Replies to reviews:
Ocianne: Me torturing you? ;) Mwahahahahaha!!! Rain was seen taken away in a straitjacket, a pair of handcuffs, several gags. . .the works.
Yavanna: hehe, thanks! Glad you liked the fic. ;)
Kaze: Bwahahaha, I made Lita faint. I am sooo evuhl! ;) Ami's chap on the way!
wyannick: Thanks! ;)
Isis Aurora Tomoe: Ohohoho, the girls are meeting their MEN! Nuninuninuuu. . .
Tigeress Moon: haha, believe me honey, it ain't that easy to write a fic on 4 couples – and ALL in one fic. . .at the same time, making the story of each senshi/shittenou unique and yet, consistent with the whole story. Glad you adore this fic. ;)
Blue Quartz: Hey girl, thanks for the info on the senshi's names, I really appreciate it. Rain whips out a few sheets of crumpled papers stained with soda and chips. And to show you my appreciation, tis here chap is for you!* ;)
Aisha Leilani: . . . I'll keep checking back!. . . Oh my god,. . .NOW I'm REALLY pressured! ;) Thanks for readin'!
Heerosgurl: hehe, well here it is, the next chap! Enjoy dear. ;)
Gizelle: *sniff* *sniff* Thanks for the encouragement. ;)
milady: Thanks! Hehe, I don't know why but I really liked the Rei/Jadeite pairing. They're both stubborn and passionate. Oohhh, my kind of people. ;)
The Black Gryphon: hehe, sorry for the long time it took to update the story. But hey, you got to admit, it ain't THAT easy to write a fic on all 4 couples. I'll try my best though. Rain crosses fingers and toes.
Destiny's_Fate(): thanks! Hehe, enjoy the next chap, it's on Ami and Zoi. ;)
dreamer(): Please, please update soon. I'm dying here!... Whoa, girl! Don't wanna cause any suicidal tendencies here. ;) Thanks, and here goes the next chap. Enjoy!
girl of darkness: Thanks for the vote of confidence, and er, I do hope that my being, ahem, a bit overdue on doing this particular chapter will not result in you being um, 'pissed-off'. Eheheh! big sweatdrop. And thank you so much for the info on the senshi's names. This chap is for you!!! ;)
Amy: thanks! I hope to 'hell' that I too, will get to update this story majorly quick! ;)
Lightning Gurl: Thanks!!! Hope you enjoy the next chaps!!!
Abigail: Haha, thanks. . .you have no idea how I scrape my brains out (ewww, Hannibal Lecter on the making!), just to come up with those scenes. Hehe, enjoy!
Chapter 14: Love's First Encounter III
Blink, blink. . .
Ten minutes. . .ten whole frigging silent minutes, and all they ever did was –
. . .blink, blink.
Ooh, what fun.
No words. No movements. Not even a clearing of the throat to dislodge the bulge of moisture suddenly found stuck in their gullets. There was only silence, stillness, and the fast thudding of a certain body organ located in the chest region that failed to register the urgent messages sent by one agitated brain to do something other than just stand there like a frigging idiot.
Until finally – FINALLY - in the bloody fullness of time, one of them DID manage to snap out of their trance –
- er, that is,. . .when an eager little fly thought it could make a certain blond's gaping mouth its humble abode.
Zoisite abruptly reeled back, choked and wheezed, and nearly bowled over at the sudden intrusion of the tiny insect in his gaping mouth,
"Pwe, pwe, pwehhh!!! gaspcough acckk,. . .shit!"
The young blond rubbed his mouth rapidly with the back of his hand, trying to wipe off the tingling sensation the fly left in his tongue. With his handsome face suddenly flushed, he bent down, hands on top of his knees, as he continued coughing it out of the rest of his poor system. He quickly reached for his side to retrieve a water canister he kept there for long hot afternoons, opened the cap a bit clumsily if not despairingly, and swallowed unimaginable huge gulps of distastefully warm water, half of which was lost in the midst of continuous bouts of coughing.
A few nerve-wracking minutes later - and three-quarts of water less – the young blond was able to calm down long enough for him to take a deep soothing breath and to let out a long, relieved sigh. His skin coloring was thankfully returning to normal. . .uh, well most of it anyway.
Zoisite continued breathing deeply as he slowly replaced the water flask back to the loop attached on his belt, his mind still numb from the 'FATAL' near-death experience.
