Chapter 12

            Spring brought a whole new world of its own to the occupants of the House of Bliss, and unfortunately for Mina, she was the only one left out. She sat on the swing Janus had originally made for Rei, swinging gently on the sturdy tree branch. Her face was sadly wistful as she watched Ami and Zoite strolling along the lake hand in hand. Rei and Janus had taken Xander on a picnic, and Lita and Nestor were out riding. Everyone would probably be occupied the entire afternoon, and she felt extremely left out. Of course they had made the effort to include her in all of their activities, but she didn't want to intrude. Personally, she was just a little bit tired of seeing them kiss and touch repeatedly.

            Mina found herself visiting Setsuna, Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru constantly, but she still couldn't find solace with them. The four women noticed that their golden-haired friend was not her usual cheerful self, even though spring was her favorite season. She sighed and leaned back slightly, kicking her heels back to make the swing go higher.

            There had only been one letter from Kunshan, addressed to all of them–even her–but mailed to Zoite especially. It had managed to make its way to them during the awful winter weather, and for all the trouble it had taken to get here, the missive was short and formal. Kunshan had merely disclosed that he'd made it home all right and that things were just as he'd left them. They had all written him...even Mina.

            Of course, her correspondence to him had been very short, only inquiring civilly after his business and health. Zoite, Janus, and Nestor wrote him frequently, and their last dispatch had been to ask him to attend their weddings. No reply had reached them, so sadly, they went on with their plans.

            Mina found herself feeling angry at him for causing sadness among her sisters..and soon-to-be brothers-in-law. The inheritance was lost when the new year had replaced the old one, and no one had said a word about it. Rei and Janus found out, one day, that it was benefitting a children's orphanage, and that was all that was heard on the topic. None of them needed the money to further their happiness now, and they all understood that once Mina had met Kunshan and fallen in love with him, there had been no question of her marrying anyone else.

            Ruefully, she recognized that she had wanted so badly for an envelope to arrive containing a single sheet of paper with one sentence in his immaculate handwriting. All he had to say was "Yes, I'm coming; wait for me." But of course, nothing of the sort arrived. She bit her lip, her blue eyes troubled as she looked off into the distance...what was it she could have done? Should she have sacrificed her pride and begged him to stay? Would he even have listened? Did he–had he–really cared for her?

            Mina sighed and got to her feet, linking her hands behind her as she entered the  house. It wouldn't do her any good to dwell on bitter memories. She would get her bonnet, go into town, and see how her sisters' wedding dresses were going. Setsuna, along with Michiru's help, had opened a dressmaker's shop. Of course, Rei, Lita, and Ami would never have had anyone else sew their dresses.

            As Mina shut the door securely, she decided she would prefer the long walk into town instead of a ride. The sunlight shone on her bright head warmly, and she took a deep breath of fresh air. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad day after all, she decided, looking at all the new greenery that had shot up after the last rainfall. She was going to put the past behind her for the day and have a perfectly carefree afternoon...or so she wished.

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            Mina exited the store, having spent the entire afternoon visiting with her friends. Hotaru and Haruka had also been in the shop, and they had asked after Rei and Janus (she told them about their latest mock-fight), Lita and Nestor (the latter had recently agreed to help his chosen bride clean the entire house for "spring cleaning"...), and Ami and Zoite (who were bent on establishing a library as soon as they could get a bookseller to ship them books from the East). Hotaru was especially interested in Xander, who regarded her as an older sister, and Mina had shared his latest antics and exploits.

            She was on her way home, just passing by the sheriffs' office, when a glint of silvery hair caught her eye. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she stepped closer, her eyes wide. She was looking straight at Kunshan Bayonne's back, and he was saying to the sheriff, "I thought there was a chance Janus would be in office today, but I'm not surprised that he's at the house."

            The gray-haired man nodded amiably, a big grin on his face as he nodded to Mina. "You may be in luck, Master Bayonne. I believe there's a beautiful young woman who's willing to accompany you to see Janus and all the rest of them."

            Even before he had finished speaking, Kunshan had whirled around. He had a carpetbag in one hand and a coat slung carelessly over his other shoulder. It was a change from his usual meticulous appearance. Neatness was normally a very compulsory matter for him. His silver-gray eyes met Mina's blue ones, and he stared intently at her for a few minutes.

            Mina smiled uncertainly as he strode over to her, stopping a few scant inches away. She had never been more aware of how tall he was, not even when they'd been dancing together.

            "Hello," he said softly.

            "Hello," she replied, equally quietly. Her smile grew brighter as her confidence returned. "Are you here for the weddings?"

            The warmth that had begun to light up the serious gray eyes she had dreamed so often of flickered slightly as he nodded brusquely.

