Re-post
Title: Bubblegum Promises
Author: Raya
Theme: Senshi-Shitennou
Genre: General / Angst / Drama / Romance
Version: Manga (Crystal Tokyo)
Rating: PG (for Part III)
Word Count: ~5,540 (and counting)
Disclaimer: June (Juno), Higan (Jadeite), and their friends belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely fashioned these uber cute onigiri, and used them as puppets in my Bento Box Theater.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Bubblegum Promises
Five year old June shivered in the chill spring air and wished once again that little girls did not have to wear dresses every time Mommy or Daddy had to give a speech. Not that she disliked dresses. Like most little girls, she enjoyed the free feeling of material batting against her legs and spinning in circles to see how far out she could make her skirt go. But, her one good pair of tights had gotten grease on them somehow, and although it was early May, the air in Toronto was a bit too cool for bare legs.
"What were you thinking?" June jumped as Ms. Linda's irritated voice cut through the air. "Pink? You dressed her in pink?"
Out of the corner of her eye, June saw her mother give her new assistant a puzzled look. "It's what she wanted to wear today. What's wrong with pink? It's a good color for little girls."
"Not when they insist on having green hair!" Ms. Linda rolled her eyes. "Pink and green... Those are 'preppy' colors! They say 'rich'. They say 'country club'. You're trying to connect with the lower middle class here. Yellow would have been a better choice. Or a different shade of green. Anything but bubblegum pink!"
"If she'd gone with red, you'd be complaining that she looked like a Christmas tree," a tall, skinny man with blond hair said as he walked up to stand beside them. "Or, that the kids matched too closely. I think she looks like a frozen little girl. Country club? Heh. Everyone out there is going to feel sorry for her because she doesn't own any warm clothes. Hi, Mari."
As her mother smiled and greeted the strange man, June felt someone brush against her arm. She turned and stepped sideways in surprise. An older boy, dressed in a neat red shirt and pressed blue pants, had come up beside her.
"Hey," he said gruffly as he glared at the public relations specialist. "Don' worry 'bout her. She don' know nothin'. I think you look all right." June gave him a doubtful look. "Really. Look at what she made me wear. At least you got to pick your own clothes."
June looked at him again. "What's wrong with what you're wearing?" she asked curiously.
The boy grimaced as the breeze ruffled his pale blond hair. "It's red. With blue. Red's all right with green at Christmas, or with black or white, but blue?" He made a gagging sound. "I like green. What's wrong with green?"
June smiled. "Nothin’. Hey!" Her eyes lit up as she saw the cellophane wrapped object in his hand. "Are those baseball cards?"
He blinked at her in surprise, and then shook his head and held up the package. "Nah, Avalon Legacy. You play?"
She shrugged. "A little. Not much."
"Oh."
June felt a little guilty as his eyes dimmed. "Well? Are you gonna open them?" she asked as she shivered in another breeze.
He gave her a surprised look, and then smiled. "Sure, if you wanna see." Eagerly, he ripped the back of the package open. The small square of pink bubblegum jumped out of the wrapper and flew through the air. June squeaked and dove for it.
"Hey, good catch," the boy said admiringly. Kneeling on the hard ground, June looked up at him and beamed at the compliment. "You can keep it if you want," he offered generously.
"Really? Thanks!"
"Higan! I thought I told you not to open that until we got back in the car."
June and the boy started and looked up at the small, brown haired woman who had come up beside them.
"Sorry, Mother..." Higan muttered as he tried to close the wrapper again.
"It was me. I did it, ma'am," June said hurriedly as she scrambled back to her feet. "I asked him to open it." When the woman looked at her doubtfully, she looked down at her feet and then up again. "I wanted to see what he got."
"Is that so..." The woman shook her head in amusement. "Well, put them in your pocket for now," she told her son. "And don't take them out until we get to the car. You'll lose them."
"Yes, ma'am..." Higan said reluctantly as he put the cards into his pants pocket.
"Why don't you two go stand over next to that speaker over there," his mother suggested. "Get out of the wind. Poor June is going to turn into a popsicle in a few minutes. Worse, her lips might turn blue and set Linda off again. You know how she feels about matching blue with green."
Higan grinned up at her, and then nodded. "C'mon," he said to June as he grabbed her arm. "I don' wanna listen to that again." The little girl let him drag her over to one of the speakers next to the stage.
Once they were safely in its shelter, June looked up at him. "Is your mom running for office, too?" she asked curiously.
"Nuh-uh," Higan replied with a proud look. "My dad. He's running for Premiere."
June's eyes widened. "Really? My mom just got asked to run for Vice Premiere." The two children stared at each other for a long moment, and then began to smile. "Does that mean...?"
"Yeah. We'll get t' see more of each other," Higan said. "Lots more!" His face fell slightly. "Too bad you don't play Avalon."
June raised her chin. "You can teach me. I just never had anyone to play with before!"
"Really?" he asked eagerly. "You'll play?"
"Sure! I'll bring my cards next time."
"Cool!"
June held up the square of bubblegum, then broke it in half. "It's a promise, right? A bubblegum promise." She held a piece out to him.
Higan blinked as he accepted the gum. "A bubblegum promise?"
"Yep. If we share a piece of bubblegum, we have to do what we promised."
"Never heard that before..." he muttered, and then shrugged. "Sure. A bubblegum promise. We bring our cards from now on and I'll show you how to play Avalon Legacy." Watching the little girl closely, he mimicked her actions and solemnly placed the bubblegum in his mouth and began to chew. They held their serious expressions for a few more seconds, and then burst into laughter.
*~*~*Part II*~*~*
June fingered the bubblegum in her pocket and reminded herself that ten year olds do not cry. Not even if their best friend was going to move far away. Not even if this could be the last time she ever saw him.
Soon, she would have to go outside with her parents and watch as Higan and his father boarded their plane. If she started crying now, she reminded herself as she sniffled, she would never be able to smile for the cameras and wave politely. Tomorrow morning when he reached Beijing, all Higan would see in the papers would be pictures of her red eyes and puffy face. She would not let that happen.
“Hey,” Higan said quietly. “You okay?”
June grimaced, and tried to look irritated rather than sad. “Yeah. Just a stupid cold. I'm alright.” Her expression smoothed out to one of uncertain concern. “How 'bout you? You okay?”
He smiled. “Oh sure. I'm looking forward to it. Chinese food all the time? What's not to like? And I'll get to see Obaa-chan and Ojii-chan more often, too. They live in Crystal Tokyo, you know. Just a short flight away.”
