"Why are you always in red?" Jupiter asked as she watched Nephrite button up his jacket.

"Because I'm the Guardian of the West and... in the Golden Kingdom... that meant I had the power of fire and so... I was red." He finished and looked at himself for a moment, frowning. Then he shrugged. "It'll do."

Jupiter was turning over this new information in her mind. "So you're fire? What does that make Jadeite?"

He smirked. "Water."

She put a hand over her mouth, trying to control her laughter. "Really? That explains a lot..."

"Mm. It's like they say in physics... opposites attract." He picked up a brush and began to run it through his hair, quick practical strokes. "But I was also given red because it symbolises life and passion and they all thought it suited me better than any of the others. I suppose it wouldn't be the same for you... you inherited your colour, didn't you?"

She looked down at her uniform. "I... I never thought about it. But I suppose it makes sense... green represents nature."

"And eternal life. It's the only colour that the eye doesn't have to adjust to see. Red and green... they symbolise the two sides of life: red is mortal, green is immortal. The life that goes on even when the red is gone." He put the brush down, flushing. "Listen to me, going on..."

"I don't mind," Jupiter said, feeling her own cheeks grow red. "It's interesting."

He looked at her for a moment, surprised at the compliment, then smiled. "Well... we'd better go down. The ceremony will start soon."

She nodded and he held out his arm. "Since you're not in your senshi uniform," he explained, looking at her dress. "You're going as a princess, right?"

"That's right," she agreed, slipping her hand through the space. One thing that he hadn't mentioned - that he probably didn't know - was that he looked particularly dashing in red. But of course, she wasn't going to tell him that.


DISCLAIMER: All of this belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, I'm just squatting, haha.