Chapter 55: This too shall pass

[scene: Zoi's bedroom. Zoi is lying in bed on his belly with a plain box with a red ribbon on it. He unties the ribbon to reveal that the box is filled with photographs. It's the same box Kunzite gave him on his honeymoon, but there are new additions day by day. Zoi doesn't know if they appear by magic or if Kunzite drops them off personally while Zoi is sleeping.]

[He secret hopes the photos don't appear by magic.]

[He reaches for a scrapbook. It's got a silver cover, and on the front, done in black, is a big stylized heart with the words Z loves K appearing before a background of black roses. He opens the book and flips through photos of himself and Kunzite and other mementos until he comes to a blank page and starts pasting in some of his latest additions to his photo collection. Some in Hawaii, some in Mexico, some in Iceland, some in Turkey, some in Monaco, etc… ]

[They've been back to their private meadow few times, so Zoi has lot of photos from there as well, as well as some choice blossoms in his flower pressing kits. Those go into the scrapbook as well. He makes sure he has fresh flowers from every trip, or at the very least, a few wilted petals.]

[Not all of the photos find their way into the book. The pictures from his wedding have their own special album. Some photos stay in the box. He finds them a bit unflattering or mundane. A few of the really good ones of Kunzite go into frames.]

[Although all of the photos are tasteful, some make him blush just because of the memories they invoke. He keeps those in his nightstand.]

[A few months have passed since his first visit to the O'Sama house and life is good.]

[Zoi's grades have dramatically improved. In the beginning he saw no long term relevance in maintaining a high GPA, so he studied only when he needed to do so to pass an exam. Now he's obsessed with impressing Kunzite and his father, so he must get perfect scores on all his tests and assignment, treating each red X as a mark of dishonor.]

[He's taken to hanging out with the gang at the Crown Center on Sunday afternoons. He brought Kunzite once, but given that Mamoru and Naru are way too cold to him, and Minako is way too hot for him, the entire time he looked as if he wanted to bolt the door shut and massacre all the unsuspecting townfolk. After that Kunzite made excuses and Zoi pretended to believe them.]

[On the other hand Chief Midori has warmed up to Kunzite completely.]

[In the first few days when he came home to find Kunzite sitting in the kitchen talking with Zoi while Zoi cooked dinner, he treated his presence with detached formality. He never listened well enough to realize Kunzite was helping Zoi with his studies. This continued until the day Chief Midori came home to see Zoi perched on Kunzite's lap doing his trigonometry homework.]

Kunzite: You made a mistake on question twenty-seven. Can you see where it is?

[Zoi points to the page]

Kunzite: No.

[Zoi points somewhere else]

Kunzite: No guessing.

[Zoi reaches for his iphone, but Kunzite pushes it out of reach]

Kunzite: No calculators.

Zoi: We're allowed to use calculators during the test.

Kunzite: You're not. No calculators, no cheat sheets, no open book. You're going to master this. Otherwise, you'll just have to learn it all over again when you take calculus and physics.

Zoi: [sulks] What makes you think I'm going take calculus and physics?

Kunzite: [gives Chief Midori a cautious look] If you intend to stay with me forever and ever, you're mastering calculus and physics. Otherwise you'll be stuck doing parlor tricks like Jadeite.

Zoi: [raises his brows] You actually use calculus?

Kunzite: I use calculus every day of my life.

Zoi: [pushes the book away] In that case I want to learn calculus right now.

Kunzite: [pulls the book back in front of Zoi] Let's just get through trigonometry first.

[Zoi looks over his shoulder at his father.]

Zoi: Hi dad.

Chief Midori: Something smells good. What are you making for dinner.

Zoi: Kunzite's making us moussaka.

Chief Midori: Kunzite cooking dinner for us?

Kunzite: I want Zoisite to concentrate on his studies.

[Later they sit down to dinner]

Zoi: What? No salad?

Kunzite: I don't eat salad.

Chief Midori: Me neither.

Zoi: Well I do, you Neanderthals!

Chief Midori: It won't kill you to skip it just this once [tries the moussaka] Damn this is good.

Zoi: [tries it and give Kunzite a sly smile] I'm a little disappointed.

Kunzite: Why?

Zoi: It would be nice to find one thing you didn't do better than everyone else on the planet.

[Kunzite flashes a crooked smile leaving Zoi breathless]

Chief Midori: You should open a restaurant. I had no idea you were such a good cook. [claps Kunzite the shoulder] I have admit, I was wrong about you, Kunzite.

Zoi: [mutters] Dad, don't embarrass me.

Chief Midori: [ignores him] When I found out you were interested in my son, I assumed the worst.

Kunzite: You're his father. It's your job to assume the worst.

Chief Midori: Still, it was unfair of me, and for that I apologize. I judged you, and my judgments had no basis in reality. I thought you were only after one thing, but you've been nothing but a wholesome and positive influence on my boy. I hope I've never said anything to upset or offend you.

Kunzite: [smiles] There is no reason for you to apologize. I was never offended.

[Not long after that Kunzite and Chief Midori spend more time together. They take to watching baseball on the couch while drinking beers. Eventually Zoi comes over and perches himself on Kunzite's lap. But baseball bores him so much he ends up falling asleep, with his head on Kunzite's legs, with a throw pillow over his ear while Kunzite strokes his hair. At first this makes Chief Midori uncomfortable, but within a short time, he comes to accept that his son is involved in his first serious relationship.]

[Of course Chief Midori's opinion would change pretty quickly if he knew of the marathon sessions of naughtiness that took place on Saturdays in Kunzite's bedroom.]

[Saturday dinners at the O'Sama house had become a regular thing for Zoi, and of course he still wasn't going over there to have dinner. No sooner would the door to Kunzite's bedrroom close than Zoi would shed his clothing and climb into bed without even thinking about it.]

[This time there is a small brown box on his pillow, about two inches tall and as wide as both hands, tied with a gold ribbon.]

Zoi: For me?

Kunzite: [Slips into bed with him] Of course.

[Zoi unwraps it and giggles to see four chocolate dipped strawberries.]

Zoi: Yum. [He nibbles on one and giggles and lies on his back] They're slightly frozen. I guess I'm going to have to eat these as slowly and suggestively as I can.

[Kunzite smiles and brushes Zoi's hair from his face, but rather than watch Zoi eat the strawberry, he gazing adoringly into his eyes.]

Kunzite: I love you, Zoisite. It's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true.

[Zoi blinks. It's the first time Kunzite has said those three little words. He's said it in other ways, and Kunzite might not even realize what that means to him, but Zoi's heart is going pitter-pat.]

Kunzite: I wish you could look into my mind, so you could know the joy I feel when I am with you.

[Zoi finds himself mesmerized, the half-forgotten strawberry still clutched in his hand.]

Kunzite: Before I met you, I knew nothing about love. I thought it was just some silly cliche invented by playwrights to pretend there is a force of goodness that can overcome evil. Now I understand, I think, not just one form, but every type of love. Love IS more powerful than evil. I care for you more than everything else in the world combined

Zoi: [serious] I love you, too.

Kunzite: I know you do. [kiss him lightly on the lips] I'm not sure how I managed to be this lucky.

[Zoi is touched, but then realizes the strawberry is melting in his hand. Kunzite sees where his eyes have darted to, and Zoi is afraid he has ruined the moment.]

[Kunzite smiles as he takes the strawberry from Zoi's hand and feeds it to him. Then he takes Zoi's fingers one by one and sucks the chocolate from them, before kissing Zoi on the mouth. Kunzite's lips are hot in contrast the coldness of the strawberry. Zoi is intoxicated, even before he felts Kunzite's weight on top of him.]