Chapter 11b
Lita and Nestor had spent a miserable week avoiding each other. Finally, he cornered her in the kitchen, where she was attacking some dirty pots. She looked up, startled, when he knocked on the door, and the color in her cheeks rose higher. They were already slightly flushed from the steaming water, but they grew darker and more heated as he came closer.
They had exchanged angry words several days earlier. Lita was as prideful as Rei at times, and she didn't have Mina's golden tongue to smooth things over. Once Nestor had gotten her riled, she had blown up at him. He hadn't been his usual understanding, good-natured self, as he'd been struggling with his perceptions of her and the stress of Zoite being injured. That night, Lita and Mina had cried themselves to sleep together. Kunshan and Nestor had paced listlessly in the parlor, carefully avoiding the touchy subject but finding nothing else worthy to discuss. They had gone to sleep early, and the entire house had been quieter than usual that night.
Rei and Janus's efforts to make peace had been completely ignored, and Rei had been frustrated to the point of losing her temper until Janus had coaxed her and Xander to talk a walk with him to take her mind off things.
Now, Lita wasn't sure how to tell him that she regretted her flash-fire temper. On the surface, she had always seemed so strong and confident of herself, and Nestor had never known how sensitive she could be when criticized by people she loved. He had decided he wanted to count himself among one of those people who loved her and were loved by her, and he wasn't ready to give her up for anything. There were quite a few questions he wanted answered, but the sharp anger and hurt were no longer burning in his eyes.
Softly, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me about the will before, Lita?"
She went on drying the plate she was holding, but she put it down after a few minutes and turned to look at him. Haltingly, she answered, "I don't really know...I think it was because I thought it would cause too many problems. I didn't know how to bring it up, and I was so worried when it was such a long time before you got here. Then we had that fight, and I didn't want to have another one."
"Why do you think I would've gotten angry about it?"
"I don't know!" Then she added quietly, "Because sometimes I think you're too good to be true."
He took her face in his hands and kissed her gently. "I love you," he told her emphatically, "and I don't want you to ever think you can't tell me something. Do you doubt me so much?"
She was silent for a long while, her head leaning on his shoulder. Then she burst out, "It's me that I doubt."
"What are you talking about?" Nestor asked in astonishment, looking into her beautiful green eyes. They were full of tears, and he wiped them away gently.
"So few people have loved me and me entirely. No one's accepted every part of me the way you have, and I don't know why you have... I'm not pretty and graceful like Rei or Mina...or smart and intuitive like Ami. There's nothing about me–"
Firmly, he told her, "It's everything about you that draws me to you. I don't know where you got these wild ideas, but I think you're beautiful. I respect–I like all of your sisters, Lita, but they aren't and could never be you. Stop comparing yourself to them and value your individuality, your shining qualities."
Lita smiled through her tears, but she said shakily, "No one–no man–has ever said anything like that to me before."
"Then they were all fools, and good riddance to them." Then he smiled mischievously at her. "Although I'm glad you didn't meet any decent ones before I found you, Lita. Otherwise I wouldn't have stood a chance."
"Don't you dare say that."
He grinned good-naturedly at her and promptly let go of her hands as he knelt before her. Her hair was slightly damp, and her glossy brown hair was curling in graceful waves because of the steam. She was flour-stained, tear-stained, and wearing her oldest clothes, and he thought she'd never looked better. "So now that we've agreed to just about everything...what do you say we get our wedding plans on the road? If you say yes in the next ten seconds, I'm betting that we can bet Rei and Janus to the happy event."
Lita had gasped in shock when he'd looked up at her soulfully, but now she laughed at him gaily. Catching her breath, she said solemnly, "I adore you, Nestor." She got down on her knees as well and threw her arms around him.
Several kisses later, he pulled back, looking frustrated. "Is that a yes or not?" he demanded playfully.
"Oh, you! Do I really have to answer that?"
"It'd make me very happy."
"Yes!"
He smiled smugly. "Good. I thought you'd say that."
She smacked him lightly, and they were both laughing as he pulled her in for another kiss.
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Several days later, Kunshan was saddling up his horse in the stables. Now that he was certain Zoite would have a safe recovery, he was leaving. As far as he was concerned, it was a far overdue return. There was nothing left for him here. Everyone–excluding Nestor, Lita, and Mina–had been pestering him to stay, but he had refused to listen to them. His best friend's struggles to get out of bed and knock some sense into him had also been useless, but Kunshan assured Zoite that he would try to come back and see him one day...maybe.
