Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. It belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation.
A/N: (Originally written in Dec., 2020) I wrote this short drabble that's been in my head over the last few weeks. I just love the idea of writing Endymion and his guardians as wholesome best friends so that's what this is! Enjoy!
"Your Highness?" asked Jadeite, knocking softly on the door to His Prince's bedchambers. When he heard no answer, he turned to his comrades with an unsure look. "Should we go in?"
Nephrite scoffed and flipped a lock of his long brown curls over his shoulder, "Of course we should! We're the Prince's Four Knights. It's our job to make sure he's fine."
"But shouldn't we leave him a bit of privacy? I know I wouldn't want to be disturbed in the middle of the night," whispered Zoisite nervously, looking both ways of the halls to make sure no one would see them. "Besides what if someone sees us and gets the wrong idea."
Kunzite, the oldest and leader of the four, put a hand on Zoisite's shoulder, "It's okay my love. It is as Nephrite said. Our job is to protect the Prince. Open the door Jadeite."
Jadeite nodded and pushed open the large grand doors. He looked around and walked ahead to give room for the other three to enter. Despite being the Prince of Earth, his Prince's quarters weren't befitting of his royal title. Normally a royal's quarters could span an entire floor of the palace, but his was just three small rooms sequestered in the East Wing.
Nephrite scoffed as he noticed a sword lying on the marble floor, "If he's going to undress himself, the least he could do was treat his equipment with more respect. He could scratch the floor."
Kunzite elbowed Nephrite in the side before pointing to the left. The four young men followed Kunzite's fingers to see a very familiar site. Their Prince's rooms had a private balcony with a chaise lounge for comfortable seating. For as long as they could remember, he had always loved staring up at the moon and stars every night. And tonight was no different. There sleeping sweetly on the chaise lounge was none other than the handsome Prince Endymion. He had taken off his armor and was wearing only a pair of trousers. His hair was only slightly tousled as his pale skin shone in the moonlight.
Zoisite chuckled and let out a small smile, "We should have seen it coming."
"He wants to see her again," Kunzite sighed sadly, putting an arm around Zoisite and kissing him on the head.
"No matter what we try," started Jadeite, a wistful tone to his voice. "You can't stop a man in love."
"Mark my words," whispered Nephrite harshly. "That princess is going to be the death of us all."
Jadeite narrowed his eyes and let out a small laugh, "Careful Nephrite. If any of her Guardians hear you, you'll be asking for trouble."
Kunzite waved his hand in the air to silence the three, "Enough. We'll discuss that another time. Help me move him to his bed. Nephrite, you and I will grab his arms. Zoisite and Jadeite, you his legs."
The three nodded and assumed their positions. They silently groaned as they grabbed the Prince off of his chaise and began to carry him to his four-poster bed. Having always been a heavy sleeper, the Prince didn't wake up during this process. Zoisite and Jadeite laid his legs down gently, while Kunzite and Nephrite treated his head with care.
Once the Prince was situated in bed, the four reconvened at the foot of the bed and inspected their charge closely. Though he had the fate of the world on his shoulders as its presumptive heir, Prince Endymion was still a sixteen-year-old boy at the end of the day. While he was sleeping, he looked so young. As if there wasn't a care in the world.
"It will get harder," said Kunzite sadly. "The reports keep coming in."
Zoisite nodded from his place under Kunzite's strong arms, "We will have to protect him with everything we have."
Nephrite looked to the moon, "I worry we won't be the only victims of what's to come. She will be affected as well."
"Perhaps a meeting with the Guardians is in order?" asked Jadeite. "Their power is greater than ours after all."
Kunzite nodded, "I shall get in touch with Venus."
"Cuddle," whispered a soft male voice.
The four heads whipped from each other to their Prince. Nephrite silently groaned at what the Prince wanted them to do. When he was really young, the Prince had had trouble falling asleep. So Zoisite had devised a plan to get him to sleep, the five of them would sleep side-by-side and fall asleep that way. Zoisite had thought that the warmth of friendship might tire him out.
"Guess it can't be helped," whispered Zoisite lovingly.
"I'm not getting in the middle this time," whispered Nephrite softly.
As the four men got themselves situated in bed and began to fall asleep one by one, Jadeite couldn't help but smile to himself. Even though Nephrite's hair was in his face and he was at risk of falling out of the Prince's very small bed, it was the moments like these that he treasured the most. Free of royalty, political dangers, or even the bickering amongst the Four Knights of Heaven. They were just five young best friends at the end of the day.