Nephrite raised an eyebrow. "That's a lot of bleach."
Zoisite spoke to him like he was a child. "We need a lot of bleach."
The brow between his brown eyes furrowed. "Yeah, but that's. A lot of bleach."
Zoisite took off his lab goggles. "Would you like to do this?"
His hands went up in surrender and he backed away momentarily, before peering once more over Zoisite's blond-covered shoulder.
Using a medicine dropper, Zoisite carefully suctioned from one beaker and meticulously added that liquid to the bleach-filled beaker. After a moment's thought, he shrugged and picked up the first beaker and dumped all its bright contents into his primary container.
Turning to a dumbfounded Nephrite, Zoisite said dismissively, "We need a lot of that too."
It would go down in legend as the first day anyone had seen the king truly angry. He burst through the doors, breathing heavily, with damp hair and disheveled clothes. He lunged at the laughing auburn-haired man as soon as he saw him. "YOU! I know it was you!"
A bewildered Kunzite held Endymion at bay, while Mars grudgingly handed a smirking Jadeite and sly Venus money. Jupiter and Mercury stared open-mouthed, Jupiter slightly amused, exchanging looks and watching the scene before them. Servants paused in their tracks, wondering if they should pretend nothing had happened or if they should leave the room immediately for propriety's sake.
Serenity's eyes had widened and then acknowledged: "So, that's how that happened."
Zoisite looked disappointed. "Damn. I was really hoping for pink."
Strangely enough, it was not the king who sent them away on boring, diplomatic journeys that would keep them from home and their loved ones for months.
It was Serenity who commanded they smile agonizingly through the negotiations that could have been handled by officers underneath them.
Simply because it was Serenity who had to look at Endymion the most. It was Serenity who had to deal with a vanity no one ever really knew existed. The one who glared protectively at anyone who dared to laugh. The one was not allowed to even smile at the matter.
But mostly because it was Serenity who had to convince him that lavender indeed had a masculine side to it.
end
Theme: Pink (Day 15) - written for sm_monthly's December Challenge
Winner of sm_monthly's Most Original Idea for December 2006