Authors note: This was originally going to a part of my Senshi/Shitennou one shot works "We All Have Our Moments" but I then had the overwhelming urge to turn it into a couple chapters.


Ami once again glanced over her glasses at the blonde man carefully inspecting the menu at the coffee shop. Her coffee shop. She'd been coming here regularly for months. It was quiet, comfortable and had a perfect studying atmosphere. Or at least, it did. At the moment, she couldn't concentrate to save her life.

She looked back down at her book, willing the jumble of medical garble to make sense. She sighed and popped another piece of her trail mix into her mouth, glancing up again. He'd been staring at the menu for at least five minutes now. Had she not noticed him the second he'd walked into the shop, she certainly would have by this point.

She glanced back down as she heard him sigh and then shuffle his position, no longer watching the menu. She felt as though the steps were loudest things in the room, thought in reality she couldn't tell them apart from anyone else's, as he walked from the counter to the opposite side of her table.

"Hello."

She looked up, partially in shock. She's not sure what she expected him to say, but that certainly took her by surprise. She was even more confused by the uneasy look in his green eyes, "Ah… hello…"

Silence fell between him, neither sure what to say. Ami had merely answered his greeting in the polite way. She hadn't thought about it at all. In fact, in the entire five minutes she watched him try to be invisible to her, she hadn't thought of a single thing to say. Therefore, she certainly wouldn't have had a response for such a simple greeting.

After a couple minutes, and with Ami feeling eyes in the café start to turn to them out of curiosity, or entertainment for the poor man, she motioned for the chair, "How have you been?"

She was hoping this would alleviate the hope for drama that seemed to be spilling from the people around her. It seemed to work as a few eyes turned back to what they were doing, realizing the situation wasn't nearly as juicy as they'd hope. When Zoisite eventually sat, after staring at her in enough confusion to rival hers, the rest of the eyes turned away with his response, "Fine."

She felt ridiculous for the questions and she could tell he felt ridiculous for the answer. The last time they'd see each other, he'd been evil and trying to kill her. That was easily something that couldn't be brought up in their current position. Instead, she opted to satiate her curiosity on other subjects, "How long have you been… back?"

He seemed to relax into the question. "A while," he started, but then decided to expand, "Just over half a year."

Her eyes widened; she hadn't had the slightest clue and she was sure her friends hadn't either. She vaguely wondered if Mamoru had known, but brushed it off. That was a question for Mamoru himself.

At Ami's stunned silence, Zoisite continued slowly, "I wasn't going to find you, you know. I don't really know if the others have tried to contact any of you or Endymion, but I had decided not to. Yet, at least. I didn't try to find you here either, just so you know."

She removed her glasses, unsure of what to make of his declaration. She didn't know whether she could believe him or not. She hadn't really known Zoisite to play the long con with any of them, only long enough to draw them out. Obviously, he didn't need to draw her out if he already knew where to find her.

"How did you find me?"

He pointed out the window and across the street to a flower shop, "I work there."

She let out a laugh, of course he does. He tilted his head, insulted. She shook her head, "I'm sorry, but it's so… you."

The smile lingered on her face, for a reason she didn't know and couldn't control. After a moment, he returned the smile, "I suppose it would seem that way."

"So continue on how you found me. How long have you worked there?"

"Six months, almost as long as I've been back," he answered. She nodded; she'd only been visiting this café for around four months. He'd beaten her to the area. "I saw you about a month ago, walking into this shop. I'd never been in; I'm not a coffee, or café for that matter, person. I tried to ignore you, swear it. But, eventually I failed."

She took a drink of her iced coffee, slowly sucking on the straw to give her time to process it. A month, he'd been watching her for an entire month. Plus, he'd been in this area since before she first decided to explore it. It had been nearly six months ago that she started to feel restless in the area where she lived and longed to find something new. One day, she gave in and her feet had lead her here. She frowned, unamused.

He caught her frown and rushed through his next sentence, "That'sthetruthIpromise."

She gave a small smile and waved a hand in the air, "It's not that. I should be going now."

He nodded as she stood from her seat and gathered her things, "Goodbye, Mer'."

"Goodbye, Zoicite."

She didn't return the nickname but she did offer a smile and a nod before brushing past him at towards the door. She glanced back at him when she reached the door. He was slumped in the seat with a hand over his eyes, looking utterly defeated. She drew in a breath, shook her head and continue into the brisk fall air.