Chapter 9

Nephrite looked down at the trembling woman and cursed himself. This was not how he intended this to happen.

Though, thinking about it, his intention to present the bracelet with a less serious lead-up probably would've fallen falt anyways. He'd known that plans had changed when he first saw her. Odd to think that, even with the veil, he could read her emotions just from the lines of her body. There had been a great deal of weight etched on her body, and he didn't think it had been a happy one. "The weight of sunshine does not bow the spine," or whatever Kunzite occasionally said.

|Reading her emotions without looking at her face? Now what does that say to you?|

He ignored the thought, and reached out to grip her shoulder. Her dress was made in such a way that his thumb slid across bare skin. He tried not to notice it. "Lady...we should go somewhere and talk," he said.

She didn't look up at him.

He put his other hand on her other shoulder, and leaned forward a little. He caught the scent of her, like new evergreens, and pushed that away along with the feel of her beneath his hands. "Lady?" he asked.

It was then that the spasm hit.

Zoisite had warned him that this could happen, but he hadn't warned him of the extent. It felt like someone had cracked open his chest; the world slowed to the pulse in his head, rapid and loud, and the rattle of his breath. His grip on her shoulders tightened as he bent forward, head down, body curling reflexively against the pain. Her head came up--he felt that--but then he was trying too hard to breath.

"Nephrite?" Curious. "Nephrite!" Worried. "Are you all right?"

"It'll...pass," he said, voice raspy. The pain had already begun to recede a little. "In a moment," he added. He forced himself to stand upright, and pulled his hands from her shoulders.

That wasn't, as it turned out, an entirely good idea.

The pain flooded back, and he winced, grabbing his chest. He staggered back a step or two until he could steady himself against a post.

"We need to get you to the Healers," she said, taking a step towards him.

"No," he said, grimacing. A third wave of pain overlapped the second. "No, this will pass, Lady. And until it does, nothing can be done." |At least, I think so,| he added to himself. |Lunar medicine probably doesn't cover shadow sickness.|

"They could ease your pain," she said. Her voice was strong, but it trembled a bit around the edges.

He shook his head. "I fear this will only be eased by time," he said. He opened his eyes--when had they closed?--and looked over at her. "And I...we MUST talk, Lady." His face softened. "I'm sure you have questions, and I want to answer them."

She inclined her head. "Yes," she said, voice hesitant. "But I don't want you to risk further injury by..." She stopped, and looked away, towards the fields.

He read her unspoken words: she was afraid her presence had caused all of this, and would do further damage to him. Despite himself, he smiled a little. "Lady," he said, voice light. "I am sure I am safe with you." He ducked his head. "The opposite, though..."

She turned back to face him, and he could feel her Look, even if he couldn't see it. Quickly, he added, "And...I want to see you, Lady. Without the veil."

She stiffened a little, then let out a sigh. "Very well then, Lord Nephrite," she said, voice edged with chill. "I know just the place."

They did not go to her rooms . Nephrite had half-expected this, yet was still disappointed. That environment was comfortable for them both, and charged with memories that could soften he reaction and save him from part of the ass-whupping he was about to receive.

He had thought she would be emotional. What he hadn't counted on was his reaction her emotions.

|So, Nephrite,| he wondered, |how quickly can you learn how to grovel?|

The room they ended up in was a lounge of some sort, a wing or so away from the Negoitiation Annex. Its halls were deserted, as was the room itself.

"Would you like some tea?" These were the first words she had said to him since they left the walkway.

"No, thank you," he said, looking around. Overstuffed chairs, sofas, and tables were scattered throughout the room, which was done up entirely in neutral tones. The lights she had turned on were rather dim as well. "What is this place?" he asked.

Jupiter took a seat in a comfortable looking chair in front of a low table. "It's a place to gather after meals, to continue discussions," she said, voice neutral. "Or to come and rest between negotiations." She paused. "I doubt we'll be disturbed, though."

He nodded, then took the chair across form her. They sat in silence for a minute or so, she calm in her chair, he fidgeting in his.

"Lady...may I see you now?" he asked. He didn't particularly care to bare his soul to a woman without a visible face. Plus, he could better gauge her reaction to what he said.

She said nothing, and did not move.

|I am in so much shit,| he thought ruefully.

"Lady...please, since I cannot see you, what are you thinking?" he tried now.