He wasn't sure that would ever happen, but he'd promised to write. Kunshan wasn't a very warm or constant letter-writer, but he was sad to leave his three closest friends. Sighing, he stroked the glossy brown back of his horse and prepared to leave at last....until a voice seemed to come out of nowhere.
"Kunshan, please. I'd like to speak to you, before you go."
He turned to see Mina standing in the doorway, twisting her fingers together anxiously. With the early dawn light as a backdrop, her golden hair glowed. She looked like an angel, but for once, she was looking sorrowful and even a bit hesitant–and rightly so, he thought determinedly.
Despite his the darkening of his gray eyes, his heart gave a painful wrench inside his chest at the sight of her. He had missed her these past few days...he had missed the person he'd thought she was. Kunshan put his hands in his pockets and turned to her, his impassive mask firmly in place. "Yes?" he asked coldly.
"I want to apologize for not telling you about the will, Kunshan. You have to know that the money was never a part of it when I...started falling in love with you."
She flushed rosy pink, but he laughed mockingly. "How could it not?" Before she could reply, her eyes flashing angrily in defense, he went on brusquely, "There's nothing else you can say to me, Minalia. Rei, Janus, Ami, and Zoite have all been talking at me, and frankly, I'm fed up with it. I trusted you, Mina. I told you that I came out West for a visit because I was tired of the lies and flirtations back home. How could you have done this to me?!"
Kunshan had lost control of himself now, and his face was bright red in rage. "I thought you were different, Mina. I opened myself to you, and it feels like everything–all my beliefs, my hopes, my faith–has been thrown back in my face."
At last he sighed deeply and threw up his hands in defeat. "So I'm leaving. I would have stayed...I wanted to stay...but it seems like there's nothing holding me back. I have responsibilities, and if I give my word, I keep it." His last words in particular stung her sharply, and tears sprang to her eyes. She recoiled from him as he brushed by her, but even the barest touch from him sent sparks through her. "Good bye."
Her eyes were huge as she watched him mount his horse with a horrible finality to his movements. The last thing she said to him was delivered as a parting shot. Mina would never be beaten, and he had humiliated and hurt her enough. "You're running away, Kunshan Bayonne! You won't face your problems, you can't face your friends, and you're not even facing me!"
He didn't turn back, but his heart thudded disconsolately.
She waited for hours, for days, and for weeks, hoping against hope that he would come back...but after many weeks had gone by, everyone was sure he would not be returning.
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Rei watched Janus pace around the room, her eyes following him lovingly. Once she had admitted that she loved him, all the jumbled pieces of her life seemed to fall magically in place. She wanted him to ask her to marry him...but she wasn't sure if he would ever do it. He had mentioned it once, outside the doctor's office, but he had never spoken of it again.
At least, she smiled wryly, she was sure she would say yes. Her sisters loved him almost as much as she did, and Alexander worshiped him. A smile spread across her face as she thought about her son. She had observed him playing with Janus the night before, and the mutual adoration had been easy to see. And most importantly, Rei couldn't imagine a day without seeing his familiar, reckless grin, looking into those wonderful blue eyes, or...fighting with him.
She and Janus still argued plenty. Their quarrels were less frequent and tended to be of a much lighter nature now that hurt, anger, and confusion no longer lurked in each of their minds. All of their old problems seemed to have faded away, and he had found strength, passion, and never-ending love in her.
"I can't believe he left!" Janus fumed.
"I wish he'd stayed...and I wish he would come back, but I'd rather that he made the decision on his own," she told him softly. She was more than slightly annoyed at Kunshan, because she'd found Mina, who almost never cried, sobbing her heart out two days ago. But she couldn't blame him for being angry. Out of all three men, Rei knew he had the most reason to be upset. It still didn't make up for the fact that she thought he was being more pigheaded than he needed to be.
He said sadly, "I wanted him to stay...I want him to be happy. I thought he had happiness with Mina." Then he noticed the wry smile on her face and raised an eyebrow. "What are you laughing about now?"
"Oh, nothing," she answered serenely. After a few minutes, she said, "Actually, I was thinking about the stupidity and stubbornness of men in general. Does it take all of you this long to realize what's right before your faces?"
