Famished, both instantly transported to their room and began to gobble down the feast laid out, before the servants even had a chance to leave. Once the table was cleared, almost an hour later, Jadeite got to his feet and headed for the single tub. Zoisite sighed and gathered his clothes and a large white towel, not in the mood to wait for him. He instead transported to the Moon Palace's pool.
He'd become quite acquainted with the marble-lined structure today, and was eager to try it out. It might as well have been a lake, for as large as it was, surrounded by every type of foliage imaginable and teeming with several artificial waterfalls. Plus, the pool was enclosed by a beautiful glass skylight so that the brilliant stars and large blue and green globe of Earth shined down onto the water. Otherwise there was no other light in the room, leaving it cozily dark, and it was currently deserted.
Perfect.
Eager to get the filth off his body, Zoisite carefully laid out his fresh clothes nearby, then peeled off his damp, mud-encrusted servant issues and wadded them into a ball, tossing them to the ground with a vindictive plop. He impatiently tugged off the leather thong that held his hair at bay, and the red-gold curls cascaded in an unruly flood down around his face and shoulders as soon as he did so. Once stripped, Z dove thankfully into the refreshingly cool water. He remained submerged for a moment, then surfaced with a loud sigh. He swam over to one of the large waterfalls soon after.
Zoisite stood underneath the loud spray with his head thrown back and his eyes closed, allowing the therapeutic downpour to massage the knots of stress and labor from the tired muscles of his back and shoulders. So he completely missed it when someone intruded upon his interlude.
Amira made her way into the pool room, leisurely and unhurried, her thoughts wandering aimlessly. Next to the Library, this was the Mercurian Princess's favorite spot in the Moon Kingdom, and she frequently came here to relax when life's lessons had her troubled and down, or she just came here to enjoy the water. Amira loved to swim nearly as much as she loved to read. She began wandering around the edge of the pool, hands clasped behind her back.
As preoccupied as she was, the young Princess didn't even notice the pile of clothes near the edge, nor the tall figure standing directly beneath one of the waterfalls on the far wall. Amira suddenly sat down at the edge, submerging her legs, careful to keep her skirt dry. To do this she had to hike and bunch the material up around her hips, but since no one was here to see her unseemly state, it didn't matter. She sighed, her legs swinging back and forth, then she jerked and whirled when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her gaze.
Amira's eyes slowly widened to the size of saucers, and her jaw dropped.
The very man responsible for her absent-minded despondency stood underneath the waterfall, head thrown back, arms lifted currently as he raked his wet, curly hair back from his face and neck. Amira was stunned at the amount of musculature that wrapped and corded his lightly tanned frame, even as thin and narrow as it was. Perfectly sculpted and infinitely detailed, as if he were a statue carved from flawless marble. Her cheeks stung as Amira abruptly realized that she was staring at a half-naked man, without his knowledge. Apparently he thought himself alone, just as she had done, for as soon as he finished pulling his hair back he dove into the water.
Amira's face got really hot then, her eyes even wider, as she realized that Zoisite wasn't wearing anything at all. She was too shocked to move, and remained frozen in place as the General surfaced a scant few feet away from her.
Zoisite surfaced again, then froze when he came face to face with the Princess of Mercury. He felt his blood run cold, realizing his predicament. Then his blood quickly heated up again, as his gaze unwillingly flickered down to two perfectly formed, tiny white legs. They were revealed to him as she had her dark blue skirts hiked all the way up and folding back over her hips, the extra material in front tucked snugly between her thighs . . . damn, that definitely gave a man ideas . . . .
Z's lower half stirred to life at the lovely display, which reminded him of the more pressing problem of he being stark naked.
Oh Gods, Jade! Zoisite cried through the mental link all the Generals shared. A little help here! He heard Jadeite's mental equivalent of laughter.
How quickly they turn.
Zoisite's panic finally won over Jade's teasing, and Zoisite felt the magical shift around him as his companion wove his illusion. An instant later his lower half was encased by the image of a pair of simple black pants. Zoisite frowned.
All right, now where's the rest of it?
Hey, show it off, my friend. It might get her attention.
That drew his focus back to the Princess, who had recovered it seemed and was struggling to her feet, face a perfect scarlet. Zoisite was seized with another flash of panic. He didn't know what to say or how to do it, he just knew that he couldn't let her leave him again.
"L-lady Mercury! Amira, wait!"
She froze again, her skirts sticking to her wet legs as she slowly turned.
"I'm sorry," he finally managed. "I-I didn't know anyone else would come here this late."
"I should have noticed that you were here first," she quickly followed, sounding flustered and looking it too. "F-forgive me for i- intruding like this. I . . . excuse me." She turned away to flee once more.
"No! Amira please! Don't go!"
Zoisite startled himself with the amount of emotion in his cry, and was slightly taken aback. It was certainly enough to still the Mercurian Princess's footsteps once more. She turned back again, queer look on her face. Z waded closer, uncertain but determined to plow ahead despite himself.
"I . . . I'm sorry for the way I acted last night," he entreated. "I was so nervous, I'm afraid that I made the night perfectly miserable for you. But if it's any consolation," he added, smiling a little, "I do believe that I was the more miserable of the two of us come morning. I don't believe I've ever been so sorry my entire life."
