Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Four Months: Lita ❯ One-Shot

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

"I'm sorry."

She took is gloved hand in her own and looked deep into his eyes. "For what," she whispered.

"For loving you too much and showing you too late." His ragged breath became more shallow.

For a moment she didn't move, just stared at him. After a moment, his breathing stopped. She was stunned; she had no idea what to do next. She'd always known it would end like this. But she had no idea how much it would hurt when it actually came.

My eyes flew open, remembering the dream. No, I realized, not this time. This time it was more than a mere dream. This was a memory. A very vivid memory I'd once forgotten. I sighed and removed the blanket from around me. My heart had slowed, that was good. But I was spooked.

I curled a piece of my hair behind my ear and opened my bedroom door, peeking into the living room of my apartment. Mina, where was Mina? My eyes saw something shift in the dark. Ah ha! She was still here. Good, 'cause I needed to talk.

I kneeled by my couch and for a second I watched her sleeping. Out like a light, just like Serena. I laughed inwardly. I always suspected they were related and tonight just reaffirmed my thoughts. After watching her a moment, I realized I couldn't take any more of the silence. I poked her shoulder. Nothing happened. I poked it again, harder this time. I sighed in frustration. Can nothing wake her?! "Mina," I whispered. No response. Again. "Sailor Venus, there's trouble!" Blast, she would have to just roll over. Some senshi she is. An idea hit me, a very cruel idea that I knew would work. "Look Mina, a Hollywood actor!"

"Where?!"

Works like a charm every time.

"Ah, Lita! Why'd you do that to me?!"

"I wanna talk to you. And that was the only thing to rouse you."

A pillow hit me square in the face. "Bite me."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, come on, I really wanna talk!"

"But I was having this wonderful dream about Harrison Ford and Jackie Chan fighting over me..."

"You and your old men. Aren't you ever going to grow out of those obsessions?"

Mina fake gasped. "Me? Never. They're too cute!"

"They're also sooo not anywhere Japan that you have no chance!"

"Jackie is in Hong Kong, I'll have you know."

"Which is as far away as America if you don't have a way to get there!"

Mina narrowed her eyes and sighed, a sign that I'd won the debate - AGAIN - and that she was finally awake enough to talk about my problems. "Alright," she grumbled. "You woke me up because you wanted to talk. Make it quick."

"Thanks for the support," I begin with mock hurt.

Mina grabbed her blanket. "I could go back to sleep, you know."

"I know, I know. But don't. This is serious. Mina, I had another dream about Nephlyte."

She didn't look phased. "Yeah? So what? We've all been dreaming about the Generals, Lita. Kinda hard not to since they've come back."

"But I don't want to dream about him!"

"Do any of us?! I mean, I'm not sure about you but I'm not so willing to forgive Malachite. And look at Raye and Chad and Jadeite and Ami and Greg and Zoicite. Things are two times harder for them than they should be. The reason? Zoicite and Jadeite. If the Generals hadn't come along, things would have been a whole lot more simple. You, on the other hand, are single. You're not dating anyone exclusively. So why let one guy, an ex Negaversian General for that matter, run your life?"

I sighed. "You're right. I should just keep the man away from me. It'll just throw everything in my life into craziness if I don't." I stood and started to walk away.

"Hey Lita?"

I stopped and turned. "Yeah?"

"Here's one last thought. If he's good to you, and if your heart tells you it's right, don't ignore it. Just because I've chosen to not have anything to do with Malachite, doesn't mean you have to do like me. They're good guys, Lita, you have to admit that." Mina sighed and pulled her blanket close, rolling over.

"Is there a point to this?"

With closed eyes and a stifled yawn, she replied, "Just...follow your heart, okay?"

I nodded, though in the dark I knew she couldn't see me. Follow your heart, huh? Great advice coming from the Love Goddess. Actually, in all seriousness, it's the best advice she's ever given me. Well, right then my heart was a loner of sorts. And if he wanted me, he'd have to win me over.

And that's exactly what I did. After Serena made us promise to be nice to the guys, I went about my life as if nothing'd changed. Nephlyte just sorta faded into the background, there but not there. He didn't do a whole heck of a lot to get me to notice him, not like the other generals.

I was deeply into typing a report for school on the local library's computer when a rose appeared out of nowhere. I followed the rose and discovered it was attached to a hand. On the hand was an arm and that arm belonged to ...

"Nephlyte, what are you doing?"

"You like it?"

I saved my report and stood up to face him. "It's pretty," I said kind of nonchalantly.

Nephlyte grinned. "You want it?"

"Do you come with it?"

"Only if you want it to," Nephlyte's voice oozed sensuality.

I surpressed a grin. "Well if that's the case, I'll pass." I scooped up my bookbag and brushed past him, making sure my hips swung and that he was watching.

"Hey wait up!" Nephlyte yelled.

I giggled and turned to shush him. "You idiot, this is a library. You're supposed to be quiet in here!"

"Okay then," Nephlyte's voice was softer. "How about we go someplace we don't have to whisper?"

"What'll be in it for me?"

"A free dinner?"

My stomach growled and I realized that I hadn't eaten hours. "Does this dinner require time spent with you?" Nephlyte nodded. I shrugged. "Why not? I'm starved. You got yourself a deal."