Forgetting about Kunshan momentarily, Janus grinned at her. "Now, that was the most hypocritical statement I've ever heard come from your mouth, Reiliana Bliss. How many years did it take you to realize that you love me to pieces and that you can't live without me?"
Her mouth opened in shock as her cheeks flushed scarlet, but then she replied tartly, "I think your ego is swelling, Janus. You'd better watch how big your head grows, or you may not be able to fit through the door next time you try."
"Then I'm going to give you the perfect opportunity to destroy my self-confidence." He was smiling strangely when he said it, but his demeanor was completely serious.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm going to ask you to marry me, Rei." The words sounded natural to both of them, but his heart was going so fast that he was afraid it might burst right out of his chest.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask me?" she questioned quietly.
His eyes met hers seriously. "You don't know how long I've waited to ask you."
Rei smiled brightly then. "You haven't actually posed the question, you know."
He laughed merrily. "Just like the darling, sensible Rei I know. All right then. I see you're going to make me beg, as usual. Will you marry me, Rei?"
"Are you sure you don't mind? About Chad...and everything I've put you through?"
Janus reached out to take her hands in his firmly. "I'll mind so much more if you make me go through life without you by my side. What's your answer, Rei? You always have an answer or some witty comeback for everything. I'm waiting for it."
Of course she replied in the affirmative.
Everyone grew heartily of their displays of affection, and once, when the protests were particularly teasing, Janus grinned roguishly as his eyes met Rei's. ‘This is how we're meant to be,' they told her, and she smiled back. He was right, as usual.
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The head sheriff came to visit Zoite one day, and he candidly informed the blond-haired, green-eyed man that he was out of a job.
"What? Why?" he spluttered. "Is this because I got hurt? Because–"
"No, Zoite," the older man cut him off patiently. "You've had a long career. I think it's time you retired. We've got enough men now. Some young sprouts from the East just came in, and we'll have loads of fun training them up in your footsteps."
His tone was still suspicious as he demanded, "Did Janus put you up to this?"
With a long-suffering sigh, his friend answered, "No, Zoite. Can't you accept a good thing when it happens to you?"
Zoite smiled slightly at that. If Ami would just let him propose, he'd accept his good luck any day. He sighed deeply and asked one last question, because if what the sheriff said was really true, he would be glad to rest at last. "Are you doing this for me and Ami?" he asked quietly.
"I'd like to say yes, but you wouldn't like that. The truth is, even if you hadn't fallen for Miss Bliss–soon to be Skylab, isn't it?–it's time to let you go. You've done enough for us and everyone in this town... I had a long report about you from your superior back East, too. You're needed elsewhere now." There was a teasing twinkle in the gray-haired man's eyes as he added, "We don't like married men on the job. We'll even be releasing Janus Aureole one of these days, just you wait and see."
"He won't like that," Zoite said, smiling in return.
As a soft knock sounded on the door, he rose and opened it to admit Ami, who smiled at him and greeted him cordially. Turning to look at Zoite, he nodded and said, "We'll miss you, Zoite, but you're welcome to drop by whenever you want." He patted Ami's hand in a fatherly way and disappeared in a puff of dust.
She looked after him bewilderedly. "What was that all about?" she inquired curiously.
Zoite smiled to himself. Whenever she came in to see him, he felt as refreshed as if he stood under a waterfall. Being bathed in her smile resulted in a similar effect. "I've been ordered to retire," he told her.
She smiled brightly at him, but her smile seemed to be tinged with sorrow. "That's wonderful, Zoi. I'm so happy for you."
"It's about time, too. Will you accept my humble self now, Ami?" Whenever he had brought up the subject before, she had kept changing the topic of discussion. But he was determined not to let her be evasive now.
It was routine that, whenever she came in, she would kiss him on the cheek. The light brush of her lips always tingled on his skin tantalizingly. As she stepped up to his bedside today, he tried to kiss her, but she stepped out of his reach. He frowned, anxiety washing over him. "What's wrong, Ami?"
She sighed deeply, her fingers twisting nervously in her lap. "I..I don't think you'll need me as a nurse much longer, Zoi. Before long, you'll be fully recovered."
"Am I that much of a handful?"
"No. No...what I mean is, I'm not coming back to see you." She paused for a minute as this sunk in, and then she continued, "I don't want you to come see me anymore, Zoite."
