AN: This is supposed to take place a month or so after Serenity and Endymion first meet in the Silver Millennium. All of the Senshi and Shitennou have seen each other a few times as they acted as guards during visits.

Nephrite watched from a distance as his Prince stood in the Golden Kingdom's garden, speaking in low tones to the Moon Princess. A year ago, he would not have imagined himself in this position, standing guard as Endymion secretly met-and fell in love with- Princess Serenity, heir to the Moon Kingdom. And if he were honest, he shouldn't be doing this. It was almost treason, allowing someone from another world to even get near his charge, but...he couldn't separate them.

Nephrite hadn't seen his prince this happy for a long time, and even though he considered himself a loyal knight, he did understand and emphasize with love. And ever since he had seen one of Serenity's guards, he had been a bit too distracted to dwell on their shared crime anyway. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a green and white figure approach him, before stopping a polite few steps away to watch the same scene as he was.

The smell of the slightly damp woods around them seemed to intensify with her presence, and Nephrite involuntarily took a deeper breath than usual to better appreciate it. A second later, his brain caught up with his body, and he snorted. It was almost intoxicating, and he wondered if the Princess had selected this senshi to join her just to mess with his concentration.

"She falls deeper for him every night they meet..." Sailor Jupiter said, behind his back. Was she referring to herself, or Serenity? He couldn't really tell, but he nodded anyway. He already knew he was in too deep, in more than one way.

"A wise man would call this development dangerous." Nephrite responded. He kept his voice low, like hers, and he could hear the bushes shift as she moved even closer. He could almost taste the pine on his tongue, the effect was so intense. But there was something more flowery about it too...

"And do you think of yourself as wise?" she asked. She had an accent when speaking Earth's language, just like the other senshi, but each one was different. Nephrite found that he liked her's the most though. What did her first language even sound like? He grinned and scratched his now rough cheek. He needed to shave again some point soon, before Kunzite got on him for not following protocol.

"No, that's Zoisite's job. I'm just here to be the extra muscle." He heard her laugh for a moment, and he felt a bit of pride.

"Is that so?" She was right next to him now, but he didn't look at her, focusing more on the pair in the garden. Endymion and Serenity stood much closer, and he was whispering something into her ear that caused the princess to blush and hide her face in his chest. "So that's why you're one of the Shitennou? I was under the impression that it took more than just brawn to become a knight."

"I never said I lacked intelligence." Nephrite turned, and his eyes finally found Jupiter, trailing up her tall frame. He had thought that he and Kunzite were tall, men but her people were different than the ones of Earth, and she was very close to his own height. He couldn't imagine what the others on her planet looked like. Her skin was tanned, and she actually looked the part of a warrior, with defined muscles and hardened green eyes along with her long red hair pulled back inot a neat pontail. "I council my Prince in the ways of battle, not book facts."

"You must be a skilled fighter to teach the future ruler of Earth," she said. She almost shamelessly looked him over, her gaze lingering on his arms and chest. Was she trying to judge how tough he was, or was she just checking him out? He knew how disciplined Serenity's guardians were, but they definitely still had emotions. "Would you...care to spar with me sometime? I've never seen an Earth warrior in action."

Nephrite detected a waver of hesitation in her voice, which was new. Was she actually nervous? But the thought of facing her in combat, hand to hand and up close and personal, drew his interest like a moth to a candle. Did he really have a choice?

"I wouldn't say no to that." He really was in over his head here.