Disclaimer: some of the mythology in here has been slightly modified so it could fit the story, for more information about it look in the author's note at the bottom of this fic. Also, I don't own Sailor Moon.
"The remnants of love in my memory:
Scent of berry blossoms & the color of pomegranate"
- Qahar Asi
.
"I'm not sure it's entire appropriate"
"Why not?" Jupiter commented looking at the dress again "I think it suits both you and the occasion. The design won't scare any prudish earthling and the color gives your status as a representative of the Moon and Venus"
Venus looked herself in the mirror in more detail. Jupiter was right, the dress was adequate; long enough to cover her ankles and the cleavage was only a little deeper of what she had seen in Terra. The only real problem could come from the bottom part, where the white fabric and golden details became almost translucent showing her long legs, but she guessed it could be worse, after all they had seen her with her Senshi outfit long enough.
But she still felt weird
The message said that the royal representatives should be dressing according to the festivity and the weather in the region, but the leader of the Senshi still didn't know what the entire purpose of the festivity was. Mercury had told her that for some reason Terra celebrated the joining of the stars Vega and Altair in the sky, but not much more of the event was found in the archives.
Venus wanted to give a good impression and didn't like to go blind into any situation, especially one as important as this. Terra and The Moon (in representation of the Silver Millennium) were in talks so the blue planet could join the Alliance; that meant that there was not only a lot of debates and political talk between all the respective royals, but also a lot of mutual invitations to important events or festivities, so these was time for Venus to travel to Terra, again.
She exhaled and looked one more time in the mirror before turning to Jupiter.
"Okey, I guess you are right, as always. Remember I won't be here until late so Mars is in charge until I come back, but please keep her from actually killing the princess if Serenity tries to escape and message me if there is an emergency"
Jupiter couldn't help but roll her eyes and smile, her friend couldn't stop being bossy even if she didn't mean it
"I will, don't worry! Now go and have fun"
.
Venus would prefer to be dead than being caught saying this out loud, but she had to admit that she loved Terra.
It was completely different from any place she had visited. She loved the Moon and Venus, but the small blue planet was…. alive in a way the others weren't; and it was always different all over their lands, some parts were green and blue with flowers of every imaginable color, others territories were covered in nothing but sand and some others in pure white.
And it was also in constant change, always different. She remembered one of the (multiple) times she was trying to catch her princess when she stumble in a place that was red, gold and brown all over, but she could have swear it had been green and full of flowers some months ago. She was later informed that it was indeed the same place and this changes were from a phenomenon called Seasons " If you like this you should see it around Christmas then" he had whispered with amusement in his voice.
And oh, the smells! Every day it was something different depending of the weather and the season. This time it was something so sweet it made her smile; she was almost sure it came from the small red fruits in the budges called berries.
An almost faint noise in the trees behind her made Venus stand alert until she recognized the voice behind her back.
"Lady Venus" she smiled for herself before turning around and dropping her guard.
"Lord Kunzite, it's a pleasure to see you again. Did I land too far from where I was supposed to?"
"No my Lady, just some meters. You are also just in time"
She couldn't help but smile at that, even if she had been trained to be a princess and then a leader, arriving early still wasn't one of her fortes.
But not even the small comment made her stop being nervous around his presence, again. Every time those deep green eyes stayed long in her she couldn't help but feel self conscious and feel the unsettling awareness of her heartbeat, it excited her but it also scared her.
All of this was something new for her.
"Lord Kunzite" she couldn't bear the silence for much longer while they headed out of the forest "I hope the outfit is appropriate, we didn't have much information about this festival" she commented as if his opinion wasn't important.
He stared at her outfit, not staying longer of what was appropriate in some areas before coming back to her eyes, always the gentleman
"I think you look beautiful Lady Venus"
Before she could recover and reply to him, they were entering one of the palace gardens where the royals and members of the council were waiting for them.
.