This stirred her a little. "I am thinking," she said quietly, "that I don't know what to think. That I don't know what to feel." She spread her hands. "Should I be angry, or hurt? Grateful, or stricken?"

"All of them, perhaps," he said, voice quiet and level as he could make it.

"Oh, I've gone through all of them," she assured him. "I don't quite know how I've got room for what I've been feeling." Her voice was strained and raw around the edges, as if she was barely holding herself together.

"Lady..."

"Why?" she suddenly said, in a voice much louder than before. "Why would you do something so stupid? Why would you..?" She cut herself off, gloved fists clenching. "Why?" she asked, and her voice was pleading, and soft, and it seared across his brain with such intensity that, for a moment, he thought his heart had stopped again.

"I wanted to fix it, Lady," he said. It sounded so inane, coming out like that. He didn't stop to figure out how else he could say it, though. "Ever since I met you, Lady, I have been trying to...repay you. You took me into your home, nursed me, let me stay..." He trailed off for a moment, as the memory of that night intruded on his thoughts.

"Yes...and?"

"I'd found your bracelet that first night, broken. In fact, it kept turning up around me. When I went to talk to Venus, I thought she could tell me where to get it fixed. Instead...it ended up on my wrist."

He leaned forward a little. "Everyone who saw it there became so distraught that I knew I couldn't keep wearing it. And when I heard your story...I knew for sure." His head drooped. "And I thought, Lady, that this was something I could fix. Truly, truly fix. I remembered what you said..."

She took a short breath, like a quiet gasp.

"...and I knew," he pushed on, "that I could, well, do that. Sort of. Without actually doing it." He paused. "I already knew it didn't respond to my magic, or Jade's. The Commander's also didn't work." A little lie, as Kunzite hadn't tried, just looked at it and pronounced it 'beyond Earth magic.' "Zoisite said the charm couldn't be seperated from the metal without destroying the whole thing completely. So the only way, Lady, was for me to..." He trailed off, for she had looked away from him.

"So you...did," she said, voice soft.

"In a way," he said.

"A way?" she said, voice sharp. "I was told this morning that you had had a heart attack." There was heat in her voice. "That you had not awakened."

"Again, both are...true." He grimaced, looking at his hands. "My heart did stop, though for less than a minute. And I was resting until the end of your meeting. A...healing trance."

She regarded him, then her cool voice said, "That's not the whole truth." A pause. "None of this has been, has it?"

He winced, as if her words had struck him across the face. "I have told the truth I am allowed to tell," he said. "Please, understand that."

She looked down, and her posture seemed to relax a little. "That I do," she said, voice quiet. "We all have our guarded secrets."

He nodded.

"But," she said, reaching up, "I still feel there's something missing." She undid something on one side, then the other. She lifted the veil completely off of her head, and set it aside.

Then, she looked at him.

With the veil on, she had been cool, almost cold, and very in control. Now that he could see her face, he knew it was all an act, one of supreme will. She looked so fragile, and transparent, every emotion playing across her face and in her eyes. It almost hurt to look at such vulnerability.

"Why?" she asked again, voice soft, all emotion laid bare to him. "Why did you do this?"

Emotion called to emotion, and something within him...broke.

He raised his head, and without thinking said, "Because I'm in love with you, Lady."

This was not the answer she had expected.

Her jaw dropped, and her hands came up, one by one, to cover her mouth. Her cheeks went bright pink. Her eyes grew until they looked oddly comical, a shimmer to their depths.

For a moment, his internal reaction mirrored hers. He turned and turned those words over in his head, examining every facet of them for a single grain of doubt. Yet there was none to be found.

Finally, through her fingers she said, "What did you say?"

He looked up at her, then rose. Before she could move he was in front of her, kneeling. He looked up into her eyes, meeting them squarely with his own, and said again, "I'm in love with you." His voice was full of truth, and not just a little amazed.

She stared down at him. Slowly, one by one, her hands came away from her mouth, and laid on her lap.

"But...you know nothing about me," she said, voice a whisp.

"I'll learn," he said.

"I know nothing about you," she said.

He slid a hand over to hers, and raised it to his lips. Even with gloves on, the gesture made her shiver. "That's not true, Lady," he said, voice quiet. "You know what I'd do for you."

Her hand clenched around his. "I don't want anyone to die for me," she said.

He shook his head. "No, Lady, not that," he said. "But you know how far I will go to earn your goodwill. And to repay any kindness."

