AN: Yeah, so this wasn't ready nearly as soon as I'd hoped. I struggled with this chapter, to be honest. It's hard to believably mesh Kunzite and Venus upon a first meeting. That and the whole "I'm not good at fluff" thing. That was a problem.
Disclaimer: Blah blah, not mine, blah blah blah.
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"Oh, how cute," Jadeite simpered. He immediately ducked when Endymion tried to take a swipe at him.
"It really is a charming story," Zoisite said tactfully.
Nephrite nodded. "It's almost like something out of one of those stories people love to tell children, with princes and princesses and happily ever afters."
"We don't know how it ends yet," Endymion pointed out.
Jadeite snorted. "Anyone with eyes can tell you and Sere are in it for the long haul."
He wanted to protest again, but he was too busy trying to fight back the blush that was turning even his ears red. He privately hoped that it was true, and that he and Serenity really would have the perfect fairy tale ending.
Zoisite, as though sensing his thoughts, spoke up. "I do not doubt that the queen will allow you to court her daughter. It is, if nothing else, a match that would benefit both our peoples and ease Earth's entrance into the Silver Alliance."
Kunzite, usually silent through such discussions, weighed in as well. "The advantages of a good marriage are not to be denied, and I have been told that the queen is a reasonable woman who cares very much about her daughter's happiness."
Already bored of reasonable discussion and seriousness, Jadeite pushed himself up on his elbows so he could see the others. "And by that he means that it'll benefit him if you do get hitched to Sere. It'll make it easier for him to marry his precious Venus."
"Jadeite," Kunzite warned, tone a hair away from a threatening growl.
"Do you have a ring picked out yet?" the blond asked, blatantly ignoring the danger. "Or are you going to let her do it? We all know she's the one who makes things happen in your relationship anywa- ow!"
A rock had shot up from the previously smooth grass and had, judging by Jadeite's expression and the way he was rubbing his side, essentially stabbed him in the left kidney. It was unlike Kunzite to choose an almost petty revenge over a more militaristic approach, but the others rather suspected it had been done in the heat of the moment. Regret and discomfort were already flickering through the eldest man's eyes.
Nephrite sighed. "You really ought to know better by this point," he said to his still wincing friend. "And you should count yourself lucky that Venus didn't hear you. She'd have stabbed you with something a lot sharper than a rock."
For a moment, Jadeite looked at their leader uncomfortably. "You know I don't mean it, right?" he asked. "I'm just teasing."
It was practically an apology, and almost as rare from Jadeite as such attacks were from Kunzite. Rather than responding, though he knew he should, Kunzite just nodded brusquely and turned away so he was facing Endymion.
"Kunz," the prince said gently, "don't worry about it. We know you two love each other. It doesn't matter who reaches out first."
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It hadn't taken Kunzite long to realize that his prince's sudden withdrawal had less to do with teenaged moodiness than it did with another person. Endymion had fallen in love. The problem was deciding what to do. Jadeite's scandalous affairs and Nephrite's casual flings were very straightforward, and as far as he could tell Zoisite had yet to develop an interest in anyone.
Unusually, he was rather at a loss. Given the length of their friendship, he'd thought the prince would come to him with such matters. Barring that, he certainly would have said something to Zoisite. His secrecy complicated everything.
When an attempt to discuss the situation with Endymion proved fruitless, the eldest general did the only other thing he could think of – he arranged to stay in Elysion for an extended period to keep watch. Since the prince grew even more distracted in the evenings, that was when Kunzite would pay the most attention.
The first few days of his self-set vigil almost made him wonder if he'd imagined the cause of Endymion's behavior. That impression was swiftly silenced by a maiden appearing in a burst of light on the fourth night.
Kunzite shifted back, letting the shadows settle around him like a shroud. Only another Shadow Warrior could see through that veil, and his prince, who could ordinarily sense his presence no matter how he tried to hide, was too distracted to notice.
He understood Endymion's atypical reticence upon seeing the cause. He was in love, as Kunzite had expected, but he'd managed to fall for the worst possible woman – one he could never hope to have. The Moon Princess would one day control the Silver Millennium, living longer than any Terran. More, for all that their ranks seemed similar, the Earth was considered inherently less by their neighbors. No matter how highborn Endymion was, he would never be considered a suitable match. He was setting himself up for heartbreak.
Kunzite remained their silent guardian through that stolen hour, then followed the prince inside when his princess finally left.
"Endymion." His tone was stern, effect heightened by the lack of his formal title. "What are you thinking?"
He'd trained them to always be vigilant, but the way the prince spun around made it very clear he'd had no idea he wasn't alone. "Kunzite! You startled me."
"I can see that. Now answer my question."
Endymion offered the general a wry grin. "You asked a question?"
"Indeed. I find myself somewhat baffled by your present state of mind."
"How so?" Endymion asked with a frown.
"You know the people of the moon are not allowed here, let alone their sole heir."
The prince flushed, instantly embarrassed. "You saw us."
"I did, and I am very concerned. We have worked all these years in an attempt to join the Silver Millennium, and your actions may well be jeopardizing that. You must know how hopeless your situation is."
Endymion's face fell. "Of course I know. I tried to resist, but nothing worked. She's like a magnet, Kunzite. No matter what I do, I'm drawn to her."
