The condition of the Princess had worried the Lady Venus sick.  If 
Mars hadn't slept since that night, Venus hadn't slept at all.  
She'd followed the same pattern Mars had, only with more fervor and 
more anguish.  That morning, even as the two had pronounced her 
stable, Venus could see that her liege was knocking on death's door 
and asking to come in.
 It was then that she decided to kill herself.
 She had walked to the cliff's edge again, and sat, but with no 
intention of doing any heavy thinking.  Heavy, broad leaves were in 
her arms, the kind Nephrite used to flavor food; her knife, the 
sharp, poisoned blade hafted to a bright handle emblazoned with her 
house symbol, was in her hand.  To anyone else, it would seem that 
Venus, in her grief, had been cutting leaves in alone with the 
wrong knife and had accidently cut herself.  The poison was 
special; she'd be dead in an instant.  
 She looked over the choppy dark sea and thought of home. Of her 
mother, who'd promised her long before she was a thought to the 
Court Guard.  She also thought of her brother, her twin, the man 
she cherished in place of a lover, and wished him luck with his 
Outer lover.  Finally, she pictured Serenity, and how she would 
look at the funeral she wouldn't attend for her.  Dressed in white, 
blue eyes closed, mourned loudly for.  And her own name whispered 
among the people, and cruely slaughtered.
 It hardened her resolve; if she wasn't going to do it now, it'd be 
later.  She bent over and sliced one of the lives as she had the 
others, stopping a short way down and nearing the edge of her 
fingers to the knife.  "Goodbye," she whispered lightly, then made 
a motion to drag it across her skin.
 "I wouldn't do that."
 She nearly threw the knife over the cliff in surprise, but caught 
herself.  "Kunzite, what are you doing here?" she demanded, not 
sparing her dark tone.
 "I suppose, Lady Venus, that is my question."
 Her eyes strayed out to sea, away from him, as she debated what to 
say.  "Suicide," she replied finally.  "The Princess is dying as we 
speak.  I'm disgraced."
 "No, she's not.  The Princess is alive and on her way to well," 
Kunzite assured her.  
 "She is...I'm sorry, Serenity, but I cannot go back.  I'm 
disgraced," she repeated, voice sharpening to a hard edge.
 "Lady Venus, it isn't true."
 "True? Kunzite, please, don't try to ease my mind with feeble 
excuses.  If I could have found the Princess before, this whole 
mess would have been avoided.  Even as she lives, there is nothing 
I can do to wipe that stain from my name.  At least now I will have 
some honor.  Here, at my..." she stopped, tears trickling down her 
cheeks.
 "Surely, Lady Venus, there is something you could do," he said 
slowly.
 "Like what, Lord Kunzite?" she said, rounding on him, eyes fierce 
and angry at him.  "Is this the same man I spent these days with?  
The same man who I thought understood the pressure I am under, 
because he shared that pressure?  The same man who swore to me that 
if his liege was hurt, he would pay the price?  I doubt it. That 
man, the one I knew--he would understand."  Her tone was sharp, and 
surprisingly clear even as the tears ran down her face.  She turned 
back to procede, sure of no objection due to the stark look in his 
eyes..and found her knife gone.  Getting to her feet with a twirl, 
she found him examining it.
 "Standard Venusian knife, Royal Class.  Most likely poisoned edge 
using that Royal recipe no one's been able to ferret out," he said 
as he studied the blade.  Turning his grey eyes on her, he said, "I 
collect blades, and this would be a fascinating addition."
 Her crescent beam flashed, forming into a sharpened edge.  "Don't 
make me use this," she warned.  "It's much messier."  A cynical 
smile darkened her face.  "As a dying gift, the blade poision is a 
combonation of hemlock and crater water from the far side of Venus.  
Deadly and effective stuff."  Her expression wavered a bit, and she 
whispered suddenly, "Give me back my knife--please."
 His steel eyes focused in. "I can't, Venus."
 The expression that had wavered hardened, her eyes a crystal clear 
and beautiful blue.  She took a step back, and another, her eyes 
never straying from his face, the look in them somehow rendering 
him completely helpless.  For an instant she paused, and the wind 
rushed upwards then, causing her hair to fly wildly about her head 
and her skirt to shimmy about her thighs.  
