Chapter Ten: Fluorite

"Look, Fluorite, she's probably going to recognize you when she sees you at the wedding, so it'd be a lot better if you got the initial reaction over with and tried to make friends with her. Naru's a nice girl, and as long as you don't try to poach on her relationship with Umino, you should be fine." I was dragging Fluorite toward Naru's apartment, while he tried to come up with reasons why I shouldn't. Suddenly, he stopped and stared at me.

"How did you...I mean, I couldn't do that to her." He blushed, emphasizing his attractiveness. I wondered if Mamoru knew just how big his crush on Endymion was.

"It's pretty obvious - at least, it is to me. Did Endymion ever know how you felt about him?"

"I couldn't! He was promised to Princess Serenity, and I didn't want to be a problem for him. It was enough to be close...to be his friend and advisor."

"Yeah. Well, I should warn you...Naru fell for Nephrite before he died saving her life. And the Senshi tell me she's been attacked, used, and otherwise victimized by just about every bad guy who's come down the line. She's going to be...sensitive."

"And you still want me to meet her? Are you sadistic, or what?"

"Well...with the right person, maybe." I smiled, so he'd realize I was teasing, and let my gaze travel appraisingly over his body. "But seriously, I want you to meet her so both of you can get over the initial trouble before the wedding. Now, come on." I dragged him up to Naru's door and rang the bell.

"Hello, Bill. You're right on time. I was - Aaaaaah!" Naru's scream cut off as she fainted.

"Well, she recognized you." I sighed and stepped over her, then scooped her up and carried her to the sofa. Fluorite stood in the doorway, a look of fear on his face as he tried to decide whether to stay or run.

"It's kind of cold out there. Would you come in and shut the door?"

"I..." He took a deep breath and stepped in, closing the door behind him.

Naru was coming around, and clutched at my arms in a panic.

"He's here! You've got to help me!" Her terror was strong enough to blind her to everything around her, including Fluorite, who slipped up to stand at the end of the sofa with tears in his eyes.

"May I help you instead, m'lady?" he whispered softly, reaching out to take one of her hands from my arms. "I am the cause of your pain, and I should be punished for it." He bowed his head and awaited her judgement.

"Get away from me!" Naru screamed, trying to scramble to the other end of the sofa. Fluorite released her hand and turned to leave, tears in his eyes and his shoulders bowed.

"If that is what you wish, Lady, then I shall go and trouble you no more. I deserve no better." He began walking toward the door.

"Aren't you going to...try anything?" Naru asked, surprised by his response. He stopped, half way to the door, but didn't turn to face her.

"I've already caused you more pain than I can ever repay. I am not Nephrite, to have words to soothe every wounded heart. I am only a simple mage who has caused more pain than he can ever heal in this life." The sorrow in his voice was enough to bring tears to my eyes; Naru's eyes filled with tears and she murmured too softly for me to hear, then looked toward Fluorite.

"You knew Nephrite?"

"He was my friend. If I could have saved him from the evil that came upon us, I would have given my life."

"Will you tell me about him?" Naru looked up at Fluorite's back hopefully. He turned slowly, his eyes cast down and his head bowed with sadness.

"If that is what you wish, m'lady." He took a half-step toward her, raising his head just enough for a quick glance. She smiled weakly and patted the sofa beside her.

"You...look like the monster, but you don't feel or sound like him. I'm sorry I screamed at you."

"I-"

**Don't. Be her friend. Don't tell her you were her monster. Not now. She can learn that once she learns to know you as you are now.**

**But...that would be dishonest.**

**It would also spare her pain.**

**I...understand.**

"Nephrite was loved by most of the women, and not a few of the men, of Prince Endymion's retinue..."

I slipped out while Fluorite was beginning his story. I had a feeling they'd work things out.

"They will. He'll become her closest friend."

"Even closer than Usagi?"

"Believe it or not, yes. Sailor Moon will always come between them."

"That's got to be frustrating. So why didn't you stick around this afternoon to meet Sarah?"

"It's a pleasant night for a walk. Shall we talk as we walk home?"

"Of course, Setsuna." I waited a moment, and when she didn't speak, I murmured softly, "If it's something I shouldn't know about in advance, just say so, and I'll wait for it to happen."

"It's nothing so dramatic," Setsuna said, with a cheerful lilt to her voice. She wrapped her arms around mine and rested her head on my shoulder for a moment before continuing. "Sarah is very perceptive. More perceptive than you were before you died; not as perceptive as you are now."

"Something she'd see when she saw you?" I looked down at Setsuna and sighed quietly. Something about the way it had felt when she'd rested her head on my shoulder...I wasn't sure what it was, but I wished it would happen again.

"Something like that," Setsuna murmured, squeezing my arm and quietly sighing. I stopped and drew her into my arms, kissed the top of her head, and held her to my chest. This position felt right, somehow. I wanted to shelter her from the world, to make everything right for her. After a moment, I felt her shudder against me, then she pushed away and looked up with a weak smile. "Thank you. You won't tell any of the others, will you? They think of me as invulnerable, strong, almost inhuman...It helps them to believe in me."

"Unlike me, who believes in you more as a human being." I smiled and brushed her tears away with a thumb. "Do you need to slip away and rearrange yourself before we get home?"

"I should." She sighed and stepped into the shadows. "I'll be right back."

