Lita walked in to the apartment and looked around. Next to the window
stood Serena, who gave her a tired smile and motioned her to be quiet as
she pointed to Sam sleeping on her couch. Others seemed to be sleeping in
various places and positions in the girls apartment so Lita decided to make
for the kitchen. She could feel the solid presence of Nephlite at her
back, following her.
"We were going to make breakfast, if that is okay?" Lita asked Serena.
"Sure. Good luck. I don't know what is in there thats edible." Serena said, "I'm going to grab a quick shower so if you need anything just let me know."
"Thanks." Lita said, begining to dig in the other girl's fridge.
After Serena left she turned toward the stove with several differant bowls, pans and ingrediants to see Nephlite staring over her shoulder at the place where Serena had stood.
"Hey! Out of the way." Lita said, nudging past him.
"She didn't ask."
"What?" Lita asked, only half paying attention as she grabbed a carton of eggs and began putting them into one of the bowls.
"That woman. Serena. She never asked if we made a decision." Nephlite said, shaking his head.
"I don't think she wants to pressure us." Lita commented.
"But..."
"Hey. I thought you were going to help?" Lita interupted, shoving a bowl of something and a wisk into his hands.
Nephlite looked down at the bowl for a second like he didn't know what it was before giving a sheepish grin and started mixing.
* * * * *
A half an hour later, people began to wake up all around the apartment as their noses informed them that breakfast was to be found near by. It was a rather subdued meal. No one really was willing to talk. All the safe topics seemed too stupid right now and the relevant topics were too uncertain.
After breakfast she and Nephlite had announced their mutual decisions. Ami had smiled at her encouragingly while Serena had asked her if she was sure. Mina had given her a huge wink that had strangely comforted her.
Lita stood in front of the petite blonde, clutching the innocent looking green pen in her hand.
With a deep breath, she removed the cap.
* * * * *
Nephlite stood and watched anxiously as Lita removed the cap of the pen. He watched in horror as lightning seemed to crackle across her entire body for a brief moment. Her back arched backward, throwing her head back so that her unseeing eyes faced the ceiling. For an eternity she stayed in this position and yet barely a couple seconds passed before her watched her crumple to her knees.
As he took a step forward to check on her, a strong arm grabbed him, holding him back.
"Your turn." the voice attached to the arm said.
Nephlite turned his eyes away from the brunette gasping for air on the floor to the dark haired man in front holding him. He searched Darien's features looking for something other than the blank expression that would tell him what was in store for him. For a second he was tempted to change his mind and walk away from it all. But he had made a promise to that same girl on the floor and it was his turn to show that she wasn't the only one with courage.
Nephlite slowly turned to face Darien and, standing slightly behind him, Zoicite. Both had that same identical blank look on their faces, as if they were actually wearing excellently crafted masks.
"Do you still wish to make your oaths?" Darien asked.
"I do."
"Then kneel."
Nephlite slowly lowered himself to the ground. The position was a once familiar and completely foreign.
"Nephlite, Knight of Earth, do you swear to pledge your life to the service of the Royal Household of Earth, to protect all that is held dear by that house and defend it until your last breath?"
"I do." Nephlite forced the words past his lips as he bowed his head.
"It is seen and witnessed." Zoicite said.
A flash of light drew his eyes back to the pair in front of him, now dressed in black armor. Darien's sword was his in his hand while Zoisite's remained sheathed at his side. With a grimace, Darien drew the blade edge across his palm and Nephlite got a glance at a white scar on his palm before everything was covered in blood.
Darien handed him the blade and Nephlite took it gingerly. He looked up hesitantly at the men in front of him before repeating Darien's action, biting back a hiss as he felt the skin part before the blade's edge. Darien then offered him his bloodied hand and Nephlite grasped it.
"Then rise, my brother, for your house is mine and as long as you protect Earth, never kneel to another man again."
As the words passed Darien's lips, Nephlite felt like his brain exploded. The world around him seemed to melt away into darkness. As he began to be able to focus, he was able to make out tiny pinpricks of light, like distant stars.