            At a loss for what to say, Mina merely continued on in the same vein, saying whatever came to her mind. "You're so fortunate to have come on time. Nestor and Lita are marrying the day after tomorrow. And shortly thereafter, Rei and Janus will be wed, and finally Ami and Zoite."

            "I know. Thank you for the letter," he told her.

            She flushed and nearly tripped over her own feet. He had begun walking along the street, and she had no choice but to accompany him. His eyes never left hers, and she kept drinking in his features. "How...have you been?" she inquired awkwardly.

            Kunshan couldn't help smiling at their formal conversation. He had thought his heart would leap out of his chest when he saw her again. His mind had, through imagination, traced the contours of her face and body over and over. He thought he had remembered every detail in painful perfection: the masses of pale blonde hair, delicate features, perfectly-shaped lips, and cornflower blue eyes...but his memory was nothing in comparison to her living, breathing person.

            Matter-of-factly, he answered, "To all outward appearances, I've been fine–a bit listless and stiffer than ever, according to my acquaintances."

            Her eyes widened in surprise, and he grinned. "But if you want a firsthand account, I moped around for two weeks feeling gloomy until I realized the problem. I was feeling sorry for myself one day as I sat in a park...and I watched a couple with a little girl walking in the street. That little girl reminded me of you, with her golden curls, bright blue eyes, and the way she was skipping through the puddles. But I began to recall when I was walking with you, and you'd told me that I would be a good father. It was then I realized what a self-pitying, blind fool I've been."

            Mina's blush had darkened, but she managed a strangled laugh at his last sentence. "It's always a good thing to realize one's faults."

            Suddenly, he turned towards her, dropped his coat and bag in the dusty street, and seized both her hands in his with a sudden motion. Several townsfolk passing by gaped at them, but Mina and Kunshan ignored them completely. "Mina, what I've been trying to tell you is that I realized too late–much too late–how I feel about you. Unfortunately, me being the idiot that I am, my timing was very bad. I wanted to come out here as soon as possible, but it just wasn't possible during the winter. So I came as soon as I can, and I don't think I've ever been more impatient in my life than I was on the train ride here."

            She nodded, still shocked into temporary speechlessness.

            He gave her a nervous, rueful smile. "I've never been particularly proficient at these romantic things, Mina. What I'm trying to say now is that I didn't come here only to witness Janus, Nestor, and Zoite's weddings–I wanted to attend my own. Will you marry me, Mina?"

            Mina was completely floored, and the whirlwind of emotion that had overtaken her was not encompassed of only joy and delight. There existed doubt and insecurity, and she didn't know whether she had heard what she needed to hear.

            Unnerved and shaken by her silence, Kunshan tried to compensate for his apparent lack of finesse. "Please, Mina. You don't know how relieved I was that all those letters coming from my friends and your sisters never said a thing about you marrying anyone." Her brow was beginning to furrow, and he searched frantically for something else to say. "I'm so sorry that I didn't come back in time for you to secure the inheritance, Mina."

            It was then that her silence was broken, and her rage knew no limits. "Is that all you think I care about, Kunshan?! Money? I don't care about the money, Kunshan Bayonne! Did you expect me to be rich and married the minute you left? If your opinion of me is so low, you can walk away from me and out of my life right now. I won't stop you."

            Although he stood quite still, although his jaw had dropped substantially.

            Incensed, she demanded, "Are you asking to marry me out of pity? Or is it because you want to make Janus, Nestor, and Zoite happy? Or maybe you're considerate enough to include my sisters in that category. You came to see them! Go tell them, then! Go tell them you failed in your gallant endeavor!" The tears were starting to sting her eyes, and she pointed furiously at the road that led to their house.

            "I know you don't trust me; you've voiced your doubts all too clearly. You think I've lied to you about everything, but you're blind, Kunshan!" Her cry turned into a soft, defeated whisper. "You are blind, and you don't know me after all." The tears rolled down her cheeks, but no more words issued from her mouth. All she could think about was how much she hated him at the moment and how miserable she felt.

            Inwardly, she thought, 'I love you. Or I thought I loved you. And I thought you may have loved me. If you really loved me, you would forgive me for being too much of a coward to tell you now. I won't even blame you if you leave now, and I'll still cry...but at least I'll know that life will be better for me. I almost married someone who, far from loving me, hated me.'

            He had dropped her hands sometime during her tirade, but now Kunshan gripped them again tightly. "Mina. Stop it. You don't understand–I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I missed you," he told her earnestly, "on the long ride back, all through my boring, colorless days in the East, and especially during the infinite journey back here, I've missed you.

