Chapter Two

Muted light played over Nephrite's face.  He stirred, a line of chills running down the back of his neck.  His mind was caught between sleep and waking, in that hazy place of semi-consciousness.  He was warm, and cold; awake, and asleep; and all together, in a state of unusual receptivity.

As such, he heard a soft whisper, words just out of reach of his hearing.  A sibilant hiss of breath, powerful, neutral.  Words he could almost make out.

Then, the sound of a flute attempting to blast out his eardrums.

He shot up, and moaned.  The chills swamped his body, his head throbbed, and his mouth felt coated in sticky paste.

"You look like hell," Jadeite observed, hovering at the end of the bed.

"Feel like it, twice over," he replied thickly.  He glared at Jade.  "Did you have to wake me that way?"

"That, or watch you sleep all day," Jadeite replied.  "And while it's a pleasant sight for some, I'll pass." His voice was dry, touched by the desert he'd grown up in. 

"Is there a reason for it, or are you just being obnoxious?" Nephrite retorted.

"Both," Jadeite said, smiling a little.  He raised the flute to his mouth and play a quick half scale.  "It's always a pleasure to annoy you, my lord."

"Yes, that's a given," Nephrite replied, pushing himself up so his back was to the headboard.  "And?"

Jadeite played a series of minor thirds.  He looked suddenly serious.  "You weren't in your rooms this morning.  I thought I should find out if you were dead or not."

Nephrite sighed.  It was one of those Jade things.

"So I 'looked you up', so to speak," Jade said, brandishing the flute.  "And found you here, in a woman's room."  Somehow, he managed to make that last bit sound like a verbal leer, Nephrite thought.  Jadeite leaned back on the air, smiling sardonically. "I should've expected it."

Nephrite grinned.  "Jade, for once, it's completely not what you think."

"Oh?  It was for our Commander."

"No shit.  He...he found her?"

"Looks like it," Jade replied, and crouched forward again.  "I guess you missed the reunion scene, huh?"

"Jade, I barely could stand last night," Nephrite explained, and was about to elaborate further when the door opened and the Lady came in.  She was carrying a tray, and dressed in green men's pajamas, her hair bound neatly back.  She caught sight of Jade, and somehow managed not to drop the tray.

"Lady," Nephrite began, but Jadeite smiled, unfolded himself and floated down.

"May I assist you, Lady Jupiter?" he asked, giving a slight bow.  He reached out and took the tray from her hands, and let it float over to Nephrite, where it settled easily.

|Lady...Jupiter?| Nephrite thought to himself, looking down at the tray. 

Jupiter gave a little curtsy to Jade.  "Thank you, Lord Jadeite, though I'm sure that if a little girl like me can carry it from the kitchens, I can also put it on the bed."  There was a hint of a smile at her mouth.

"What is the Lady Jupiter doing, attending the kitchens, when she has one of her own?" Jade asked, again with the slight bow.

"The Lady Jupiter does not need to answer silly questions, Lord Jadeite," the Lady replied, again with a slight curtsey.

"You two know each other?" Nephrite asked.

"You two don't?" Jade said, and both averted their eyes.  "Oh.  Wow.  You don't!" There was glee in his voice.  He stepped between them and extended his arm.  "Lady Jupiter, this is Lord Nephrite, shadow master, womanizer unparalled, and nob supreme." He bowed to her, then turned to Nephrite.  "Lord Nephrite, this is Lady Jupiter, Warrior of the Princess, excellent cook, and all around most shoddy card player." He dropped his arm, eyes glittering.  "Usually I try to get the name before I cohabitate."

Jupiter folded her arms across her chest.  "Interesting words from a man who frequents the anonymous Five Hours."

His body tensed, but his voice was silk.  "Low blow...cousin."

Jupiter's smile widened.  "I was wondering how long it would take for you to invoke blood," she said, voice soft.

"Never soon enough, it seems," he replied, voice almost...gentle.

They embraced.  Nephrite pinched himself.  This had to be a fever dream. 

The two rocked together for a moment before pulling back. Their eyes turned to him.  Jupiter covered her mouth.  Jade grinned, said, "I wish I had a picture of the expression on your face."

"You two...know each other?" he asked, voice whispery.