"One last step old friend." Darien said, appearing at his side.
Nephlite nodded. As he did so, those far off stars suddenly came speeding towards him, crashing into him with a force that he never would have thought light could have. And with each star that crashed into him, another image, another feeling, another memory was recovered. Before he could even begin to consider sorting out one, another crashed into him.
And just as quickly as it had started, it ended and he opened his eyes to meet another pair of equally tormented eyes.
* * * * *
Lita felt it the moment Nephlite opened his eyes. It was like the bond between snapped into place as soon as he looked at her. Staring into his eyes seemed to make everything she had just felt slam into her mind real, as if until that moment she hadn't truly believed that any of this was real. But his eyes, mirroring everything she felt, the confusion and pain and fear, confirmed everything for her.
She was trying frantically to sort out the things she felt. It was so strange. There were memories now attached to every face around her, memories of happiness as well as sadness. Memories of things that until right this second she never would have thought could exist. Things that she wanted to weep over the loss of.
And this man that she had never even seen before yesterday was suddenly causing her to feel more things than she even had words to describe. Confusing her more than any thing else in the room.
Anger. Hate. Love. Pain. Joy. Loss.
Jealousy.
It was amazing how such an old memory was able to affect her. How a girl she barely knew, crying over the body of an old lover she hadn't even recognized at the time made her want to scream. It was a bitter addition counterpart overshadowing both the happy and painful memories of two lifetimes.
She wanted to run away from it all. From him. Just get some time to herself so that she could process everything. But her promise to him from the night held her rooted to her place more strongly than anything else in this world could have.
She had never broken a promise and she wasn't going to start now.
* * * * *
Nephlite watched as the emotions flickered through her eyes, too fast for him to recognize. This woman had gone, in the matter of minutes from a new acquaintance to someone that he knew he could not live without.
And yet he had nothing to offer her to counteract the past. He had betrayed the very foundations that they had once held sacred, though he had been under the influence of Beryl. But he had managed to break that bond to Beryl for a girl he had never felt a tenth of what he felt for her.
For Molly he had turned his back on Beryl and died rather than hurt her. But he had killed Lita in the past on the Moon. He had laughed as she fell on the battlefield, rejoicing in the fall of her blood. The very memory made him want to retch.
And now, with her eyes staring into him as if looking at his very soul, he felt like the lowest form of life on this, or any, planet. The pain that pair of emerald eyes was inflicting by merely looking at him was worse than that of any physical wound he had ever had.
He had no idea what to do or say and so they sat in silence.
* * * * *
Serena looked at the pair in front of her and could practically see the tension between the pair. Looking around, she caught Darien's eye and motioned to the door. He nodded and grabbed Zoicite, pushing him unceremoniously out of the room. Ami noticed and followed them at a more decorous pace. Mina look up at Serena from the pair on the floor, and there were tears in her eyes. Rei never looked up, but walked out the door and the cats followed her.
Serena knelt down beside the pair on the floor and they turned together to look at her, "We're going to give you some space. If you need me, Lita can reach me on her communicator. I'll be back in a couple hours."
Serena stood up before either could reply and put her arm around Mina as they walked out to where Sam was waiting for them.
"Hey. Can you give me a second?" Serena asked her brother who nodded and moved farther off without a word.
Mina looked up at her and gave a watery smile, "Sorry. Memories. You know?"
"Yeah. I know. Are you okay?" Serena asked.
"No." Mina said with a forced laugh, "I miss Malachite."
"Do you want to look for him?" Serena asked.
"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know." Mina answered, frustration lacing her words.
"There's nothing wrong with loving him, Mina." Serena said quietly.
"Right. Except that loving him was what gave Beryl the opening she needed to destroy the Moon Kingdom." Mina said bitterly.
"No! You loving Malachite had nothing to do with the fall of the Moon. Beryl was the one who did that. If she hadn't used Malachite than she would have found some other way to cause its fall." Serena said sternly.
"What if she hadn't. They were our biggest weakness. If I had..."
