Title: A Little Something

Men had given her many things. Some had showered her with expensive jewellery, others with designer frocks and the number of exotics holidays she'd by taken on by devoted admirers was beyond remembering.

But while Minako Aino had enjoyed it all, no present had ever touched her heart. So she wore the dresses, accessorized them with the jewellery and then boarded the planes that took her everywhere, all the while feeling that somehow, she was doing it wrong.

By the time the world changed and Tokyo turned into its new centre, she had given up on love. Really, what was the point? The taste of kisses grew stale too soon, the silly little jokes were only funny the first time she heard them, and after a night or two, she was bored anyway. She could buy her own dresses and necklaces, could put ringers on every finger of her hand, and if she wanted to go on holiday (not that she ever had the time), she'd do so on her own and wouldn't miss a thing. Minako Aino became Venus: the untouchable goddess of love.

Three-hundred and ninety-five years into the existence of Crystal Tokyo, four men knocked on the doors of the eternal palace, and suddenly, Minako Aino's heart, buried so deep in Venus, beat a little faster. He was tall and handsome, had eyes for no-one but Endymion and Venus soon realised that he was unlike anyone else she'd met during this lifetime. Kunzite was hard to impress: her beauty seemed to be nothing to him, he didn't care for her sense of humour and when she had his quarters decorated for him as a welcome present, all she got in response was a short thank-you note in impeccable handwriting and a curt nod in the hallway.

Of course, she knew what this was about. Everyone did. Shame and regret are strong in those who are honourable in nature, and so the shitennou did their duty and tried not to do anything else. It didn't matter that both king and queen and even the senshi (who had all learned their lesson about how easy it was to fail when Galaxia's bracelets snapped around their wrists) had welcomed them with open arms. The shitennou were repenting sinners, and Kunzite above anyone else was intent on making Crystal Tokyo his purgatory.

When Small Lady turned five (and Nephrite had long since succumbed to Jupiter's charm), the senshi threw the princess a birthday party in the gardens. Balloons, cupcakes and ponies were all plenty, and the laughter of the little girl soon caused even Kunzite to smile. Leaning against a tree, Endymion and his family never out of his sight, he finally stopped looking out of place. Venus watched him watch them, noticed how his eyes crinkled at the corners when Endymion ran after the white pony his daughter was on, how his hands were tucked away in the pockets of his khakis, how he never ever looked into her direction. Eventually, it became too much and Venus, more Minako Aino than she'd been in a long time, decided to give herself a break. She threw Serenity a smile and grabbed an empty platter, indicating that she'd get more cupcakes.

Walking towards the palace, she took a deep breath. What was she doing, pining after a man she didn't even really know? Back when she was a teenager, a silly girl, she had often fallen for someone out of her reach, and through that, had proven Ace right over and over again. No happy ending for Minako Aino, no dashing prince, no white horse. So she had decided that if she couldn't find the one true love every girls dreams of, she find fun, lots and lots of fun. And she had, for a while. Now the memories of the one-night-stand and brief dalliances filled her with something akin to shame and the reminders of them, all those presents, were something she kept shoved in the back of her closet. Kunzite appearing out of nowhere had given her hope, unrealistic and foolish hope. Venus kicked off her shoes and continued barefoot. The grass was as soft as the carpet in her room. It was a beautiful day: no use wasting it by wallowing in self-pity.

In the kitchen, she politely pretended not to notice the bra at the foot of the counter and because Venus was kind, and a champion of love to boot, she didn't even glance in the direction of the half-open pantry door, where Jupiter and Nephrite were trying their best to be very, very quiet and were also panting very, very much. Grabbing a new plate of cupcakes (purple this time), she speedily made her way back to the gardens, giggling to herself as she did so. Those two, no better than rabbits.

"You seem amused," Kunzite said and fell into step beside her. Almost dropping the cupcakes, Venus jumped. "Good God, you scared me half to death! How about announcing yourself next time you want to apprehend a woman from behind the bloody apple trees!"
His face fell instantly. "I apologise."
Foot, mouth, now. Venus blushed. "Takes more to scare me than meeting a colleague in a garden, so never mind." Her 'colleague' took the platter out of her hand, carrying it for her. She kept looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, but his eyes were on ground, not once straying from the beaten path.

When they reached the party, he placed the platter on the wrought-iron table, quickly rearranging the cupcakes in a perfect circle. Venus rolled her eyes. "Really?" He looked up then, and she could swear he was blushing. Before he could answer, Zoisite and Jadeite, troublemakers extraordinaire, practically ran over, followed by Endymion, who had his daughter riding on his shoulders. "Vivi, we're playing ponies!" the little girl exclaimed excitedly and Venus laughed. "What about the real ponies?" Chibi-Usa's little face scrunched up and Endymion shot Venus a dark look. "One of them bit me. It's a bad pony. I don't like it." Jadeite and Zoisite nodded in unison, and then reached for the plate of cupcakes. "The ponies," Jadeite said very seriously and pointed to Endymion, Zoisite and himself, "need to be fed."

"But not here," Chibi-Usa said, and shook her head, bubblegum pink ponytails bobbing. "We have to go the stables!" "Maybe Uncle Kunzite would like to carry you there, sweetie." Endymion looked at Kunzite, a little desperate, but Kunzite only smiled and shook his head. "No, that's a father-daughter trip, isn't it, Little Lady?" Beaming, Chibi-Usa shouted "YESLETSGO," and Endymion, Jadeite, Zoisite and the plate of cupcakes made their way to the stables, leaving Kunzite and Venus alone under the trees. Unfortunately, they didn't leave them with something to talk about. Toying with her hair, Venus wondered which subject would not lead them to a standstill within three sentences. It was so difficult with him, he was haughty and proud and easily offended and attractive and annoying and he made her nervous and she was pretty sure she made him nervous too and the fact that Mercury and Serenity were watching them from across the lawn didn't make things any better.

The silence was just about to become awkward when Kunzite took a sideways step closer to her and pressed something in her hand. "Thank you for the redecoration. I like it." He shot her a smile, a real one this time, and then set off, trailing in the direction his liege had disappeared to minutes ago. His broad back was to her, and he didn't turn around, just kept on walking, hands in his pockets, eyes on the ground.

Stunned, Venus opened her hand. It was a tiny white flower, the kind that grew all over Tokyo, both in winter and summer, spring and fall. It was nothing special, and to anyone else and from anyone else, it was worthless.

To her, it was the best present she'd ever received.

***The End***