"…and then I absolutely knew that if I gave the wrong answer, I'd die. Seriously, guys. I don't mind telling you that one has a very intimidating stare. Made my blood run cold. I thought at first I'd run into an overprotective older brother. Then it got worse."
Nephrite slid his coffee cup from hand to hand, watching the dark liquid waves roll and break against its pottery sides. He'd all but forgotten he was supposed to be drinking the stuff. "Fortunately the proper answer was not at all hard to give. Though I'm not sure it even registered with Li…er…Makoto at that point, she was so embarrassed."
He paused, cobalt eyes fixing on his favorite 'sweater girl', the pretty waitress who was bustling around in another section of the restaurant. As if sensing his heated gaze, she turned and smiled, then blew him a kiss and gave him a sassy, emerald-eyed wink before turning back to take a customer's lunch order. Nephrite went back to his coffee, smiling a slightly goofy, very sappy, lovesick grin.
"I'd say I can't believe they seriously caught you in bed," Jadeite laughed out loud and pounded his fist on the table, drawing repressive glances from other booths around them, "but then I just saw your face. Oh brother, Neph! What a way to stick your…um…foot into it."
"Shut up!" As shamed color stained his cheeks, the dark haired man shot his friend a still darker look that should have withered him on the spot. "It's not like I planned it… I mean, at least not so soon. But she was just so damn gorgeous and I wanted her so much and she, well… Aw hell! Why am I telling you this anyway? Pervert! I'm sure you'll find out what it's like soon enough."
"I wouldn't mind, but I doubt it." Zoisite said, looking thoughtful as he stirred a spoon through the murky purple liquid in his glass and licked the froth from it. "Ami's father doesn't seem to be a part of her life. And I've yet to meet her mother. Ami says she's a surgeon and working incredible hours, so it's likely to be a while before anyone comes asking about my intentions." He sounded vaguely disappointed.
Zoisite's comments drew a faint frown from Nephrite. "I really don't know the story about Makoto's family. She lives alone. On a shelf where she keeps a bunch of framed pictures I saw a picture of her as a little girl in the arms of a young couple, but nothing recent. It's very odd. But I can't really see her as the kind of person who'd have a rift with her family, temper or no. This business…the split with Venus-sama is killing her as it is."
All three men frowned, realizing that there was a great deal they still had to learn about the women that they loved.
"Rei's got a man who lives with her," Jadeite said abruptly and with a touch of bitterness, drawing looks of complete astonishment from both Nephrite, who nearly spilled his cup of coffee, and Zoisite, whose mouth sagged outright.
"I beg your pardon?" Nephrite finally managed, wondering if he needed to clear out his auditory canals.
"I said, Rei's got a man who lives with her…at her temple. Yui…something." The man's voice was ragged, filled with jealousy and something a bit more. "She says he's just there to help her grandfather, especially now that he's sick, but I have to wonder. At least on Yui-whatshisname's part."
Still looking faintly stunned, Zoisite asked, "And you're okay with that? You, Jadeite?!"
A shadowed look of dismay rolled across Jadeite's face. "It's not like I've got a lot of choice. I'd have loved to pitch the guy out on his backside at the very least, but maybe by giving her my trust, she can begin to trust in me again. After all, I have a helluva lot to make up for."
"We all do," sighed Nephrite, picking up his cup and taking a long, bitter sip. "I'm frankly amazed that Li…I mean, Makoto, hasn't said ANYTHING to me about it, even after I explained what happened. She never held back her expressing her feelings in the past, so it worries me. I mean, I know I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, but I keep feeling like it's going to come back and bite me later on. Sword of Damocles, you know?"
The two blond men nodded in understanding, although Jadeite rubbed his forehead as if feeling a certain lingering pain there. It was the spot where he'd been nailed by an ofuda recently.
"And we still haven't found Endymion yet," Zoisite mused. "I just know Ami knows of his whereabouts, but she hasn't volunteered," he said with a scowl. "I haven't wanted to ask."
"Me either," admitted Jadeite quietly. "Both because I want to find him myself…ourselves, and because of the trust thing. Add in the situation with Sailor Venus and it's all very dicey."
"Has Kunzite spoken to anyone about that night?" asked Nephrite. "Whatever happened between him and Venus had to be huge, and ugly, since she was in the kill first and ask questions later mood she was when she showed up at Makoto's place."
"He wouldn't say," Zoisite admitted, looking distressed. "When I tried to broach the subject he looked at me like I'd stabbed him and then he snapped at me outright, which you know is a departure for him. Brooding Kunzite is normal. Not barking. I really feel for him…"
"Rei should be here soon," Jadeite said, looking pleased at the prospect of getting his woman away from Yuichiro's presence. "She's always had terrific insight into people's souls. Maybe she can point us in the right direction with Kunzite and Venus."
The jangle of bells at the door proved him right. A raven-haired beauty in casual pink overalls looked around the crowded eatery, wrinkling her nose with disgust when she didn't immediately spot any familiar faces. Waving, Jadeite caught her attention, motioning for her to join them in the booth. A second later she spotted a faintly bedraggled looking Makoto busily working her section, taking sundae orders from a huge group of be-fukued, giggling middle-schoolers who were busily shooting straw wrappers at one another.
The fire priestess' stride faltered just slightly at seeing the three men, all former enemies, together in the booth. Facing a resurrected Jadeite one on one had been hard enough, but the group of them was downright intimidating, even though Makoto and Ami had assured her that Nephrite and Zoisite were no longer evil. She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Makoto, whose emerald eyes, visible over her order pad, contained a decided expression of sympathy. It warmed Rei to know that Makoto understood and she wasn't alone in her feelings. Adjusting to the presence of the revived Shitennou would take time.
Turning, Rei she stuck her stubborn chin in the air and made her way toward the men boldly. She felt somehow slightly less worried when she spotted the ice cream and grape soda concoction in Zoisite's hands. How scary could a man who drank Purple Cows through bendy straws be anyway? The thought made her smirk and she hastened her step.
Though Jadeite had turned most of his attention to her, the other men were deeply engrossed in their conversation and she wondered at it when she heard a snippet as she approached.
"…because Terra knows, we've got to do something about those two." Zoisite was saying as Nephrite nodded in agreement and lifted his cup to his lips.
"Hey Firebird!" Jadeite grinned broadly, sweeping her onto his lap without warning and smacking a loud, obnoxious kiss on her lips. The rowdy middle-schoolers in Makoto's section cheered and hooted at the blatant public display of affection.
He had every intention of turning the kiss into something a good deal more heated, but Rei, furious at being made into a public spectacle, hissed, "Baka hentai!" and swatted her man on the back of the head. Wriggling free, she stood a step from the table, her arms crossed over her bosom as she glared daggers at him. Nephrite, trying not to laugh, choked on his coffee and wound up sputtering helplessly into a napkin as Zoisite laughed out loud, both at Jadeite's set-down and Nephrite's near mishap.
"I agree, Zoisite," interjected Jadeite, who had somehow managed to keep a part of his mind on the conversation, though he was still staring intently at his fiery princess. "We've got to act." He rubbed his scalp, making Rei blush at her outburst, but his next words made it even worse. "After all, Kunzite and Venus deserve the chance to be at least as lucky as the rest of us…"
(Author's Note: Poor Neph…he's the only one whose girl's name made a major change. He's having to get used to it. And poor, poor Kunzite and Minako. Meddling is going to commence. Kami-sama help them both!)