Shit! What the hell. . .was th-
"Are you. . .alright?"
Zoisite nearly choked to his death for the second time that day as he altogether stopped breathing at the sudden tone, and turned his strawberry-tinged blond head slightly to his left.
Dear lord, the angel beside him had just spoken.
And not only did she speak, one of her small hands was placed lightly on his broad back - must have put it there as he choked on the wretched fly, rubbing it soothingly and comfortingly back and forth. Despite the fact that it wasn't romantically intended in the first place, the thought of her touching him - not to mention the tingling sensations brought about by her soft palm rubbing his backside – only made Zoisite groan inside.
And her eyes. . .(damn), her beautiful ocean-depth eyes were clouded with great concern. She had the cutest little troubled frown on her dainty little forehead, just lightly covered by some wispy blue-tinged bangs.
Gulp.
Zoisite can't help it. And damned if he did!
It was like one of those psychological 'marshmallow' tests that loony psychiatrists often try on little kids just to test their patience and endurance. Hell! You have one sweet, and definitely quite the drool-worthy lip smacking tasty marshmallow in front of you, and you're damn expected to deny such heavenly delights?! Who in his bloody right mind would do such a blasted thing? Duh! And to think, they expected kids to just stand by and wait? Was depriving yourself the simple pleasures in life supposed to be a sign that you're psychologically sound and mentally healthy? Puh-lease!!!
Nuh-uh. Not this kid. DEFINITELY, not THIS kid.
It had been so long,. . .SO bloody long since he last had her in his arms. Lady Fortune must have smiled down on him last time when he brushed those sweet lips with his own on that day when he awakened and stumbled upon her in her delightful bathroom.
Zoisite cleared his throat nervously.
Oh yeah, now THAT was quite interesting.
Zoisite's breath hitched when he remembered the term Jadeite used in describing that particular incident. Tryst, indeed.
And now, another one was bound to happen. . .
Zoisite, eyes glazed and mouth slightly opened, and who was still very much captivated by the sight of the similarly-dazed exquisite woman before him, slowly and helplessly leaned over and, -
Dear lord. . .
Whack!
- found himself suddenly getting 'whoop-assed' somewhat forcefully on the back.
Zoisite yelped at the sudden impact on his backside and almost, ALMOST (dear heavens!) made sweet precious contact with the luscious mouth before him.
Tsk-tsk, talk about crying over spilled milk.
Zoisite facevaulted. He was as distraught as a kid who just spilled his milk just as he was about to dunk his Oreo's in its mouth-watering dairy goodness.
Oh boy, SOMEBODY was going to pay big time – especially when you mess with a frustrated romantically-destitute former warrior-general.
Before the infuriated blond could completely turn and confront the culprit unfortunate enough to cross one very dissatisfied 'Oreo lover', a deep rumbling voice spoke from behind,
"Hey there, kid! What's a keeping 'ya? We've been,. . .ooh, well, lookie lookie 'ere."
Zoisite groaned.
And almost buried himself in the ground like a pathetic bashful 'ostrich'.
Oh boy, NOW, he's really gonna get it.
"Hot diggity dang! Ya'r such a cute litl thang, ain't 'ya lass? Tom old boy, I think our lad's 'ere has been keepin' ere's lit'l angel from us REAL men," bellowed one grinning giant man with an unkempt moustache towards another equally-brawny companion.
Zoisite cringed. Keeping? Her? I wish. . .good lord, I WISH. . .
"Er,. . .um, Charlie, it's not exactly what you thin – oof!" The young blond suddenly found himself with a massive arm wrapped around his neck as another large figure stood behind him wearing worn-out navy overalls and a huge grin, his hat askew on top of his grayish-brown head.
"'Yar tellin' me Charlie, tis 'ere boy ain't know nuthin 'bout the et-. . .etic-, um –"
"Etiquette, Tom."
" –er, yeah, etiqeet-whatever - of bein' a true blue-blooded gentleman! What were 'ya doin all standin' 'thar openmouthed-wide, boy?! Waitin' for the flies to come a-flockin in 'yar bloody mouth?"
"Hey!"
Ami couldn't help it.
She giggled herself silly.
