Hey everyone! No, I'm not coming back to FFN, but I keep getting a LOT of faves and follows on here and I thought this would help people realize I've MOVED. I'm on AO3 now, guys, and YES, I'm continuing Warm Me Up! Blame MoonMageGoddess for this, too, it's all her fault!

This is the prequel chapter by the way, involving Rei and Mirai Gohan: the next chapter is back in the present with Mirai Trunks and Usagi! :) There's about 4 or 5 chapters? posted on AO3 besides this one, too, so hit the link on my profile here on FFN and you'll wind up on my AO3 profile. Scroll down to find Warm Me Up. I've also continued Blind Love over there and I'm thinking about posting and finishing the unfinished stories here on FFN even though I've moved and posting on FFN is a pain in the ass with my shitty internet speed.

So enjoy! And if you want more, please subscribe to me on AO3 and comment on my works over there! Love yall, mean it!

It was her scent that woke him, but he'd always known that it would be.

No, not a touch, not a softly spoken word… but her sweet, alluring scent. The scent that aroused him and his beast every time he so much as caught a whiff of it and made it damned near impossible to fight whenever she was around. The gods only knew that he'd likely be dead if she'd been at the last fight, the one that had taken his arm. He'd already been so distracted by Trunks and keeping him safe that if Sailor Mars had been present, he'd have surely perished.

Gohan would say 'if she only knew what she did to me,' but he knew he'd never have to say that. He knew that she knew what she did to him. She'd witnessed it firsthand… and mouth. That was it, though. They hadn't taken it any farther; she wouldn't let him. She'd insisted that her princess was her priority, and Gohan had accepted her wishes, even though he'd admitted that he didn't like it one bit.

And now she was here, in the one place he'd warned her away from if she didn't want to wind up pinned beneath him and taken, her virginity claimed and her shoulder marked. He wanted her, all of her, but he'd been honorable enough to explain his people's mating customs to her and that she could never, ever enter his room under any circumstances.

Not unless she was coming to him as his mate.

"Mars, you know I told you—"

"I know," he heard her breathe from across the room, her tearful whisper somehow cutting off a low, possessive growl from his beast that had started even before he'd woken. No, his beast had been alerted to her presence for several minutes before it had smacked Gohan awake with the knowledge that her scent was perfuming his territory. It had simply basked in that delicious, mouthwatering aroma for a little while, had savored it and the way it mixed in with his own scent, which clung to everything in the room. "I… I'll go… if you want me to," she continued softly, her voice shy and unsure.

Gohan had never heard her sound unsure before. Never. She always knew what she wanted, always had a plan and an answer for everything, and he almost expected a trap of some kind and briefly wondered if it was really Android 18 playing some sort of trick on him.

No, that was stupid. His ears might deceive him, but his nose and his beast couldn't be fooled… and his beast had only ever purred for one woman, and that was Sailor Mars. "You know what I want, Red," he replied evenly, though his words were tinged with longing and just a little bit of bitterness. It wasn't like they'd felt the pull—that mythical tug in the chest that Vegeta had said every warrior dreamed of feeling one day—but Gohan loved her so deeply that it hurt when she'd refused on multiple occasions to mate with him… especially when she'd confessed that she felt the same for Earth's strongest warrior. She hadn't said the words, but she'd said she'd felt the same… but still, she wouldn't mate with him.

No, her precious princess and her duty were more important to her, and while he understood, it still soured inside of his heart that Mars wouldn't trust him enough to bring her princess here for safeguarding. She hadn't even trusted him with her real name. Gohan had her heart and he'd explored every inch of her beautiful, battle-scarred body, but she wouldn't even give him her real name. 'In time,' she'd said. 'One day. One day, when we don't have to fight anymore, I'll give you everything, I swear it, and not just my name. Everything.'

"Why are you here, Red?" Gohan asked when she didn't reply to him. She hadn't left, either, but she was still motionless, near his open window, her shadow barely visible even to his superior vision. It was only when he heard her sniffle and draw shaky breath that he realized she was crying, and the half-Saiyan sighed guiltily as he hauled himself up with his remaining arm, the stump of his left aching fiercely. It was still healing, and healing fast, but it hurt and probably would for days to come, even with his Saiyan healing aiding the process.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he swung his legs out of the bed and momentarily forgot that she was in his territory, moving in the darkness to stand before the shadow half-hiding behind his curtain. If Mars was crying, the world was surely about to end and even his beast knew that. Something was wrong. "Is Serenity safe? She isn't hurt is she? I can go get Bulma and some med capsules if you need me to—"

"No," Mars choked out as she moved forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly, her face resting over his heart, where it always rested after they'd both come several times and satisfied their mutual need for each other. Only now, she was listening for the steady beat that would reassure her that he was still alive, that the fire was wrong.