 It had to be one of the most magnificent sights Kunzite had ever 
seen: the Venusian princess and Senshi standing on the cliff edge, 
hair flying about her and skirt flapping, yet with a face set hard 
and eyes that would yield to nothing, even as the tears coursed 
down her face.
 Then, she simply leaned back and fell.
 "NOO!" Kunzite barked sharply, leaping for the edge and landing on 
his stomach.  It was a long way down, and a part of him screamed in 
agony at the sight of her fall, the waves reaching for her, hair 
flowing in the air like tongues of yellow fire.  She was just an 
orange spot that was about to splatter, and that thought caused a 
massive cramp inside his heart.
 The rest of him, though, pulled him to his knees and sent off a 
blast of energy that exploded under her in a net like structure, 
gripping her tightly just as she was about to become a part of the 
salty, dark sea.  
 The minute it drew around her, Venus let out an angry gasp--and 
started to cry again.  Immediately she wished she could curl up 
into a little ball and bawl her eyes out; all she could think as a 
the gentle touch of a teleport hit her was <WHY WON'T HE LET ME 
DIE?>
 Once back on top of the cliff, Kunzite immediately dissolved the 
energy net.  For a moment the two Leaders stared at each other, 
tears still leaking from Venus' eyes...and then Kunzite pulled her 
in a fierce, tight hug that forced the breath from her and, more 
importantly, shook her to the core.
 "Don't EVER do that AGAIN, Lady Venus!" he whispered fiercly, 
voice muffled by emotion.  One hand was inside her hair, stroking 
the blond coolness; the other was pressing her against him as hard 
as possible, as if he would never let go.  "You have no reason to 
kill yourself--none! Serenity is fine, and she holds nothing 
against you! Nothing! You are not in disgrace, you are..."
 He stopped as Venus began to sob into him.  For the first time, he 
was acutely aware of what was happening.  His hand was locked in 
her silky locks, and she was held so tightly against him that they 
shared body heat, temps aligning with each other as it flowed 
between them.  He was also aware of the ache in his own throat, and 
the pains around his eyes that he desperately tried to surpress.
 Venus suddenly felt the shift in him, and the swing in the air 
around them.  Once cramped with tension, it now turned towards 
something different--something barely recognizable.  She knew where 
she was, how she'd come to be there, and what held her--but she 
didn't know why.  In a way, neither did Kunzite.  So her sobs died 
down, replaced with a strong curiosty and wondering about her 
state.
 It hit them both at the same time.
 Cautiously Venus pulled back away from him, fingers brushing his 
face.  For a long, long moment they stared at each other, trying to 
reconcile what they felt in their minds for what they'd said on 
this same cliff face.  It didn't mesh--didn't mesh at all.  Yet the 
more the two thought on it, the more it made sense, and the more 
aware of each other they became.  
 Finally, she spoke in a low whisper.  "Kunzite...why?"
 He read the volumes in her eyes, and then replied in a harsh, low 
voice, "Because I wasn't ready to die yet."
 "What?  Kunz..."
 "Venus...my dear Venus..." he started, slowly stroking her hair; 
the words and motions quickly shut her up.  "I am a coward."
 Immediately he received an arched eyebrow.  "You?" she asked 
drily.  "A coward?  Are you sure you should call yourself that 
after saving me from a long drop into the sea?" 
 He chuckled, then said softly, "In the forest, I told you I too 
would pay the Price.  But unlike you, I...I wouldn't, even though 
the Prince..." he stopped, frustration as plain in his voice as the 
agony was in his eyes. "He...while...Serenity lay there, he 
collapsed into a deep funk as well.  I could...not alleviate his 
pain, nor console him, nor offer him anything but another thorn in 
his side.  He was in pain, Lady Venus, a pain sharp enought to cut 
me.  Also, as you may have not noticed, he did not escape this 
without injury--he had minor scrapes, scratches and bruises.  I 
must fufill my words, no matter how wrongly spoken they were."
 She searched his face for a moment, then said, "Are you saying you 
should take your life as well?"
 "Aren't you bright," he replied without malice.  "And, since this 
seems like confession time, I must admit that the thought of your 
death is as devestating as the thought of the Prince in pain."
 "what?" she asked, caught nearly completely off guard.  In the 
back of her mind she known--well, guessed--but to hear him say 
it...well, that was completely different.   