            There's no vibrancy in life without you, no sparkle, no spirit, and no beauty. I left my heart back here, with you. Everything about you calls out to something deep inside me, and I've never been good at expressing myself. You're always looking for ways to make other people happier. When you smile, there's something that shines out from inside you that everyone is drawn towards you. There are so many things I admire about you: your optimism, how much you care about your sisters, your friends, even strangers in the street...and your honesty."

            Mina's head jerked up, and she looked him straight in the eye. "Do you respect me, Kunshan? I want you to answer me truthfully."

            "Of course I do."

            "Good. Because no matter what else you say or how I feel, I have to have your respect. You threw my respect away for you once."

            "I know. I'm sorry."

            Quietly, she replied, "So you've said. What else do you have to say, Kunshan?"

            He dropped her hands in defeat, bowing his head. "There's nothing left that I can say–" she began turning away from him "–except that I love you more than anything else in the world. And that's all, Mina. What do you want of me?"

            She swivelled to face him once more, wiping away the last traces of her tears. "All you needed to do, Kunshan," Mina said softly, "was to tell me that you loved me. Because I love you, too." There was a brilliant smile on her face now, and they both laughed joyously until he caught her in his arms and kissed her.

            When he pulled back, looking a little dazed, he remarked, "I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you, Mina."

            "Well, luckily for you, you don't have to think about it, do you?" she asked smartly before stretching upwards on her toes to kiss him again.

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            Kunshan had the fabulous idea of getting married the next day just to beat Lita and Nestor, but Mina refused his proposal–because she didn't have a dress ready. And so they waited until Ami and Zoite had their turn...and then they were married the very last day of June, the month of brides, in the very early morning.

            That evening, the gold of the setting sun blazed across the sky as it sunk beneath the horizon. The sunset was streaked with bold arcs of flaming red, its background painted with shy pink and delicate lavender. The wind quested among the waving grasses, intruding breezily upon four very private tableaux.

            Farthest away from the house were Lita and Nestor, who had spread a blanket in the fields. Wildflowers that blossomed during the day had begun to close, but the more exotic flowers that bloomed in the night had begun to open, filling the air with their sweet scent and luminescence. Her head was pillowed on his lap as he fed her strawberries. Ordinarily, her eyes would have been closed in contentment, but Lita's eyes were unwilling to relinquish their view of Nestor. He was feeling that there was no one who completed him as well as Lita did, no one with her strength of character and spirited freedom. She, too, felt whole only with him by her side. He understood that even she needed support at times, and she was never happier than when caring for others.

            On the lakeshore rested a second couple under the sheltering branches of a weeping willow tree. This time, however, there were no tears for the quiet couple that had endured so much. Ami leaned against Zoite's shoulder, and she felt safe with his arm held protectively around her. There was warmth and a depth of passion in him. He was the one who had always been there for her and had always known, even before she did, that they were meant for each other. She wondered at how someone as wonderful as he could be satisfied with her, but she was starting to realize, with his help, the beautiful, bewitching quality of her smile–and her soul.

            Alexander was sleeping in a sweet patch of grass nearby, and Rei's heart was full to the brim as she looked at him and back at Janus. For her part, Rei wondered how there could ever have been a point in her life when she hadn't loved him. There was an upright honesty to his character, a determination to equal her own, and an essentially-good nature. He was pushing her in the swing he had made, and the quiet rustles her bare feet made against the tall grass had a soothing effect on her fiery temperament. But Janus smiled wryly, his lips brushing against her raven-dark hair as the swing came to a standstill. She wouldn't be the Rei he loved with every fiber of his being if she didn't possess every part of her: the stubbornness, the temper, the passion, and the gentleness beneath.

            On the other side of the house lay Mina and Kunshan, side by side in the tall grass. It had taken more explanation and a healing of their mutual hurts to bring them together after their initial tempest upon re-meeting, but there existed mutual respect, harmony, and much love. They faced each other once more, exuberant blue meeting misty gray lit by his own inner light, and he held her close to him. The inquisitive wind mingling with his breath in her hair, and their hearts pounded in the same steady rhythm.

            The vivid colors of the sunset had been replaced by a more dazzling darkness lit by soft purple and navy blue. The sky was frosted with stars... And there was bliss.

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AN: I just couldn't resist the angst in the beginning ^.~ Can't have old blockheaded Kunshan being too romantic and smart now, can we? Please excuse, once again, the overloading of sap. This ending scene is the one that's been in my mind from the start of "The House of Bliss"...with all of them outside on a lazy summer evening. Aren't we all glad it's done now? ^.~ Thank you so much for reading, everyone, and I hope you enjoyed it.

            3, ~Ice

~Finished 20 May 2003~