June nodded, letting him think that she believed him. His eyes, so sad since his mother had died two years before, were sadder than ever. “Yeah, I'm jealous,” she said. “You get to escape the cameras and everything.”
“Well, tell your dad to quit politics and you can get away from them, too,” he laughed as he threw an arm casually around her shoulders.
June huffed, but did not shrug him off. “Uh-huh. Right. He's going to give up politics just two weeks after becoming Premiere of the North American States because I ask him to. Su-ure... And Princess Usagi's hair is as green as mine. Not.” She smiled as he laughed again. “Besides, even if he did quit, there's always Mom. She's already told him not to get too comfortable in the White House. She has her eye set on the Global Diet.”
Higan whistled soundlessly as he took his arm off her shoulders. “The Diet, huh. Wow.” Suddenly he smiled. “If she makes it, we can be neighbors again.”
“Yeah.” Before June could get out any more, their parents began to move towards them. Both children stiffened, their eyes flying to the clock on the wall.
“Two more minutes,” June's mother said softly as she put a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder.
“Yes, ma'am,” Higan replied. June just nodded, not quite willing to trust her voice. Mari squeezed her shoulder, and then moved off to give them some privacy once more.
Silence stretched between them for a long moment, and then Higan turned to face his green-haired friend. “So...”
“Don't forget me,” June blurted out. Her green eyes widened in horrified embarrassment. “I mean...”
“I won't,” he replied, cutting her off. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out something small. “I promise. I'll never forget you, June.”
She stared into his green eyes for a long moment, and then glanced down at his hand. Suddenly, a smile broke out on her face. When he gave her a puzzled look, she reached into her pocket, pulled out the piece of bubblegum she had secreted away, and held it out for him to see. Higan laughed.
“It's a promise, then,” she said as she quickly unwrapped her piece of gum.
“A promise,” he agreed as he unwrapped his piece of gum. “We'll never forget each other.”
“And one day, we'll meet again,” June added as they tore their gum in half and handed each other a piece. “It's a bubblegum promise.”
She started to move the pieces of gum to her mouth, and then stopped when she saw that Higan was not ready. Her face creased in puzzlement as she watched him squish the two pieces together, end to end. Then, she smiled, nodded, and did the same. Watching each other as solemnly as they could, they raised their hands to their mouths. “A bubblegum promise,” they chorused, and then popped the gum in.
*~*~*Part III*~*~*
Sailor Juno leaned against the crystal railing and shivered slightly as the cool breeze blew across her sweaty skin. She regulated her breathing automatically, striving to steady her heart which was still racing from her sprint around the palace and up the stairs to the highest spire. After a morning full of exercise, her muscles were trembling and her breath was ragged.
'What am I going to do,' she thought miserably as she leaned her face against the cool spire. 'How did it come to this? I know better...'
It had slipped up on her so insidiously. A chance meeting with an old friend in a restaurant in Montreal. A lunch to catch up on all that had happened since they had last seen each other. When she learned that he was friends with Vital, she had been thrilled. Group outings with Lady, Vital, and all the others had only been natural. A teasing comment about double dating had led to an actual date. One date had led to two, and more. Hugs and kisses had followed, surprising and exciting. And now... Now, she loved him as more than a friend.
It was impossible. She knew that. She could not allow her heart to be split in two. She was a senshi. She had a duty not only to Crystal Tokyo, but to the whole planet. The only thing more important in her life was the royal family... and Higan.
Sailor Juno closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. 'What am I going to do?' she thought again as she gently ground her head into the hard crystal. 'I can't let him be more important to me than Lady-chan. I can't. And yet...'
She shuddered again as she remembered the incident the previous week. A madman had kidnapped Celeste, believing her to be Princess Usagi. She and Higan had gone to rescue her, and he had fallen into a trap. It had not taken the madman long to realize that he had found her weakness. He had tried to make her choose between them. If Pallas had not shown up when she did...
Sailor Juno's hands clenched convulsively on the railing. If Pallas had not shown up, she did not know what she would have done. Even Celeste's close resemblance to Lady had not been enough to sway her decision. If it had really been Lady, would she still have hesitated? She did not know.
And because she did not know, she was going to have to distance herself from him. Tears began to squeeze out from her closed eyes as her heart twisted painfully at that thought. It would be hard. She could not just say goodbye and walk away. Higan was also Jadeite, one of the Guardians of the Prince of Earth. Since the prince, Vital, was living in the palace, his Guardians were as well. And since the prince was head over heels in love with her princess, she was going to see him every day.
'I don't want to tell him goodbye. I don't,' she thought desperately as the tears began to fall more quickly. 'I love him. There has to be some other way. But I can't let him be more important than my duty. How do I stop that?' She began to gasp softly, her hands clenching together at her chest now as the pain in her heart grew worse.
“Juno.”
Her eyes flew open as she jumped in surprise. She jerked her head around and saw the object of her thoughts standing a few paces behind her. Rapidly, she turned around again and began to surreptitiously wipe the tears off of her face.
“Juno... June, we have to talk,” Jadeite said as he walked forward to stand beside her.
“I... I have a meeting with Lady-chan.” She pasted her old public mask on her face and turned to leave. Her green gaze caught his, and she paused as he gave her an odd smile.
“She left about half an hour ago to go shopping with Celeste and Bessa.”
“Oh.” Slowly, she turned back to the view of Crystal Tokyo spread out below her.
“You have to stop beating yourself up,” he said as he, too, turned to look out over the city.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” she replied stiffly. Unconsciously, she tightened her hands on the crystal railing.
He glared at her out of the corner of his eye. “You get up at five am to beat your punching bag to a sagging mess, and then run twenty to thirty kilometers before breakfast. After Morning Court, you practice every kata of karate and judo you know and go a few rounds with anyone available except me before your daily senshi training session. You pick at lunch, and then hit the gym again for a round of weights before Afternoon Court. If the princess does not have Afternoon Court, you swim or go for another run or both. We may see you for dinner, we may not. After your nightly meeting with the other senshi, you practice dance, yoga, or gymnastics until you finally collapse in bed for a few hours.”
Sailor Juno shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I have to stay in shape to protect the princess,” she said defensively.
“There's staying in shape and then there's killing yourself,” Jadeite retorted angrily. He clenched his hands on the railing and took a deep breath. “Working yourself to nothing won't solve anything. If anything, it will make you too tired when you do need to protect the princess from something.”
“I'm fine,” she said dismissively as she turned towards the stairs again.