 "You know what I said, Lady.  Over these days, you've come to 
understand me so well.  It's almost like you were inside my head, 
Lady Venus," he said, voice low and soft, as if spoke to himself 
and not her.  "You have become a friend closer than any General; 
only Endymion could supersede you.  And somehow, you've warmed your 
way into my heart as well.  I fear that my double loss of you and 
my honor would slaughter my heart and break my mind." He finally 
managed to loosen his arms from around her, letting his fingers 
drop from his hair, moving away from her, leaving her feeling semi-
incomplete.  "So if you must strike yourself down, strike me down 
as well.  I'll have nothing to live for without..." and he trailed 
off, his voice failing abruptly.
 She stood there, still partly in shock from the fall, the catch, 
his arms, her heart...and her eyes just could not get their fill of 
him.  He stood still, hands at his sides, head slightly bowed, eyes 
closed.  A breeze touched them then, shifting her hair around her 
and blowing his back, letting her admire his sharp features once 
more, noting the pain creased into them.  A pang like it struck her 
own heart, and overwhelming sympathy for him filled her.  
 And though she wasn't sure of what she had to do, or even if it 
would work...she knew she had to try.
 She quietly walked over to him, touching his cheek again.  His 
eyes flickered open, and she studied their steely gray texture.  
When he seemed ready to speak, she slid a hand over his lips, and 
shook her head.  
 "I didn't realize you felt this way," she said softly.
 He looked visibly shocked, yet she continued, "About the 
Prince...or honor...or me."
 "Lady Venus, if I've imposed..."
 "No...no, you haven't," she said.  "You have been a comfort to me 
as well, though you never needed to.  You didn't abandon the 
Prince, and you never abandoned me, even when I came out here to 
end my life.  By honor's rights, you never should have come."  She 
swallowed, and whispered, "But you did.  And it means...alot...to 
me."
 "I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, but its..." she stopped, 
running a finger lightly over his cheek, brushing at his hair, 
caught by his stately gray eyes.  All her words froze with the 
movement of her hand and that sudden contraction of warmth in his 
eyes.  She read them and felt his pain, the heaviness of his 
duties, and the need for someone that spoke volumes.  
 So, softly, she leaned over and kissed him.  
 For Kunzite, it was like the touch of an angel's wing upon his 
lips, and with it came a rush of life that startled him.  When she 
pulled back, it was with a shared sorrow, but she needed to see his 
eyes, to see if she'd been wrong about her feelings.
 She hadn't been, for they glowed with a new richness, a new 
warmth.  "My Lady Venus," he said, and pulled her into another 
kiss, this one roaring in them both like crashing waves.  
Symbolically, the wind whipped up around them, and their hair 
knotted together as they shared feelings that only together they 
could find.  It was beautiful.
 Finally they parted, though it took a little tugging and head 
shaking to free themselves completely.  By this time, though, they 
were both smiling, the kiss drawing away Venus' attempt from both 
of their minds.  He took her into his arms and she leaned against 
them, creating odd and uncomfortable indentations in the cliffs.  
 "What a beautiful reason to live," Venus whispered softly.
 "Yes, you are," he replied, and she giggled.  <Venus, you twit,> 
she yelled at herself cheerfully, but that only sent off more 
giggles...and touched a thought in her mind.  She leaned off of 
him, and with a soft smile came to her feet.  He stood as well, 
eyes questioning, though without fear.  It took her a minute to try 
and say it, but finally she haltingly said, "I think I may love 
you, Kunzite."
 "It's very early for love, my dear Venus."
 "It's never too early to tell someone you care."
 "You're right."  A pause, and then softly, "I love you."
 "I know."  
 "Conniving little thing, aren't you?" he teased, and she laughed 
richly with him.  "Now, Venus, do you love me?"
 She looked up into his rich eyes, and smiled brightly.  "Yes, 
Kunzite.  I love you."
 They held each other for only a little moment longer before he 
said, "We have to get back.  There are people who are worried about 
you, you know."
 She broke his embrace, smiling a tiny smile.  "I know."  Then, it 
turned to a wry grin.  "Besides, I skipped breakfast and I'm 
starved."
 "Hmmm....Jupiter did say she was making that grain and fruit thing 
again."
 Her laughter swirled with the wind as they teleported away.