He struggled to sit up and demanded, "What are you saying? Is this the speech that comes before the ‘I don't love you' talk? Haven't we already been through that at the church, with Greg?"
Ami turned paler than ever, but she shook her head. "I–I do love you, Zoite. You know I do."
"Then what the hell are you telling me now?"
She flinched. Usually he didn't curse before her, and he was so angry now, angrier than she had ever seen him. "Come see Janus and Nestor whenever you want, and Rei, and Lita, and Mina," she informed him quietly, "but don't come to see me. I don't want us to even be friends, Zoite." Her heart forced her to add, "It would hurt too much for us to be just friends when I love you this much. Every time we talked to each other, it would pain us. It's better this way...and one day, you'll forget about me."
His eyes were blazing. "I'll never forget about you, Ami. Don't walk away from me! Don't you dare walk through that door!!"
Despite his commanding tone, she rose, biting her lips. She walked across the room and crossed the threshold...and the door closed softly after her.
His shoulder twinged with a sharp pain, as if a knife was being stabbed into it, each time he moved, and he couldn't get out of bed. It felt like an immense weight pressed down on his right side. Zoite was left to fume and shout uselessly, for the doctor had gone out, and he was left pounding his pillow ineffectively.
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Later that night, Rei took Ami's dinner up to her. She had returned from town, gone straight to her room, and refused to leave it to eat. It was uncharacteristic of her, particularly because she had always come back with a huge smile on her face after seeing Zoite. They had all been worried but given her the privacy she had always allowed them.
Ami had been crying noiselessly, and Rei quickly got the entire story out of her.
"It's been all my fault, Rei! I don't care what you say. I never wanted him to love me after what happened with Greg...and now, I was the one who nearly got him killed. He deserves a good life with someone who isn't like me, who doesn't mess up everything and who can't give him all the happiness he deserves."
"Did you hear yourself when you told Kunshan not to be a fool?" Rei demanded.
The tears slid down Ami's face. "Yes! Yes, I heard!"
"Then why can't you follow your own advice?"
"He's worthy of Mina, and she of him," Ami whispered. "I'm not."
Rei exhaled explosively. "Dealing with you and Lita...and Mina...is going to be the death of me."
The very next day, she went to visit Zoite. It was a little difficult for them to have a conversation, because he had yelled himself hoarse before the doctor had returned and made him shut up. However, Rei and Zoite were able to hatch a plan they felt was surefire...and they planned to carry it out as soon as the doctor gave him permission to return to the Blisses' house.
Before she left, however, Zoite was looking upset, dejected, and fed up–and rightly so. "What does it take for me to convince her that I love her? I'm not going to leave her alone now just because she tells me to. You'd think a man has gone through enough, wouldn't you, Rei? I've suffered through watching Greg court her and breaking her heart, I've chased her all the way across the country, and I've gotten shot in the shoulder. And not only do I have to convince her once...I've got to do it twice."
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Zoite lay stretched out on the grass a week later, feeling the luxurious sunlight shine brightly on his face. He looked very much at ease, but in reality, his body was stiff with tension.
Mina, who was–of course–in on the matchmaking plan, soon walked out the front door. Ami was a step behind her, and her youngest sister's cornflower blue eyes glinted mischievously as she led Ami towards Zoite. When the dark-haired girl saw him, her eyes grew wide, and she looked at Mina accusingly. "I told you–"
"Kiss me and tell me you don't love me. Tell me you don't want to be with me," Zoite ordered, getting to his feet and brushing himself off. His intense green eyes never strayed from hers, and Mina vanished silently into the house, a playful smile still on her face.
"I can't do it," she whispered, the tears falling like rain down her cheeks. "You know I love you."
He smiled then and enfolded her in his arms rapidly. She buried her face in his unhurt shoulder, and her arms went around him tightly. When they kissed, Ami felt as if the ground was spinning under her, and Zoite poured all the passion and love he felt for her into the kiss. Finally, when he figured that she was ready to agree, he popped the question...and she said yes.
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AN: So everyone's problems are now resolved, for the most part–except Mina and Kunshan. But they'll be so much fun! Forgive the extreme Lita/Nestor sappiness...I'm not good at writing scenes like that x.X Actually, forgive all the sappiness. I think I've overloaded on the fluff units here...^^;; And it all ends next chapter, unless an epilogue pops up...
The House of Bliss