“No, you're not,” he replied hotly as he grabbed her hand. “You're thin as a rail, and you're beginning to get dark circles under your eyes.” He clenched her hand tighter as he felt her stiffen. “You're worrying about something, and I think it has to do with what happened last week.” He held on when she tried to jerk away and met her hot glare steadily. “I've been worrying about it, too,” he confessed more softly.
Sailor Juno blinked in surprise and relaxed a little. Slowly, he drew her back to the railing. “What if it had been me?” he continued as he turned to look over the city again. “What if I had had to choose between you and Vital? Or between you and Lady-san? What would I have done?”
“You would have chosen Vital-san. Or Lady-chan,” she replied without thinking.
Jadeite turned and gave her a curious look. “You think so? I'm not so sure.” Sailor Juno felt her breath and heart catch at the look in his eyes. “You're very, very important to me, June. More important than Lady-san. At least as important as Kunzite, Nephrite, or Zoisite.” He took a deep breath. “You might even be as important or more important than Vital. I love you,” he said quietly as he squeezed her hand tightly.
Her heart began to race madly, and her breathing became shallow. “I... I...” The words tried to push their way out, but they got caught in her tight throat. It was the pain that suddenly appeared in his green eyes as he started to turn away that pulled the words out. “I love you, too.” Abruptly, she turned away herself. “But it won't work! You know it won't. Lady-chan has to be the most important thing to me, and Vital-san has to be the same for you. And we both have to put the planet first. I can't love you. I can't.” Her breath caught on a sob as her tears returned.
“Yes you can,” he countered as he drew her in for a quick hug. He released her when she pulled away. “You can. And I can love you. We just have to have an agreement.”
“An agreement?” she asked thickly.
“A pledge,” Jadeite said solemnly as he reached into his pocket. “We swear that we will never put the other before our duty to our liege or the planet.” Sailor Juno blinked, and then turned slowly to look at him curiously. “I know how I felt when I saw you wavering between Celeste and I,” he continued as he held her gaze. “I was yelling at you mentally to choose her.”
“I thought so,” she replied absently. “I could see it in your eyes.”
“That is how I know how furious I would be if you chose me over Vital or Lady-san in the same situation,” he continued as he drew something out of his pocket. “And I think you would feel the same way.” Sailor Juno swallowed and nodded.
“So, if we swear never to place each other in that number one slot and we know how the other would feel if we ever broke that promise...”
“We would be free to follow the promise,” she finished as a relieved smile came to her face. “No conflict.” The smile faded. “Just heartache if the other suffers or dies.”
He reached out with his left hand, caught her right one, and gave it a squeeze. “More incentive for the one being sacrificed to find their way out. I think... I would hate it. It would hurt like hell if I lost you. But I would rather that than never having you.”
Sailor Juno tightened her hand around his slightly, turned her gaze to the horizon, and thought hard about his proposed solution. After a couple of minutes, she nodded her head. “Me, too,” she said. “I would hate it. I never want to have to choose between you. It would probably kill me, whatever choice I made.”
“Better the choice that doesn't make you feel guilty or like a failure or a traitor,” he replied.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, you're right.”
Jadeite sighed in relief, and then smiled at her. “You remember long ago, when we were kids?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Kids?”
“Yeah. There was a promise we could never, ever break.”
Giddy with relief and love, she laughed. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” he said as he held up a piece of bubblegum. “It is one of the most binding promises I know,” he added more seriously though his eyes still shone with amusement.
Sailor Juno took the piece of candy from his grasp and unwrapped it. “I can't believe you still remember that,” she said with a smile. The smile faded a little as she looked up into his eyes. “It's still one of the most serious promises I know, too.” Carefully, she tore the gum in half and handed a piece to him.
“I swear to never let my feelings for you override my duty to my prince or my world,” he swore solemnly.
“I swear not to let my feelings for you come before my duty to the royal family or the world,” she swore as solemnly.
With all the weighty movement of a high ritual, they lifted the pieces of gum. “It's a bubblegum promise,” they chorused, and then they placed the gum in their mouths. They chewed quietly for a few moments, and then Sailor Juno giggled softly. Smiling, Jadeite drew her into his arms for a hug.
*~*~*Part IV*~*~*
June giggled and caught at Higan’s arm as she tripped over the stairs leading down to the beach. The tall blond main shook his head in amusement as he helped her regain her balance and then wrapped her arm formally around his. “Too much alcohol?” he teased as he helped her down the stairs.
“Hardly,” she replied in a mock offended tone as she swatted his arm with her free hand. “There’s no ale in ginger ale, and those spritzers Celeste and Inju brought don’t have much alcohol in them.” She carefully swept the leading edge of her long skirt out of her way so that she would not accidentally step on it.
“Uh-huh. So it doesn’t take much to get you sloshed, eh?” he grinned down at her. “I’ll have to remember that.” As they stepped onto the sand, June released her skirt and swatted at him again. “Easy there! If you keep beating me up, I might let go and let you make your way across this stuff by yourself.”
“I’d just take my shoes off,” she quipped as she tossed her head and looked away playfully. “Who needs you?”
“Oh, wounded!” he laughed as he clenched at his heart with his free hand and pretended to fall away. June laughed at his silliness a moment, and then turned her face into the cool, salty sea breeze.
“Did you see Vital-san’s face?” she asked with a grin. “I owe Bessa-chan. That was priceless!”
“That’s my prince you’re laughing at,” he replied in a stern voice. His matching grin, however, belied his tone.
“Nope, he’s Lady-chan’s prince,” she laughed. “And don’t you forget it.” Higan just shook his head in reply and led her down to the water’s edge where it was easier to walk.
Several minutes passed in companionable silence before June spoke again. “This was a good idea,” she said softly as she admired the full moon floating over the rolling water.
“The private party for Diana’s birthday? Or the walk?” Higan asked just as quietly as he covertly studied her beautiful profile. For a moment, he forgot why he had asked her to slip out with him. That beloved, familiar face never failed to hold his attention. The relaxed, amused smile that blossomed at his question brought a matching smile to his face.
“Both,” she replied. “But, I meant the party. We needed a chance to just relax and be ourselves for a while. No uniforms, no press, no foreign delegates to impress… Just a group of friends gathered to laugh, and dance, and talk about anything they want.”
“Mmmm…” Higan felt his nerves come back full force as he remembered the purpose of this walk. He tried to keep his body relaxed, but June’s curious glance confirmed that he had not succeeded. Gently, he released her arm and stepped closer to the lapping waves.