At first, the Mercurian princess was a bit – NO, make that COMPLETELY edgy when the young blond kept staring at her since they stood before each other in front of her favorite café called the BLUE QUARTZ* at a street corner on her way to a group study. Then she became restless and a bit – NO, erase that, TOTALLY jittery when he slowly leaned over and heaven knows where THAT particular scene would lead to. When the huge men came and started 'harassing' the young blond, she stumbled back a bit in alarm, and admittedly, felt suddenly protective and possessive of him.
At this, Ami flustered. Why in the name of everything that was wonderfully sane, should she feel THAT way? He's a total – well, okay, maybe NOT a total stranger, but he's still. . .well, he's still strange. Dear heavens, she didn't even know his name! Then again, she DID hear herself uttering his name when she was swept away in memories of her past life as a guardian of the moon princess while in the arms of the blond several weeks ago.
Zoisite.
What an enigmatic name. For an equally enigmatic man.
Just the sight of the man made everything for Ami extraordinarily surreal and, well, oddly. . .invigorating. As if her poor heart – and even poorer mind - can't handle the overpowering implications of this man's presence in her life.
Seeing the friendly faces of the heavily-built old men as they bantered with the young man in denim overalls, as well as the calm countenance of the latter, comforted her palpitating little heart somehow, as if everything was – just as it should be. She was glad at least that some people acknowledged the blond's presence in this world, allowing her to mentally cross out hallucination and mental instability from her list of explanations. There might be a lot of unanswered questions between them, but at least one thing's for certain, she's going to get her questions and doubts about 'him' settled one way or another.
The giant men before her kept teasing the young blond and Ami can't help but smile at their crazy antics. Not only that, they were right about the fly-in-the-mouth thing. She remembered how concern she was when the blond man started coughing violently just to rid of it from his system.
"Zach, my boy, ya'r one swell kid," chortled one of the men as he ruffled the young man's long blond locks, while the latter merely grumped good-naturedly.
Ami suddenly frowned.
Zach?
"Sumthin' wrong, kitten?" The man with the moustache asked.
Ami suddenly looked up at the older man whom they called 'Charlie', still wearing a confused look.
Zoisite swiftly turned his head to look closely at Ami and found that indeed, she looked a bit bothered. He hoped she was not highly offended at his friend's jokes and banters. They might be rowdy and well, even bloody scary sometimes, but hey, they're good men.
The young blond, slowly moved away from the massive figures of his men and towards the young woman as if in a protective manner, his posture suddenly alert at any discomfort that the girl might have. Instinctively, he reached out to touch a slender arm in comfort. Zoisite gave her a reassuring smile.
The young woman then looked up straight into his eyes, her azure gaze liquid and wide. And something else.
Zoisite suddenly hesitated and refrained his hand from touching her. Something was wrong.
In a quiet voice, he heard his angel spoke in quiet tones, "T-they called y-you. . .Zach."
Zoisite stilled.
Shit.
What a way to start a morning.
* * * * *
Cherry Hills Temple.
At the height of noon.
Cherry and maple leaves danced in tune with the soft blowing breeze, birds chirped their songs of courtship as the flowing sound of the small waterfall at the back of the temple soothed the calm air.
Quiet. Laid-back. Relaxing. Soothing.
But NOT definitely lasting.
"RAE!!!"
"Oh for goodness' sakes, Mina, can't you tone down a little? I'm trying to concentrate here!"
Mina raised an eyebrow. "Doing what? You've been staring at that fire pit for almost a hundred years and a century hence!"
Rae sighed in exasperation.
Talk about exaggeration. Mina cannot be farther from the truth. To be honest, the perky blonde had every right to whine considering that the dark-haired shrine keeper has been. . .well, a bit negligent of her hospitable duties as hostess to her not-so-easy-to-ignore guest. Then again, she can't help it if. . .
"Yoohoo. . .Venus to Mars, come in Mars," Mina waved a hand in front of the once again baffled woman garbed in an intricately designed scarlet kimono.
Rae shook her head slightly as if to clear her mind, "Huh? Uh-what?"
Mina sighed.
SOMEBODY undeniably needed a bit of luvin' here . . AND some major thwacking on the head as well!
Mina stood in front of her raven-haired friend, took both of her elegant shoulders and leveled her a look, "Rae precious, you're as lost as a cute little puppy tossed in a giant fishbowl."
Rae blinked.