An hour later, Nephlyte and I were sitting in a cozy booth of an Italian restaurant close to my apartment. We talked about life in general, our likes and dislikes and our little nerdy habits. I can't tell you why I let him make me so honest with stuff like that; it just happened, I guess. Then it was time to get to what we'd been unconsciously avoiding the whole time he and the other Generals had been here. Their places in our lives.

Nephlyte expressed his sadness that Jadeite and Raye hadn't been able to work past their differences. I told him that Raye is a stubborn girl and with Chad in her life she'd decided that history doesn't make romance. Just because she and Jadeite had been together once a thousand years ago didn't mean that they'd automatically be in love in this life. Chad made her happy and I was pleased that she could find someone who could tame the fire.

"What about Ami?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "What about Ami?"

"Who do you think she'll wind up with?"

"Truthfully I hope she ends up with Greg. First, they don't have the history that she and Zoicite have. They'll be able to build their own and it's so obvious that Greg worships the ground she walks on. If Zoicite is smart and truly loves Ami, he'll leave her alone until she's ready for him and he'll let her decide on her own. Jadeite made that mistake with Raye. He pushed too much too fast and wanted her too passionately."

Nephlyte leaned forward. "What about us?"

I looked down, knowing exactly what he was asking. I ran my hand through my bangs before responding to him and even then I was careful with my words. "I think you're really nice. But I'm not in love with you. I've been having flashbacks from the Millenium. I've seen the good times with you and sometimes I wake up missing you. Other times I see and feel the betrayal and I wake up ready to kill you. I can't decide whether to love you or to hate you and that's what I mean about Ami and Greg being better off without the history. Our history just complicates things. Mina has a good point, though. She told me that I need to follow my heart. Well, that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to look at Raye and Mina and compare what they decided to my own life but instead I'm going to look at you and see if I think whether or not you're worthy of my love, if I can look at you and know."

"How do I help you decide that?"

I smiled sincerely. "You court me, you try to woo me like any gentlemen would. I admit that I fall pretty easily but only to the right things. If you want me, Nephlyte, really want me, you're going to have to show it."

I almost wish I hadn't said that to him because the next morning I woke up to hundreds of the same roses he'd given me the day before. He bought me gifts, took me out and told me how much he cared.

But I wasn't biting. And we had our first argument because of it.

"Okay, Lita. It's been six months and I've done everything you asked me. I've done it all and you say that I'm still not showing my feelings enough! What do you want from me?"

I watched him pacing in front of me. "If you just listened to what I've been saying, you would know!"

"Then what is it? What do you want?!"

"Listen carefully to me. I want you to show me that you love me. That's the answer right there. It's up to you to figure the rest of it out."

Nephlyte turned to me and shook his head. "That's all I've been getting from you for six months. I'm tired of playing this game, Lita. I love you, kid, I love you. But I give up. I'm not going to play guessing games when you know my feelings for you." He grabbed his jacket and left the room.

And our first kiss came out of that argument.

When I felt someone sit beside me, I ignored them and kept crying. Nephlyte said he loved me but he also gave up on me. I wasn't playing any games with him. I loved him. He'd done all the right things and he won me over. Mina was arguing with Malachite so instead of going to Ami or Raye or Serena, I just went to the park. I hadn't intended on crying or anything dramatic like that. It just happened the second I sat down. And when I stopped crying, the person beside me finally decided to speak.

"I always hated guessing games," he said. "I hated having to find out what I could know in just a quick moment. Maybe I forgot to tell you that."

I looked up. Nephlyte smiled down at me. "I didn't know you don't like guessing games."

"You do now. Want to know something else? I'm also much smarter than I seem sometimes." He took my hand. "But this time I was an idiot. Show you I love you..How could I have been so stupid?"

"You figured it out?" Nephlyte nodded yes. "Well, aren't you going to tell me?" Nephlyte shook his head no. "No? Then how will you know if - "

Nephlyte kissed me. He kissed me long and hard and in that instant I knew that he really had figured things out.

"Oh boy," I said breathlessly after the kiss was over.

"You're telling me. And see? I did figure it out."

"When I said I wanted you to show me how you feel about me, this is what I meant and I was waiting forever for you to realize that. I don't want gifts or showy words. I just want you and if you can give me that, it's all I'll ever need."

"And you. Did you follow your heart?" I nodded. "Aren't you going to tell me?" I shook my head no then leaned in for another kiss.

Nephlyte smacked his lips together. "That was nice but you still didn't answer my question.." I raised my eyebrow at him. "I'm kidding, Lita. Don't worry, this time I got your message loud and clear."

I love him. I love Nephlyte and you know something, I don't mind so much that the Generals came back. Actually I'm really glad. Okay, so I fell kind of easily for the guy. How could I not? I may be a little stubborn at times but I'm no fool. Let Mina play games with her Malachite. And let Raye have all the drama she wants. Me, I know a good thing when I have it. After all, Mina told me to follow my heart and that's exactly what I did. The second I opened myself up to the idea of Nephlyte, the rest followed easily. And hey, tomorrow things could end between us and I'll have to go back to being single. Not that I ever think it's really going to happen. Nephlyte isn't a fool, either. He knows I'm good for him and won't let a good thing go.

I love Nephlyte. I wonder what is Mina going to say tonight when I wake her up to tell her that? She'll probably throw a pillow at me and grunt in disgust when I keep her up by telling her all the sweet and wonderful things Nephlyte's done for me. I can't wait until the evening.
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