There was a knock on Minako's door and, when she opened it, she was happy to see Jezibiah.

"Come in, come in!" she urged, and he stepped inside her room like a deer ready to bolt. She was relieved to see a friendly face, as she was dreading any encounters with Kunzite and still hadn't seen Artemis since her return. He and Luna had not come down to dinner and were leaving in the morning with the Moon Queen to return to her court. Minako decided that it was for the best, though she knew she had to face him again one day.
"You look nice," Jezibiah complimented, and Minako smiled at him.
"Thank you." She had put on old clothes to cook with Makoto, so that she would not ruin any of her good dresses. Her pale peach apron was frilly and ridiculous against the simple yellow cotton of her lacy spring dress, the skirt both wide and long enough to comfortably clad her pregnant state. Still, she enjoyed a little frivolity after all that drab clothing while living at Maria's. Her wardrobe was one of the things she had missed most, because she couldn't wear out her clothes as blithely as she was used to.
"Maria wanted me to see if you would talk to us about all of this," he gestured vaguely around him, at the room and the castle and Minako's position in it all.
Minako frowned and bit her lip. "I promised Makoto that I would bake with her tonight. I'm sorry. But tomorrow, maybe, after lunch, we could go into the garden or the library and talk."
Jezibiah smiled. "That would be fine."
"Good," Minako took his arm and beamed up at him, drawing him out the door with her. "You make sure that the servants get you both some new clothes, all right? I can't have you meeting royalty in your work-boots."
She smiled again, but Jezibiah looked a bit uncomfortable. "Are my clothes not proper?"
"Oh," Minako turned to face him as he shut the door behind them. "I didn't mean that, I just thought you might like some new things. . . ." Her voice trailed off and they stood gazing at each other for a moment. When he looked hurt like that, he reminded her so strongly of Ace! It was disturbing.
"I'm just saying, Kunzite," someone was coming out of a door nearby, and the men speaking paused when they saw Minako and Jezibiah, who turned to blink at the pair of Endymion's generals. The men straightened. "Good evening, princess," Nephrite bowed slightly. "Good evening, sir."
Jezibiah took his hand off of Minako's doorknob as if it were hot, his face reddening in embarrassment. He bowed deeper in return. "Gentlemen."
Minako inclined her head, worry playing across her face as she tried to summarize Kunzite's mood from his appearance. He stood stiffly, but he had always had terrific posture. It seemed, though, that his back would break were it any straighter, and his eyes remained coldly . . . on her nose. "General Nephrite, General Kunzite," she nodded. "Lovely evening." After a few more tense moments, Minako tore her gaze away and took Jezibiah's arm again, attempting to compose herself. "Let's go, shall we?" she said softly, wishing eagerly to be away from there. "Makoto will not be happy if I am late."

"Makoto will not be happy if I am late." It rang in his ears and he could feel some of the tension drain from his body as his love took another man's arm and left him standing there – like a clod, a clown, like nothing. He did love her. He loved her desperately, violently, jealously. He wanted nothing more than to knock that useless boy away from her and shield her and their child from anything and everything threatening them.

But prudence and pride kept him back, kept him standing there as he watched her white face tip up to another man's and her sweet lips curve into a smile and her pretty golden hair swirl around the corner.
Kunzite let out the breath he had been holding. "I am the biggest idiot on this planet."
Nephrite smirked. "Took you that long to figure it out?"
Kunzite glared at his friend and turned to slam his door in Nephrite's face.
Nephrite stood there and smiled. Maybe there was some hope for the couple after all.

The halls were dark, so that Minako had to ask a servant to show Jezibiah back to his rooms, but the kitchen was blazing with light. It was a good-sized kitchen, stocked to feed an army, and Makoto already had a dozen pots and pans out.

"Grab the flour out of the pantry, will you?" the brunette said from where she was digging eagerly in the lower cabinets. Minako repressed a smile at Makoto's green-skirted rear sticking up in the air as she dug about, clanging pots and shuffling boxes. She really shouldn't laugh at her friend, but the brunette looked incredibly silly in that position. Of course, Minako theorized, a man might feel differently. Makoto was the fullest-figured of all four Inner Senshi and surprisingly feminine for all she was the toughest. She had a passion for knick-knacks, cooking, cleaning, decorating, and entertaining. She would be an incredible wife some day – if it weren't for Sailor Senshi business depleting her love-life to near-nada.
Minako suddenly felt a wave of sorrow for her fellow Senshi. At least she had had a chance at a normal life, but they had been stuck here, in their old roles as warriors and guards.
What a waste of amazing, loving women, Minako thought briefly, then became annoyed with herself. Who was she to judge?
They made cookies. By the time they were done, Minako was thoroughly covered in flour and Makoto had faint white smudges on her cheeks. They were laughing and Minako leaned forward as Makoto took the cookies from the oven, letting the strong, heady scent wash over her with warmth. Makoto bustled about, shoveling the cookies onto the counter between them and getting some milk into two glasses.
"So, tell me," Makoto picked up a cookie and watched Minako munching happily away. "How has everything been?"
Minako glanced over at Makoto and swallowed her cookie. She was silent for a minute and Makoto waited patiently. When she began to speak, she was looking at the floor. "I didn't mean to stay away so long. I didn't know how long I was going to be gone, but the time just kept getting longer and longer, and it still didn't feel right." She looked up at Makoto then, her expression contrite. "I didn't mean to get pregnant either." She put a hand on her stomach. "That was a mistake – though I can't claim I didn't love the father."
"And how do you feel about him now?" Makoto dipped a cookie in her milk.
"I still love him," Minako murmured. Her expression hardened. "I don't expect to be leader again immediately. I know that I'm going to have to work hard to get back to the level I was at – to get back into the Inner Senshi, much less have aspirations to be leader again – but I'll work on that after the baby is born." She smiled, a little uncertain, but Makoto warmed and gave her a great big hug, despite the cookie in her hand that fell on Minako's dress.
"We love you, Mina-chan," she whispered fiercely, "no matter what you do or what we say. Don't forget that. Don't ever forget that."
Minako felt tears threatening to fall and didn't try to stop them. She hugged Makoto back and they separated, sniffling and smiling at each other, and sat talking and giggling long into the night, their voices carrying like muted brooks down the long stone hallways.