"Uh, Mina, I don't exactly get what you – "
"Imagine you're a cute wittle puppy - hmm, I guess an adorable black Labrador will do, considering your luxurious mane of midnight-black hair and all –"
"Mina, this is silly, I can't possibly think myself as a puppy –"
" – and then imagine yourself being plunged in a fishbowl, and it was a hu---ge bowl mind you, one you cannot easily get out of. . .and you absolutely, ABSO-frigging-LUTELY detest, and I mean with utmost loathing, THE dreaded fishbowl -"
"What's a fishbowl got to do with me being –"
". . .not to mention the sand on the bottom of the bowl would thoroughly ruin all that lovely black fur of yours – "
". . ."
"- but I guess that's besides the point, the point is Rae –"
Rae merely sighed in utter surrender and rolled her eyes upwards. Might as well let the vivacious princess of Venus have her way, for now.
Mina merely continued her lecture, " – the point is,. . .the puppy in the fishbowl? That's irrelevant."
Rae had a stupid blank look on her exquisite face.
Mina smiled animatedly in a way that only she can and explained, "Because. . .the puppy wasn't even supposed to be IN the fishbowl in the first place. Why worry about something that is totally ludicrous and nonsensical? Unless of course, the owner of the puppy was born a sadist and deserved to be hanged for being cruel to an adorable puppy, hmp! What I'm saying is,. . .whatever's bothering you, may not be as troublesome as you think. Forget the fishbowl, focus on the doggy litter instead. There might be a lot of shit and all - pardon the crude words – but at least, it's more your line."
For a couple of milliseconds, the dark-haired beauty could have sworn the whole world stopped moving to drop their jaws - including her. The blonde merely lifted a finger to close the gaping mouth, and turned to go through the sliding doors leading out of the shrine worship area.
"Now, since that's done and over with, come and tell dear Mina about that gorgeous piece of blond that I saw sweeping the front of your temple when I came in. Where did you ever find such a hottie, and I mean, HOTTIE?"
Upon hearing that the new topic of conversation was no other than the resident clumsy oaf and shameless flirt of the temple (as well as the uppermost occupant of one Marsian princess' mind –-- and unknowingly, her heart), Rae's slight shock was totally forgotten to be replaced by –
- sudden reddening of her cheeks and a delicate scowl forming on her lovely forehead.
Rae stopped walking, stiffened both her posture and tone, and crossed her arms in front of her chest, "Who? The temple aid? A hottie? Puh-lease, don't make me throw up lunch. Better have your eyesight check, Mina."
Mina's lips twitched as she turned around to regard her totally riled-up friend, and teased, "Ohhh, such a passionate response to such a simple inquiry. Do I detect a tinge of possessiveness in your tone, dear Rae?"
Rae harrumphed and tilted her chin in a defiant gesture, her walk a bit stilted as she continued strolling towards the corner of the temple leading to a corridor where the door towards the kitchen and dining area was located.
"Don't be ridiculous. The man's an absolute nincompoop. Can't even put up a small fire, much less do half of the chores here at the temple. Why the bloody hell would I be interested in –-- Ahhhh!!!"
Rae suddenly yelped in surprise when upon turning at the corner, her foot had gotten tangled up with an untidy heap of idle rope causing her to loose her footing and stumble towards the wooden floor. Braising for impact, she closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her to protect her lovely face from the seemingly painful fall.
But it never came.
Rae, whose eyes were still tightly closed, instantly realized she was actually floating on air and was very much far from having her beautiful face disfigured or bruised.
Opening one eye, she immediately saw white.
Oh god, am I dead?!
Rae started scolding herself for thinking such and attempted getting a grip on her 'hysterical' self. She was supposed to be the cool, bitchy fire princess of the group - prudent and levelheaded, not the panicky and clumsy meatball-head!
Moving her hands slowly further away from her face, she soon discovered herself being cradled by strong well-built arms and that she was pressed against a warm body wearing what seemed to be, a white temple robe.
A white temple robe.
A temple robe.
A robe.
Which means –
Rae suddenly felt warm as she understood the implications of such a discovery.
"Sweetheart, are you alright?"
Rae's heart lurched – if because of wrath or yearning, she know not,. . .she has yet to determine later on what her heart was telling her then, but now, now her mind just plain refused to understand or accept.