June stopped and turned to look at him curiously. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but closed it again as something in his tense stance registered. Higan was glad as he took several deep breaths of the salty air. Abruptly, he turned to face her. “Actually,” he said quietly, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”
She looked at him in surprise. His emotionless face and rigid stance made her stomach clench in foreboding. “Ye-Yeah?”
“You and I… We’ve known each other a long time,” he replied. “We’ve always go along so well, and we always seemed to know each other better than anyone else. Probably because we have similar backgrounds, and maybe because we have the same destiny. But… there’s something more, too.”
He reached out to take her hand, and June swallowed nervously. Her sense of fear and unease increased as she felt how cool and taut his fingers were.
“I love you, June,” he said softly. “You know I do. You also know that I cannot… must not put you first in my life.” When she shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, he quickly raised his free hand and covered her lips. “And I know I cannot come first in your life,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be,” he added with a wry smile that quickly faded.
“We cannot place each other first. At any minute, we may be called to give our lives. Nothing is certain, but…” June’s eyes widened as he fell to one knee on the wet sand in front of her. “Even still, I want something more. I want you. Forever. June, will you… will you marry me?”
She stared down into his earnest green eyes in disbelief as the world seemed to stop around her. The feel of the breeze that tugged and her hair and skirt and chilled her bare shoulders did not register. The sound of the lapping ocean waves was overcome by the sound of her stuttering, pounding heart. She saw nothing but the nervous, fearful, hopeful light in the green eyes that stared up at her.
And then, suddenly, everything started up again. She breathed out in shock as she clenched his hand tightly. “W-w-w-what?” she stammered as her head reeled and her heart raced. “What did you say?”
“Will you marry me? Will you be my wife and make me the happiest man in the world?” Higan ignored the water lapping at his prone leg, his whole focus on the expressions racing across her face. Shock and disbelief were the only things he saw at first, and then, finally, the one he had been hoping for. Joy. Pure, radiant joy that transformed her from beautiful to stunning. It crept into her expression slowly at first, but within seconds it erased all others from her face and he felt his nerves melt away.
“Yes,” she breathed as she tugged at his hand. “Oh yes. Yes. Yes!” Grinning in relief, he stood up and reached for his pocket. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she peppered his face with kisses and squeezed him tight. Startled, Higan left off his search, quickly wrapped his arms around her, and turned his off-balance stagger into a spin. June laughed joyously.
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said as she buried her face into the side of his neck. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you asked me…”
He squeezed her tightly once more, then gently set her on her feet. “Believe it,” he said as he wiped at the tear tracks on her face. “I can’t believe you said yes.”
She laughed up at him as she pressed his hand to her face. “Believe it,” she mimicked. She held his hand tighter for a moment as he tried to take it away, and then slowly let it go. Once again, he reached into his pocket.
When he pulled it out again, he held a small black jeweler’s box. June watched shakily as he opened it and held it out to her. And then she laughed. Inside was a large, fake diamond ring, the kind that was dispensed from gumball machines. The plastic ‘diamond’ had been replaced with a large, green gumball.
“There’s no going back now,” Higan said as he pulled the ring out, snapped the box shut, and put it back in his pocket. “You know how serious a bubblegum promise is.”
“Oh yes,” she laughed as she watched him pry the gumball loose. “Nothing can break a bubblegum promise.” She watched as he raised the gumball to her lips, and then opened her mouth and bit into the gum. Once she had her half, he quickly popped the other half into his own mouth.
They chewed for a few seconds, then June threw herself at him again. “I love you,” she whispered as she buried her face in his neck again.
“I love you, too,” he whispered back. They stood there, bathed in the moonlight, for several long minutes enjoying the heady joy of the moment. Finally, though, Higan released her again.
“We should go back in before they send out the search parties,” he said reluctantly as he reached for his breast pocket. June nodded reluctantly in agreement. “Here,” he said as he pulled a beautiful solitaire out of his pocket. “Here is your real ring.” He caught up her left hand and stared down into her shining green eyes for a long moment before he gently slipped the ring into place. Then, he brought her hand up and kissed the ring and finger. “Mine.”
“Yours,” she whispered back as she swayed into him and reached up to caress his face. He gave her a quick hug, then slowly turned her to walk back towards the house that Lady had rented for the evening’s festivities. June snuggled happily into his arm.
Halfway back to the house, however, she suddenly straightened and stopped. “Lady-chan… What will they think? What am I going to tell them?” she gasped as she tightened her grip on his arm.
Higan turned to her and began to laugh. “I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that. When I asked Lady-san for her permission, she asked me what took so long.”
June relaxed, reassured by his confident amusement, and then stiffened again. “You… You asked Lady-chan for permission? To marry me?”
“Of course,” he replied as he tugged her back towards the house. “Yesterday. Not that I really cared what she said as long as you agreed, but she is your liege. It only seemed polite.”
She pulled back. Suddenly, she wanted to return to the palace. To run away back to America. Anything but walk into that house. Higan did not give her much choice, though, pulling her gently behind him to the stairs.
Absently, she gathered her skirt out of the way. Most of her focus was on what she could expect on the other side of the door. If Lady knew, then the rest of her friends did. And that meant anything could be waiting for them.
Higan opened the door and drew her inside. The house felt hot and stuffy after the coolness of the outdoors. June’s eyes flew around the room looking for some sign that they had been noticed. Everyone was huddled around a DDR game, however, watching Celeste square off with Akigumi in an expert match.
Only Lady looked at them as Higan quietly closed the door. Her pink eyes were expectant, but she didn’t cry out or draw attention to the newly engaged couple. June felt herself relax at the hope and expectation she saw in those soft eyes, and then held up her left hand for her princess to see. A huge grin split Lady’s face as she jumped to her feet and raced around the room.
“Awww… Better luck next time, Celeste-chan,” Bessa called as her pink haired friend missed three of the last five steps of the match. Celeste ignored her for the moment, turning to see where Lady was going in such a hurry. Her distraction caught the attention of the others, and they all turned in time to see Lady tackle their green-haired friend. They also saw the tell-tale sparkle on June’s finger when she reached up to return the hug.
“Yes! It’s about time!” Celeste cheered as she jumped off of the dance pad and pushed her way through to her newly engaged friend.
“All right! Way to go Higan-kun!” Bessa cried as she jumped to her feet, too. “You finally got her!” Soon, the couple was surrounded by their well-wishing friends.
Higan(zakura) - Jadeite (cherry tree)
Akigumi - Kunzite (autumn olive)
Kankoubai- Zoisite (winter plum)
Inju- Nephrite (shade tree)
Author: Raya
Theme: Senshi-Shitennou
Genre: General / Angst / Drama / Romance
Version: Manga (Crystal Tokyo)
Rating: PG (for Part III)
Word Count: ~5,540 (and counting)
Disclaimer: June (Juno), Higan (Jadeite), and their friends belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely fashioned these uber cute onigiri, and used them as puppets in my Bento Box Theater.