The two exchanged looks, then split to opposite sides of the bed.  Jupiter pulled a chair up close; Jadeite hovered again, flute across his lap.

"You know my family immigrated," Jade said.

Nephrite nodded.  "I thought you meant..." he spread his hands, confused.  "I didn't think you meant another planet!"

"We're spread out all over the system," Jade said. "My part just happened to come from Ganymede..."

"A moon  my family has been, let us say, intimately connected with," Jupiter said, settling into her seat.

"So we're related, somehow," Jade finished.  " 'Cousin' is the best word for it."

"When I left home, my parents gave me some family names to look up in this area, to make me more comfortable.  This bastard was the only one who would take my calls," Jupiter said.

Jade shrugged.  "I don't fear the Moon," he said simply.  He looked between the two of them, and added, "Yet."

Jupiter smiled at him.  "As it should be."

"I've got to be dreaming," Nephrite muttered.

Jupiter reached over and touched his head. Her smile disappeared.  "Still some fever," she said.

Jade gave him a concerned look.  "You're sick?  I thought you'd been drinking."

Nephrite sighed.  |Here we go.|

Jupiter said, "Yes.  'Swhy he's here, after..." And now she looked down, shuffling her hands.

Jade looked between them, and shook hi head.  "I shall inform the Commander, then," he said.  "If I can pull him out of bed..." He flashed them both a wicked grin, and vanished with a soft chime.

Jupiter was looking at him now.  "You should eat," she said.

He looked at the tray.  "Does dream food taste good?" he asked.

She smacked his arm gently.  "It's soup and orange juice, and you're not dreaming."

"That's hard to believe," he replied, pulling the lids off both the bowl and the cup.  Steam rose, filled his nostrils with a delicious smell, and the orange juice was a very pretty shade.

"Why?  You don't often accompany women back to their rooms without knowing their name?" she teased.

He pointed the spoon at her.  "I always get a lady's name first," he said, then dipped the spoon in the soup.

"You didn't with me," she said, voice still teasing. 

"And you didn't get mine," he said, blowing on the spoonful of soup.  He sipped it tentatively, then swallowed the whole thing, noticing that she suddenly looked a little anxious. 

He ate another spoonful, and another.  The warmth spilled down his throat, and seemed to immediately attach itself to all his cold spots.  He shuddered a little at its touch.

"Is it that bad?" she asked, voice quiet and quick.

He paused, spoon at his lips, and raised his eyebrows.  She smacked a fist into her palm, swearing.  "I'm sorry, I'll..."

"You made this?" he asked quickly, then finished his last swallow.

She nodded, hands still clenched.

He smiled a little.  "For me?" he asked, voice deepening.

"For everyone," she replied, and her voice was quiet.

Nephrite looked down at his bowl, then waved his hand over it.  The mixture swirled a little, and she gave him a puzzled look.  He spooned up another bite, swallowed, and sighed.

"Now it's just for me," he replied, and his eyes smiled at her.

When she closed the door some twenty minutes later, the faint blush on her cheeks still remained.


Venus was waiting for her in the kitchens.  "Ah, you're out of bed," she said.

"Pfft.  I've been up forever," Jupiter replied.  She took in Venus's hair--pulled up quickly and knotted back--and her clothes--the wrinkled, rumpled sort.  She raised an eyebrow.  "You, on the other hand..."

Venus blushed.  Jupiter nearly dropped her tray.  The usual response to that was something catty, something cruel, something for them to laugh over.  But this time, only a blush.

"So when's the wedding?" she asked, keeping her voice light as she turned to drop the tray at the dumbwaiter.

"Emi..."

Jupiter stiffened.  Her voice went low.  "That soon, hm?"

Venus moved, leaned against her, arms settling softly around her neck.  "You read me so well," she whispered.

"I've had a lot of practice."

Then, to her surprise, Venus began to sob.  It was light, and quiet, and it shattered Jupiter's heart.

She sighed, turned, wrapped her arms around her friend, and let her cry against her.

"Don't you talk to Mars about these things, Mai?" she whispered.

"Not now." The woman sniffed.  "Not this.  Emi..." At which point, she began to cry harder, sobs wringing and wracking her form.

Jupiter held her, face laid against her hair.  She stroked her back, and whispered the right words, and let the rest of the world go blank.