"Sleepless Nights" by Sara Jaye Yes, another fanfic brought on by depression. I won't get into it. This is a sad yet WAFFy Kunzite&Zoisite fic. About damn time I wrote one of those and got it finished. No real death, not nearly as morbid as some of my other fics, just angst and sap. You know the drill. [Disclaimers: Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko Takeuchi and Toei animation. None of the characters belong to me. This is a yaoi fic. An angsty and rather morbid one at that. So if that kind of thing bothers you, you may want to close this window. Otherwise, enjoy! ^_^] ~ "Where am I?" Cold darkness surrounded him. Though he couldn't see a foot in front of him, he knew he was alone. But he could feel someone else's presence nearing, sneaking up on him. Icy hands reaching out for him. "What's going on?" He could have sworn Kunzite was with him just a moment ago. But where was he? The last thing he remembered was something piercing his arm before he had blacked out. The next thing he knew, he was lying on a cold, hard stone floor... "The Dark Kingdom...I thought it was destroyed..." Zoisite whispered as he slowly got to his feet. "Still as naive as ever, Zoisite..." a voice whispered. A cold, shrill voice...the darkness let up a little, and Zoisite was able to see who was standing before him. Someone he had hoped never to see again. "Beryl," he whispered, shuddering as he spoke her name. "What are you doing here? And what have you done with Kunzite-sama?" "Just like you, worrying about your pathetic love life above all else. Your beloved Kunzite-sama is not long for this world, Zoisite...and this time, you will not be joining him. Ever!" Zoisite collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest as a wave of illness swept over him. His heart momentarily stopped beating as it froze in his chest. "What have you done with him, you vile witch?!" "Believe me...it's not nearly as bad as what I'm about to do with him," Beryl sneered. She then snapped her fingers. "Bring him in! At least he'll get to see his love before he dies..." At that, 5 youma stepped into the room, dragging a horribly injured Kunzite with them. It was all Zoisite could do not to vomit. "Kunzaito-sama..." he choked, turning his head away so he wouldn't have to see. Damn Beryl! Damn her to hades! "Z...Zoisite..." The silver-haired man was barely able to get out. Blood dripped from a wound in his chest. A youma slapped Zoisite in the face and proceeded to chain him to the ground, forcing him to watch. "You know my rules about no romance on the job...and you broke them anyway. It seems as if my punishment the first time around wasn't severe enough. This time you'll never see each other again, even in death," Beryl screeched. "You won't get away with this! Nor will you get away with imprisoning the others, they'll put a stop to you even if I can't!" Zoisite said, struggling against his bonds. "I'm afraid Zoicite, Malachite, Jadeite, and Nephrite are no more..." Beryl smirked as she gestured towards 4 glass coffins. Another wave of nausea hit as Zoisite saw the bleeding, mangled bodies of his friends through the glass. "No!" "Cry all you want, Zoisite. But this time I will destroy you... forever!" Then she called over to the youma, "Release him!" The youma dropped Kunzite to the floor, one handing Beryl a gleaming dagger. "Z...Zoi...I'm...so s...sorry this had to happen..." Kunzite apologized weakly. Zoisite squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to believe this was happening. A slap from Beryl jerked them back open, though. "Keep the goodbyes short. I don't have all day, you know," Beryl hissed. "No!" Tears trickled down Zoisite's cheeks as he continued to struggle. "Kunzaito-sama..." "G...gomen...Zoisite..." "It's going to be okay, I'll get you out of here! Beryl will not get away with this! The deaths of Nephrite, Jadeite, Zoicite, and Malachite will not be in vain!" Zoicite screamed. But he knew very well there was nothing he could do anymore. "Goodbye...Zoisaito," Kunzite whispered. "I'll never forget you," Zoisite mumbled. Then Beryl drove the blade into Kunzite's chest, and blackness surrounded them once again... ~ "Zoisite!!" The blonde awoke with a start, slowly opening his eyes. Slowly, he realized he was in his bed, and not alone. "Kunzaito-sama..." "What's wrong?" Kunzite asked softly, placing a hand on Zoisite's shoulder. Zoisite breathed a sigh of relief, then flung himself into Kunzite's arms. "Kunzaito-sama!" he sobbed, clinging to him as tightly as he could. Kunzite wrapped his arms firmly around the smaller man, gently rubbing his back. "Shh...Zoisite, it's all right...I'm here...did you have another nightmare?" he whispered. All 6 of them had been tormented by nightmares for the last week, and sometimes it seemed as if Zoisite was hurting the most from the memories. "It was horrible..." Zoisite mumbled, his shoulders heaving. His heart wouldn't stop pounding and despite the warmth of Kunzite's embrace, he felt cold all over. "I can imagine," Kunzite sighed, holding Zoisite as close as he could. His own nightmares of losing Zoisite were bad enough, but to see Zoisite like this, broke his heart. So vulnerable and frightened... he nestled his cheek against his lover's soft, silky hair, a few tears of his own slipping down his cheek. "Don't ever let me go...I need you..." Zoisite sobbed, trying to steady his breathing. "I won't...I need you so much, Zoi...to lose you would be the end of me," Kunzite whispered, brushing his fingers through Zoisite's hair. Zoisite continued to cry quietly in his arms, but seemed to be calming down a little. His breathing slowed down to normal as he managed to stop shaking. He felt so safe in his lover's arms...he was still terrified by his dream, but knowing it was only that, and Kunzite was here with him was enough to reassure him. "Kunzaito-sama," he murmured, slowly lifting his gaze to look into Kunzite's silver eyes. Kunzite gently stroked Zoisite's damp cheek with his hand. "Feeling any better?" he asked. "As long as you don't let go of me, I'll be fine," Zoisite said, smiling slightly as he rested his head comfortably against Kunzite's chest. "I'll always be here, Zoisaito," Kunzite whispered, leaning in to kiss Zoisite's lips softly. Zoisite returned the kiss for a long moment, then slowly pulled away. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you too," Kunzite sighed, pulling the blankets over them and tightening his embrace a little, smiling as he felt Zoisite snuggle closer. They knew that the hauntings wouldn't go away anytime soon. And there would be worse nightmares than this one. But they also knew that they wouldn't let anything tear them apart. No dreams were going to defeat their love. Ever. ~End~ Started out angsty and eerie, turned morbid, then ended sappily...what can I say? *sighs* Well, 3:39am...at least I can go to bed happy knowing I finished a story. ^^ Ja ne!