"Mina," Serena interrupted, "Beryl is the only one to blame for what happened. You fought to the end. No one could have asked you to do any more. And it is perfectly normal to want Malachite back now that you know he's probably out there somewhere."
Mina grimaced, "Some goddess of love I am. The one guy I ever loved I can't even decide if I want in my life. I feel so stupid looking for him, like I'm chasing after the shadow of something that disappeared long ago."
"Hey. Do you remember what I was like when Beryl had Darien? Sanity and logic has nothing to do with love." Serena said.
"Well, I guess that explains us. Warriors of Love." Mina smiled.
"Sanity and logic are useless in the real world anyway." Serena said, hugging her friend.
"Hey, you have to go get your brother home before your parents have a litter of Lunas. We can talk about our love lives after that, okay?" Mina said.
"Deal. I'll bring the ice cream." Serena said.
"Chocolate peanut butter?"
"And cookie dough."
"Ice cream invented by women for women." Mina said with a wistful sigh before cracking up, drawing strange looks from the others in the hall as Serena joined her.
* * * * *
Lita stood up. Serena's words seemed to have released her from the paralysis that her limbs had been in. Almost unconsciously she began clearing up the dishes from breakfast and putting them in the sink. Behind her she heard Nephlite stand. He grabbed some more dishes and added them to the sink as she ran soap and water.
Without a single word Lita began to wash the dishes, handing them to Nephlite to dry. The simple, normal chore gave her something other than the conflicting thoughts and emotions in her head to concentrate on.
Eventually though the dishes ran out. But she felt calmer now, more stable. The shock of everything was fading. As long as nothing else came at her for a couple hours she would be fine.
She watched as Nephlite put away the last dish. He refused to look at her, staring resolutely at the kitchen tiles as if he was trying to memorize the pattern. Memories of the past, of times that they had fought when they were lovers, told her that he would remain like this until she said something.
It was odd knowing both so much and so little about this man at the same time. It was like she had three different versions of him in her memories and she was trying to figure out how to deal with this latest version using what she knew about the others. Trying to figure out what rules still applied and what didn't.
Lita sighed, "We need to talk."
"I know." Nephlite said, still not looking at her. It was like he was afraid that if he did something horrible would happen. Which, Lita admitted ruefully, was not altogether unlikely.
"Nephlite, please, look at me?" she pleaded, needing to see his eyes again, know that he was really there with her.
Slowly he raised his head and their eyes met.
"I don't know what to do." he stated simply.
"Neither do I. But we can't just stand here in silence." Lita said.
"Then what do we do? How do we deal with this? How do we deal with us? Is there even an us?" Nephlite bit out angrily, the confusion and frustration finally finding an outlet..
"Of course there's an us! If there wasn't, this wouldn't be as hard." Lita yelled back.
"Why the hell is there an us? We haven't even been together in a millennia as anything other than enemies!"
"So? That was still an us! We were just fighting."
"So what? It was all some sort of lovers spat?" Nephlite shot back incredulously.
Lita glared at him for a second, wanting to hit him when suddenly the image of them in some millennia long lovers spat hit her and she chuckled. Her laughter grew until she was leaning against the counter for support. Nephlite's look of shock just added to her laughter. Eventually he gave in and joined her in laughter.
"I'd forgotten how you always seemed able to end arguments." Nephlite said as he gasped for breath, holding his side.
"You and I forgot a lot of things." Lita said, recapturing the solemn mood with her words.
Nephlite grimaced, "So, now that we've established that you were right and there's an us, how do you want to deal with it?"
"Hey, I answered the last question. This one is yours." Lita said.
"Damn." Nephlite said, "I suppose ignoring the past is out of the question?"
"I'd do it if I thought either one of us could." Lita said truthfully.
"Then I guess we have to do this the hard way." Nephlite said, sighing.
"I guess so."
* * * * *
A/N: I had to stop there. The next chapter will be Serena going home. Umm...warning. I don't think its going to be a happy family reunion. Just so none of ya get your hopes up. Okay, on to the easy part of writing. Oh! And Lita's pub name translates into Green Warrior. Brownie points to Ocianne! She rocks! Yea, and roswellachick, you got a note here too.
happygolucky111 - I'm gald that you are liking all the Lita-ness. There were so many people that were waiting for her that I'm trying to make these chapters fairly decent for all her fans.
