FOREVER CLOSER

By Tsuki1 and Crys

Pg-13

Chapter 4

Authors Notes

Yes, after an eternity we're back. I don't know about being better than ever but we're back…which is something right? We both humbly beg for forgiveness as our long absence is heading toward a rediculous amount of time.

Last note from me is my email is no longer aohell. If you wish to flame, comment, suggest, threaten, or maim me I'm now available at crystalshards01@cox.net.

Advance warning: flames will most likely be laughed at unless there might be constructive criticism somewhere. If you actually want me to read your email do please have it mostly grammatically correct. I tend to delete email that reads "luvd ur fic" or ur

fic suked, it ws the werst thing I ever red…" and yes people do email that sort of stuff.Other than that, enjoy the next chapter of FC and feel free to hit the little "review" button.

~Crys~

We liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!! Bwhahaha! Yes, we're back (finally *sweat drop*) for another chapter of FC. I know I know - we've been baaaaaad. We deserve to be chained up and have fruit and veg hurled at us *hangs head in shame* oh the pain, the anguish!!...Maybe this'll make up for our...uhm...extended absence...eh heh. To my defense - I did go to the other side of the world for 2 months, which didn't help. On a brighter note - you'll be pleased to know you won't have long to wait for the next chapter as it's all been plotted and just needs to be written!! I truly hope you enjoy this chapter - though please excuse the lack of magnanimous happenings (they come next chapter ^_^). I hope it at least clears a few things up. Enough of my babble! READ!!

~Tsuki1~

P.S. from Crys: And try not to email one-liners that consist of "when are you going to update?" as both Tsuki and myself have work, and I usually have at least 4 hours of homework a night.

P.S from Tsuki: *ahem* I have to agree, while it's really fantabulous to know you're keen for an update, it just adds more stress. I'm starting a Japanese course next week (yay me!) and its gonna be 17hrs a week. Not including homework. Then I have work and all the singing I do and my social life...oye *keels over* So, really, don't need more stress...pretty please? I'll give you cookies! ^_^

~*~

Minako, still in Senshi form, slid quietly from the sleeping Princess's room to her comrades waiting outside.

"She's finally asleep, thanks to that elixir you slipped her Ami" she gave the blue haired Senshi a small smile.

"He will pay" spat the Senshi of Fire "I'll roast him alive, I'll...I'll hang him from his toenails and roast him alive."

"Why do you get all the fun?" the equally angry and homicidal Makoto asked fiercely. "If anything, we work together – catch him off-guard then WHAM! I'll knock him out with my lightening then we string him up by his feet in the public square. Of course we can get Ami to whip up something to get him to wake up so he knows what's going on then..."

"Mako! Stop that!" Minako admonished the green eyed Senshi. "We don't know what went on in that room. There maybe a perfectly reasonable excuse for the Prince's behavior..."

"Did you not see our Princess...our *friend*!?"Rei glared at her. "Did you not see how devastated she was?" Her voice rose a few octaves; "How can you not want to go and kill him now - make him feel half as much pain as she was feeling" her voice hitched "How Venus? How!?"

The anger and hurt at her friends loss made tears spill from Rei's eyes in rage. "I...I could feel her pain, her loss as soon as I entered the room – didn't...didn't you feel it too?" she sobbed as Minako gathered her in her arms to try and calm her.

"Minako – it was so awful, how could he...how could he hurt her like that" she cried more, her tears soaking the Senshi of Love's uniform.

Minako *had* felt her Princess's pain but with her senses being acutely aware of matters of the heart, she had also felt the remnants of the Prince's...

***

In a secluded part of the Moon Palace's gardens, Endymion sat in brooding silence, his generals watching him anxiously.

"Do you think if he keeps his face like that long enough, the wind will change and it'll stay like that forever?"

"Jadeite! Can you ever be serious!?" Kunzite frowned at the blonde general. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood here! So she's the Princess-I would have thought that to be a good thing? Less complicated and all that."

"She should have told me." Endymion stated, coldly staring at the rose in his hand.

"What would you have done if you'd known Endymion? Shout to the world that you'd fallen in love with the Princess of the Moon….a girl you've met, how many times was it? Once, twice? It should hardly matter *who* she is, or that she has a title."

"That's hardly the point! She had enough time our last meeting to give me the pertinent details such as who and what she is. But she chose not to, she chose to lie to me."

A feminine voice interrupted the ranting prince.

