Crowned With Stars by Starsea

And if you come back, I'll take you to the garden
We'll dance to an orchestra on the lawn
And we'll roll in the foggy dew
And dance with the ghosts upon
the dawn and on the dawn and on the dawn

Then you'll kiss me and tell me it's not broken
Kiss me and kiss me 'til I'm dead
See, I give you the stars from the bruised evening sky
And a crown of jewels for your head now

Mundy, To You I Bestow

It was the end of summer and the days were still long, still shimmering, but no longer quite so sultry. They faded quietly away into purple twilight and then it was Ami’s birthday and it was time for the birthday party. Makoto made the cake, of course, decorated it in blue icing, with forget-me-nots, pink and blue, and a little silver symbol of Mercury on the very top. No candles, of course. There wouldn’t be enough room on the cake. They’d all forgotten their ages long ago, except, possibly, Minako.

The cake was almost gone now. She leaned on the table, looking at the slices left: blue icing on top, violet-flavoured cream in the middle, smeared all over the plate. Lights hovered around the edge of the garden, soft, little moons. Earlier there had been a choir, but now the band had taken over, playing songs she remembered from her childhood, when she’d had no idea of the power inside her, except that there was too much and it made her stand out and no child wants to stand out.

A hand came into her vision and picked up a slice, a strong hand, tanned brown from the summer, dark brown hairs trailing up the length of the arm. Makoto felt something pulse deep inside her. She didn’t have to turn and look at the face, she knew who it was. It was the warm presence in the air beside her, the sudden tension in the pit of her belly. It was the way he audibly took a bite and then leaned against the table beside her without saying a word.

“’S good.”

“Thanks.”

“You okay?”

She sighed and hugged herself, one hand cupping each elbow. “What’s ‘okay’?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’.” He bent forward, trying to see her face. “What’s wrong?”

Brown eyes met green and they looked at each other for a long moment. Then he picked up a napkin and wiped his fingers. “I owe you a dance.”

For a moment, she didn’t understand what he was talking about, then she had to grip the edge of the table. How could he remember that? Why would he remember that? Why did he have to bring it up now? “There’s no need.”

“Sure there is.” He took her hand. “Come on. Nobody’s watching. Nobody will say anything. And I want to dance with you.” He pulled and she followed, unresisting. Perhaps it was the atmosphere, or perhaps it was the change to be able to look at those broad shoulders again, feel his hand warm around hers, as if nothing had changed, as if no time had passed at all. He turned, pulled her against him, and they began to dance slowly in front of the bandstand.

“It’s all these couples,” she said, her voice surprising her. “I used to be one and now I’m alone again. I’m always alone.”

“You’ve got your friends.”

“You know what I mean, Nephrite. Yes, they’re my friends, but I can’t expect them to wait on the sidelines with me. Not that Minako ever would have, anyway, but now…” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t need to complete the sentence. Minako and Kunzite had never bothered to hide their relationship. The way they looked at each other, it would have been rather pointless. In fact, Makoto often wondered how they’d managed to hide it the first time.

“You know I’d make it better for you, if I could,” he said, his hand moving down her back but not low enough for her taste. Why didn’t he just go ahead and touch her, like he wanted to? Why was he being so timid? As if she didn’t know. She smiled sadly.

“I know. You’d give me the moon.”

“No. I’d give you the stars… there are many more stars than there are moons and they last longer.” He stopped dancing and pointed up at the sky above them, filled with a million glittering points.

“And what would I do with stars?” she asked, feeling the smile widen.

“I’d make you a crown of them. So you’d look like…”

“Yes?”

“Like a goddess,” he finished in a low voice.

“You say things but you never back them up.” She pulled free and walked away. She’d had enough of being complimented. How ironic, when once she would have followed a boy around if he’d said something nice to her. But words were easy, it was actions that were difficult, she’d found that out. She heard him calling her name but she didn’t turn around. The next thing she knew, he was grabbing her arm.

“Will you just stop and listen for a minute!”

“Why should I?” she demanded, glaring at him. “Talk, talk, talk, that’s all you do–!”

“Really? Then how about I stop talking?!”

“Good idea!”

Then she couldn’t speak anymore, or even think, because he was kissing her. He was kissing her this time and he was so warm, his lips tasted of wine and violets, and she could hear him murmuring something, her name. She couldn’t feel her legs anymore and pushed him off with weak arms, eyes closed, trying to remember where she was. She could feel his chest rise and fall beneath her palms and for a moment, she was seeing him lying above her and her hands were on bare skin — she shook her head and took her hands away. She couldn’t afford to let the past take over, not now.

“You wanted that. Don’t deny it,” he said, voice rushed.

“’Bout time you realised that,” she retorted, her voice just as breathless.

He put his hands on her shoulders again. “You’re sure about this, right? You have to be sure.”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” she said, almost laughing. “I was the one who did the killing last time.”

He grinned and pulled her into his arms again, dipping his head and gently biting her neck. “I have a death wish, what can I say?”

She laughed then, a shuddering husky laugh, and pressed herself right up against him. “Here, Nephrite. Now. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

He didn’t look shocked, he didn’t ask her if she was sure, he didn’t even pause. He simply began to pull his jacket off. Makoto watched him for a moment before she turned her attention to her own clothes. Her heart was pounding in anticipation.

It was about time.


DISCLAIMER: Neither character belongs to me. This is all the property of Naoko Takeuchi. I just like to play around in her world occasionally. The song comes from the "Romeo + Juliet" soundtrack and belongs to Baz Luhrman.