It had shown her his death and she'd fought every urge and instinct to go to him, but when she'd heard about the battle that had apparently taken his arm, Hino Rei had finally listened not only to her heart, but to her princess.

Usagi had told her repeatedly not to deny herself Gohan's love, had encouraged her nearly every time she'd broken down and sought him out or aided him in battle, and this evening, Usagi had stated plainly that if Rei didn't go to him, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

Because the fire had told her he was going to die… and soon. This last battle hadn't killed him, but the next surely would, or the battle after that. The fire was never, ever wrong. "G—Gohan, I… I thought you were dead," she sobbed after holding him and quietly weeping into his chest.

He was going to die, and because of her stupid honor and pride, she was only going to have a handful of days or weeks with him as his mate. She could have had him for a year at least, but because her vow to protect Usagi trumped everything, she'd ignored her princess's plea to follow her heart. She would ignore it no longer, but whatever time they had left would be bittersweet. There would be no hope of a future with him, because he had no future left. "I'm sorry, Gohan. I'm so sorry. Please… please forgive me."

He'd been about to diffuse her tears with a declaration that he was healthy as a horse, but the fatalistic tone of her voice changed his tune, and Gohan shivered as he looked down at her in the dim light of the waxing crescent moon and realized that she wasn't Sailor Mars. His nose and beast hadn't lied, but the woman in his arms wasn't in a fuku; she had on only a long skirt and a button down blouse, and her hair was slung back in a messy braid that exposed a gorgeous face that was similar to—but still different from—the face of the woman who he'd fallen hopelessly in love with. "…Red?"

Her eyes puffy and red from crying for the last three days, Rei looked up at him and smiled, though it was bitter. "Rei," she answered. "My name is Hino Rei."

"Rei," Gohan whispered. Her smile was full of bitter regret, but his was nothing but warm and filled with love, even as he deduced why she was crying her heart out as she held him.

She knew something. She'd seen something, as was her gift. That was one of the very few things she'd divulged about herself, that she was psychic, and that her visions were never wrong. She'd seen his death, and out of longing and grief, she'd come to him.

He understood the bitterness of her smile—and it was a very bitter pill for him to swallow, knowing that everything he'd worked for would soon end for him—but he couldn't help but not care at that moment. She'd loved him enough to come to him even when she'd sworn she wouldn't before the androids were dead.

She'd broken the solemn vow she'd made… and she'd done it for him, because she loved him. The knowledge that she loved him that much washed away any possible bitterness for him, and Gohan could only smile as his beast stirred once more and a soft, reassuring purr filled his room as he bent his head and kissed her.

Gohan had meant for it to be gentle, sweet and comforting, but like most of their kisses it only wound up morphing into something hot and eager, both of them burning head to toe with desire just from that one little bit of contact. "Come to bed," he whispered between kisses, coaxing her with his whole arm to step with him towards the king-size in the middle of the room without breaking the mating of their mouths. "Mate with me, beautiful."

He'd whispered those last four words dozens of times to her and she'd always denied him as gently as possible, reminding him of her vow… but this time, Rei broke the kiss to gaze into his dark eyes, the love and desire in them unmistakable, even in the near-dark. "Gohan… I…"

"You don't have to say it, Red. I know," he whispered, kissing her again as his only hand worked open the buttons of her shirt. "I know why you're here," Gohan breathed as his lips moved on to her throat and he found the spot near her ear that always made her purr with pleasure. She didn't purr this time, she only choked out a muffled sob into his collarbone, which he quickly silenced with another kiss to her lips. "Don't cry. Not tonight. Tonight's for making love, not for grieving. Especially not while I'm still here."

"Gohan, you need to know," Rei insisted. "Please, let me speak."

Her shirt was shoved to the floor even as he nodded, and Gohan reined in his beast with the reminder that she wasn't stopping him, just putting everything on pause for a moment. "I don't know if it's a good thing to know where and how I'll die, but ok," he murmured as he caressed her jawline, then found himself waiting patiently when she only looked up at him silently, tears streaming from her violet eyes. "Rei… whatever it is, just tell me."

"I die a month later," she whispered, her heart breaking when his eyes narrowed and he shook his head in denial, stooping to pick up her shirt and hand it to her. "Gohan, it doesn't—"

"No," the half-Saiyan growled, "I won't mate you just to have you die from grief."

Catching his gaze, Rei cupped his face in her hands when he tried to look away and turn from her. "Gohan," she stated firmly, "I die anyway. There's no changing it, no possible scenario in which I live. So please… at least make love to me before we die. It's the only thing I've ever wanted for myself," she added in a hoarse, tearful whisper. "You are the only thing I've ever wanted for myself. I love you."

