"Friends, and maybe more"
A fanfic by Sara Jaye

A revision of my very first Dark Kingdom fic. ^_^ It's not too different, 
just edited the formatting and fixed some lines and such. I still like 
version 1, of course-it WAS my very first serious fic, so I'm sentimental 
about it. ^^ I just realized there were a lot of things that needed work, 
hence this version.

[Disclaimers: Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei 
animation, I'm just borrowing the characters.
This is fic contains mild shounen ai, so if you don't like it, don't 
read. Otherwise, enjoy! ^_^]

				~

I lay on my bed, gazing out at the night sky. The stars sure 
are pretty. It's strange...even when I'm not using them as part of my 
plan against the Sailor Senshi, I enjoy looking at them. Maybe I should 
have had a career in astronomy, or astrology. I laughed a little, then 
sighed.

I thought about my conversation with Beryl-sama earlier. And 
for some reason, Jadeite. The guy who took the blame for my failure.
 
"Why?" I asked myself aloud. "Why would he get himself punished for 
something I did?" Was he a masochist? Or was there a more emotional 
reason? 

"Who knows," I mumbled. Just then, I heard a knock.

"Come in," I said, almost expecting it to be Zoisite. Just as I was 
preparing myself for a nasty remark, the door opened.

"Can I ask you something?"

It wasn't Zoisite.

"Jadeite." I looked at him. He seemed almost troubled. "Sure," 
I said, "come sit down." I sat up on the edge of my bed as he sat down 
in a chair next to me. "What is it?" I asked.

"Have you ever thought you knew someone, then all of a sudden...they did 
something you never expected, and you wonder if you've been wrong about 
them the whole time?" I blinked. How did he know what I was thinking? 

"Well, yes...actually, I have."

"Oh?" He looked at me.

"Yes. I remember, one time I had this important task to complete, and 
failed miserably. A comerade of mine was there at the time, and just as I 
was about to be punished for the failure, he took the blame. Even though 
he had no part in it to begin with. I always thought this comerade of mine 
to be...well, thick-headed, almost selfish about these things," I told 
him. He nodded, then looked somewhat troubled. I began to wonder if that 
question was the real reason he came here.

"I see," he said quietly. The next few minutes were filled with an awkward 
silence. Then he got up, crossed the room, and did something even more 
unexpected.

"I'm sorry," he choked, flinging his arms around my chest and 
burying his face in my shoulder. I nearly jumped back.

"Wh-why?" I could barely get out.

"Well...the thing is...I-I'm the reason you failed. I set you up...I-I'm 
so sorry, Nephrite-san," he mumbled, his shoulders shaking. I was shocked. 
I couldn't do anything except wrap my arms around him and stroke his hair. 
He framed me? I didn't know whether to be angry at him or feel sorry for 
him. So that's why he took the blame. 


"Why?" I asked again. He looked up at me with teary cadet-blue eyes.

"Well...to be honest, I've always envied you. You're so intelligent, so 
competent...I always wished I was more like you, yet I-I'm just...dumb," 
he answered, his arms still wrapped tightly around my chest. "I-I always 
looked up to you, like an older brother..." I looked at him for a moment, 
a bit angry. He was almost like Zoisite in a way-very devious...but 
Jadeite didn't hate me the way Zoisite did..

"I'm sorry," he cried once more. I suddenly felt a warm compassion for 
him, an affinity. I smiled a little.

"I forgive you," I told him. He looked up, still avoiding my gaze, his 
grip on me loosening.

"Y-you do?" he asked. I simply nodded. 

"Why?" Now it was his turn to ask. I sighed.

"Well...I am annoyed with you, for being so underhanded, but...
I admire your honesty. And I'm a bit flattered that you envy me," I said. 

"Really?" He looked at me, smiling a bit.

"Yeah..." He embraced me again.

"Thank you," he whispered. I smiled.

"Any time, Jadeite-kun," I answered. He then let go of me and stood up, 
straightening his uniform.

"Well...I better head off to bed now," he said. I nodded.

"Yeah."

He walked to the door, then whispered,

"Goodnight, Nephrite." Then he did something that was the biggest shock to 
me yet tonight.

He blew me a kiss. I didn't know what to think for a moment, then shrugged 
and blew one back. Then we both laughed.

"This'll be our secret," he said.

"Yeah. But even so, it's not like Zoisite and Kunzite will think less of 
us," I laughed. We shook hands, then he walked down the hall to his room. 
I smiled, then lay back down in my bed. Jade wasn't such an idiot after 
all, I thought. He was a damn good friend...and maybe more.


~End~