She stood, face pained, torn between staying and leaving.
"W-why were you scrubbing the floors earlier today?" she finally questioned, voice soft and uncertain. Z grinned, then chuckled.
"I was so upset that I got a little . . .no, a lot drunk with Jade. In doing so, we were both horrendously late for morning drills. Mal thought the drudgery would be just enough punishment, to remind us about discipline."
"So you . . . you weren't bored with me?" she finally questioned after another long pause. "A-at the ball, I mean?"
"No, of coarse not!" he assured quickly, vehemently. Then he paused, his brow furrowed. "Is that what you thought?" he asked, his voice softer. She nodded, blue eyes solemn. "How could I possibly be bored in your company? You're intelligent, kind, witty, beautiful---,"
"You hardly know me," she protested, her cheeks turning a bright pink once more. Zoisite grinned again, lazy and confident.
"Well that in itself speaks for your charm. Practically in love with a girl I hardly even know."
She seemed nearly as shocked with his words as Z was himself. He had no idea where it came from, yet he had no desire to take it back. Once again, the General forced himself to plow forward.
"Why don't you join me?" he suddenly questioned, motioning to the water.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, blue eyes going wide. "I-I couldn't possibly!" she protested, her expression aghast and her voice a scandalous whisper.
"Sure you could," Z encouraged, then decided to prove it. He lunged forward and grabbed her by the ankles, then gave a helpful tug. The night air was split by a startled scream as the Princess of Mercury tumbled head first into the pool.
Amira surfaced again soon after, gasping for breath, eyes wide. Her gown was completely soaked, of coarse, and floated around her body now with the whims of the water. Zoisite continued to smile, appearing quite proud of himself. That made her blue eyes narrow again. She suddenly utilized her powers and the General's smile quickly disappeared as the temperature of the water around him suddenly dropped dangerously.
"Aa-ahh!" he cried out, wrenching away slightly, his skin turning a faint blue color. His teeth began to chatter, shivering. She smirked, then gasped when his hand splashed a wave of water right in her face.
"Take that, Ice Princess!" he crowed, though still trembling from her onslaught. Soon the two of them had fallen into an all-out water fight.
Eventually, however, Jade interrupted their fun.
Um . . . don't mean to interrupt or anything, but you're about ten seconds away from losing your pants. I can't hold these illusions forever, you know.
Zoisite swore, then transported himself behind a bush, and not a moment too soon. Back in the pool Amira froze, eyes wide, as the General seemed to just disappear right before her eyes.
"Z?" she called, uncertain.
"Uh, A-Amira? Could you hand me my clothes please?" She turned toward the sound, which seemed to be yards away.
"What do you mean? You already had a pair of pants on."
"That was just an illusion Jade made for me. And . . . well, they aren't on me anymore."
Amira felt her cheeks flame, as she realized that she had, in fact, just been in the pool with a naked man. She mumbled an affirmative, then slowly got out of the pool. Her thin gown stuck to her frame like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination, the tips of her breasts hardening with the chill. Blushing further, Amira hurried over to the pile of clothes and thankfully wrapped his towel around her middle to hide this. Then she grabbed his clean attire.
"Where are you exactly?" she called. She felt a shift in the air behind her.
"Right behind you," came his deep voice, "but don't turn around!" he added when she instinctively started to do so. She jerked back straight. His hand reached around her and took the clothes from her hands, then came the rustling sounds of him quickly dressing.
So? Came Jadeite's persistent mind-voice and Z frowned, quickly fastening the hooks of his slacks. Are you gonna take advantage of this situation? I know that dress has to be giving you a lovely view right now.
For your information, she wisely took the towel I brought to cover herself, Zoisite replied indignantly. Now bug off! This is my time.
Jadeite obligingly exited his mind and left Z his privacy. Zoisite quickly tossed the fine white linen shirt over his head, but didn't bother tucking it in. "Okay, I'm decent again," he murmured, tilting his head to the side and taking two fist fulls of hair, squeezing and wringing most of the water from his wet curls.
Mercury hesitantly turned back to him, her cheeks still stained pink, clutching the towel to her chest. Zoisite found his breath catching, thinking to himself that she was even more beautiful when completely soaked. There was just something about the way the water made her dark blue hair plaster to her forehead, cheeks and neck, the way her long eyelashes spiked with drops of moisture.
Zoisite finally got a hold of himself after a full minute of gawking, clearing his throat uncomfortably. He bent and swiped his leather tie off the ground, then pulled back, bunched up and tied his hair into a ponytail in one swift movement. Then he snatched his gray coat off the ground.
"We should probably get you back to your room and into some dry clothes, Princess," he announced, awkwardly draping his coat around her shoulders. "B-before you catch a raging case of lung fever, that is." She smiled, thankfully drawing the ends together.
"Thanks," she murmured, then allowed Zoisite to escort her back to her rooms.
He wanted to kiss her so badly, but held himself in check, knowing without being able to explain how that she wasn't quite ready for that yet. The shy princess murmured goodnight, then ducked into her room, taking Zoisite's towel and his coat along with her.
Z remained outside her room for a moment, then sighed and began strolling his way back to his own chamber. Writhed with wanting, yet strangely at peace with the universe, it was a much happier General of Elysian that bedded down that night.
