The Four Lovers: Happiness is a Phoenix, Chapter Three

 I have three minutes to post this.
 Short disclaimer--they ALL apply!
 Write jkc1984@niia.net for any comments.
 Thank you Centurion for providing many of my
Senshi nicknames, and for writing your awesome
General's saga.  GO READ IT!
 Spelling and grammar mistakes are mine, and I
claim them.  Not proudly, thought.
 Onto it!

Chapter Three
Kunzite & Zoicite
 "OUCH!" 
 Kunzite sat up suddenly, rubbing the back of his
neck where Zoicite had pricked him with the tiny
black crystal.  He glared at his friend as he
flashed it at him, then tucked it away into that
little crystal cave of his, accessible only through
his power.  
 Kunzite drew away his glove with a touch of blood
on it, and snarled, "I just cleaned these!  You've
harped on me to clean them, and when I do, you have
to go and draw blood!" 
 "I didn't think you'd touch it with your fresh
white gloves," he replied flippantly, a smile in his
eyes.
 "Why did you do that anyway?" he asked again,
wiping the back of his neck and finding no other
blood, just a smear.  The tiny hole stung, though,
and he knew it's teeny ache would continue to annoy
him for the rest of the night.
 "Because you were staring up at the Moon, and had
that look in your eyes."
 "What look?" he asked, slightly annoyed.
 "The one where you seem to be saying, 'If only the
sky had big silver flecked blue eyes like Venus.  If
only it was blond, like Venus.  If only...' "
 "Oh. That look," Kunzite said, nonplused and
grinning.  That took Zoicite by surprise, because
Kunzite rarely outright GRINNED.  He smiled, but
never GRINNED.
 "You're suddenly happy."
 "Suddenly happy?  Been happy ever since I got
stranded on Saturn."
 "Um, I meant for someone who just got stabbed in
the back of the neck."
 He shot a pointed look at Zoicite, and quietly
said, "I deserved it.  I shouldn't have been
dreaming.  I'm on the job, I'm the Leader, and I
should set the example."
 Zoicite sighed.  "Kunzite, you can't push yourself
this much.  You've been going non stop since you got
back from escorting Endymion.  You're body is going
to fall out from under you before you even get the
inkling that you need to take a break."
 He didn't reply; instinctively, Zoicite knew that
he wouldn't reply.  Instead, he was looking back up
at the Moon, where the thin thread of black was
curving across the pure white, making exotic shapes
that contorted in so many curves they were near
blasphemous.  His heart strings tightened, singing a
flat note, and he shook himself free.
 "We have to move on..." he said quietly, and
soundlessly they turned to move on in their patrol,
sensing out the weak areas in the shielding and
trying to patch them--and it seemed that their were
so many tonight, too many...
 Kunzite's thoughts had turned inward at Zoicite's
comments; the General was right.  He was working
himself to death.  But he wanted this war to be
OVER.  Finished.  
 It wasn't that he hated fighting, though.  He was a
GENERAL--an ability to fight and good battle sense
were prerequisites for the job.  It was something
totally different, not even related to his job, but
to the man within the job.
 He wanted to marry the women he loved.
 He wanted to marry Venus.
 He was going to marry Venus.
 Well, as soon as the war ended.
 As the feeling of strong shielding caressed his
mind, he remembered back to that evening....
 
 <Her quarters are a LOT nicer than mine,> he
thought as he sat on one of the plush, yellow-orange
couches.  The room was full of oranges and yellows,
along with a couple of snatches of green, red, and
blue thrown in for effect or just because she
changed decorators.  One could never tell with
Venus; for a leader, she had a surprising amount of
spontaneity.  
 "You wanted to talk?  In private?" he asked as she
joined him with two glasses of a yellowish liquid. 
She placed them on clear coasters on the table, and
sat.  Her hair was down, sans ribbon, and she wore
the simplistic, soft yellow dress he loved.  He--
surprise, surprise--had changed into black slacks
and a gray-blue shirt, and was feeling fairly
comfortable for a change.  It was like a one on one
meeting between Kunzite and Minako (or Anko, Miko,
Mina, Nako, Ko...whatever he felt like at the
moment) instead of a formal, uptight meeting between
the Leader of the Generals and the Leader
(Leaderess?  wonder, wonder, think, think, think) of
the Senshi.  
It not only relaxed everything, but it made it more
beautiful for the both of them to be meeting as
people for once, instead of as people masquerading
beneath their station.
 "Yes, Kun," she said softly.  "It's about this
war."
 "The war?" he asked, a little confused.
 "And us."
 "Us AND the war.  Don't we have an early morning
tomorrow?" he said jokingly.