Bunny Moon - This was all about Lita getting her memories back and the next chapter will be about Serena's family. Lita and Neph will still be dealing in the next chapter too. Hopefully they will come to an understanding soon.
lazzykane - Pluto is coming for sure, but I don't know if any of the others will be coming in. I've got so many characters now that its a little overwhelming. But if there's a good way to bring them in, I may.
Kail Ceannai - thanks. I'm not exactly the most regular updater but I'm trying to do better than my past record.
JerseyGirl03 hey! You didn't answer the question! grr. As for the next general, I haven't decided though I think it'll either be Malachite or Jadeite. ::evil chuckle::
Usako4life - trust me, I forgot about Molly too. And then BenRG asked about her and the result is this. Grr. Does anyone remember when this was just a simple one-shot? ::sigh::
etj4Eagle - cool. It is always awesome to flush out new people. Hope this is a decent addition to the story.
Bluejello - the parents are the next chapter. I've know how I wanted to write it for awhile so hopefully I'll get it out soon.
BenRG - hee hee. It's okay, it adds to the story so I really should thank you. I think that my reviewers all have better ideas than I do and its only pure luck that they read my stuff to help me out.
tiredofitall - tell me about it. There are so many characters that I wanna scream. But the that was actually my complaint about Sailor Moon in general, especially in the later seasons. They had so many "main" characters it was nuts. As for the generals, I know not everyone likes them but I'm doing the best I can with them. Anyways, thanks for reading!
Ocianne - congrats. You were the only one to actually get Lita's bar's name. Oh! And I read your one SM story. Seriously, it was really good and I hope you continue it. I love the idea of the fey and human relations.
Kitsune Moonstar - aw. ::blushes:: thank you. I don't think I'm allowed to stop writing. There are a few crazy people who yell at me when I take too long to update. I hate to think what they might do to me if I stopped writing all together. Must be why I love them.
Mercurial1 - hey! yea, lots o' Lita. And lots of angst. ::sigh:: I'm depressing myself here, how sad is that?
Jabba1 - hee hee. That's awesome. I love it when people get excited about things that I write. It means I must be doing something right.
chris - hee hee. Thanks. I'll try to get more of this out to you so the withdrawal pains aren't too bad.
Sailor Momoiro Hoshi - oh man, I think your evil plot is too make me too fat to leave the chair in front of my computer so I have to write. Ah well, ::takes a cookie:: at least I get cookies. As evil plans go, I rather like it.
Transcendant Pig - thanks. I know my updates aren't always the most regular but I hope that you're still reading!
X5-452Star - Thanks! It is nice to know people don't hate me for some of the things I've done to the SM characters. I liked the idea of having the scouts have lives of their own, beside being scouts. They always seemed to be giving up so much, like Ami not going to school. And thanks for being understanding about the NA names. Oh yea, and the X-Men fic is going great. Apparently my brain knew what it was talking about when it convinced me to write it.
DOoDles - well, I hope this holds up to expectations. Thanks for the vote of confidence there!
Prophetess Of Hearts - ack! Sorry. I'll never end it there again. Promise. hee hee. I will try to send out a note when I update but I am bad at that. But hey, I'll do my best!
missaw - one update, fresh from the word processor. Enjoy!
Silver Dragonfly - a lot of people seem to be looking forward to Serena facing her parents again. Hopefully it should be good. It's actually one of the parts of this story that I have had planned out for a while. Just hope everyone likes it. ::crosses fingers::
Lady of Pluto - hee hee. Thank you. I wanted to give this the feel of reality that a lot of anime fanfics seem to be missing. Its always awesome to hear that it worked!
and...
roswellachick - oh man. What to say? You are so cool! I can't believe you reviewed all the chapters. I loved how you kept picking out the certain lines to comment on. There were quite a few that I had forgotten about. Seriously though, you totally made my day and are part of the reason this chapter is out right now. I wanted to respond to everything you've written and that meant I had to write a new chapter so I could put an AN at the end. hee hee. Well, another angsty chapter. Hope you can forgive me for that and I hope you actually read this!
