He finds her at the waterfall, though she is sadly not naked and bathing in it as he would have hoped. She’s sitting beside it, her knees pulled up to her chest, and a broken shoe at her side.

“In distress?” he asks, leaning against a tree. He keeps his distance. With Jupiter, it’s dangerous to get near the water.

She looks up, her green eyes flashing with the coming storm. “I’m no damsel.”

“Yes, you have made that quite clear,” Nephrite agrees wryly.

She glares. “Why are you here?” She sniffs and he realizes she’s been crying. “You weren’t looking for me.”

“And if I was?” he asks, his voice quiet.

She doesn’t answer him. She just looks at him, letting the sound of the crashing waterfall fill the silence between them. He’s suddenly struck by the thought that he might as well be underneath it, smothered by unrelenting water and unable to come up for air. Not to mention it hurts like hell.

That’s what it’s like. Loving her.

She wipes at her eyes. “I wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”

“You’d rather I lie?” he questions, his own temper rising to meet her own.

“I’d rather you not--" She stops before she finishes asking him not to feel that way. She knows that’s a useless request and cruel besides. He can’t stop the way he feels anymore than she can stop the water from spilling over the edge.

“Would you like me to help you back?” he asks, a chaste question in place of what he’d rather do: strip her naked and have her all to himself out where no one can stop them.

She doesn’t want to say yes, but she doesn’t have a choice. She nods and holds out her hand, waiting as he crosses to her and helps her to her feet. He makes sure not to pull to hard, knowing that if she stands to close he’s liable to kiss her, and that’s liable to get him killed.

“Thank you,” she mutters quietly, clearly not happy about saying it.

He smiles. It’s not much, and it’s certainly not enough. But it’s probably all he’s ever going to have.