Canon, spelling, grammar, and punctuation corrections are appreciated. So is constructive criticism and general comments. Please let me know if you see something that you like or that should be corrected. Thanks! - Raya
Bubblegum Promises
Five year old June shivered in the chill spring air and wished once again that little girls did not have to wear dresses every time Mommy or Daddy had to give a speech. Not that she disliked dresses. Like most little girls, she enjoyed the free feeling of material batting against her legs and spinning in circles to see how far out she could make her skirt go. But, her one good pair of tights had gotten grease on them somehow, and although it was early May, the air in Toronto was a bit too cool for bare legs.
"What were you thinking?" June jumped as Ms. Linda's irritated voice cut through the air. "Pink? You dressed her in pink?"
Out of the corner of her eye, June saw her mother give her new assistant a puzzled look. "It's what she wanted to wear today. What's wrong with pink? It's a good color for little girls."
"Not when they insist on having green hair!" Ms. Linda rolled her eyes. "Pink and green... Those are 'preppy' colors! They say 'rich'. They say 'country club'. You're trying to connect with the lower middle class here. Yellow would have been a better choice. Or a different shade of green. Anything but bubblegum pink!"
"If she'd gone with red, you'd be complaining that she looked like a Christmas tree," a tall, skinny man with blond hair said as he walked up to stand beside them. "Or, that the kids matched too closely. I think she looks like a frozen little girl. Country club? Heh. Everyone out there is going to feel sorry for her because she doesn't own any warm clothes. Hi, Mari."
As her mother smiled and greeted the strange man, June felt someone brush against her arm. She turned and stepped sideways in surprise. An older boy, dressed in a neat red shirt and pressed blue pants, had come up beside her.
"Hey," he said gruffly as he glared at the public relations specialist. "Don' worry 'bout her. She don' know nothin'. I think you look all right." June gave him a doubtful look. "Really. Look at what she made me wear. At least you got to pick your own clothes."
June looked at him again. "What's wrong with what you're wearing?" she asked curiously.
The boy grimaced as the breeze ruffled his pale blond hair. "It's red. With blue. Red's all right with green at Christmas, or with black or white, but blue?" He made a gagging sound. "I like green. What's wrong with green?"
June smiled. "Nothin’. Hey!" Her eyes lit up as she saw the cellophane wrapped object in his hand. "Are those baseball cards?"
He blinked at her in surprise, and then shook his head and held up the package. "Nah, Avalon Legacy. You play?"
She shrugged. "A little. Not much."
"Oh."
June felt a little guilty as his eyes dimmed. "Well? Are you gonna open them?" she asked as she shivered in another breeze.
He gave her a surprised look, and then smiled. "Sure, if you wanna see." Eagerly, he ripped the back of the package open. The small square of pink bubblegum jumped out of the wrapper and flew through the air. June squeaked and dove for it.
"Hey, good catch," the boy said admiringly. Kneeling on the hard ground, June looked up at him and beamed at the compliment. "You can keep it if you want," he offered generously.
"Really? Thanks!"
"Higan! I thought I told you not to open that until we got back in the car."
June and the boy started and looked up at the small, brown haired woman who had come up beside them.
"Sorry, Mother..." Higan muttered as he tried to close the wrapper again.
"It was me. I did it, ma'am," June said hurriedly as she scrambled back to her feet. "I asked him to open it." When the woman looked at her doubtfully, she looked down at her feet and then up again. "I wanted to see what he got."
"Is that so..." The woman shook her head in amusement. "Well, put them in your pocket for now," she told her son. "And don't take them out until we get to the car. You'll lose them."
"Yes, ma'am..." Higan said reluctantly as he put the cards into his pants pocket.
"Why don't you two go stand over next to that speaker over there," his mother suggested. "Get out of the wind. Poor June is going to turn into a popsicle in a few minutes. Worse, her lips might turn blue and set Linda off again. You know how she feels about matching blue with green."
Higan grinned up at her, and then nodded. "C'mon," he said to June as he grabbed her arm. "I don' wanna listen to that again." The little girl let him drag her over to one of the speakers next to the stage.
Once they were safely in its shelter, June looked up at him. "Is your mom running for office, too?" she asked curiously.
"Nuh-uh," Higan replied with a proud look. "My dad. He's running for Premiere."
June's eyes widened. "Really? My mom just got asked to run for Vice Premiere." The two children stared at each other for a long moment, and then began to smile. "Does that mean...?"
"Yeah. We'll get t' see more of each other," Higan said. "Lots more!" His face fell slightly. "Too bad you don't play Avalon."
June raised her chin. "You can teach me. I just never had anyone to play with before!"
"Really?" he asked eagerly. "You'll play?"
"Sure! I'll bring my cards next time."
"Cool!"
June held up the square of bubblegum, then broke it in half. "It's a promise, right? A bubblegum promise." She held a piece out to him.
Higan blinked as he accepted the gum. "A bubblegum promise?"
"Yep. If we share a piece of bubblegum, we have to do what we promised."
"Never heard that before..." he muttered, and then shrugged. "Sure. A bubblegum promise. We bring our cards from now on and I'll show you how to play Avalon Legacy." Watching the little girl closely, he mimicked her actions and solemnly placed the bubblegum in his mouth and began to chew. They held their serious expressions for a few more seconds, and then burst into laughter.
*~*~*Part II*~*~*
June fingered the bubblegum in her pocket and reminded herself that ten year olds do not cry. Not even if their best friend was going to move far away. Not even if this could be the last time she ever saw him.
Soon, she would have to go outside with her parents and watch as Higan and his father boarded their plane. If she started crying now, she reminded herself as she sniffled, she would never be able to smile for the cameras and wave politely. Tomorrow morning when he reached Beijing, all Higan would see in the papers would be pictures of her red eyes and puffy face. She would not let that happen.
“Hey,” Higan said quietly. “You okay?”
June grimaced, and tried to look irritated rather than sad. “Yeah. Just a stupid cold. I'm alright.” Her expression smoothed out to one of uncertain concern. “How 'bout you? You okay?”
He smiled. “Oh sure. I'm looking forward to it. Chinese food all the time? What's not to like? And I'll get to see Obaa-chan and Ojii-chan more often, too. They live in Crystal Tokyo, you know. Just a short flight away.”