"We were going to make breakfast, if that is okay?" Lita asked Serena.
"Sure. Good luck. I don't know what is in there thats edible." Serena said, "I'm going to grab a quick shower so if you need anything just let me know."
"Thanks." Lita said, begining to dig in the other girl's fridge.
After Serena left she turned toward the stove with several differant bowls, pans and ingrediants to see Nephlite staring over her shoulder at the place where Serena had stood.
"Hey! Out of the way." Lita said, nudging past him.
"She didn't ask."
"What?" Lita asked, only half paying attention as she grabbed a carton of eggs and began putting them into one of the bowls.
"That woman. Serena. She never asked if we made a decision." Nephlite said, shaking his head.
"I don't think she wants to pressure us." Lita commented.
"But..."
"Hey. I thought you were going to help?" Lita interupted, shoving a bowl of something and a wisk into his hands.
Nephlite looked down at the bowl for a second like he didn't know what it was before giving a sheepish grin and started mixing.
* * * * *
A half an hour later, people began to wake up all around the apartment as their noses informed them that breakfast was to be found near by. It was a rather subdued meal. No one really was willing to talk. All the safe topics seemed too stupid right now and the relevant topics were too uncertain.
After breakfast she and Nephlite had announced their mutual decisions. Ami had smiled at her encouragingly while Serena had asked her if she was sure. Mina had given her a huge wink that had strangely comforted her.
Lita stood in front of the petite blonde, clutching the innocent looking green pen in her hand.
With a deep breath, she removed the cap.
* * * * *
Nephlite stood and watched anxiously as Lita removed the cap of the pen. He watched in horror as lightning seemed to crackle across her entire body for a brief moment. Her back arched backward, throwing her head back so that her unseeing eyes faced the ceiling. For an eternity she stayed in this position and yet barely a couple seconds passed before her watched her crumple to her knees.
As he took a step forward to check on her, a strong arm grabbed him, holding him back.
"Your turn." the voice attached to the arm said.
Nephlite turned his eyes away from the brunette gasping for air on the floor to the dark haired man in front holding him. He searched Darien's features looking for something other than the blank expression that would tell him what was in store for him. For a second he was tempted to change his mind and walk away from it all. But he had made a promise to that same girl on the floor and it was his turn to show that she wasn't the only one with courage.
Nephlite slowly turned to face Darien and, standing slightly behind him, Zoicite. Both had that same identical blank look on their faces, as if they were actually wearing excellently crafted masks.
"Do you still wish to make your oaths?" Darien asked.
"I do."
"Then kneel."
Nephlite slowly lowered himself to the ground. The position was a once familiar and completely foreign.
"Nephlite, Knight of Earth, do you swear to pledge your life to the service of the Royal Household of Earth, to protect all that is held dear by that house and defend it until your last breath?"
"I do." Nephlite forced the words past his lips as he bowed his head.
"It is seen and witnessed." Zoicite said.
A flash of light drew his eyes back to the pair in front of him, now dressed in black armor. Darien's sword was his in his hand while Zoisite's remained sheathed at his side. With a grimace, Darien drew the blade edge across his palm and Nephlite got a glance at a white scar on his palm before everything was covered in blood.
Darien handed him the blade and Nephlite took it gingerly. He looked up hesitantly at the men in front of him before repeating Darien's action, biting back a hiss as he felt the skin part before the blade's edge. Darien then offered him his bloodied hand and Nephlite grasped it.
"Then rise, my brother, for your house is mine and as long as you protect Earth, never kneel to another man again."
As the words passed Darien's lips, Nephlite felt like his brain exploded. The world around him seemed to melt away into darkness. As he began to be able to focus, he was able to make out tiny pinpricks of light, like distant stars.
"One last step old friend." Darien said, appearing at his side.
Nephlite nodded. As he did so, those far off stars suddenly came speeding towards him, crashing into him with a force that he never would have thought light could have. And with each star that crashed into him, another image, another feeling, another memory was recovered. Before he could even begin to consider sorting out one, another crashed into him.