The general sighed. "I do not like to confront you this way, but I worry you will only find pain if you continue down the path in front of you." He placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "I have been with you for most of your life, Endymion. I do not want to see you hurt."
"I'm not the only one who feels this way."
"I know. The princess is as enamored of you as you are of her. Is there nothing I can do to put a stop to this before things end badly?"
The prince shook his head. "We know the risks we're taking. We at least want this time while we have it."
"I understand," Kunzite said heavily. "But I will continue to watch, Prince Endymion. For your safety and hers."
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The general quickly learned why Endymion had described Serenity as a magnet. She'd managed to utterly dazzle him within their first meeting, and he found himself as fond and protective of her as he was of his charges. Even so, he most often remained a distant guard to let the lovers maintain at least the illusion of privacy. One such night, a second shining star appeared not long after the first heralded the princess's arrival.
This new woman wore her blonde hair long and tied back with a red ribbon, and her huge eyes were crystal blue. Had he not known that Serenity was an only child, he would have thought them sisters. Orange gown swirling around her, the stranger was ready to charge the prince and princess when Kunzite intercepted her.
"It must be hard having such a bundle of curiosity for a princess."
The newcomer turned, and the moment they made eye contact felt like being hit. Her eyes widened before a coquettish smile spread across her lovely face.
"Well, hello," she purred.
He nearly flinched back from the tone, so at odds with the sense of connection he'd felt just moments before. He hastily buried the reaction and refused to let it be betrayed by his response. "You must be a member of her highness's court. Venusian, are you not?"
"You could try me and find out," she suggested.
Kunzite suspected she could scorch a man to bare bones with just that handful of words and the look she was giving him. He swallowed and carefully drew his typical stoicism around himself like a protective cloak. "Thank you for the offer, but my task keeps me here. I do not consider it wise to leave my charge unsupervised."
The vixen he'd been so rudely presented with all but split apart as the girl narrowed her eyes, trading oozing sexuality for a steely spine. "I beg your pardon, my lord, but if your intent is to judge my capability to chaperone my princess…"
"Of course not, my lady. I mean no offense." He dipped into a neat bow. "My name is Kunzite. I am the head of Prince Endymion's guard."
Her curtsy was shallow but perfectly elegant, even as she stared at him with those penetrating eyes. "I am Princess Venus. Like you, I am my princess's sworn guardian." Whatever she saw seemed to satisfy her ire, so she turned back to study Serenity. "How long has this been happening?"
"I cannot say. Their behavior led me to believe it began some time prior to my first meeting with her highness, nearly a month ago now."
Venus exhaled, clearly frustrated. "And we are only now discovering it ourselves."
"You did not know of the princess's visits to Earth?"
The lady waved his words aside. "I knew she came to Earth from time to time, but she has done so for many years. None of us thought much of it, though of course we regularly try to dissuade her. No, I meant this affair with your prince."
"I am surprised you would allow her to visit other sovereign lands unaccompanied."
Princess Venus huffed out a laugh. "We never allowed her any such thing. For all that she looks so innocent, she is more than capable of turning things to her own advantage. Serenity always times her visits carefully to when we are preoccupied with other duties, or simply makes excuses to avoid our company long enough for her to slip away. We've come to tolerate it to an extent, but we did not know she was meeting anyone here." Her expression softened as she continued watching Serenity and Endymion. They had started waltzing, despite the lack of music, the grass, everything, too absorbed in each other to notice. "We worried."
Kunzite watched as she did, and knew he was softening as well. "And now?"
The newcomer turned his way again. "And now I'll have to tolerate it, as I did her sneaking off. She loves him, and he loves her. Interfering would only cause them pain, and so I will do right by her and merely keep watch."
"You are no longer concerned for her safety?"
"She is not unguarded, and I sense that you would be as fierce in her protection as any of her guards. She caught you too."
He blinked and frowned. "Caught me? I do not understand."
Venus' eyes burned liquid gold for a moment. "You love her, like a cross between a daughter and a friend. In many ways she is as dear to you as the men you have dedicated your life to. Come what may, I do not believe you could do her harm."
Kunzite rubbed his chest before he realized he'd moved. "You are a psychic."
Her gaze turned back to crystal, and she shook her head. "Not precisely. That is Princess Mars' purview. No, I see… love. If it is strong enough, or if I am looking, I can read intentions through it. They radiate it so strongly any of my people could sense it, and you… You were harder, almost frozen, while you were facing me. When you looked to them, though, it was like a wall falling away and all I could see was a simple adoration."
He studied her, the slip of a girl capable of reading emotions through even his strongest facades. That tug of connection between them made itself known again, not clear but strong nonetheless. For a moment, he let himself want. He'd been promised so long ago that he would be able to give his love to others, and in his way he did. He had just never been seen so clearly in so brief a time.
He put it aside. "I do not make a habit of interfering with the prince and princess while they are together, but I will watch whenever they do. She will not go unguarded here."
"I believe you," Venus said quietly. Her eyes remained on his even as she vanished.
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AN: I mean, obviously I know how this will be ending, given that it's considered part of the Time Travel Trouble series, but I'm not really sure how we're getting to that point. As such, I can't really promise regular updates, though I'm going to try to spend more time on this. I do still want to know what everyone thinks, though, so as always, please review and let me know. Till next time!