Chapter Six

Several hours had passed, and his hostess had not yet return from her trip. Kunzite's stomach was beginning to growl, as he was not used to skipping meals like this. He was growing bored and restless, also. He'd finished the last page of her diary well over an hour ago. The room didn't have much more than the basic necessities in it, and therefore didn't leave him much to rifle through, either. It seemed hardly fit for a princess to be staying in, but he supposed that she wasn't in here much and probably didn't find the need for many of the luxuries he'd expected to see. She was definitely a curious lady.

He slunk back into the chair and stared out the window. He could see the glow of the Earth just barely on the horizon. He began to wonder what fabrication the Prince had come up with to explain where he'd gone and why he hadn't returned yet. Knowing the Prince, he thought, whatever had been thought up was believable. He took a pocket watch out from his jacket and began fiddling with it to pass the time. Opening it. Closing it. Opening it. Closing it.

A loud rumble from his stomach filled the room.

"Augh... I don't think I can stay in this room any longer..." He clasped the watch in his palm and stood from the chair. As his hand touched the handle to the door, a vision of his blonde acquaintance entered his head. She would absolutely destroy him if she found out he'd left this room. He entertained the thought of doing it anyway, to see if he could find his own way home, but there was something about this girl. He wanted to stay, despite every instinct he had. It was an interesting feeling.

A short while had passed, and he was still alone. Still hungry. Since he had resolved to stay, he decided the only way to ignore the feeling in his stomach was to sleep. So, with a sigh, he grabbed the blanket and pillow she'd tossed at him the previous night, and made another cot on the floor, even though that bed looked more comfortable than any he'd seen before. As much as he wanted to, it would be his luck, he thought, that she'd return to find him there and it would be the end of him. A few tosses and turns later, he was sound asleep, the thoughts dissolved.

"What's the hurry, Venus-dono?" a guest inquired as she rested her hand on Venus' arm.

"Oh, my dear," Venus rested her hand on top of the guests and smiled lovingly. "I really must be going. I have matters to attend to back on the Moon. I had a lovely evening. I am gracious you could attend."

Venus excused herself from the small gathering in the dining hall of the palace and made her way back to her chamber. She was nervous that someone might have found Kunzite in her room, and felt a strong need to get back as soon as possible. The evening had gone on longer than she'd expected. Artemis followed, having to catch up to her long strides.

"What's the rush? Is something wrong?"

Venus slowed to allow her companion to catch up. "No, what makes you think that?" She knew that if anyone was suspicious of her behavior, it would be Artemis. He'd been her guardian since she was a child, guiding her through the responsibilities she'd been thrust into at such a young age. He was her best friend.

He leaned into the doorway, as Venus began to gather some things in her room. "Oh, nothing. You just don't seem like you're all here, I suppose. Is your mind somewhere else?"

She stopped collecting her things. It was apparent to her that she couldn't say nothing was wrong. What she could do, however, is lie a little. She didn't want to hide anything from him, but this particular matter, she felt like she needed to. "I guess... I guess I'm just thinking about all the meetings I've been going to. There's so much going on." She paused and looked to her friend. "It can be hard to process all these things, I suppose."

Artemis nodded. "That I can understand. There is much going on right now. These are fragile times." He paused and smiled warmly. "You shouldn't allow it to damper your mood, however. We came here to have fun tonight. As important as those matters are, you need to set them aside and enjoy yourself sometimes."

Venus smiled and joined her longtime friend at the door. "You're right. I promise that next time, I will come with a clear head." They hugged briefly and headed back to the moon's palace.

Venus wished her friend farewell, and hurried down the hall to her room, hoping not to run into anyone else. The Palace didn't seem to be in a state of alert, so had he left her quarters, although she hoped not, he hadn't been seen. She rounded the corner right before her room only to be stopped.

"Venus-chan?"

Ugh, not now. "Yes?" She turned to greet the voice. It was Mars.

"Hey, I hadn't seen you this evening. I heard you visited home. How was it? Did you enjoy yourself?"

Venus felt bad about what she was going to do next, but she was anxious to get to her room. "I'll have to tell you about it later. I hope that's okay. I'm just absolutely exhausted, and would like to get some rest." She felt bad dismissing her friend so quickly, but she couldn't wait another second.

Mars nodded, looking to be a little disappointed, but also concerned that her friend needed her rest. "Of course, go. I will catch up with you later. Sleep well."

The two hugged, and Venus continued to her room. As she reached the door, she took in a deep breath before turning the knob. She prayed he was still there.