"That is not entirely true Prince Endymion. You misquote your last meeting with the Princess."

As the last words were spoken a woman emerged from a copse of trees. All five men sat speechless as the light fully struck the woman. Pluto, dressed in her senshi uniform raised a green eyebrow above red eyes.

"In fact, I'm quite sure that Serenity said that she could * not * divulge who she was to you, at that time."

"Who are you? How do you know what was said that day? Or are you just another one of the princess' spies, sent by that selfish girl to see what we have to say?"

Endymion's voice was full of venom as he spat out the words.

Pluto's eyes flashed dangerously and narrowed at the prince. Not knowing exactly why they had the urge, all four generals half drew their swords. Though her eyes were still narrowed, and her staff held at the ready, Pluto's voice was almost amused.

"The swords, though very nice they are, are not necessary gentleman. If I wanted to hurt your Prince there is nothing you could do to stop me." As she spoke she focused on each individual general.

Then her eyes swung back to Endymion, and if looks could kill he would have been a nice gooey puddle of blood upon the ground.

"As for you, Princeling…do not *ever* seek to judge my Princess. Until you know the true extent of her feelings you have no reason to scorn her; and certainly no reason to decide whether or not she is a liar. In which case, if you decide to accept your misinformed conclusion of the girl's honesty you are forewarned. Not only are the senshi her guard, they're her personal friends, woman powerful enough in their own right to kill you. I would advise you to think upon your last encounter and remember what she told you."

With those words, Pluto was gone leaving a shaken Prince and somewhat confused generals.

***

Venus walked briskly down the never-ending hallway that led to the senshi's rooms.

The Princess had barely eaten in three days straight, and with the engagement ball approaching, the four Senshi were worried sick about Serenity's health; not to mention anxious about whether or not there was going to be need for an engagement ball.

"Lady Venus, if I could please speak with you for but a moment." Venus stopped, and turned to find one of Prince Endymion's guard approaching her.

"Oh great, just great - this is exactly what I need" she muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that?"

"Uhm, I said, it's...uh...great to see you...uhm..."

"Kunzite my lady." He finished for her, his mouth quirking upwards.

"Right, sorry" she gave a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Kunzite noticed.

"Do you mind if we keep walking, I have quite a busy schedule."

"Of course, my lady. May I ask, how is the princess?" Venus paused mid step, her eyes refusing to meet his. Her body went immediately taught and Kunzite flinched slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I was just..." Venus interrupted him sharply by focusing on him with cold eyes.

"She hasn't been eating apart from a little broth we manage to coax her to eat. She hasn't left her chambers, her mother is worried and doesn't have a clue what's going on and with the 'engagement' ball so near we're all on edge. Does that answer your question at all my Lord Kunzite?" she turned away from him, a shuddering sigh escaping as her head fell forward causing her blonde hair to cover her face like a waterfall.

"I'm sorry...you were merely being polite..." sighing again, she rubbed her temples trying to soothe the impending headache that often came with the stress of her job.

"I just don't understand why this all has to be so difficult...they both love each other" she said, as if speaking to herself.

"You sense when someone is in love?" The Senshi blinked in surprise and found herself looking into the pale silver-blue eyes of Kunzite.

"Sorry?"

"Your power...is to sense the feelings of one person to another? For instance, when someone loves someone else, you can feel it."

"Yes..." she said "But that's only scratching the surface" she quickly amended. "There's much more to being the senshi of Love than just 'sensing' it."

"I see...so, you can sense anyones 'feelings'? Could you sense if someone had feelings for you?" Venus stared a little dumbfounded at the handsome silver haired general. His chiselled features suddenly registered with her and then the question that he had asked - she gulped. She found herself beginning to blush but managed to calm herself before it became too obvious.

'One of the perks of being the Senshi of Love' she thought with relief.

However, Kunzite's eyes seemed to be looking at her with a strange intensity. She looked away from him before her blush could come back and cleared her throat. She couldn't be distracted from her Princess. The most important thing was to get her healthy and smiling again. Especially the smiling part of it; she missed Serenity's smile and the laughter that filled all their lives mere days ago but which now felt like eons ago.

"I should be getting back to the Princess. She and the others will be wondering..." As if by fate, Mars came walking towards them from the direction of the Senshi's rooms.

"Venus, we were wondering where you were." The Fire senshi eyed Kunzite coldly, not even attempting to hide the suspicion she held for him.