Venus was sure the Queen hadn't sent her as a representative of the Silver Millennium because she was the leader of the Senshi, but because she was the most political correct between her comrades and could answer a snarky accusation without generating an interplanetary incident, or at least without killing someone. Luna was also a possible option, but she was far too busy attending the Queen (the cat ears and tail might also scare the people from Terra a little); Artemis was completely out of the question, as his disgust for the people from the tiny planet was well known by the Queen
The other option could have been Princess Serenity, and the single thought just gave Venus chills. Four weekly, and clandestine, visits to Terra were enough.
So now Venus put her charming mask and enchanted even the most skeptic member of the council in one of the nicest, if not odd, festivities the blonde warrior had ever attended.
For a festivity being held by the royalty and with the exception of two or three complicated question by some lord or lady, the entire affair felt so…relaxing and fun. The gardens were full of tents offering different kind of games and attractions for both adults and children, and there were tables full of wonderful food and drinks (there was this magnificent amber drink which taste both sweet and smoky, Lord Jadeite was kind enough to inform her it was called Whisky, and she should drink it moderately)
But what caught her attention the most was that everything was red. The tents and trees were decorated in bright red with small details in white, and every person around her was wearing at least something in the specter of that color, it made her feel grateful she didn't ditch her constant red bow as Mars had suggested.
She was planning on asking Endymion about the color but realized that during her mental scrutiny the prince had not only abandoned her, but the entire courtyard.
"I see my prince has decided it was time to leave you alone with the lions"
Venus didn't turn to meet him, but she did smile and stop a shiver. His voice was like honey, smooth yet so sweet, it was enchanting.
"I'm nothing if not a capable tamer"
He stood next to her, their arms slightly brushing and the ghost of an almost smile on his lips
"I have noticed" Kunzite whispered, and she could feel his eyes on her, setting her skin on fire.
He had stared at her like that during the entire day, when they were in the same group chatting or even when Venus was in the other corner of the room while she talked with the Queen. And it wasn't a " you are an outsider and probably a danger to my people " look, it was something completely new that it still felt familiar enough, making her feel excited and warm inside.
She felt his finger slightly touching her hand.
"I'm sorry to say this, but I think Prince Endymion has ditched you for another space blonde princess"
That comment made Venus finally look at him.
"Serenity?" she asked while raising her eyebrows, she was so killing her charge when she was back on The Moon.
"Today is a special celebration for Terra" the Shitennou told her calmly "he would have wanted to share at least a little of it with her"
Venus would have loved to keep talking about their charges and why he wasn't more concerned with getting his prince back, but the mention of the festivity caught her attention again.
"About today My Lord, I still haven't grasped the entire porpoise of it. Everyone looks so relaxed, happy and…red"
He had to smile at that last observation
"Today is formally known as Qixi Festival, but the most popular name here is "The Night of Sevens". There is an old legend which tells the story between Zhinü a Goddess's seventh daughter, symbolized by the star Vega, and Niulang a mortal cowherd, symbolized by Altair. Their love was not allowed and Zhinü's mother scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever thus forming the Silver River, or Milky Way, between Altair and Vega; but once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, all the magpies in the world would take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge to reunite them for one day" he pointed to a small statue in a corner of the garden she had noticed before but didn't give attention, it was surrounded by small offerings and showed a maiden and a gentleman meeting over a bridge.
Venus couldn't help but smile a little, especially between the similarities between her princess and Terra's prince, a fairy being who fell in love with a mortal.
"It's also known as the Lovers Festival" Kunzite continued his explanation "You are supposed to give something to the person you are in love with. I guess my prince had something for your princess"
"And the red?"
"Well, isn't it obvious?" she noticed he was admiring her bow "red is the color of the heart, of passion and fate, the color of love"
"It's a beautiful tale" she whispered after a moment, her finger slightly brushing his arm.
He didn't move away.
