Metalia-sama

Zoisite was doing everything in his power to make Jadeite feel safe. The young man was wrapped in a thick, wool blanket and sitting by the fire. There was a cup of tea nearby, but he had only barely touched it. Zoisite wanted to hold him, but once they had gone inside the cottage, Jadeite didn't want to be touched. It was happening all over again, and Zoisite knew that it was his fault. This never would have happened if he had just kept his hands to himself last night.

“We need to leave,” Jadeite said softly.

Zoisite's lips drew into a thin line. He was standing behind Jadeite while he tried to figure out the best way to explain the situation to him. They wouldn't be moving, there was no real point in it as there was no real threat to them.

“We shouldn't be waiting around here for him to come back.”

Zoisite took a breath and sat beside Jadeite, leaving him plenty of room. “Jade, you weren't outside very long. Ten minutes at most. When I found you, and you told me what had happened, I tried to sense if there was anyone around, Endymion or otherwise. There was no one.”

“He left before you came out.”

“Even so, he couldn't have gotten very far, I still would have been able to feel his presence. It takes most of the day to travel here from the palace, he couldn't have...”

“It was him!” Jadeite exclaimed, “I know it was him.”

Zoisite nodded, continuing to take his time with this. “There was no one around, not him or anyone else, Jadeite.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“No, no, I know you're not lying.”

“Then what?”

“Jadeite, try and see it from my perspective for a moment,” Zoisite said quietly. “When I found you, you were alone, there was no one around us for miles, and there is no way that the Master could have found our location. If he had left the palace, someone would have noticed and come looking for him.”

“But, Zoi... he...”

“And after last night...” Zoisite trailed off, his own guilt cutting off his voice.

“Wait, what?” Jadeite asked, finally ending his line of defences. “I don't understand, Zoi. What are you saying?”

Zoisite could feel a lump forming in his throat, but managed to successfully fight off the tears that wanted to come with it. After everything that had happened to Jadeite, how could he have done this to him? To Hell with the wine, he should have known better. He should have known that it would have... damaged Jadeite in some way. “I know that you saw him Jade, but I don't think he was here.”

Jadeite did nothing but stare at Zoisite for a good long while. Whether he was still trying to figure out what Zoisite meant, or if he was simply in disbelief, Zoisite couldn't be sure. “You think I... imagined him?” Jadeite sat up straight, throwing the blanket off his shoulders. “Zoi, I heard him, I felt him. Hell, I could even smell him. He was there!”

“I know that it felt real Jade, but it would be impossible for him to have travelled that far, that fast.” Technically not impossible, but Zoisite knew that such techniques could only come to those with great, magical abilities, and even then only with intense training. Endymion had neither.

“But...”

“I've read accounts of people suffering from similar hallucinations. Either a condition they were born with or after suffering some kind of intense trauma.” Zoisite's forte had never been in the human mind, although it had been an interest of his. From what little he did know, Jadeite seemed to fit the bill nicely.

Jadeite shook his head, but was out of things to say. Zoisite reached his hand out, but stopped himself short of touching his lover, remembering Jadeite's problems with contact. He didn't have to hold himself back for long, however. Jadeite left the living room without another word and fled to the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

---

Nephrite was making a point of staying near the Master's chambers. He knocked occasionally, but never got much of a reply. He would wander away for periods of time, but his instincts always drew him back. Something was wrong, and it was more than just his outburst earlier. More than once Nephrite had considered just walking into his chambers, but felt odd about that, since he had no real reason to suspect anything.

It was beginning to get late, and Nephrite would be heading to his own chambers soon, so he knocked one final time, still undecided about what to do if there was no answer. To his surprise, he heard movement inside the room, and was even more shocked with the Master opened the door.

“Nephrite?”

If Nephrite needed to sum up the Master's appearance in a few words, those words probably would be 'just fell out of bed, literally”. His clothing was rumpled, his hair was a mess, his eyes a touch bloodshot. Perhaps he really was ill. “Master, are you feeling well?”

The Master raised a hand to rub his eyes. “I slept strangely, I think,” he said before pulling the door open and gesturing that Nephrite should enter.

Nephrite did so with caution. His nose burned when he caught the scent of that damned purple smoke, but resisted the urge to remove it this time. He didn't need to set the Master off again. “How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting down slowly, keeping his eye on his prince.

He shook his head. “I'm just... trying to figure things out. Jadeite and Zoisite.”