And just as quickly as it had started, it ended and he opened his eyes to meet another pair of equally tormented eyes.
* * * * *
Lita felt it the moment Nephlite opened his eyes. It was like the bond between snapped into place as soon as he looked at her. Staring into his eyes seemed to make everything she had just felt slam into her mind real, as if until that moment she hadn't truly believed that any of this was real. But his eyes, mirroring everything she felt, the confusion and pain and fear, confirmed everything for her.
She was trying frantically to sort out the things she felt. It was so strange. There were memories now attached to every face around her, memories of happiness as well as sadness. Memories of things that until right this second she never would have thought could exist. Things that she wanted to weep over the loss of.
And this man that she had never even seen before yesterday was suddenly causing her to feel more things than she even had words to describe. Confusing her more than any thing else in the room.
Anger. Hate. Love. Pain. Joy. Loss.
Jealousy.
It was amazing how such an old memory was able to affect her. How a girl she barely knew, crying over the body of an old lover she hadn't even recognized at the time made her want to scream. It was a bitter addition counterpart overshadowing both the happy and painful memories of two lifetimes.
She wanted to run away from it all. From him. Just get some time to herself so that she could process everything. But her promise to him from the night held her rooted to her place more strongly than anything else in this world could have.
She had never broken a promise and she wasn't going to start now.
* * * * *
Nephlite watched as the emotions flickered through her eyes, too fast for him to recognize. This woman had gone, in the matter of minutes from a new acquaintance to someone that he knew he could not live without.
And yet he had nothing to offer her to counteract the past. He had betrayed the very foundations that they had once held sacred, though he had been under the influence of Beryl. But he had managed to break that bond to Beryl for a girl he had never felt a tenth of what he felt for her.
For Molly he had turned his back on Beryl and died rather than hurt her. But he had killed Lita in the past on the Moon. He had laughed as she fell on the battlefield, rejoicing in the fall of her blood. The very memory made him want to retch.
And now, with her eyes staring into him as if looking at his very soul, he felt like the lowest form of life on this, or any, planet. The pain that pair of emerald eyes was inflicting by merely looking at him was worse than that of any physical wound he had ever had.
He had no idea what to do or say and so they sat in silence.
* * * * *
Serena looked at the pair in front of her and could practically see the tension between the pair. Looking around, she caught Darien's eye and motioned to the door. He nodded and grabbed Zoicite, pushing him unceremoniously out of the room. Ami noticed and followed them at a more decorous pace. Mina look up at Serena from the pair on the floor, and there were tears in her eyes. Rei never looked up, but walked out the door and the cats followed her.
Serena knelt down beside the pair on the floor and they turned together to look at her, "We're going to give you some space. If you need me, Lita can reach me on her communicator. I'll be back in a couple hours."
Serena stood up before either could reply and put her arm around Mina as they walked out to where Sam was waiting for them.
"Hey. Can you give me a second?" Serena asked her brother who nodded and moved farther off without a word.
Mina looked up at her and gave a watery smile, "Sorry. Memories. You know?"
"Yeah. I know. Are you okay?" Serena asked.
"No." Mina said with a forced laugh, "I miss Malachite."
"Do you want to look for him?" Serena asked.
"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know." Mina answered, frustration lacing her words.
"There's nothing wrong with loving him, Mina." Serena said quietly.
"Right. Except that loving him was what gave Beryl the opening she needed to destroy the Moon Kingdom." Mina said bitterly.
"No! You loving Malachite had nothing to do with the fall of the Moon. Beryl was the one who did that. If she hadn't used Malachite than she would have found some other way to cause its fall." Serena said sternly.
"What if she hadn't. They were our biggest weakness. If I had..."
"Mina," Serena interrupted, "Beryl is the only one to blame for what happened. You fought to the end. No one could have asked you to do any more. And it is perfectly normal to want Malachite back now that you know he's probably out there somewhere."