Her eyes had started to water, and she blinked rapidly. "There's no way for us to be together, though," she said. "I am sworn."

Part of him wondered about this, too. Yet, he couldn't withdraw his claim now. "Lady, I honestly cannot say anything about what the future holds," he said. "It is not among my powers. But..."

"But?"

He kissed her hand again. "I do not want to give up a chance at this, due to fear of the future. Because I am afraid of the duties that may come upon you." He turned her hand and laid it against his cheek. "Please, Lady. Please. Let me...let us...take this chance." He paused, then added, "Let us make a present to blot out all possible futures."

She said nothing, simply looking down at him; he couldn't read her at all, so much was passing across her ace. Then, her face changed all the more, becoming pained, and tears welled in her eyes again.

He lowered his eyes, and tried to swallow against the sudden lump in his throat. He tried to absorb every bit of this moment in its bittersweet glory: her scent, the warmth of her hand on his face, the glorious color her eyes had been.

Her fingers curled against his cheek, then moved away. He let out a sigh. "Lady, I..."

Both of her hands slid across his cheeks, and a soft pressure raised his head. "Nephrite," she said, and unable to resist, he met her eyes. These glided over his face, and a small smile appeared. His heart clenched in his chest, anticipating her next words. She would let him down softly, this lady, for the sake of what they had shared.

"You were right," she said quietly.

"What?"

That small smile broadened. "You were right when you said I should fear to be alone with you," she said.

"Lady, I only meant it as a jest," he said, voice strained.

"I know, Nephrite. But truth can be found in jests," she said.

He stared at her, not understanding her words. "Lady...what do you mean?"

"I mean this," she said, and leaned over and kissed him.

It was a soft kiss, an affirming kiss, and she broke it off quickly and with a smile. Now his eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open. "Lady...do you mean..." He stopped, unable to get the words out.

She smiled again, and this time it was a full smile, one that touched and illuminated her eyes. "Please, Nephrite," she said, "call me Emi."

Nephrite had never tried to predict how his day would go. He'd been surprised by life once too often for that. Even so, only in his most fantastic dreams had he ever pictrued that he would end up in a bath with Jupiter. Or, as she preferred in private, Emi.

The thought of knowing that name still sent tingles down his spine.

Currently, she lounged across from him on one of the slightly raised seats. Her skin had taken on a pinkish-red cast from the heat of the water, and her eyes were closed contentedly, enjoying the warmth.

He took in the picture for a long moment, then said, "My Lady, you have gorgeous breasts."

Her eyes came open at his comment, and she blushed a little. "Really?" she asked, voice coming out almost as a squeak.

"Yes," he said, voice emphatic. "I thought so when I saw your dress this afternoon, but now...I think it even more."

She giggled, then slid off the seat. He reached out and pulled her to him, thankful again for the size of her bathtub. She had claimed that it had been built this way with her taller, larger framed people in mind; privately, he felt someone had not been completely honest with her. But whatever the reason, it was a luxury he enjoyed.

"And you're never allowed to wear that dress again in public," he murmured into her hair.

"Only in public?" she asked, grinning at him.

"Why should I deny myself?" he asked, grinning back.

She shook her head. "Already so selfish," she said with a sigh.

"When it comes to you, Lady? Intensely," he replied.

"Mmm," she said, tilting her head back to kiss him. Her lips were quite soft, and moist, but he held the kiss to a light one.

She pulled back and studied him for a moment, then said, "What is it?"

"Well, Lady..." He paused, debating whether to go forward. In the end, his curiosity won out, and he asked, "What persuaded you?"

"To take a bath?" she said. A coy smile appeared on her face. "Well, after what we did..."

He shook his head. "No, Emi. I meant, what persuaded you to take up my offer? It was not...well presented."

"Ah, that," she said, looking away from him. She was quiet for a long moment, and he felt suddenly uneasy.

Then, she said, "Venus."

He blinked. "How so?" he asked.

She shifted against him, and was quiet again for a long moment. Then, quietly, "You know that she told me directly after...what happened."

"I had assumed so," he said.

"I didn't..." She stopped, shook her head a little, then continued, "I didn't quite take the news well."

"For good reason," he murmured.

"Mm, perhaps," she said, voice soft. She was quiet again for a moment, and he wished he could see her eyes, to gauge better what she was feeling.

"To try and calm me down," she said, "she told me all of what happened between you."

