The rain drummed heavily on the roof, streaming off the eaves in a liquid curtain as thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Perched on the window sill, Minako peered out at the drenched earth and grey skies, absently stroking Artemis. Without warning a single spark of static leapt from her fingertips, crackling across the cat's back and making him arch his back with a hiss.
He leapt to the floor, shooting Minako a disgusted look before he stalked away mumbling evilly under his breath.
"Gomen nasai, Artemis," she whispered, heaving a sigh as another loud thunderclap sounded, this time nearer, rattling the window.
"What's the matter, Minako?"
The deep voice, coming unexpectedly, made her jump. Turning, she gazed into a pair of slate grey eyes which had always been as fathomless and deep as the sea. He was lounging there in the shadows, looking deceptively relaxed as he leaned against the doorjamb. "What makes you think anything is wrong?" she asked brightly, flashing her trademark grin and V sign.
He simply shook his head. The sigh was as much of a sign of depression as she would ever allow herself to show. She'd always said that Venusians didn't mope or brood. But he knew better, as did she. Venusians merely hid it better than most.
"You don't have to pretend with me, Minako. You never did."
She bit her lip, lowering her lashes to hide her too-revealing gaze. He read her better, perhaps, than even Serenity. It had always been an unsettling thought. Maddeningly, he waited in perfect silence for her to answer. He wouldn't ask again, she knew, but he would wait. He would, damn him, wait until the end of the next ice age if that was what it took to pry the answer from her.
"I was just worrying about Serenity," she finally revealed, looking out the window. "She's probably terrified from the storm, likely hiding under the bed until it's over and Endymion can coax her out. Ami's likely just hoping it will turn to snow. Rei's undoubtedly sulking because the dampness affects her sacred flame. And yet, Mako-chan…she's probably out there reveling in it. She'll dance in the rain until Nephrite drags her back inside. And even then she'll splash in the puddles like a giddy child until he gets her under cover."
"And you?" he prodded, uncurling himself from the door frame.
She looked startled. "Me…I mean, I?"
He smiled faintly, with a gentleness that few souls would have believed him capable of. Evidently either her grammar lessons were paying off or her Silver Millennium memories were beginning to affect her as they had begun affecting the others.
"I…" Minako broke off, shaking her head. It was hard to explain.
"You know how you feel, but don't want to say it because you don't like seeing your friends at odds or being at odds with them," he rumbled, his baritone echoing the faint sounds of the storm. "You don't want to see anyone unhappy."
Striding silently across the room, he came to stand beside her, his dark eyes taking in the liquid landscape. Minako was right. He could just see in the courtyard beyond a flash of green that was the blissful Jovian, twirling like a pagan goddess in the elements.
Minako sighed again. "I hate it when you do that."
"What?"
"Read my mind."
He chuckled softly, stroking her honey blonde hair. "You always did love the sunlight."
Embarrassed, Minako buried her head against the broad plane of his chest.
"Storms come and they go. They're not going to stop loving one another over something as simple as this," he reminded her. "Or you. It's not a betrayal to any of them. You torture yourself needlessly."
She stiffened. "Perhaps."
"You'll never all be of one mind, you know, except perhaps in devotion to Serenity. But the bond endures anyway. It always has."
He saw too much. She flushed, pulling back to stick out her tongue at him childishly.
Perhaps she wasn't yet as affected as he had thought. Ruffling her hair like a girl, he laughed again, the sound rough and unpolished. He sat on the window sill, pulling her onto his lap. He bit the inside of his cheek when she wriggled to get comfortable, forcing himself, by dint of considerable willpower, to stay on track.
"I know what it's like, if you recall. It's the curse of being the leader."
Cerulean blue orbs widened, staring at him. "I don't know what you mean."
"Second guessing yourself because you can't always make everyone happy. It's not a popularity contest. They're different people and may always be of different minds. You can only do the best you can. But they will deal with it and respect you just the same. Just think about it, Minako. Take the sunshine you love. If I asked my men what they thought of it, they'd have as many different descriptions of it as they are in number."
When she only looked confused, he continued. "Zoisite would undoubtedly have a scientific answer for it. Probably some long-winded, technical comment about radiant solar heat or light energy and its scientific uses. Whereas, as it's from a star, Nephrite would more likely describe it as the quiet voice of his nearest but most cryptic celestial friend."
Minako puzzled over his words for a moment, then smiled slowly, brightening. "I think I understand what you mean. Jadeite would probably say something simple about it warming him, but only faintly, almost insignificantly, in comparison to the fires of Mars."
That drew a full smile from him, of the rare kind that never failed to take her breath away. "I suppose he would at that."
"They'd never all agree fully, but it they'd never let it drive them apart, because each in his own way would be right." She cocked her head to one side, letting the fall of her hair spill across his chest. "I never thought of it that way before."
"You would have eventually," he assured her.
"Wait a minute," she piped up, looking expectant. "You never gave your thoughts. What would you say of sunlight?" she asked, tucking a lock of his platinum hair behind one ear, her fingertips teasing the tender skin there before trailing down his neck.
"Simple," whispered Kunzite, taking both of Minako's small hands in one of his. The other he trailed through her hair, combing the shining golden strands with his fingers as he brushed his lips across hers.
"Sunlight is a gift…like love, Minako. It's hard to catch, beautiful and warm and precious, yet seemingly illusory at times. But there's nothing more necessary to bring lasting relief and life from darkness when the real storms, not the fleeting ones like today's, come. And if you can figure out how, the best thing of all is holding sunlight in your hands."
