-patient expression. It was the look he got whenever he was waiting for her to explain her most recent transgression, and the time she had to do so was quickly running out. “I know I’m not supposed to be in here,” she said, looking at him with wide, cinnamon eyes, “but I miss you something awful.”

“You shouldn’t be missing me right now,” Endymion said sternly. “You should be in bed, and asleep. It’s well past the curfew.”

“I tried! I really, really tried to fall asleep!” Chibi-Usa protested, Luna-P bobbing in agreement. “My nurse came to put me to bed, but I couldn’t fall asleep without you being there to tell me a story and make sure there wasn’t a monster hiding under the bed.” Her chin began to tremble and tears welled up in her eyes. “The monsters are only scared of you; no one else can send them away.”

“Chibi-Usa, I’m right in the middle of—” He started to send her back to bed, but hesitated. His poor, innocent baby. She’d started having nightmares about monsters soon after the Nemesian delegation arrived—Mars thought it was the first few signs of a psychic gift manifesting. She was picking up on their stress and fear. Worse yet, she’d be face to face with real monsters soon…

“Please, Papa?”

He glanced down at the paperwork still cluttering up his desk. There was a request of assistance from one of the Chinese provinces, a few letters from various charitable organizations they sponsored, the usual slew of invitations, basically the minutia of every day life. And there, in front of him, was his daughter who needed him for something only he could do. How much longer would he be the shining knight in his daughter’s eyes? How much longer could he protect her from the monsters both real and in her imagination?

Forget that the American ambassador was pressing him for details about their annual tour of the States. With a feeling akin to euphoria, Endymion swept the paperwork off his desk and into a drawer. His daughter needed him now, and that, more than anything else in this entire world, was his highest priority. Dr. Spock certainly wouldn’t make much of his parenting skills, indulging children was the worst thing a parent could do, according to that old book of his, but Dr. Spock was long since dust, and his little girl was here.

“C’mon, punkin,” he said, sweeping her up into his arms. “While I check your room for monsters, why don’t I tell you another Sailor Moon story. Did I ever tell you about the time she got attacked by the evil tennis ball monster?”

None of his excuses mattered. He was wrong and he knew it. But that didn't seem to matter when compared to the feel of his daughter, dozing in his arms.