The room was dark. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust, and once they had, she found a lantern and lit it. Much to her surprise, on the floor, next to her bed, he was sound asleep. A feeling of relief swept over her. She'd played out so many negative scenarios in her head, it was satisfying to see that none had come to fruition.

She slipped into her night gown and sat down on her bed with her diary. She'd made a habit of writing in it everyday. Of course, the day before she hadn't due to the unusual circumstances of the night, but she didn't want to break the habit just because he was here.

After finishing her entry, she sat the diary down and focused her attention to the man laying on the floor. This was the first time she'd gotten a chance to look at him. The past day and a half, she'd been doing all she could to avoid much eye contact, let alone given herself the chance to admire him.

He was awfully handsome.

Examining his toned muscles and chiseled features, Venus did not notice that he had begun to stir. As her eyes made it back to his face, she was greeted with a sleepy grin.

"Ah... so you came back for me, Venus-dono," he chuckled in between a yawn.

Startled, and once again embarrassed, she sat back up and began playing with her hair. "Oh, yes, well, I very well couldn't leave you here to starve." She pointed to a small package she'd carried in with her and sat down on a table.

He stretched and sat up. "I didn't expect you would." He turned his attention to the food. He was starving. He retrieved it from the table and sat back down on his cot. "Thank you very much, Venus-dono. I appreciate you bringing this for me. So, how was your trip? Was it nice to travel home?" He looked over to her, still playing with her hair.

She cleared her throat and met his gaze, "Yes, it was nice. Thank you for asking." Her tone changed slightly as he began to chuckle. "What, what is it?"

He pointed at her, simply just to taunt her more. "You're blushing."

Ah! She covered her cheeks with her hands and turned away. "No I'm not!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Venus-dono. It's nothing serious." He paused just long enough to take a bite from the food she'd brought. "I blushed slightly as I saw you change earlier."

"WHAT?!" She lunged across the bed swinging her fist at him, but he caught it and she was left hanging half over the bed. "You pervert!"

"I was joking." He helped her back onto the bed and gave one of the most sincere looks she'd ever seen. "I swear on my life, I was asleep until about ten minutes ago. I was just kidding. I wouldn't dare watch you undress unknowingly. That is not honorable at all."

She smoothed her nightgown and fixed her hair. "I suppose I believe you. But that still wasn't funny."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I promise not to joke of that again, Venus-dono."

As he finished his food, Venus did a little thinking. She had to get this man out of here, soon. But how? There wasn't much she could do without enlisting the help of someone else. "Well, if all goes well, you won't have to contain your jokes for too long. I'm hoping to figure something out by morning." She'd already discovered that the problem was only with travel to Earth. She'd used her teleport to go to Venus just fine. She'd even tried to go to Earth from Venus, although it did not work. Selene had just blocked anyone from coming or going to the blue planet.

"Well... that's all and well. If you need any help brainstorming, let me know. It would be my pleasure to help in any way possible. I know you've gone out of your way quite a bit in my expense. And not that I am unappreciative, Venus-dono, because I am certainly thankful, but it will be nice to sleep on a proper bed tomorrow night."

Venus rose to grab the lantern she'd lit earlier. "Well, Kunzite-san, I hate to say this, and at the risk of repeating myself, had you simply given me that letter, you would not be in this predicament." She smirked and turned out the light. "Goodnight."

Kunzite sighed, and laid back onto his pillow. "Goodnight." He smirked and closed his eyes once more.

Venus returned to the room the next day after another busy day to find him, once again, sitting in the chair, staring out the window. They'd managed to avoid any uncomfortable situations that morning, so there wasn't as much tension lingering in the room today. Obviously there was still some there, they were strangers after all, and they each had some bizarre attraction to each other, though neither of them picked up on it, or would admit it to themselves.

"Ah, there you are, Venus-sama" he looked over at her as she entered. "Any news?" He was eager to get out of here.

Venus raised a brow at the greeting, but brushed it off quickly. "I wish it were better." She stretched a bit and then leaned back onto her vanity, sitting on her hands. "From what I gather, the Queen is not lifting the transportation ban until the ball at the end of next month. Not only so, I couldn't even take you to my palace and get you back." She took a deep breath. "So... onto plan b."

He nodded, taking in all the information. He was curious to what her backup plan was, though. "And that is?"

"I'll have to confess."

AN: This last scene, Kunzite uses a different honorific, which is why Venus raises her brow. Honorifics are used in Japanese culture to convey respect or esteem for a person. A quick Google search will get you the whole list of them if you are interested in learning about it more. :)

And also, I know that Kunzite is rather playful in this chapter, and I know that seems out of character to some, but, just stick with me!