Mars and Jadeite had slipped from the Venetian ballroom to stroll the inner Palace gardens reserved for the Royal family of Venus and its visiting dignitaries. They were not completely alone as they traversed the endless aisles but they had managed to find a dark corner where they could be unaccompanied for at least a few minutes. Mars explained to Jadeite the story behind the gardens, which much to his displeasure did not include alcoves of hidden love dens as many claimed to be a prominent feature on the planet. She quickly dispelled all of the rumors surrounding the Planet of Love but somehow managed to not dissuade him from making his own allusions as to what they could be doing while out here on their own. And so they found themselves tucked away in an embrace, lips locked in a kiss, their bodies slightly illuminated by the artificial lighting blended into the flora around them.
“Jadeite,” Mars exhaled between kisses.
“Rei,” he answered breathily, pressing his forehead against her’s.
“We should probably get back,” she managed to squeeze the words in before he silenced her with another kiss.
“We have time,” he murmured.
“Venus will notice I’m gone.”
“Kunzite will handle it.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You saw what I saw in the garden that day, Rei,” he chuckled, brushing her hair away from her face adoringly.
She laughed in return. “She still won’t talk to me about what happened.”
“And we shouldn’t be talking now,” he pressed his lips against hers, his arms wrapped possessively around her slim waist.
“Jadeite,” she mumbled against his lips. “I have a present for you.”
“There’s only one thing I want from you right now.” She could feel his lips smile against her own and even in the darkness could see his eyes filled with mischief.
“Give me your hand,” she said. He moved his right hand from around her waist and shifted it up the length of her torso, then ran his fingers down her arm leaving a trail of goose bumps from the sensation, stopping when their fingers were intertwined. “You did that on purpose,” she smiled at him.
“Maybe just a little.” She extended her other hand to reveal a golden object in her palm. His eyebrows scrunched together trying to identify the object glinting in the darkness. “What is this?”
“I got it from Mercury. It’s for the next time that you visit the Moon Palace and need to find your way around.”
His hand encased hers, wrapping both their fingers around the object. “Maybe you should keep it so that I have an excuse to find you. Otherwise I think I would really be lost then.” He leaned in to kiss her again.
“Then perhaps it will help you to find me after the ball is over.”
“If you say it, I will believe it.”
Mars laughed at his response. “Then I fear you will believe anything. After all, you believed the stories about what goes on in the gardens of Venus.”
“Then we’ll just have to make those stories true,” he grinned while pushing them further into the shadows and out of sight.