They had been doing this for months now. Accidental touches that could easily be avoided while guarding their charges or constant glances in protocol meetings, sometimes an almost invisible garbage in the other's hair.
They had yet to acknowledge what all of this meant.
She was excited
She was scared
"The Queen informed me that I need to escort you back to the teletransportation place" he suddenly told her "She is sorry she couldn't say her goodbyes in person but she is needed somewhere else, and Queen Serenity will send her magic searching for you soon" Venus noticed Kunzite was right, night was starting to fall over them, the stars slowly meeting in the sky.
They started walking side by side inside the forest leaving most of the people behind, both too submerged in their own thoughts to really talk. She was analyzing everything she had learn today, but her thoughts always came back to the tall man next to her, his presence dominated her entire thinking.
"Venus" she came out of her thinking to realize they had arrived to their departure point, the smell of berries from when she had landed fresh in her nose again "I have something for you"
The Senshi was always proud to say that her face was a calculated mask which never showed an emotion she didn't want to show, but Kunzite words made her look up in shock.
"Zoisite mentioned that you really enjoy the food in here, specially the fruit, so I thought I could give you this…. present "
From a pocket in his pants the silver hair man took out a small red fruit and handed it to her, their hands held together by it.
"It's kind of sour but sweet at the same time and it was original from the region where I grew up, but now it can be found in most of our lands. The skin isn't eatable but the seeds are, you have to open it like this"
The small fruit and his hands left hers and he took out a small knife from his other pocket and cut the object in half, seeds and juice red as blood stained his white gloves but he didn't seem to mind. Kunzite handed it back to her again
"What is it called?" the blonde asked looking curiously at the small fruit between her hands
"Pomegranate" his voice was so soft and the emotion behind it gave her chills all over again.
Venus knew the old tale from Terra, Endymion had narrated it to Serenity and her one afternoon, in front of Kunzite. A goddesses named Persephone who chose freely to go into the Underworld, where she meet a God and King who offered her a pomegranate and she willingly ate six seeds, not deceived as some people said, but completely knowing it would bound her to him and that place.
She stared into his face, the wind slightly playing with his shining traces, and he looked the most gentle and open she had ever seen him, but still completely sure.
Persephone had made a choice.
Venus bit into it.
"Thank you Kunzite" Venus softly smiled, she started feeling the teletransportation magic in her fingers
"Azizos" he informed her while staring into her deep blue eyes "My name is Azizos"
She was back in the Moon.
No future could come out of this, they both knew that. There was nothing more than side glances and ghostly touches, only subtle conversations; and even that would probably end in pain and heartbreak.
And yet...
"Freya, that's mine" Venus said before biting the fruit again.
Author's notes: I had never in my life celebrated St. Valentine and in my country it hasn't been much of a phenomenon until the last five years, but I wanted to write a nice V/K for the occasion. Still all I had in my mind was really angsty stuff that didn't go well with the mood and I was trying to avoid the cheesy and commercial stuff of the holiday, so huge thanks to mygeekycorner/AdriannaSharp for giving me the prompt of "Kunzite explains Valentine's day to Venus"
I wasn't really sure the modern idea of Valentine's would work so I did some research and found this Chinese festival which is kind of the equivalent of the western celebration. The Qixi Festival is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology. It falls on the 7th day of the 7th month on the Chinese calendar
About the Persephone myth: In some older versions of Persephone's story she heard the despairing cries of the dead and chose freely to go into the Underworld to comfort them, where she meet Hades.
About the ending: I love this idea that names have power, especially when you left your mortal name for a warrior's one, as Venus and Kunzite did. In Arabian mythology, Azizos (Kunzite name) is the god of the Morning star and Freya (Venus name) was the goddesses of love, beauty, war and death in Norse mythology
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I was kind of scared about posting this, so please let me know what you think, opinions and constructive criticism are always welcome!
PS: The last time I ate a pomegranate was like 5 years ago lol