 "Yes," she replied, smiling gently at him.  "Which
is why I'm going to try and condense this into one
question: what is going to happen after Serenity and
Endymion marry?
 He blinked--once, twice, and then again.  After the
marriage?  What did...she mean?  "When are they
marrying?"
 "Very soon, from what I hear."
 The original marriage plans had been halted by the
onset of the war, until a wise Moon advisor had
thought to mention to Queen Selenity that maybe if
they married and joined the two forces, they'd have
a better chance of making it.  Yet that was the last
on the subject, when he asked the Prince.  
 "Where do you hear from?" he asked, reaching for
the glass and sipping it.  "What is.."
 "It's Kas, Kunz, and I heard it from Serenity
herself.  She says no one is disclosing the date
because there is fear that the Negaverse will find
out and attack."
 "I also heard that's there's going to a ball."
 Her eyes softened, and she, too, reached for her
glass.  Sipping it quietly, she asked, "Are you
going to be there, Lord Kunzite?"
 "Lady Venus, I believe no.  My duty is to protect
the home world, and I'm afraid I have no one I can
turn my command to.  The other Generals want to see
their ladies, too, and I don't trust leaving Earth
during war time with no Generals about," he said,
quietly and almost formally.
 Her eyes assumed a pained look, and she set the
glass down abruptly.  "What is going to happen after
this marriage, Kunz?"
 "I suppose I will have to stay on Earth, though if
this was peacetime I would come with Endymion to
live here.  It's a planetary rule."
 "So the Prince will come to live on the Moon?  I
thought they hadn't decided."
 "I have a feeling if he can get away from the Earth
in anyway possible, he will.  Leave the ruling to
Cation and her husband," he said, sipping once
again. 
 Venus' face suddenly assumed an almost smug look. 
"It's funny, you know, to think that I almost fought
the Princess of Earth."
 That caught his attention quickly, and he nearly
spilled his Kas.  "You what?" 
 "I nearly beat her up, Kunzite," she said, the cat-
with-his-cream look spreading over her face.  
 "Lady Venus, I never would've suspected that of
you," he said honestly.
 "I wouldn't have either, love, except for one
thing--she was messing with you."
 His eyebrows raised, and suddenly his eyes
sparkled.  "I remember--the ball a few days after
the engagement.  She was there in that short, short
dress..."
 "...and she kept staring at you.  Not that I blame
here, really--you looked very handsome."
 "I felt like an overdressed turkey," he admitted.
 "I didn't know you hated formality."
 "Not formality, Anko, but formal dress," he said
pointedly.
 "I see," she said, and her smiling eyes matched the
smile on her face.  "By the halfway mark, she'd
danced with you too many times for my taste."
 "Pardon me if I couldn't pry her grip off my arms,"
he said dryly.
 "I could tell.  So, later, I calmly took her aside
and told her that, regardless of station, I was
going to shrink her body to fit the dress if she
didn't keep her hands off of you.  When she asked
why, I mentioned that you were having a hush-hush
relationship with a member of the royal family of
Uranus."
 He laughed loudly at that, and she joined him,
sprightly giggles blending with his bass laughter. 
Those of Uranus, perhaps due to their outerness,
perhaps due to their planet, perhaps due to being in
such proximity to Saturn, had AWFUL tempers.  When
Endymion had been cruising to the Outer Planets due
to his relationship with Pluto he'd had a chance to
visit Uranus, and had watched the Princess once
grind a would be dissenter into the ground.  "She
believed you?"
 "She nearly tripped over herself apologizing," she
said.  
 "That's why you looked so pleased when you came
back to dance with me," he said.
 "Yes. Yes...and of course, I've heard of the story
about the man of Jupiter."
 His face darkened for a minute, memories clouding
before his eyes.  "It was very rude of him."
 She seemed to back down before the storm in front
of him, and said quietly, "I know."  She sipped from
her glass and set it back down, then repeated, "What
happens after the marriage, Kunzite?"
 He finally understood her question.  She wasn't
asking what happened after the Prince and Princess
got married, she was asking what was going to happen
to them.  
 "I want to marry you, my Lady Minako," he said
quietly.  He took her hand in his, and moved a
little closer to her.  "I want to be with you,
around you, for the rest of my life."
 "I was hoping you'd say that," she said, softly,
eyes large and full of emotion, silver sprinkles
somehow lost in the depths of blue, blue, and more
blue.  
 "You were?"
 "Yes."
 "So what if I hadn't?" he asked, humorously.
 "I would've talked you into it," she said, smiling,
and he smiled back pleasantly.  
 "I would ask you now, but I don't have a ring," he
said.  