June nodded, letting him think that she believed him. His eyes, so sad since his mother had died two years before, were sadder than ever. “Yeah, I'm jealous,” she said. “You get to escape the cameras and everything.”
“Well, tell your dad to quit politics and you can get away from them, too,” he laughed as he threw an arm casually around her shoulders.
June huffed, but did not shrug him off. “Uh-huh. Right. He's going to give up politics just two weeks after becoming Premiere of the North American States because I ask him to. Su-ure... And Princess Usagi's hair is as green as mine. Not.” She smiled as he laughed again. “Besides, even if he did quit, there's always Mom. She's already told him not to get too comfortable in the White House. She has her eye set on the Global Diet.”
Higan whistled soundlessly as he took his arm off her shoulders. “The Diet, huh. Wow.” Suddenly he smiled. “If she makes it, we can be neighbors again.”
“Yeah.” Before June could get out any more, their parents began to move towards them. Both children stiffened, their eyes flying to the clock on the wall.
“Two more minutes,” June's mother said softly as she put a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder.
“Yes, ma'am,” Higan replied. June just nodded, not quite willing to trust her voice. Mari squeezed her shoulder, and then moved off to give them some privacy once more.
Silence stretched between them for a long moment, and then Higan turned to face his green-haired friend. “So...”
“Don't forget me,” June blurted out. Her green eyes widened in horrified embarrassment. “I mean...”
“I won't,” he replied, cutting her off. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out something small. “I promise. I'll never forget you, June.”
She stared into his green eyes for a long moment, and then glanced down at his hand. Suddenly, a smile broke out on her face. When he gave her a puzzled look, she reached into her pocket, pulled out the piece of bubblegum she had secreted away, and held it out for him to see. Higan laughed.
“It's a promise, then,” she said as she quickly unwrapped her piece of gum.
“A promise,” he agreed as he unwrapped his piece of gum. “We'll never forget each other.”
“And one day, we'll meet again,” June added as they tore their gum in half and handed each other a piece. “It's a bubblegum promise.”
She started to move the pieces of gum to her mouth, and then stopped when she saw that Higan was not ready. Her face creased in puzzlement as she watched him squish the two pieces together, end to end. Then, she smiled, nodded, and did the same. Watching each other as solemnly as they could, they raised their hands to their mouths. “A bubblegum promise,” they chorused, and then popped the gum in.
*~*~*Part III*~*~*
Sailor Juno leaned against the crystal railing and shivered slightly as the cool breeze blew across her sweaty skin. She regulated her breathing automatically, striving to steady her heart which was still racing from her sprint around the palace and up the stairs to the highest spire. After a morning full of exercise, her muscles were trembling and her breath was ragged.
'What am I going to do,' she thought miserably as she leaned her face against the cool spire. 'How did it come to this? I know better...'
It had slipped up on her so insidiously. A chance meeting with an old friend in a restaurant in Montreal. A lunch to catch up on all that had happened since they had last seen each other. When she learned that he was friends with Vital, she had been thrilled. Group outings with Lady, Vital, and all the others had only been natural. A teasing comment about double dating had led to an actual date. One date had led to two, and more. Hugs and kisses had followed, surprising and exciting. And now... Now, she loved him as more than a friend.
It was impossible. She knew that. She could not allow her heart to be split in two. She was a senshi. She had a duty not only to Crystal Tokyo, but to the whole planet. The only thing more important in her life was the royal family... and Higan.
Sailor Juno closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. 'What am I going to do?' she thought again as she gently ground her head into the hard crystal. 'I can't let him be more important to me than Lady-chan. I can't. And yet...'
She shuddered again as she remembered the incident the previous week. A madman had kidnapped Celeste, believing her to be Princess Usagi. She and Higan had gone to rescue her, and he had fallen into a trap. It had not taken the madman long to realize that he had found her weakness. He had tried to make her choose between them. If Pallas had not shown up when she did...
Sailor Juno's hands clenched convulsively on the railing. If Pallas had not shown up, she did not know what she would have done. Even Celeste's close resemblance to Lady had not been enough to sway her decision. If it had really been Lady, would she still have hesitated? She did not know.
And because she did not know, she was going to have to distance herself from him. Tears began to squeeze out from her closed eyes as her heart twisted painfully at that thought. It would be hard. She could not just say goodbye and walk away. Higan was also Jadeite, one of the Guardians of the Prince of Earth. Since the prince, Vital, was living in the palace, his Guardians were as well. And since the prince was head over heels in love with her princess, she was going to see him every day.
'I don't want to tell him goodbye. I don't,' she thought desperately as the tears began to fall more quickly. 'I love him. There has to be some other way. But I can't let him be more important than my duty. How do I stop that?' She began to gasp softly, her hands clenching together at her chest now as the pain in her heart grew worse.
“Juno.”
Her eyes flew open as she jumped in surprise. She jerked her head around and saw the object of her thoughts standing a few paces behind her. Rapidly, she turned around again and began to surreptitiously wipe the tears off of her face.
“Juno... June, we have to talk,” Jadeite said as he walked forward to stand beside her.
“I... I have a meeting with Lady-chan.” She pasted her old public mask on her face and turned to leave. Her green gaze caught his, and she paused as he gave her an odd smile.
“She left about half an hour ago to go shopping with Celeste and Bessa.”
“Oh.” Slowly, she turned back to the view of Crystal Tokyo spread out below her.
“You have to stop beating yourself up,” he said as he, too, turned to look out over the city.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” she replied stiffly. Unconsciously, she tightened her hands on the crystal railing.
He glared at her out of the corner of his eye. “You get up at five am to beat your punching bag to a sagging mess, and then run twenty to thirty kilometers before breakfast. After Morning Court, you practice every kata of karate and judo you know and go a few rounds with anyone available except me before your daily senshi training session. You pick at lunch, and then hit the gym again for a round of weights before Afternoon Court. If the princess does not have Afternoon Court, you swim or go for another run or both. We may see you for dinner, we may not. After your nightly meeting with the other senshi, you practice dance, yoga, or gymnastics until you finally collapse in bed for a few hours.”
Sailor Juno shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I have to stay in shape to protect the princess,” she said defensively.
“There's staying in shape and then there's killing yourself,” Jadeite retorted angrily. He clenched his hands on the railing and took a deep breath. “Working yourself to nothing won't solve anything. If anything, it will make you too tired when you do need to protect the princess from something.”
“I'm fine,” she said dismissively as she turned towards the stairs again.