"Sorry Mars, I'm just on my way. Lord Kunzite." She nodded at him respectfully.

"Lady Venus." He nodded back.

"Princess." Venus amended absently.

"We are each the princess of our respective planets the other senshi and I" she explained when his brow furrowed in confusion.

"I am Princess Minako of Venus. Sworn to protect the Princess of the Moon, this is Princess Rei of Mars, she has also sworn the oath to protect Serenity. Not only is she our ward, but she is also like a sister to each of us. When she is hurt, we hurt too. We will do anything to stop her from hurting and to make her smile again. Do you understand?" Minako looked into the depths of Kunzite' eyes as he nodded in understanding.

"I truly hope it works out...Princess" Kunzite bowed to the Senshi as the two turned to walk back to the Senshi's rooms.

"I sensed a strange aura from him." Rei said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Mmm." Was the only reply she got from her friend.

"Do you like him Mina-chan?" She looked at Minako speculatively.

"It doesn't matter if I do or don't Rei-chan. We need to take care of Serenity. Nothing else matters other than her. That is our duty not only as her guard but as her friends" she said softly, smiling gently at her raven haired friend's worried frown.

"All will be well as soon as we get Serenity smiling again." Rei nodded in agreement.

"I still say we should burn him alive...but I suppose that would make her cry even more" she said with a small smile.

"It'll sort Rei, It'll sort" Minako assured as they both turned into the rooms where the other Senshi were waiting.

What greeted the two women as they entered the final room, had them both gaping in stunned surprise. Their beloved princess was standing in the middle of her room, and though she still looked pale and fragile, fury was blossoming off her in waves. Rei, Amy and Makoto were standing still, not quite sure what to do with their friend.

Minako however, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and make a "hmm'ing" sound.

Finally Serenity's temper had burst.

"I'm not going to the ball with, or for that arrogant Earth slime! I was nearly on my knees *begging* him to listen. But did he? No! He just stood there and told me not to be too familiar with his name."

At the end of this rant, Serenity turned to look Rei in the eyes.

"For all I care you can rip his…"

Minako quickly intervened, not wanting the Princess to say something she might regret.

Especially since it was bodily harm to the prince that Makoto or Rei might carry out.

That and she was utterly appalled by her friend's thoughts, and what she actually wanted to say.

"Serenity!! Stop this nonsense at once"

"Stop? You want me to STOP!? He...he stood there and threw everything..." Serenity choked as tears began pouring down her cheeks.

"He threw everything we shared back at me, like it was...like it was *nothing*" she sobbed harder and would have fallen to her knees if Makoto hadn't have caught her.

Gently Makoto lowered both her and Serenity to the floor, hugging the smaller girl as she began to rock. Able to feel her pain more acutely than she would have liked to, Rei kneeled in front of the princess and joined the hug.

"Do you still love him Princess?" Rei asked softly, surprising the other three Senshi in the room.

Tear filled, cerulean blue eyes opened to look at the senshi of Mars. With a final, slow nod of her blonde haired head Serenity confirmed the question. Rei sighed at this truth, then cupped her friend's face.

"Then don't let this tear you apart. You fight back, and you show him that this isn't a farce. Whatever you do, I support you, and I'll do anything I can to help. Just…don't let any threats slip out of your mouth, as I'm still mad enough to go through with any of them."

Ami supplied her friend a handkerchief, and seconded Rei's words;

"We're all here for you Serenity. You're a sister foremost, even more than our friend, or just our princess. We'll always be there to help you."

She smiled gently and scooted over to make room for Minako to join the group on the floor. Minako grinned at all the girls before addressing Serenity.

"It seems to me that they've all summed our feelings up rather nicely. And just so you know, Princess, though Prince Endymion was very angry at the time of his words, he hurt himself with them just as much as you. I can't tell you much more, but…." She gave them a reassuring smile "All is not lost."

~*~

End ANs: (Random reader: you mean there's MORE!? *reader faints*) Look how nice we were!? Do you see the lack of cliff hanger here? I think we deserve cookies! *grins* As always, thanks for reading and I hope you come back for more when we get the next chapter out (which all going well wont take months eh heh *smiles sheepishly*) Any comments, questions, criticisms, death threats etc etc, please feel free to email Crys (her new emails at the top) or me : Siggy_Johnston@optusnet.com.au or even press the button...would it help if I used reverse psychology? *paints review button red and writes DON'T PUSH* Go ooooooooon....ya know you wanna ^_____^ *squidges*