Mina grimaced, "Some goddess of love I am. The one guy I ever loved I can't even decide if I want in my life. I feel so stupid looking for him, like I'm chasing after the shadow of something that disappeared long ago."
"Hey. Do you remember what I was like when Beryl had Darien? Sanity and logic has nothing to do with love." Serena said.
"Well, I guess that explains us. Warriors of Love." Mina smiled.
"Sanity and logic are useless in the real world anyway." Serena said, hugging her friend.
"Hey, you have to go get your brother home before your parents have a litter of Lunas. We can talk about our love lives after that, okay?" Mina said.
"Deal. I'll bring the ice cream." Serena said.
"Chocolate peanut butter?"
"And cookie dough."
"Ice cream invented by women for women." Mina said with a wistful sigh before cracking up, drawing strange looks from the others in the hall as Serena joined her.
* * * * *
Lita stood up. Serena's words seemed to have released her from the paralysis that her limbs had been in. Almost unconsciously she began clearing up the dishes from breakfast and putting them in the sink. Behind her she heard Nephlite stand. He grabbed some more dishes and added them to the sink as she ran soap and water.
Without a single word Lita began to wash the dishes, handing them to Nephlite to dry. The simple, normal chore gave her something other than the conflicting thoughts and emotions in her head to concentrate on.
Eventually though the dishes ran out. But she felt calmer now, more stable. The shock of everything was fading. As long as nothing else came at her for a couple hours she would be fine.
She watched as Nephlite put away the last dish. He refused to look at her, staring resolutely at the kitchen tiles as if he was trying to memorize the pattern. Memories of the past, of times that they had fought when they were lovers, told her that he would remain like this until she said something.
It was odd knowing both so much and so little about this man at the same time. It was like she had three different versions of him in her memories and she was trying to figure out how to deal with this latest version using what she knew about the others. Trying to figure out what rules still applied and what didn't.
Lita sighed, "We need to talk."
"I know." Nephlite said, still not looking at her. It was like he was afraid that if he did something horrible would happen. Which, Lita admitted ruefully, was not altogether unlikely.
"Nephlite, please, look at me?" she pleaded, needing to see his eyes again, know that he was really there with her.
Slowly he raised his head and their eyes met.
"I don't know what to do." he stated simply.
"Neither do I. But we can't just stand here in silence." Lita said.
"Then what do we do? How do we deal with this? How do we deal with us? Is there even an us?" Nephlite bit out angrily, the confusion and frustration finally finding an outlet..
"Of course there's an us! If there wasn't, this wouldn't be as hard." Lita yelled back.
"Why the hell is there an us? We haven't even been together in a millennia as anything other than enemies!"
"So? That was still an us! We were just fighting."
"So what? It was all some sort of lovers spat?" Nephlite shot back incredulously.
Lita glared at him for a second, wanting to hit him when suddenly the image of them in some millennia long lovers spat hit her and she chuckled. Her laughter grew until she was leaning against the counter for support. Nephlite's look of shock just added to her laughter. Eventually he gave in and joined her in laughter.
"I'd forgotten how you always seemed able to end arguments." Nephlite said as he gasped for breath, holding his side.
"You and I forgot a lot of things." Lita said, recapturing the solemn mood with her words.
Nephlite grimaced, "So, now that we've established that you were right and there's an us, how do you want to deal with it?"
"Hey, I answered the last question. This one is yours." Lita said.
"Damn." Nephlite said, "I suppose ignoring the past is out of the question?"
"I'd do it if I thought either one of us could." Lita said truthfully.
"Then I guess we have to do this the hard way." Nephlite said, sighing.
"I guess so."
* * * * *
A/N: I had to stop there. The next chapter will be Serena going home. Umm...warning. I don't think its going to be a happy family reunion. Just so none of ya get your hopes up. Okay, on to the easy part of writing. Oh! And Lita's pub name translates into Green Warrior. Brownie points to Ocianne! She rocks! Yea, and roswellachick, you got a note here too.
happygolucky111 - I'm gald that you are liking all the Lita-ness. There were so many people that were waiting for her that I'm trying to make these chapters fairly decent for all her fans.