He stiffened. "Lady, I didn't mean to..."

"Oh, it's all right, Nephrite," she said. "We have been friends for a long time, and I know of her...power." A pause. "I have felt her power."

More questions poured into Nephrite's mind, but he said nothing.

"She said...well, she said that you had tried to comfort her, by telling her about your Commander's past." To his surprise, she giggled a little. "She said your words were not the most carefully chosen."

Nephrite flushed.

"But," Jupiter added, "she said it didn't matter what you said. What mattered was how you said it. Your face, and the tone of your voice." Her voice had gone soft. "I knew what she meant."

She shifted in his arms to look at him. "So this morning, when made your offer, I didn't listen to the words. I listened beneath them. And what I heard there..." She let out a soft sigh, the breathe warm against his lips. "What I heard there, I have wished to hear all of my life. And I could no longer refuse it, for the sake of things unknown." She leaned forward a little, and touched her lips to his.

He let the kiss carry forward to its natural end, and when they broke apart, both were smiling. She faced away from him again, and said, "The fact that you kiss extremely well was, of course, an added bonus."

He laughed, and she laughed with him, a warm, soothing sound.

After a moment of cuddling, she broke away, and turned to face him. "Since we're asking questions, I have one of my own," she said, eyes alight.

"Ask away."

"How did you get Mercury, of all people, to help with your...plan?" she asked.

He grinned. "She was with Zoisite when I found him, and he thought she'd be helpful. She was." He shifted a little in the water. "And between you and me, I think it pushed her buttons a little. She and Zoisite both."

"That sounds nothing like her, you know," Jupiter said, a look of disbelief on her face.

He shrugged. "I wouldn't know, Lady," he said. He grinned then, and gave her a wicked look. "Though I'm sure she might think that you would never pick up a sick man, and keep him over two nights in your room."

"Ha ha," she said, then added, "If she's so keen on...such things...I hope she doesn't get your friend into trouble."

"Zoisite?" He shook his head. "That man's cautious enough for two people. She'll be all right."

"Good," she said, then slid back towards him again. He enfolded her in his arms, and they curled up contentedly together, enjoying the heat.

Some time later, she stirred against him, and said, "Nephrite?"

"Yes, Lady?"

"How long do you think this conference will last?"

He blew out a sigh. "I don't know, Lady," he replied honestly. "It depends more on the Prince than us."

"Ah," she said, and fell quiet again.

He had just relaxed fully into the water again when she said, "Nephrite?"

"Mm?"

"When you go back to Earth...would you like to take my bracelet with you?"

He inhaled sharply, and sat up, pushing back from her. She turned, eyes wide and clear, and regarded him.

"Lady...what do you mean by that?" he asked, voice cautious.

She shook her head. "Not to wear," she said. "I was thinking...more like a keepsake."

"A keepsake?"

She nodded quickly. "Something to remember me by," she said, voice soft.

"Oh, Lady." He scooted closer to her, and raised a hand to cup her cheek. "There is no way I could forget you."

She smiled slightly, and pressed her cheek into his palm. "Thank you," she said. "But..."

"Yes?"

"I want it to be with whom it belongs," she said, voice quiet.

He stared at her for a long moment, then said, "Oh, Emi."

They came together again, not in a kiss, but in a tight embrace. He stroked her back for a long moment, then turned and whispered, "Thank you."

"Oh no, my Lord," she said. "It shouldn't be you thanking me."

He pulled back a little, just enough so he could rest his forehead against hers. "Yes it should," he said.

She let out a sound like a sigh, but this one was much more...happy in sound. They stayed pressed together for a minute or so, then she drew back, smiling.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, it's probably safer with you, too," she said. "I mean, you never know who could end up sick against a pillar again." Her eyes glinted with mischief. "Perhaps one of the Neptunian party...have you seen them? So elegant."

"Lady," he said, voice pained, and she giggled softly. At which point, he had no choice but to lean down and give her the kiss that sort of comment deserved.

When they surfaced, she had quite a different glint in her eyes. A hand moved under the water, and his eyes went wide, a little gasp escaping.

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation outside the bath," she said, voice light, fingers continuing to move.

He let out another gasp, then reached down to still her hand. "If you persist in that, Lady, we won't make it there."

She smiled up at them, and their eyes locked for a long moment.

Then her fingers, ever so lightly, began to move again.