He crumbled at the sound of those words—he'd longed to hear them from her for over a year—and before Gohan knew what he was even doing, he was kissing her senseless and dragging her into his bed, coming down on top of her in a heap of muscle and trembling when she rocked her hips into his and her fingertips caressed, explored and stroked every inch of him in encouragement. "No, don't stop," she whimpered when the firm head of his cock pressed against her entrance, only to retreat and for Gohan to break the kiss to nip at her shoulder.

"You're not wet, Red," he breathed in her ear before trailing his lips down her throat, over her collarbone, then back to her shoulder. His beast had put the brakes on everything the moment he'd felt the lack of arousal between her thighs, and he knew it was because she was scared. He could smell it. She was probably scared of the future, not of him, but he definitely wasn't going to make love to her unless she was ready for him. "Forget everything, baby. Just for tonight. Be mine for one night and just forget," he urged her as he grasped the skirt that was hiked up to her hips and slid down to completely remove it from her.

"I… I can't forget, Gohan," Rei choked out as she sat up and pressed against him tightly. "Y—You don't understand. I've watched it so many times, trying to find a way out for both of us, but… but there's no way out… and I can't unsee it. Every time I close my eyes, I see you dying over and over."

She was openly weeping again, clinging to him desperately, shaking as he held her with his remaining arm and purred comfortingly for her. "Rei," he murmured soothingly as he drug his lips over her shoulder, "I'm not dead yet. I'm right here, and when Trunks kills them, your princess will bring us back. You'll wake up in my arms—both of them—and the war will be over. Everyone will be alive again. We'll be together and happy. We'll get married. I'll give you all the children you want, like you told me you wanted. Look at me, baby." When her violet eyes slowly met his, Gohan gave her his best smile, the one that made him look like his father, and nodded slowly. "We'll have our happy ending… so don't cry. Don't be sad. And don't you dare feel bitter because we'll only have a short time together before we die—uh-uh, no. Don't deny that you feel bitter, because I know you all too well. Think of everything we'll have when Serenity brings us all back."

"I… I can't." The only thing she could think of was the sight of him lying face-down in the city in a puddle of water, with Trunks standing over him. The image had been seared into her brain by how many times she'd watched it in an effort to find a loophole. But no, every path they took had the exact same outcome, on the exact same day. She just didn't know what day, only that there was no moon overhead because of cloud cover and an oncoming storm.

As she relived it in her head again and wept hopelessly, Rei suddenly felt a searing pain in her shoulder and cried out, digging her nails into Gohan's back, but before she could speak and ask what he'd done, she felt a sucking sensation… and pure pleasure, followed by the feeling of a calm mind full of love joining with her own.

It was almost like she was in Usagi's head, as if she were communicating with her telepathically… only it wasn't Usagi. And it wasn't just telepathy, either… she couldn't shake the other mind. It was one with hers, flooding her with love… so much love that it made her heart hurt and sing simultaneously.

The image of his death was wiped from her mind by all of that love, and in its place she saw only pictures of them tangled together in his bed, against his wall, in his shower, and on his floor—in all of them, he was inside of her, taking her, making her his in every way as she came for him repeatedly, and Rei felt a responding warmth between her thighs as the sucking at her shoulder continued and the sound of a low, possessive growl filled the air.

Mine, she heard loud and clear in her head. All mine. That's it… get wet for me, Red. I need you. I need to be inside of you. Need to be one with you. Need you need you need you...

With that chant joining in with the love filling her from head to toe, Rei moved against him in silent permission, barely concious of it as she floated along in the psychic nirvana he'd created for her with the half-bond.

The funny thing was, Gohan had no clue what he was doing or how he was doing it since he had no experience with the bond and only minimal telepathic training with Piccolo. It had simply happened that way thanks to the depth of his love for her, and now she was drifting in that wonderful sea of emotion even as she drug his mouth from her shoulder to kiss him heatedly and tug him down on top of her.

Make love to me, Gohan, she whispered in his mind. While Gohan had no experience with psychic powers, Rei had eighteen years of it, and reaching into his head to speak to him was as easy to her as breathing. It was why she'd been thrown into his thoughts so easily, why she was still so deeply immersed in his love for her, and for once in her life she absolutely loved her gift of mind reading. No, no foreplay; we've had a year of foreplay, I need you now, she insisted softly when he tried to break the kiss and the images in his mind changed to pictures of his mouth buried between her thighs. Need all of you… please…

"I love you," she spoke aloud and through the bond at the same time. "Please, Gohan."

but it'll hurt

Rei hushed the incomplete thought by reaching between them to stroke his heavy arousal slowly and position it between her legs, gasping at how wet she found herself for him. She was definitely ready for him, and raised her hips to press her drenched entrance against the swollen head. "I'm yours, Gohan, and I'm offering you all of me. Please, take me," she whispered as she used her legs to encourage him to lower his weight onto her, pushing his thick cock into her in the process.

