Swallowed by the Sun
***
Two men sat on a bench in front of the newly erected palace. Behind them, the crystal walls caught the midday sun and reflected it, adorning their heads with bright halos of golden light. Nature had not recovered as quickly from the battle as the inhabitants of the city formerly known as Tokyo had: the grass in the park was still thin and the trees were spindly with very few green leaves on them despite spring almost drawing to an end and Sailor Jupiter's incessant attention. Both men were wearing identical deep blue uniforms, but the expressions on their faces couldn't be any different.
The one with the wild blonde curls stared into the distance, his blue eyes burning with barely contained rage, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Just so you know, I don't give a damn about us being brothers-in-arms, our vocation, the rocky road to redemption we have to walk together, and whatever else may be a factor in this, but in this life, and you can take my word for it, we won't be friends."
Beside him, Kunzite leaned back and crossed his legs, flicking a speck of imaginary dust off his shoulder. He took in his surroundings with the same mild indifference he bestowed to everything and everyone but the prince he was once again sworn to serve.
"Well, friends is not the term I would use to define our past relationship, either."
"You know what I mean. And for future reference, stay the fuck away from her."
Kunzite smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Venus does not care for me."
"Yeah, you said that last time and look what happened. You stole her from my bed before the sheets were even cold." Jadeite stood up abruptly and positioned himself in front of the seated general. He bent down until they were face to face and placed both hands on each of Kunzite's shoulders, deliberately invading the other man's personal space. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, but forceful. "I will do my all for Endymion and Serenity and unfortunately, that entails enduring your company, but let me say this once again: we weren't friends then, we're not friends now, and we won't ever fucking be. You're a cold bastard; you're nothing to me, that's what you are. Nothing."
But friends or not, these two men knew each other inside out, and the cold gleam in Kunzite's green eyes told Jadeite that for once, he had hit home. Before they met Venus and before the empire fell, the two of them had been close, closer than even brothers could be. It was long ago, but that denouncing this time caused the older man pain was an oddly pleasing thought, and thus Jadeite let go of his shoulders, ready to return to the sacred halls of the palace to bathe in his triumph for a little while.
"Jadeite, I do not need you to be my friend, I need you to listen to my commands. As long as you do that, you can feel about me in whichever way pleases you," his commander stated, his voice perfectly calm, even though his eyes were not. The traces of emotion mirrored in them were all the warning Jadeite needed, but there was no way of steeling himself against Kunzite's all too casual remark. "However, you should keep in mind that it was her that came to me back in the Silver Millenium. If I recall correctly, she said something about being a little... bored."
At that, one of the spindly trees burst into fire, and Kunzite got up as well, walking first around and then past Jadeite without further regard while putting his impeccable white gloves back on. He stopped near the burning tree, and with one slow wave of his hand, the flames disappeared into nothingness, leaving each leaf and bud in perfect condition.
"You should really learn to control yourself better. Jupiter worked very hard to re-grow these trees," he called over his shoulder, and strode on, each step coating him in more golden light until he was swallowed by the sun.
***
The End