True to her word, she stepped out of the shadows almost immediately, wearing a different dress and with her hair done up in a pile atop her head. I smiled and offered her my arm. She took it and leaned against me with a happy sigh as we walked. We didn't talk any more - it was enough just to walk with her, and apparently she felt the same. When we reached the front steps, she turned to me with tears in her eyes and pulled me down for a gentle, sisterly kiss.

"No matter what happens, remember that I love you."

"I will, Setsuna. I promise." I held her close for a minute as she sniffled quietly, then began softly laughing.

"Damn. I've gone and ruined all the work I did to my face. Don't open the door yet?" She stepped into the shadows again, then returned a moment later as my idiot child was loudly announcing to the party inside that I'd returned. David's a good kid, but computers just don't have social graces appropriate to their intelligence. Setsuna had done something to her face, altering her appearance just enough that a stranger wouldn't recognize her, while emphasizing her natural elegance.

The door burst open, and Usagi came running out, laughing maniacally.

"Save me! Save me! They're gonna kill me!" Usagi dashed behind us while Rei, Minako, and Makoto all stalked her with squeeze tubes in their hands. I hoped they weren't full of something that'd be hard to get off the floor or walls. Setsuna and I looked at each other, nodded, and stepped apart, leaving the space between us clear. The trio took shameless advantage of the opening and fired streams of frosting all over Usagi. We stepped inside while the foursome continued their play on the front lawn.

Sarah was sitting against the back wall, with Ami beside her and the others gathered around laughing as she described one of the ludicrous stunts my Etherboy had pulled in her Mage game. I had fond memories of that character; he'd gone Marauder, turning into a cross between Dr. Radium and Doc Savage. As we approached, Sarah looked up and waved.

"Telling stories about me while I'm gone, huh? Bad GM. No biscuit." I laughed, then turned to introduce Setsuna.

"Hello, I am Meiou Setsuna. Believe it or not, I'm also a part of this group." Setsuna bowed and offered Sarah her hand as she introduced herself. I'd forgotten that she speaks perfect English. Sarah blushed and rose to take Setsuna's hand. The look that passed between them made me hopeful - maybe I could make both of them happy at once. Haruka and Michiru also recognized the look, and Haruka whispered something in Michiru's ear that brought forth a soft giggle and a contented settling against her.

"I take it Fluorite and Naru have settled their differences?" Mamoru asked softly.

"That's likely to take much longer than tonight. However, he remembers Nephrite, and Naru still loves him."

"She's not the only one." He glanced toward the front yard, where the frosting battle was going on. "I suspect he's the reason Makoto can never be satisfied with any boy she meets in this life. Not that she remembers him consciously, but...." He shrugged, with a sad smile.

"It makes sense. If he was even half as gorgeous as you or Fluorite, he probably had your whole court falling over themselves for his attention." Mamoru blushed at my words, then laughed softly.

"Oh, he was definitely a handsome one. And a lady-killer, too. He could charm the venom out of a sea snake, and seemed to find Lady Jupiter an irresistible challenge."

"She was as hot-headed then as she is now?" I grinned at the thought of Makoto in court garb, pounding the snot out of some arrogant noble.

"Without a doubt. She was almost as hotheaded as Lady Mars," Mamoru laughed.

"Now that takes some doing," I laughed, trying to imagine anyone being as hotheaded as Rei.

"It does, doesn't it?" He chuckled and glanced toward Setsuna and Sarah, who seemed to have forgotten the rest of us were there. Michiru and Haruka were quietly herding the others away from them; Mamoru and I drifted away to continue our conversation.

"I've never seen Setsuna like this before," he murmured.

"Neither have I. I'm glad it's happening. Even if they end up just friends, it'll be good for her."

"You're as bad as she is," he laughed. "Or Minako. I hope you didn't try to set Naru and Fluorite up together."

"That would be silly, wouldn't it? She's entirely wrong for him." I grinned. "After all, she's not his Prince."

"I'd hoped he'd outgrown that," Mamoru sighed. "He knows...."

"That you're Usagi's. He's smart enough to know he could never be yours, but - just like Nephrite and Makoto - you color his perceptions of any other man he meets. Until he meets someone who outshines his memory of you, he's not going to find the man for him."

"I hope he does. He's a good friend, and I don't want him to be unhappy."

"Neither do I. He's got a good heart. I think he'll be a good friend to all of us."

"Now you sound like Usagi," Mamoru laughed. Ami picked that moment to slip her arms around mine and smile up at me happily.

"What silly thing did you do now, darling?" she teased.

"Just said that I think Fluorite will be a good friend to all of us because he has a good heart." I grinned at Mamoru. "Hey, I could have been more like Usagi and said that he'd be a good friend because he has love in his heart."

Mamoru laughed and reached for me with a playful growl. I ducked away and ran for the front door with Mamoru chasing me, threatening terminal noogies and other equally dire punishments. The door burst open just as I was about to hit it, and Usagi came running in, chased by Minako, Makoto, and Rei. With no place to go to avoid a crash, I did the only thing I could think of, and rolled. Usagi managed to jump over me, into Mamoru's arms. The others didn't see me coming, and I was suddenly buried in a mass of squirming, shouting, laughing women.

The party rapidly got silly after that.

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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi, and all terms, names, etc. associated with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. I make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should not be seen as making a claim.