A/N: Here's the fourth and final segment of the Crystal Tokyo story arc. Makoto/Nephrite, of course. There are a few cameos by outer senshi as well. All that jazz.
Disclaimer: I would hope that this would be a no-brainer.
It had been an exceedingly enjoyable, if unusual evening, thus far. Early summer really WAS Makoto's favourite time of the year, as the most beautiful flowers bloomed in profusion, basking in the warm sunlight, and the people walked around with smiles on their faces. It was the season of brides and daydreams and perfect weather.
It was also the time that, ostensibly in honour of Crystal Tokyo's queen and princess, though really more just for the enjoyment of the people, the annual fair was held in the city. A brilliant carnival of food and performances and games and whimsy, and this was the first time that Makoto, aided by a few friends, decided to really participate in it.
Now that the moon was rising and the fairgrounds had quieted, Makoto left her own booth (which had been selling handmade candy flowers at a phenomenal rate all day long) to the care of her best culinary apprentices and decided to visit Hotaru. The youngest of the Outer senshi, dressed in gypsy garb and crystal earrings, had been playing the role of resident fortune teller that day, giving advice with a smile and enjoying her unconventional role to the hilt. It was much like a play-acting experience, after all, without resorting to borrowing any of Setsuna-mama's prize designs. The mysterious, dark-haired senshi played her role exceptionally well, a petite enchantress against a backdrop of black velvet curtain and silver and purple beads.
Hotaru was in the middle of patiently listening to a young boy, no more than seven, giving a declaration of puppy-love for "that really beautiful senshi, Saturn... the most powerful and yet least-known one of them all" when Makoto entered. The taller woman listened to the boy's words with an amused smile, taking pleasure in Hotaru's slightly pinked cheeks and the boy's utter obliviousness that he was in fact confessing to his idol.
The boy was sent away with reassurances that Saturn must certainly appreciate his esteem, and was flattered by his high opinion. Makoto chuckled as she walked in, and surveyed the other girl with a raised eyebrow. "I WOULD have the bad timing to walk in upon a declaration of love."
"Better you than Haruka-papa," Hotaru grinned wryly. "THAT would not have been pretty."
"Indeed not," Makoto replied fervently. "But I did not come here to discuss your love life." She held out a plateful of food. "I figure that since it's dying down now, you'd probably want some dinner."
"Oh, thank you," Hotaru's face broke into a grin. "That would be lovelyI've not had a chance to eat a thing since ten this morning."
"Then go eat," Makoto said firmly. "We can't have the object of that boy's worship fall ill, can we now?"
Hotaru rolled her eyes at that, but obeyed. "Please keep watch over here for me, Mako?"
"Certainly." The Jovian senshi sat down in Hotaru's chair, looking nothing like a gypsy fortune teller, and waited patiently for the younger girl to return.
It was about ten minutes after moonrise that Nephrite stepped into the fortune teller's tent. The fair had been enjoyable, the sort of light-hearted and unpretentious amusement that he didn't even realize he missed until he came. Training was all well and good, and reading had its appeal, but there was still something to be said about the simpler things. It was a place like this that he could forget about being a guardian of the city... or the other things.
True, the senshi had come in contact with them again. Or, that is to say, the other senshi. Ami and Minako and even Rei had been nothing but polite, and his friends were deliriously happy... but his love had yet to find him. Or vice versa. The stars winked and glittered in promise, but there wasn't much else he could see. Perhaps it was a secret that he would only have to discover in time.
Or perhaps visiting the fortune teller would shed some light upon the situation.
"Good evening," he greeted the woman seated at the table in a polite voice. "May I come in?"
Her head snapped up at the sound of his voice, and he heard a gasp that made him look closer. In the weak, waning light, it was difficult to see the colour of her hair or the expression in her eyes, but upon closer inspection, the face was a familiar one.
And he would recognize those earrings anywhere.
Pink roses carved of coral, a betrothal gift from two thousand some odd years ago. The sliver of moonlight through the door caught their sparkle, and for several minutes, he couldn't speak.
And then it was she who broke the silence. "You of all people!"
He found himself wincing at her incredulous tone. Makoto had always been blunt and direct, not one to mince words, and her shock at seeing him again was perhaps not a good sign. Her temper was like her element: wild and uncontrolled, with a dangerous, deceptive beauty of flushed cheeks and stormy eyes. She was loyal to her liege, and in their first life, she had not hesitated in killing him with her last breath in a desperate attempt to shelter the Moon Princess from harm.
Would she do the same today?
"Say something!" her voice snapped him out of his moody thoughts. "Or do you not know who I am?"
"I know very well who you are," he forced himself to speak, cursing his inability to hide his emotions behind aloofness (like Kunzite) or a facade of cheer (like Jadeite). "I remember everything about you."
"What are you doing here?"
He wasn't quite sure how to respond. To pay his penance? To ask for her forgiveness? Or was he just at the fair to have fun, like everyone else who didn't have a burdened mind and soul? "I'm sorry... I was just in here to know my fortune," he said humbly, sitting down across from her and gazing into her face. It was gracefully, unpretentiously beautiful like it had always been. The years and the wars had left their subtle mark in the lift of her chin and the timeless gaze of her forest-green eyes. He couldn't look away, even though he really had no right to stare now.
"Oh," she said softly, and the hardened warrior vanished as she smiled, replaced by a girl with rosy cheeks and rosy dreams, soft eyes and a soft heart. "The fortune-teller is out, taking a break," she gently told him. "So... I suppose I will have to try my best."
"I'd rather hear what you have to say, anyway."
Makoto nodded slowly, and reached across the table to grasp one large, long-fingered hand in hers, gently turning it over so that the palm faced upwards. One rosy-nailed finger traced along the lines of his palm, brushing gently against slightly callused skin.
"You've been away for a long time," she spoke earnestly. "It was another, darker period of your past, and in it, you have hurt and been hurt. But now, things have changed for the better. Your future is bright... because you won't ever hurt anyone again."
He stared at her, dark blue eyes questing as they gazed into green. "And how do you know my future, if you're not the fortune teller?"
"Fortune favours the brave," she smiled radiantly at him. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, really."
For several moments, his face registered shock and dawning delight as he digested her words and the implications behind them: forgiveness, trust and esteem. He wasn't sure if she still loved him, but it was certainly a start. More than he deserved in a lot of ways, and he impulsively gave the hand resting over his a squeeze.
"But that's where you're wrong, Makoto," he told her gently. "I DO have a lot to worry about."
"Oh?" her expression changed to one of concern. "What are you worried about, Nephrite?"
"I have two thousand years' worth of time to catch up with a certain brunette beauty, and I don't even know where to start."
"Start with the here and now," Makoto replied softly. They smiled at each other, alone in the darkened room as the world fell into gentle night outside. "That's the best advice that I can give."
When Hotaru returned to her post, the room was empty, and Makoto was nowhere to be seen. For a brief moment, the dark-haired Saturnian senshi wondered if something had befallen her friend.
But her fears were allayed not five minutes later, when Michiru arrived upon the scene to pick her up. "We're closed for the day," the teal-haired senshi told her young charge. "Let's go home."
"Where's Mako-chan?" Hotaru asked curiously. Michiru-mama always knew these things.
"Somewhere where she's happy, my little firefly," Michiru said gently. "If you were to read a fortune for her, it would say 'happily ever after'."
"Oh," Hotaru nodded slowly and smiled in comprehension. "That's the best fortune all day."
The two outer senshi cleaned up quickly, and slipped away into the night. Somewhere else, the stars shone brightly over a pair of reunited lovers, and there was no doubt that Michiru's prediction would come to pass.