“No, you're not,” he replied hotly as he grabbed her hand. “You're thin as a rail, and you're beginning to get dark circles under your eyes.” He clenched her hand tighter as he felt her stiffen. “You're worrying about something, and I think it has to do with what happened last week.” He held on when she tried to jerk away and met her hot glare steadily. “I've been worrying about it, too,” he confessed more softly.
Sailor Juno blinked in surprise and relaxed a little. Slowly, he drew her back to the railing. “What if it had been me?” he continued as he turned to look over the city again. “What if I had had to choose between you and Vital? Or between you and Lady-san? What would I have done?”
“You would have chosen Vital-san. Or Lady-chan,” she replied without thinking.
Jadeite turned and gave her a curious look. “You think so? I'm not so sure.” Sailor Juno felt her breath and heart catch at the look in his eyes. “You're very, very important to me, June. More important than Lady-san. At least as important as Kunzite, Nephrite, or Zoisite.” He took a deep breath. “You might even be as important or more important than Vital. I love you,” he said quietly as he squeezed her hand tightly.
Her heart began to race madly, and her breathing became shallow. “I... I...” The words tried to push their way out, but they got caught in her tight throat. It was the pain that suddenly appeared in his green eyes as he started to turn away that pulled the words out. “I love you, too.” Abruptly, she turned away herself. “But it won't work! You know it won't. Lady-chan has to be the most important thing to me, and Vital-san has to be the same for you. And we both have to put the planet first. I can't love you. I can't.” Her breath caught on a sob as her tears returned.
“Yes you can,” he countered as he drew her in for a quick hug. He released her when she pulled away. “You can. And I can love you. We just have to have an agreement.”
“An agreement?” she asked thickly.
“A pledge,” Jadeite said solemnly as he reached into his pocket. “We swear that we will never put the other before our duty to our liege or the planet.” Sailor Juno blinked, and then turned slowly to look at him curiously. “I know how I felt when I saw you wavering between Celeste and I,” he continued as he held her gaze. “I was yelling at you mentally to choose her.”
“I thought so,” she replied absently. “I could see it in your eyes.”
“That is how I know how furious I would be if you chose me over Vital or Lady-san in the same situation,” he continued as he drew something out of his pocket. “And I think you would feel the same way.” Sailor Juno swallowed and nodded.
“So, if we swear never to place each other in that number one slot and we know how the other would feel if we ever broke that promise...”
“We would be free to follow the promise,” she finished as a relieved smile came to her face. “No conflict.” The smile faded. “Just heartache if the other suffers or dies.”
He reached out with his left hand, caught her right one, and gave it a squeeze. “More incentive for the one being sacrificed to find their way out. I think... I would hate it. It would hurt like hell if I lost you. But I would rather that than never having you.”
Sailor Juno tightened her hand around his slightly, turned her gaze to the horizon, and thought hard about his proposed solution. After a couple of minutes, she nodded her head. “Me, too,” she said. “I would hate it. I never want to have to choose between you. It would probably kill me, whatever choice I made.”
“Better the choice that doesn't make you feel guilty or like a failure or a traitor,” he replied.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. Yeah, you're right.”
Jadeite sighed in relief, and then smiled at her. “You remember long ago, when we were kids?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Kids?”
“Yeah. There was a promise we could never, ever break.”
Giddy with relief and love, she laughed. “Oh no.”
“Oh yes,” he said as he held up a piece of bubblegum. “It is one of the most binding promises I know,” he added more seriously though his eyes still shone with amusement.
Sailor Juno took the piece of candy from his grasp and unwrapped it. “I can't believe you still remember that,” she said with a smile. The smile faded a little as she looked up into his eyes. “It's still one of the most serious promises I know, too.” Carefully, she tore the gum in half and handed a piece to him.
“I swear to never let my feelings for you override my duty to my prince or my world,” he swore solemnly.
“I swear not to let my feelings for you come before my duty to the royal family or the world,” she swore as solemnly.
With all the weighty movement of a high ritual, they lifted the pieces of gum. “It's a bubblegum promise,” they chorused, and then they placed the gum in their mouths. They chewed quietly for a few moments, and then Sailor Juno giggled softly. Smiling, Jadeite drew her into his arms for a hug.
*~*~*Part IV*~*~*
June giggled and caught at Higan’s arm as she tripped over the stairs leading down to the beach. The tall blond main shook his head in amusement as he helped her regain her balance and then wrapped her arm formally around his. “Too much alcohol?” he teased as he helped her down the stairs.
“Hardly,” she replied in a mock offended tone as she swatted his arm with her free hand. “There’s no ale in ginger ale, and those spritzers Celeste and Inju brought don’t have much alcohol in them.” She carefully swept the leading edge of her long skirt out of her way so that she would not accidentally step on it.
“Uh-huh. So it doesn’t take much to get you sloshed, eh?” he grinned down at her. “I’ll have to remember that.” As they stepped onto the sand, June released her skirt and swatted at him again. “Easy there! If you keep beating me up, I might let go and let you make your way across this stuff by yourself.”
“I’d just take my shoes off,” she quipped as she tossed her head and looked away playfully. “Who needs you?”
“Oh, wounded!” he laughed as he clenched at his heart with his free hand and pretended to fall away. June laughed at his silliness a moment, and then turned her face into the cool, salty sea breeze.
“Did you see Vital-san’s face?” she asked with a grin. “I owe Bessa-chan. That was priceless!”
“That’s my prince you’re laughing at,” he replied in a stern voice. His matching grin, however, belied his tone.
“Nope, he’s Lady-chan’s prince,” she laughed. “And don’t you forget it.” Higan just shook his head in reply and led her down to the water’s edge where it was easier to walk.
Several minutes passed in companionable silence before June spoke again. “This was a good idea,” she said softly as she admired the full moon floating over the rolling water.
“The private party for Diana’s birthday? Or the walk?” Higan asked just as quietly as he covertly studied her beautiful profile. For a moment, he forgot why he had asked her to slip out with him. That beloved, familiar face never failed to hold his attention. The relaxed, amused smile that blossomed at his question brought a matching smile to his face.
“Both,” she replied. “But, I meant the party. We needed a chance to just relax and be ourselves for a while. No uniforms, no press, no foreign delegates to impress… Just a group of friends gathered to laugh, and dance, and talk about anything they want.”
“Mmmm…” Higan felt his nerves come back full force as he remembered the purpose of this walk. He tried to keep his body relaxed, but June’s curious glance confirmed that he had not succeeded. Gently, he released her arm and stepped closer to the lapping waves.
