Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all the wonderfulness that comes with it does not belong to me.
A/N: This is an AU setting that takes place in the Neo-Crystal Kingdom. Characterizations are sort of a meshing of the anime/manga/live action series, so please no flaming in regards to that.
Pick Up the Pieces
Nephrite rubbed at his right eye wearily as he entered the bar. His shift had ended three hours ago, so by all rights he should be home in his bed sleeping. He would need energy for his next shift later in the day. But one of his coworkers had called him up, pleading with him to come back in to take care of a "problem" – one they couldn't seem to take care of themselves. Nephrite had wanted to say no, had wanted to hang up and go back to bed, but in the end he had come. He didn't consider himself loyal to the bar he worked at. It was just a job as far as he was concerned. If he really wanted, he could probably find a job anywhere in Crystal Tokyo. Hell, there was a damn karaoke place down the street that always had a "help wanted" sign sitting in the window.
But Nephrite had been with this bar since it had first sprung up after Neo-Queen Serenity had ascended her throne. The Jade Palace it was called, though there wasn't much jade to be seen in the place. The owner claimed it was named after a former flame, something Nephrite wholeheartedly believed. His taste in women tended to stray to those with singular names – most of them common prostitutes from the street, or working down at the strip joint two blocks east. One could deny the existence of such things as much as they wanted, but even here in Crystal Tokyo there were class divisions, poverty, and things that should never have carried on after the "revival."
That was the word most people used. Neo-Queen Serenity had more or less waved her wand, used her magic, or whatever the hell she had done, and created a whole new world power from the ruins of a once great city. The fact that she had destroyed the city in the first place fighting Chaos hardly mattered. She had revived it, took her rightful place as queen, and revived all those that had been lost to Chaos' long arms.
Nephrite had been one of those revived, returned for the simple fact that he had once served Prince Endymion during the Silver Millennium, though his place now seemed much lower than it had back then. In some ways he was still that general, still meant to serve the Neo-King. But in other ways he had changed. He had died, several times, and been brought back to life several times more. Each time had left a lasting impression. Serenity hadn't realized that by bringing those poor souls back to life that they might remember their former lives – especially those that had been sent to Earth by her mother during the first war with Chaos.
He knew he wasn't the only one that remembered his past lives. Zoicite spent much of his time composing music as a way to come to peace with his past lives; Kunzite claimed not to dwell on his own, but if one caught him off guard, he could be seen staring off into nothing; and Jadeite… well, Nephrite wasn't entirely sure what Jadeite did, though the fact that the man seemed to sport a new bruise each day made him wonder if perhaps the rumors about a secret fight club springing up underground might be true.
As for himself, Nephrite had taken a job at the bar, working himself until he was too tired to think. Seven days a week, twelve hours a day, and all for crap wages. It was a far cry from his days as general, but what else could he do? Endymion might be king, but he wasn't in charge of the day-to-day business of running Crystal Tokyo. The title was for show; Serenity had all the power, and all her trust went into the Sailor Senshi rather than the generals of her husband. Only Kunzite had seemed affronted by this; Nephrite had more or less assumed that was how it would be. After all, the Sailor Senshi had been involved in the fight against Chaos more than he and the other generals had.
And really, Nephrite was glad for it. He didn't need to try and add duties as a general back on his plate. He had enough with the migraines and the nightmares; anything else would have likely driven him to drink on a regular basis.
That wasn't to say that Nephrite occasionally found himself wondering what he was doing with his life. Working in a bar wasn't exactly prime living. His studio apartment was small, he ate ramen six days out of the week, and he couldn't afford cable. His neighbors were loud, the building he lived in looked like it should be torn down, and he had to either walk everywhere, or take the bus.
A far cry from the good old days.
"Nephrite!"
The voice cut through Nephrite's thoughts, bringing him back to the present. He blinked, realizing he was at the bar, and why he had come in the first place. The problem. There was a problem at the bar, and he was supposed to take care of it. Grumbling a little, he replied, "Yeah, I'm here. Where is –"
"Over there." His co-worker – Asa – jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Nephrite craned his neck around Asa and let out a long breath. This was not how he wanted to be spending his night.
"I'll take care of it," he said. Nephrite didn't say anything more as he made his way in the direction Asa had pointed him. His eyes were focused on a single table, studying the person sitting there. There were several empty bottles of beer sitting atop the table, and what appeared to be a half-finished bottle of tequila. Who the hell had let that bottle leave the counter? He shook his head at the thought; the bottle wasn't important right now. That wasn't the source of the problem – not completely anyway. The problem was actually more in the form of a person. A female person.
He stopped in front of the table, waiting for the woman to look up at him, but she didn't. He knew she knew he was there, but she wasn't acknowledging his presence. Of course she wasn't. He hadn't thought this would be easy, because if it had been, he wouldn't be here.