There was no flash of pain since her hymen had been lost in a fight years ago, but Rei still held her breath as his combined impressive length and girth caused her more than just a little discomfort even before it was halfway inside of her. Don't stop, she told him when he paused and she sensed that he was worried about hurting her.

Knowing when to follow orders, Gohan panted for air and nodded weakly as he rained kisses down her silky throat, groaning once he was buried in her to the root. "Even better than I ever imagined," he choked out. "Fuck… Red… Rei," he corrected himself, "I won't last. There's just no way."

His confession was coupled with a deep blush of embarrassment that she could sense through the bond even though she couldn't see it in the dark, but Rei knew he could see her smile when she couldn't contain a giggle. "Like our first time, then," she teased, briefly marveling at how her sadness and grief had been washed away by all of his love for her and the sea of it that she was still basking in within his mind. She picked up on another surface thought then, and before he could voice it, she grinned and kissed him long and slow, moaning when he withdrew slightly and thrust back into her.

I can feel your pleasure, she informed him. Bite me when you come, I think I'll come, too.

oh hell yes

Rei laughed softly at that and urged him through the bond to move, and when he did she was swamped by his pleasure, buried so deep in his head that she felt every little nuance of how tight and wet and good and perfect she felt for him. She moaned loudly at that, the pleasure her new focal point while the ocean of love became a cocoon that simply surrounded her, a backdrop for the white hot shots of fire running through every nerve ending as he moved slow and deep. "Gohan… oh… Gohan, I… I think I'm…"

She didn't come with him, she actually came before him, and Rei choked out a whimper when he sunk his teeth into her mark and she felt his love take on a possessive, protective edge just as she peaked and was bowled over by a tsunami of pleasure and love and more pleasure when he followed her over the edge. The psychic connection spurred on a second climax, and the princess of Mars couldn't contain a loud moan of his name as he spilled inside of her, adding to her pleasure, giving her one last, hard thrust as he released her mark and his lips crashed into hers.

i love you i love you i love you mine mine mine i love you

When Rei could finally focus on something besides the love and pleasure and she'd finally wiggled her way out of his head enough to just float on the surface of it, she sputtered at the beatific look on his face that she could just barely make out. "I should've expected that goofy ass grin," she snorted, only to relent when he laughed and the carefree sound of it made her smile, just as his laugh always did. "So… how long before we can do that again?" She wondered aloud as she remembered all of the times they'd made love without any penetration and how quickly he usually recovered.

Gohan just grinned again as he stirred inside of her, but instead of her usual rebuke to wipe that smile off his face, she only blushed hotly as her lips twitched up and her eyes fluttered half-shut. "Maybe another minute? That fast enough for you, Rei?"

"Mmhmm," she sighed, pulling him down for a kiss that was long, slow, and one of those rare, wonderful kisses that wasn't filled with heat and lust. No, this was sweet and loving, and both of them savored it as he hardened inside of her again and she wrapped her legs around his waist once more. "I love you," Rei whispered when he broke it to look down at her and memorize her face. "No matter what happens, Gohan. I love you."

"And I love you, Rei," he breathed. "Always have… and when we wake together, we're going to be happy. The happiest we've ever been."

She couldn't ask it aloud, her throat had closed as her eyes filled with tears, but she didn't feel bitter anymore. Just sad for Usagi and Trunks. Both of them were going to be so alone. It was the end for her and Gohan, but it would be just the beginning of the worst for them. Promise me you'll tell Trunks. Don't tell him we've mated… but tell him about Serenity. I… there's something else I saw in the fire, Gohan. But if you tell him we mated, it won't come to pass. And if you take him with you on the battle that kills you, it won't come to pass. And… I can't bite you. You can't let me bite you back, I'm sorry.

Not receiving the mark in return was a disappointment, but if Trunks and Serenity both depended upon it, Gohan wasn't going to argue. After they woke, when the world was whole again, he knew she'd mark him in return without hesitation, that went without saying. "I promise. You'll give me the details in the morning, Rei, and I'll follow them to the letter. But let tonight be for us, not for the little saviors we're guarding?" Gohan asked, feeling a pang of guilt for being selfish—even though selfishness was something he'd very rarely indulged in over the years. "I think we deserve it."

"No… you're right," Rei allowed as she kissed him. "You're absolutely right. We do deserve this. Just one night without thinking about duty." She used her Senshi strength to roll him then and winked as she perched there on top of him, flexing around his renewed erection. "Now… I'd like to feel that hand on me this time, thank you very much."

Pleased that she didn't seem to mind the lack of both of them, Gohan was more than happy to give her pert ass a squeeze as he rocked up into her. "Yes, ma'am."

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