June stopped and turned to look at him curiously. She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but closed it again as something in his tense stance registered. Higan was glad as he took several deep breaths of the salty air. Abruptly, he turned to face her. “Actually,” he said quietly, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”
She looked at him in surprise. His emotionless face and rigid stance made her stomach clench in foreboding. “Ye-Yeah?”
“You and I… We’ve known each other a long time,” he replied. “We’ve always go along so well, and we always seemed to know each other better than anyone else. Probably because we have similar backgrounds, and maybe because we have the same destiny. But… there’s something more, too.”
He reached out to take her hand, and June swallowed nervously. Her sense of fear and unease increased as she felt how cool and taut his fingers were.
“I love you, June,” he said softly. “You know I do. You also know that I cannot… must not put you first in my life.” When she shook her head and opened her mouth to speak, he quickly raised his free hand and covered her lips. “And I know I cannot come first in your life,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be,” he added with a wry smile that quickly faded.
“We cannot place each other first. At any minute, we may be called to give our lives. Nothing is certain, but…” June’s eyes widened as he fell to one knee on the wet sand in front of her. “Even still, I want something more. I want you. Forever. June, will you… will you marry me?”
She stared down into his earnest green eyes in disbelief as the world seemed to stop around her. The feel of the breeze that tugged and her hair and skirt and chilled her bare shoulders did not register. The sound of the lapping ocean waves was overcome by the sound of her stuttering, pounding heart. She saw nothing but the nervous, fearful, hopeful light in the green eyes that stared up at her.
And then, suddenly, everything started up again. She breathed out in shock as she clenched his hand tightly. “W-w-w-what?” she stammered as her head reeled and her heart raced. “What did you say?”
“Will you marry me? Will you be my wife and make me the happiest man in the world?” Higan ignored the water lapping at his prone leg, his whole focus on the expressions racing across her face. Shock and disbelief were the only things he saw at first, and then, finally, the one he had been hoping for. Joy. Pure, radiant joy that transformed her from beautiful to stunning. It crept into her expression slowly at first, but within seconds it erased all others from her face and he felt his nerves melt away.
“Yes,” she breathed as she tugged at his hand. “Oh yes. Yes. Yes!” Grinning in relief, he stood up and reached for his pocket. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she peppered his face with kisses and squeezed him tight. Startled, Higan left off his search, quickly wrapped his arms around her, and turned his off-balance stagger into a spin. June laughed joyously.
“Yes, I’ll marry you,” she said as she buried her face into the side of his neck. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe you asked me…”
He squeezed her tightly once more, then gently set her on her feet. “Believe it,” he said as he wiped at the tear tracks on her face. “I can’t believe you said yes.”
She laughed up at him as she pressed his hand to her face. “Believe it,” she mimicked. She held his hand tighter for a moment as he tried to take it away, and then slowly let it go. Once again, he reached into his pocket.
When he pulled it out again, he held a small black jeweler’s box. June watched shakily as he opened it and held it out to her. And then she laughed. Inside was a large, fake diamond ring, the kind that was dispensed from gumball machines. The plastic ‘diamond’ had been replaced with a large, green gumball.
“There’s no going back now,” Higan said as he pulled the ring out, snapped the box shut, and put it back in his pocket. “You know how serious a bubblegum promise is.”
“Oh yes,” she laughed as she watched him pry the gumball loose. “Nothing can break a bubblegum promise.” She watched as he raised the gumball to her lips, and then opened her mouth and bit into the gum. Once she had her half, he quickly popped the other half into his own mouth.
They chewed for a few seconds, then June threw herself at him again. “I love you,” she whispered as she buried her face in his neck again.
“I love you, too,” he whispered back. They stood there, bathed in the moonlight, for several long minutes enjoying the heady joy of the moment. Finally, though, Higan released her again.
“We should go back in before they send out the search parties,” he said reluctantly as he reached for his breast pocket. June nodded reluctantly in agreement. “Here,” he said as he pulled a beautiful solitaire out of his pocket. “Here is your real ring.” He caught up her left hand and stared down into her shining green eyes for a long moment before he gently slipped the ring into place. Then, he brought her hand up and kissed the ring and finger. “Mine.”
“Yours,” she whispered back as she swayed into him and reached up to caress his face. He gave her a quick hug, then slowly turned her to walk back towards the house that Lady had rented for the evening’s festivities. June snuggled happily into his arm.
Halfway back to the house, however, she suddenly straightened and stopped. “Lady-chan… What will they think? What am I going to tell them?” she gasped as she tightened her grip on his arm.
Higan turned to her and began to laugh. “I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that. When I asked Lady-san for her permission, she asked me what took so long.”
June relaxed, reassured by his confident amusement, and then stiffened again. “You… You asked Lady-chan for permission? To marry me?”
“Of course,” he replied as he tugged her back towards the house. “Yesterday. Not that I really cared what she said as long as you agreed, but she is your liege. It only seemed polite.”
She pulled back. Suddenly, she wanted to return to the palace. To run away back to America. Anything but walk into that house. Higan did not give her much choice, though, pulling her gently behind him to the stairs.
Absently, she gathered her skirt out of the way. Most of her focus was on what she could expect on the other side of the door. If Lady knew, then the rest of her friends did. And that meant anything could be waiting for them.
Higan opened the door and drew her inside. The house felt hot and stuffy after the coolness of the outdoors. June’s eyes flew around the room looking for some sign that they had been noticed. Everyone was huddled around a DDR game, however, watching Celeste square off with Akigumi in an expert match.
Only Lady looked at them as Higan quietly closed the door. Her pink eyes were expectant, but she didn’t cry out or draw attention to the newly engaged couple. June felt herself relax at the hope and expectation she saw in those soft eyes, and then held up her left hand for her princess to see. A huge grin split Lady’s face as she jumped to her feet and raced around the room.
“Awww… Better luck next time, Celeste-chan,” Bessa called as her pink haired friend missed three of the last five steps of the match. Celeste ignored her for the moment, turning to see where Lady was going in such a hurry. Her distraction caught the attention of the others, and they all turned in time to see Lady tackle their green-haired friend. They also saw the tell-tale sparkle on June’s finger when she reached up to return the hug.
“Yes! It’s about time!” Celeste cheered as she jumped off of the dance pad and pushed her way through to her newly engaged friend.
“All right! Way to go Higan-kun!” Bessa cried as she jumped to her feet, too. “You finally got her!” Soon, the couple was surrounded by their well-wishing friends.
Higan(zakura) - Jadeite (cherry tree)
Akigumi - Kunzite (autumn olive)
Kankoubai- Zoisite (winter plum)
Inju- Nephrite (shade tree)