Nephrite watched her for a few moments, taking in the sight before him. He could understand why he had been called. Given who the woman was… well, it was certainly safer for him to handle her than someone else. He could be given a free pass if things got tricky, not that Nephrite wanted a free pass. He just wanted to be home in bed.
The woman in question continued to ignore him, reaching an unsteady hand out to grab the bottle of tequila. Her vision was probably double considering the amount of alcohol she had already consumed, because she misjudged the distance of the tequila bottle and ended up knocking over an empty bottle of beer instead.
"You're drunk," stated Nephrite as the empty bottle bounced around on the floor. She had winced at the sound, as though it was louder than it had really been. She was probably more than drunk if that was any indication.
"I'm not drunk," she stated, her words slurred.
"Yes you are."
"Says you."
"Yeah, says me," replied Nephrite. He pulled a chair away from another table, positioning it across from the woman, and took a seat. She narrowed her eyes at him, probably working up a less than flattering way to tell him to get lost. He almost welcomed the idea. She was difficult enough when she was sober; he could only imagine that she would be even cruder while drunk.
"Let me guess," she started after a brief pause, "someone called you to come babysit me again."
"Something like that," said Nephrite dryly.
"Well, I don't need a babysitter. I'm perfectly capable of drink… drinking my 'quila on my own."
"Tequila."
"That's what I said."
Nephrite nodded, not saying anything. He took the time to study her, taking in her glossy eyes from the alcohol, and how her hair looked as though she had run a hand through it at least a dozen times. She was attractive, and he would be a fool not to admit it. But the time for admiring her wasn't now, so he forced his eyes away from her face, refusing to let them trail down her neck. He cleared his throat instead. "I was told you refuse to leave."
She nodded. "It's a bar. I want to drink. I can't drink if it closes."
"It's almost 3:30 in the morning. They should have closed an hour ago," pointed out Nephrite. She shrugged without reply, her hand trying again for the tequila bottle. Nephrite quickly intervened, placing his hand atop the tequila first. She frowned as though she didn't know where the hand had come from, trying to pry his fingers off, but not getting anywhere. Her movements seemed to be slowing down, so she soon gave up trying to pry apart Nephrite's fingers. Instead, she let her hand fall down to the table, a sigh escaping her lips.
"It's my fault, you know," she said finally. Her voice was soft, and it didn't sound as slurred as before. Nephrite loosened his hold on the tequila bottle, his eyebrows furrowing together. He knew what she was talking about, and there was nothing he could really say in reply.
"You should let it go," he said after another pause.
"I wasn't fast enough." She was ignoring him, much like she always did. That was the problem with her; she was too stubborn for her own good. She didn't like to be bossed around, didn't like to have people tell her what to do, so she did as she pleased. Perhaps some people thought it was attractive. Nephrite simply thought it was maddening. She was maddening. He hadn't known her all that well until the rise of Crystal Tokyo, and even now he couldn't really say he knew her much better. He just… he thought he could relate to her in some ways. She held herself to high standards, and when she didn't meet up to those standards she felt she had failed. He had been like that once, long ago. He didn't think he was a lot like that anymore, but he still remembered the feeling.
"There was nothing you could have done." Nephrite's reply was firm, trying to make it the final word on the matter. She snorted softly, her eyes going up to him. He found himself entranced for a moment. They were violet. People weren't supposed to have violet eyes, but that's what hers looked like. A dark violet.
"I'm a warrior, Nephrite. I'm supposed to be among the best. I should have seen it coming. I've seen and felt evil all my life, so I should have known what was going to happen." She sounded close to crying, which made Nephrite feel uncomfortable for a moment. But he didn't say anything. She needed this. Whether or not she knew it, or wanted it, she had to let it out. Chances were this was the first time she was actually talking about it since it had happened. Despite being the Soldier of Mars, and known for being passionate on the battlefield, she was probably the most closed off of all the Senshi.
Finally, "Rei, your grandfather didn't die in battle. He wasn't killed by Chaos. Evil as it is, cancer isn't something you can sense. It's for a doctor to diagnose – not you." He spoke softly, knowing that she could take his words any number of ways. Fly off the handle and try to hit him – much like she had done three nights ago when she had first come to the bar to get drunk, or begin to sob uncontrollably like she had yesterday afternoon. No one really knew what to do, not even amongst her friends. Rei had always been the strong one, but after the passing of her grandfather last week, she had become a complete mess. It had been expected, but managing it was proving to be rather difficult.
The seconds ticked by, and Rei finally let out a deep, wracking breath as though she were about to sob. She didn't, though. Her shoulders merely slumped in defeat, and Nephrite caught sight of a couple of tears sliding down her cheek. In a small way he felt as though he had won the round. No beer bottles had been thrown around, no punches launched at his face, no nails dragged across his neck. Perhaps it was finally sinking in, or perhaps she was weary after so much drinking tonight. Nephrite wasn't going to question it. Not tonight, anyway.
Getting up, he went around the table, cupping a hand beneath one of Rei's elbows. "Come on," he said softly. "Let's get you home."