 "I do," she said quickly.
 "Excuse me?" 
 "Am I rushing?"
 "No, no, it's just you're so prepared...I almost
feel like I'm being tricked," he said.
 "It's just another wily way of a woman from Venus,"
she said, reaching into her pocket and producing a
small, small box.  He took it and opened it...and
drew a breath.
 The ring was small, a gold band with a diamond set
in it.  On either side were smaller stones, orange
and red gems that he had no name for.  It was so
simple, yet so unique and beautiful, and so Venus it
was like her personality had formed itself into a
ring.
 "It's lovely," he said quietly.
 "It was my mother's," she said softly.  "It was
for..." but her voice cut off swiftly.
 He knew what she meant.  She wasn't the only
Venusian on the moon, and the other one happened to
love an Outer Princess who was now, according to all
reports, very dead.  Along with her mother.
 He took it from the box, and looked up at her. 
"Lady Minako of Venus, will you marry me?" he asked
quietly.
 "Yes, Lord Kunzite of Earth," she said, a tear
bubbling at the corner of her eye.  He took the hand
nearest to his and smoothly slipped the ring on her
hand; it fit like a charm, and as it set in place
the diamond winked at him.  
 She lifted her hand and twisted it here and there,
admiring the shine of the stones and the diamond--
before taking it off and quietly placing it back in
the box.  His eyebrows raised, and his eyes
questioned her, but she avoided them, looking
pensive.  Finally, though, she said, "We have a long
time, and it's probably best to keep it a secret
until then."
 "Hmm?" he asked.
 "I mean, we can't get married until after the
war..."
 "...because it would be pointless," he finished. 
"I couldn't come to the moon until then.  I
understand."
 "Please don't be hurt, love," she said, sliding
closer to him.  "I didn't mean for it to sound
crass.  You just know as well as I do."
 "Yes, my lady," he said quietly.  "It's just that
people die in war.  Important people."  He looked
away from her.  "People like me."
 Silence.
 "You won't die, love."
 Silence.
 "Kunzite, don't be silent."
 Silence.
 "Kunzite, LOOK at me."
 He did, and he saw her eyes hard, and cold, just as
they'd been when he'd met her on the cliff all that
time ago.  Had it been so long?  It felt a snap of
the fingers, and yet a century as well.
 "You won't die, Kunzite, because I know you. 
You're stubborn.  You just won't give up, and even
if you do, it'll look like you didn't."  A glint
appeared.  "And you won't die because I won't,
either.  We can stay alive--for each other."
 He stared at her, into her eyes, at her expression,
for a long moment, before suddenly, slowly smiling
and nodding.  They'd talked for most of the night,
sharing many glasses of Kas as they discussed
strategy and the newest developments and did you
hear's? and various other subjects as the topic
strayed.  When he felt it was late enough, they
stood and hugged for a long time, exchanged a short,
tender kiss, and he left her in such a wonderful
mood that rumors began to fly about the palace.

 Kunzite suddenly stopped; this was a weak patch in
the shield.  He moved up to it, and Zoicite noticed
his eyes had lost that misty look and he was once
again focused on business.  He wished he could turn
himself off that way, but his mind kept drifting
back to the last time he'd seen Ami...

 It was a pleasant day, and they'd spent most of it
together, discussing things of nature, science and
medicine and sometimes sneaking in a glance, or a
touched hand, or just a special smile.  They were
masters of non-verbal communication; even the most
observant person couldn't figure out why
occasionally a faint blush would color Mercury's
cheeks, or why Zoicite's eyes were sparkling so.
 It was in her quarters that he had proposed
marriage.
 She'd set up a titration, with buret and glass, in
order to make a drink called a Swamp Crater, which
tasted better than it looked.  The mixture was made
so carefully so that the colors would waver a
little, never fully green, never fully brown, and
the taste sensations between the two were exquisite. 
She was handling the buret, listening to him talk
softly about the happenings on Earth, and what new
training he was undergoing.  She sympathized a lot
with him; both were considered, respectively, the
'weakest' battle wise, since her powers were
defensive and his were just weak.  Petals did very
little actual damage, and most enemies had
discovered very interesting avert spells when he
sent crystal shards after them.
 "So Kunzite ducked, and then I sent another crystal
towards his lower position, some petals flying with
it in hopes of distracting him, and Ami, my love,
will you marry me?"
 Ami's hand on the buret suddenly wrenched away, and
green filled the glass.  "Oh!" she cried, stopping
the flow and wrenching the glass away, heading
toward the sink.
 "Ami," he said, rising.