How dare he?! How dare the jerk called her that? The idiot. The gall!
Rae turned to look up, all fired-up and ready to give a certain 'blond temple aid' a blast of her icy glare, to trample on the man's super inflated ego, to give the nitwit a piece of her formidable mind. Oh, and what a piece it will be!
Taking a deep breath, violet gaze raised to met azure ones.
And just like that,. . .the flame flickered down and died.
For in the depth of those sapphire eyes, Rae found herself drowning. Not even the small gasp of one delightfully-surprised blonde and her slowly departing slim figure was noticed by them.
There was too much, dear lord, just too much of what was in those eyes that the intense magnitude of it all completely overwhelmed the fire maiden. Concern, worry, fear. . .and love?
Rae mentally shook her head.
But it's not just possible. It couldn't be. It must be a mistake!
"It's no mistake, love." Jadeite whispered his response to her silent cries.
Rae's breath hitched. Her mind – and heart – couldn't handle all that was happening and as usual, her guards were up. She just flat-out refused to be manipulated by her overacting emotions and in doing so, relied on her standoffish attitude to hide her faults.
Struggling out of the embrace, Rae lashed out, "What are you talking about, you jerk?!"
Jadeite mentally recoiled at the harsh tone, but retained his firm but gentle hold on the woman as the latter attempted to remove herself from his embrace.
It was time. And by god, he'd be damned if he would let it pass by. He had been waiting for weeks for even a sliver of a chance to finally reach out to his Firefly and reassure her that in the midst of the confusion and emotional roller-coaster she might have due to the yet to be awakened memories of their past life together, that ALL of it was real.
For days, ever since the reconciliation they had over the fire incident, Rae and Jadeite have grown more comfortable around each other. There was still the usual vicious bickering and vehement explosions and upsetting fall-outs, but then, there were also quiet moments where both were just content to be with each other's presences. There were also the undeniable thoughtful gestures and unconscious warm glances.
Rae, despite her self-denial, was mysteriously drawn to the ardent blond. Jadeite on the other hand, needed no further discernment of the situation. He knew what he wanted, and he wanted it REAL bad.
"You were scared and confused." Jadeite spoke in a mild tone.
Rae's heart made a painful lurched at the precision of the blond's words and started struggling more to escape his embrace,
"Damn you, let me go! How would YOU bloody know?! Can you read people's emotions? DO you see people's minds?"
Jadeite lifted one arm from his hold of the struggling dark-haired beauty to tenderly touched one soft cheek, his eyes never leaving hers.
"I see YOU."
Rae ceased her struggle as she looked into the blond's eyes, hers no longer enraged but surprisingly yet beautifully tear-filled. Jadeite smiled sadly,
"I see you, and I knew. . .You see me, but you turned away. You're not ready, I understand. You're scared and confused, so was I."
Jadeite then slowly stood up, carefully aiding the woman in his arms on her feet, but kept his arms around her, rubbing them back and forth for comfort. He then, tilted her chin gently upwards with a finger to settle her gaze on him.
And then carefully and deliberately, kiss her on the forehead, on the tip of her nose, and finally, on the corner of her mouth – all the while, she stood unexpectedly silent and still, other than the initial gasp of astonishment as Jadeite touched her with his lips. Stepping back, the blond wiped a tear on her cheek that fell from one eye, and looked at her with such passion and intense determination – and loving sincerity.
"I will wait, no matter what - and whether you like it or not. I have always been yours, as you. . .will hopefully be mine."
And with a final nod, and a knowing irritating wink, he turned and left.
For a long time, Rae kept her head down, silent and unmoving, staring down at the floor thoughtfully,. . .
. . .and then – with a delicate scowl on her lovely face, raised her head and regarded the place where the departing figure left, irritatingly if not affectionately. She mumbled,
"The idiot. Forgot to wind the rope properly again. The gall!"
* * * * *
At the bottom of the flight of steps leading away from the Cherry Hills Temple, Mina turned and looked back at the shrine, a knowing smirk on her charming face.
"It's about time! She finally gotten herself a man!"
The blonde then continued trekking down the slope that would eventually led her to the city, her steps light and her posture relaxed, cheerfully humming a song under her breath.
"Hm, I wondered if Artemis was able to find Keith. Oh! Maybe I'll pay him a visit!"
And with that, the blonde rushed towards her home block.