Bunny Moon - This was all about Lita getting her memories back and the next chapter will be about Serena's family. Lita and Neph will still be dealing in the next chapter too. Hopefully they will come to an understanding soon.
lazzykane - Pluto is coming for sure, but I don't know if any of the others will be coming in. I've got so many characters now that its a little overwhelming. But if there's a good way to bring them in, I may.
Kail Ceannai - thanks. I'm not exactly the most regular updater but I'm trying to do better than my past record.
JerseyGirl03 hey! You didn't answer the question! grr. As for the next general, I haven't decided though I think it'll either be Malachite or Jadeite. ::evil chuckle::
Usako4life - trust me, I forgot about Molly too. And then BenRG asked about her and the result is this. Grr. Does anyone remember when this was just a simple one-shot? ::sigh::
etj4Eagle - cool. It is always awesome to flush out new people. Hope this is a decent addition to the story.
Bluejello - the parents are the next chapter. I've know how I wanted to write it for awhile so hopefully I'll get it out soon.
BenRG - hee hee. It's okay, it adds to the story so I really should thank you. I think that my reviewers all have better ideas than I do and its only pure luck that they read my stuff to help me out.
tiredofitall - tell me about it. There are so many characters that I wanna scream. But the that was actually my complaint about Sailor Moon in general, especially in the later seasons. They had so many "main" characters it was nuts. As for the generals, I know not everyone likes them but I'm doing the best I can with them. Anyways, thanks for reading!
Ocianne - congrats. You were the only one to actually get Lita's bar's name. Oh! And I read your one SM story. Seriously, it was really good and I hope you continue it. I love the idea of the fey and human relations.
Kitsune Moonstar - aw. ::blushes:: thank you. I don't think I'm allowed to stop writing. There are a few crazy people who yell at me when I take too long to update. I hate to think what they might do to me if I stopped writing all together. Must be why I love them.
Mercurial1 - hey! yea, lots o' Lita. And lots of angst. ::sigh:: I'm depressing myself here, how sad is that?
Jabba1 - hee hee. That's awesome. I love it when people get excited about things that I write. It means I must be doing something right.
chris - hee hee. Thanks. I'll try to get more of this out to you so the withdrawal pains aren't too bad.
Sailor Momoiro Hoshi - oh man, I think your evil plot is too make me too fat to leave the chair in front of my computer so I have to write. Ah well, ::takes a cookie:: at least I get cookies. As evil plans go, I rather like it.
Transcendant Pig - thanks. I know my updates aren't always the most regular but I hope that you're still reading!
X5-452Star - Thanks! It is nice to know people don't hate me for some of the things I've done to the SM characters. I liked the idea of having the scouts have lives of their own, beside being scouts. They always seemed to be giving up so much, like Ami not going to school. And thanks for being understanding about the NA names. Oh yea, and the X-Men fic is going great. Apparently my brain knew what it was talking about when it convinced me to write it.
DOoDles - well, I hope this holds up to expectations. Thanks for the vote of confidence there!
Prophetess Of Hearts - ack! Sorry. I'll never end it there again. Promise. hee hee. I will try to send out a note when I update but I am bad at that. But hey, I'll do my best!
missaw - one update, fresh from the word processor. Enjoy!
Silver Dragonfly - a lot of people seem to be looking forward to Serena facing her parents again. Hopefully it should be good. It's actually one of the parts of this story that I have had planned out for a while. Just hope everyone likes it. ::crosses fingers::
Lady of Pluto - hee hee. Thank you. I wanted to give this the feel of reality that a lot of anime fanfics seem to be missing. Its always awesome to hear that it worked!
and...
roswellachick - oh man. What to say? You are so cool! I can't believe you reviewed all the chapters. I loved how you kept picking out the certain lines to comment on. There were quite a few that I had forgotten about. Seriously though, you totally made my day and are part of the reason this chapter is out right now. I wanted to respond to everything you've written and that meant I had to write a new chapter so I could put an AN at the end. hee hee. Well, another angsty chapter. Hope you can forgive me for that and I hope you actually read this!