 "Oh, I'm going to spill this," she said, and her
voice trembled with every word as she poured it down
the sink, hands trembling.  He caught up to her
then, and his presence behind her made her drop the
glass.
 "Ami," he said softly.  "I love you."
 She didn't move.
 "I know it must seem too soon, then, but I felt
that I must ask you...to be my bride," he said,
trying to rationalize himself, and maybe calm her
down.
 She just stood at the sink, her fingers slowly
touching the glass they lay on the bottom, her body
limp.  "And I know this has to be a shock to you...I
gave no indication...but you must know, Ami, that I
love..."
 "yes"
 "Excuse me?" he said, suddenly cut off by the sharp
whisper.
 "Yes, I'll marry you, Zoicite."  Her voice was soft
and emotional and beautiful, and she slowly began to
turn, and looked up at him.  His eyes met hers, and
the ring appeared between his fingers.  Her hand
came up, and as it slid over her ring finger a tiny
droplet formed in his eye.
 She looked down at it, admiring the band of gold
and the stones that shimmered at her, and then
looked back up at him.  "Zoicite..?" she asked. 
"Why...?"
 "Happiness, love," he said, voice cracked in
emotion.  "I'm so happy."
 "So am I," she whispered, and he smiled.  "No,
really, I am."
 "Is that why nearly spilled Swamp Crater on your
rug?" he teased gently.
 "No.  That was surprise.  After all, I was the one
who WASN'T supposed to get married to anyone, or
anyone special at all."  Her eyes turned wistful. 
"I was in love with my work, as Venus was in love
with her role.  We both were supposed to be old
spinsters, or perhaps, as some of the darker minds
at court whispered, lovers."
 His eyebrows raised, and she shook her head.  "And
then I meet you, my love, bleeding on a dusty plain
in the middle of nowhere, with those beautiful eyes
pleading at me in pain.  And you never left my side,
even when I was poking you with instruments, or
poking your friends with instruments, or even as my
friends insulted your friends.  No, you stood there
for some reason, and I was bewildered and falling in
love."  She looked down, then up, and asked, "Does
that make sense?" 
 "Yes, love, yes it does," he said.  "Because I felt
nearly the same." 
 His hand touched the side of her face, and gently
stroked her cheek.  Her hand covered it, and they
exchanged a gentle smile.  Then, he leaned down to
seal their deal with a kiss, and their engagement
was finalized.

 "It's patched," Kunzite said, stepping away and
stealing Zoicite from his memories.  "Let's go."
 Suddenly, a globe appeared before them, glowing
with Jade's characteristic glow.  "Kunzite, you..."
but then it snapped out.  
 The two were stunned for a second, but then Zoicite
questioned, "What WAS that?"
 "Jade's globe," replied Kunzite.
 "I know, I know.  But we aren't supposed to do that
unless its an emergency."
 "I know," Kunzite murmured.  "And he was cut off. 
That doesn't bode well."
 "We're going to have to find him," he suggested.
 Kunzite raised his eyes.  "That's your job. 
Nephrite gave you the crystal."
 Zoicite nodded, and withdrew the purple-black
crystal created from the dust of the stars. 
Nephrite had presented it to him when he'd announced
his engagement to Mercury to the other three, a sort
of going away present.  He'd tuned it to the three
Generals, and whenever he needed to find one of
them, he could use it.  It was also a sly teacher's
trick; he didn't teach him how to tune it to anyone
else, which presumably he'd want to do with Mercury.
Actually, Zoicite wasn't sure how he'd tuned it in
the first place; it was just another thing he'd have
to solve.
 "ZOI!" he shouted, and the crystal whipped out of
his hand, flipped over itself twice, hung there. 
"Jaedite!" 
 A blue beam shot out of the slowly rotating
crystal, and it began to swing, as if on a pendulum.  
The beam rotated around and searched to the corners
of the estate, and the two men held their breath,
waiting for it to stop.
 Then it fell to the ground, glow vanishing.
 "What!?" Kunzite cried, and Zoicite stooped to pick
it up.  Rotating between his fingers, he studied it,
using his 'sight' to see what he could of the
structure.  
 "It's dead."
 "I know that!"
 "No, I mean the power's dead.  Something blocked
it, or drained it, and it shut itself off," he said. 
He tucked it away once again, and the sting of the
hole on the back of his neck bothered him once
again.
 "Zoicite, I think we've got..." but a sudden, crackling field 
of blue energy enveloped them both, and within moments they'd 
fallen to the ground, and two shadowy youma began dragging 
them back to the black hole where a lizard man waited with 
eager eyes.
-------------------------
Chapter Four: The Golden ? (there will be a word there)
Beryl pulls a surprise