She didn't protest, allowing Nephrite to help her up, and even relenting to him guiding her toward the bar exit. He waved at Asa as they went, saying as they passed him by, "Take what she owes out of my paycheck." Asa nodded without a word, and Nephrite pushed open the door to step outside.
The air was warm despite the early hour, an indication that the day would be another scorcher. "Want me to get you a cab?" he asked, his eyes going up and down the street. One was bound to be around somewhere.
"I can't go home," said Rei miserably. "His presence is still there."
"What about your father's place?"
"I'd rather sleep in a jail cell for the night," she retorted with an angry swipe at her cheek. Nephrite frowned, but didn't say anything. He should have known better than to ask about her father. He knew that despite everything, she still wasn't on good terms with the man. He thought about asking about her friends; he might have Amy's phone number in his phone, or even Lita's, but another look at Rei's face told him to simply lay off. She probably didn't want to be seen in such a sorry state by them, and frankly, Nephrite was tired. If he had to root around for one of her friends and wait for them to come get Rei, he'd never get enough sleep before his shift.
"Come on then," he said. He reached for her hand, pulling her along behind him. His apartment wasn't that far, and she wasn't drunk enough that she couldn't walk for a bit. Rei didn't protest, allowing Nephrite to lead her home. They didn't say much as they walked, although Nephrite did cast a few glances at Rei to see how she was faring. She looked exhausted. He could see dark rings under her eyes, and he wondered if the slight hollowness in her cheeks was the result of shadows playing across her face, or the result of not eating enough since her grandfather's passing.
He forced himself to turn away, keeping his eyes ahead of him. It wasn't his place to worry about stuff like that. Not with Rei, anyway. Let her friends worry about her. He'd be giving them a call first thing in the morning, and hopefully that would be an end to it. Someone needed to take her in hand and get her to stop drinking at the very least. Alcohol wasn't going to bury the pain she was feeling. It would just keep getting her into trouble at the bar, or worse.
Nephrite didn't let his mind wander in that particular direction, instead slowing his steps as he came across his apartment building. Rei didn't say anything as Nephrite dropped her hand to punch the code into the keypad, waiting for the door to click open. When it did, he waited for her to go in first, following afterward. Placing a hand on the small of her back, Nephrite indicated for Rei to start up the steps. On the fourth floor he gently nudged her to take the right hallway, counting in his mind the number of doors until they came to one without any numbers on it.
Rei spoke then. "Is yours the only one without any numbers?"
"Yeah. They fell off a few months ago. The landlord keeps saying he'll get to it, but it's not a big deal. I know which door is mine."
She gave a small nod, but Nephrite doubted if she really cared. He put his key into the lock, turning the knob, and then pushing the door to his apartment open. Rei moved inside as he pulled out his key and followed suit. He didn't say anything as he turned to lock the door, a hand flipping on the lights. He didn't have to look at her face to know she was probably wondering if staying here was sanitary. Nephrite didn't exactly pride himself on cleanliness; the sink was full of dishes, his dirty clothes were strewn about the room, and his bed sheets looked as though he had never made them a day in his life.
"I wasn't really expecting company," he said with an apologetic shrug. Rei nodded again, moving further into the apartment, her eyes beginning to study it. He shrugged again. There wasn't anything for him to hide. It was simply messy. He moved past Rei and toward the closet. He was pretty sure there would be some clean blankets in there somewhere. Lita had been on a knitting spree last winter and everyone had gotten a blanket from her, and Nephrite knew his was hiding somewhere in the closet. It had been a garish color – bright orange and olive. The colors didn't mix well, but Andrew had kicked him in the shin at the time to thank Lita for it anyway, so Nephrite had… and then tossed the blanket in the closet so he wouldn't have to look at it again.
He found it hiding beneath a box of books Amy had suggested he read once. A little tugging and Nephrite managed to pull the blanket free. He doubted Rei would need it since his apartment would only get warmer as the sun came up in a few hours, but just in case, she could at least sleep atop of it on the couch to avoid whatever might already be on the couch.
Nephrite turned around, his mouth opening to call out to Rei, but she was already there. He didn't have time to think as she stood up on her tiptoes, pressing her mouth to his. He found himself reacting without warning, the blanket falling to the ground, his arms going around her waist to pull her closer. He knew it was wrong. She was drunk, she was hurting, and he wasn't all that awake either. But she was intoxicating. She tasted like a mixture of tequila and something else… cinnamon. And maybe there was a hint of vanilla somewhere, too. Nephrite couldn't really be sure. He only knew that his body was reacting to hers, and he couldn't seem to pull away.
Even as she tugged at his shirt, his own hands moving beneath hers, Nephrite could feel part of his mind warning him what was happening was bad. But it didn't matter. They were already moving toward the bed, articles of clothing falling to the wayside.
He was going to regret this later, he knew it. But right now all he could think about was her. How she tasted, how she felt, how it all made some kind of sense. And frankly, that was enough.