Nephrite nodded slowly, but stayed quite. There was something unsettling about the man that sat across from him, and it was more than just his appearance. Nephrite couldn't put his finger on it. Endymion seemed... on edge. Jittery perhaps. It was like he couldn't sit still.

“I'm... sorry, about earlier.”

“It's alright, Master. So long as you're... you.”

The Master seemed to bite his lower lip nervously, but nodded that he was who he said he was. Nephrite found it an odd gesture, since Metalia would say the same thing, but he was acting off enough that this was most certainly not Metalia. Nephrite wasn't sure who he was looking at.

“Do you think there is anything I can do for them? Make amends somehow?”

Honestly, Nephrite thought that the best thing that could be done for them was to leave them in peace. “I don't know. It might take a lot of time.”

“I want to see them.”

Very bad idea. “Master, I don't think that that will help anyone. They know that it wasn't you who did those things to them, but at the same time, Jadeite is frightened of you.”

The Master nodded quickly as if he understood. “I know, it's just... I feel this need to go see them right now. It's strange. Like something is pulling me there.”

“In time, maybe,” Nephrite tried to offer. “Perhaps a letter would be best to start?” He didn't even think that was a good idea, but it might help the Master focus his thoughts a bit if he wrote things down.

“A letter? Right right, Kunzite's got their address,” he nodded and smiled, “I'll do that.”

Nephrite nodded and then took his leave. Perhaps all the prince needed was a good night's sleep, but that might still a few nights away. Nephrite sighed, figuring he did the best he could do, and headed to his own room for the evening.

---

Jadeite may have been curled up on their bed, but he hadn't slept any. He figured that it must be close to midnight at this point, and Zoisite hadn't even bothered him once. On one hand, he was respecting Jadeite's desire for privacy, but on the other, Jadeite was beginning to feel the need for a comforting embrace.

After thinking on it for a few hours, Jadeite could honestly see Zoisite's perspective. Logically, it made sense, but realistically Jadeite knew that what he had experienced was completely real. The danger was real, and he wanted Zoisite to understand that. Why couldn't they just play it safe and move again? And this time tell no one, not even Kunzite.

Slowly, Jadeite rose from the bed and quietly opened the door to the bedroom. He didn't want to disturb Zoisite if he was sleeping, but if he wasn't he could use the company, even if the company didn't necessarily agree on his current level of sanity.

Zoisite was still awake. His back was to Jadeite as he leaned on the mantle of the fireplace and seemed to be staring down into the flames. Jadeite opened his mouth to speak, but held his tongue when he saw that Zoisite's shoulders were heaving ever so slightly. He brought his hand to his face as if to whip away the tears before it fell limply to his side once more.

Jadeite clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from making any noise. He knew that Zoisite probably didn't want him to see him like this, and so Jadeite was uncertain about what he should do now. Not only did he want Zoisite to hold him, but now he was filled with the need to comfort Zoisite as well.

Finally, Jadeite decided that the best course of action would be to close the door to the bedroom quietly, and then open it again to make some noise, so he did just that, giving Zoisite plenty of time to compose himself.

“Zoi, are you awake?” he asked as he peeked his head around the door.

Zoisite straightened his posture and looked over his shoulder, but didn't seem ready to turn around completely just yet. “Yes. Is everything OK?”

Jadeite nodded. “If... you want to come to bed...”

Zoisite turned a bit, it was dark enough that Jadeite couldn't see his face very well anyway. “I can sleep here, I don't mind.”

Jadeite shook his head this time. “Please?”

After a brief pause, Zoisite nodded that he understood. “I'll be there in a minute.”

He wanted time to compose himself. Jadeite nodded and returned to the bedroom, closing the door and climbing into bed to wait.

He was only made to wait another ten minutes or so. Zoisite slipped into the room quietly, disrobed, and then climbed under the sheets. Tentatively, he reached out for Jadeite, and Jadeite moved over and into his arms. He sighed as he melted into the warmth of Zoisite's body.

“Zoi?”

“Yes?”

Jadeite took a deep breath before continuing. “Even if you're right, and I'm... losing it. Can't we move anyway? Farther away, just to be safe?”

Zoisite's fingers began to comb through his hair as he took his time in answering. “We can, if it's what we need to do to make you feel safe. But, I swear to you Jadeite, I will not let anything happen to you. I promise.”