Armor was not made for dancing.
As much as he admired and respected his queen, Kunzite had to admit that she was rather foolish at times.
She thought the armor was romantic. In spite of having been raised in Japan, she was consumed with the image of some medieval knight in shining armor coming to her rescue. Admittedly, she had some basis for her dream, having lived two lifetimes in which she had been aided by a handsome man in armor. But truth be told, even though she was now a woman of twenty one, her heart was still that of a naïve, love struck fourteen year old.
To celebrate Endymion's recovery from his wounds, she decided that a military ball was in order. The theme was knights in shining armor. All the gentlemen came in their military dress uniforms. For Enymion and his Shitennou, that meant the armor of the guards of Elysian.
It was once Kunzite's greatest pride to wear this armor. It was the greatest honor a servant of Earth could have; to guard the very heart of the Earth, the land of dreams. The armor always shone brightly, a beacon of hope for those it protected, and a portent of doom for those who opposed it.
There was some romance in the armor, but only for those who had never had to wear it into battle. Kunzite had. He had even worn it when he had turned on the Earth, turned on his prince. It did not shine then. It was black, colored with the all consuming hate of Chaos. No longer did it bring hope. Despair, destruction and death followed in its wake.
"You're not enjoying yourself?"
The question was so obvious, Kunzite saw little need to lie, especially to his queen.
"No Your Majesty, I am not."
"It's a ball, Kunzite," Usagi said in an exasperated tone. "It's supposed to be fun!"
"My apologies Your Majesty. But armor is not made for fun."
"Always so serious," she chided. "You should relax, Kunzite. We won the battle, and Mamo-chan is all better. We deserve to celebrate!"
Kunzite bowed. "You have certainly earned your merriment, Highness. I do not begrudge you your happiness."
"Well thank you, how very noble of you. But why won't you join in?"
"As I said before, armor is not made for fun."
"But you do look so very handsome in your armor. Not as handsome as Mamo-chan, obviously." Kunzite nearly laughed. He could almost see stars in her eyes as she said it.
"But still, you look very handsome." She smiled conspiratorially at him. "I'm sure V-chan would agree."
The terrible emptiness in his chest felt magnified at those words. "Please Your Majesty, I don't think I can face her like this."
"Why not? Knights in shining armor are romantic. Don't you want to be hers?"
"Your Majesty, may I be frank with you?"
Usagi stepped back and raised her head to meet his eyes. Kunzite thought to himself that it was as though she were preparing for battle.
"Please, continue," she said curtly.
"This is all foolishness. You believe this whole notion of the knight in shining armor to be romantic, because the king has always been there to defend you. You see strength in him, and that is well. You must understand what an insult it is to the rest of us."
In his mind, the queen was being childish. He expected his rebuke to reduce her to tears. Instead, her face remained impassive.
"How is it an insult?"
"Perhaps your memories are not as clear as ours. I remember the battles on Earth and the last days of the Silver Millenium. That was the last time I wore this armor. You should consider yourself lucky that you do not remember. They were horrible times. I… I did things I am not proud of."
He did not wish to name them, but Kunzite remembered the fighting. He remembered burning homes and slaughtering families. He remembered using his gauntlets to beat men senseless, and using his shield to maim them. He remembered a time when it seemed his sword shone red for all the blood that ran from it.
"This armor is not romantic. This sword is not a child's toy. It can do horrible things. As queen, you should know better."
Kunzite was once again surprised when he saw his queen's eyes harden. The world knew her as the gentle heart who benevolently ruled over them. Here, in this moment, when he was clad in the finest armor ever made with a deadly blade by his side, he was the one who was suddenly afraid of the raw power he perceived before him.
"You think I do not know what a sword can do?" Her hand moved unconsciously to her heart. There was a hint of a tear welling in her eye. "You think I do not remember the end?"
It was Kunzite who had to step back under the weight of the revelation.
The queen's face softened, and the tear made its way down her cheek. Once again, she was a silly young girl with dreams of everlasting romance. When she opened her eyes, they were once again bright.
"Please Kunzite," she said softly. "It's a ball, and it's fun. Please have fun?"
It was not a command, but it moved him in a way no order ever had. He bowed. "As you wish."
A smile returned to her face. "I'm going to go find my knight in shining armor. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking for one. Go have fun."
They parted, each in search of something. Kunzite made his way to the courtyard, knowing that she would be by the fountain.
As he walked, he pondered the queen's notion that this was somehow romantic. Venus was certainly not some helpless maiden who needed a hero. She was more than capable in her own right. She had stopped him on the battlefield twice, although the first time had been at the cost of her own life. She did not need to be rescued. For that matter, for all her klutziness and cry-baby tendencies, neither did the queen. Why then, did she cling to this ridiculous notion?
Suddenly he was upon her. The moonlight shone down on her, giving her an ethereal glow. Power seemed to emanate from her, and she was a vision of the goddess she represented, beautiful and wonderous.
Armor was not made for stealth, and so she turned to meet him. A smile graced her lips.
"Have you come to save me?"
"You do not need rescuing."
She sighed. "You're so literal sometimes."
"I'm sorry. But the point remains, you do not need rescuing."
"I know. But in case I did, would you be there?"
That was the question he had been avoiding. They both knew it. It's why she asked. She had to know before they could move forward.
"I want to be," he answered honestly.
Her smile returned. "My hero."