I still don't own Sailor Moon or its characters, despite my letters to Santa. Any questions, comments, or requests can be put in the review!

Chapter Two

It was amazing how long it took for Thursday and Friday to pass into Saturday, or how restless her dreams were on Wednesday night, mostly about him and his smile. The days had crawled by, the minutes seeming like hours, hours like days, and days like years until Saturday arrived. Mina fidgeted slightly as she brushed her hair, tying it back with the red ribbon but forgoing the bow as she had since the start of her sophomore year in high school, satisfied when it fell with its usual gleaming wave just past her rear.

She spun for Artemis. "How do I look?" He was her closest friend, had been since she was thirteen. He was also her best critic

He eyed the blue jeans and pink t-shirt she'd chosen to wear, the light application of make-up. "Fine," he finally said, though it cost him. Artemis and Luna both had expressed their sensing of power within EJ and their concern over Mina's clear infatuation with him.

Seeing the concern in his eyes, Mina sighed and sat beside him, deciding that her socks and shoes could wait. "Artemis, I'll be careful, okay? Just because he's a major hunk doesn't mean I won't."

The white cat winced at the term, looked up at her with his piercing blue eyes, the golden symbol of the Moon Kingdom flashing in the sunlight on his forehead. "Promise? There's something about him that's-"

Mina glanced at the phone, looked at the caller ID and furrowed her brow when she saw Serena's number. "Serena, what's wrong?" she asked as soon as she picked up the receiver.

"I think I know why EJ King looked so familiar!"

Mina winced at the squealing tone, but angled the earpiece so Artemis could hear as well. "Other than he's a celebrity, you mean?"

"Well, yeah! Do you remember the last night of the Moon Kingdom, when Beryl attacked?" Serena waited for Mina and Artemis both to agree and hurried on. "Well, I remember talking to a guy before talking to Darien while on the balcony and he looked just like EJ!"

Luna cut in on the other end now. "I believe that he's the illegitimate son of Queen Beryl and the King of Pluto from an affair, making him the half-brother of Trista and the Prince of Pluto! There's also a chance that he's the born holder of the Star Magic Crystal, giving him incredible power."

Mina groaned and cradled her head in her hands, the receiver resting in her lap. "Why can't I ever just meet a normal guy?" she complained as the headache started to thrum.

Serena grumbled at Luna, who'd apparently swatted the receiver away from her and spoke again. "Well, here's the thing: even though he's the possible son of Beryl and all that, I remember him fighting against her and the Negaverse and being one of the biggest helps in the battle before he was ambushed by all her generals and killed."

Mina perked up. "So he's a good guy?"

"I would hope so," Luna said. "But we don't know if he remembers anything or not. Maybe you could ask him?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, in between conversation and our rice curry. 'Say, EJ, I really liked your last film and have a crush on you. By the way, do you remember being part of something called the Moon Kingdom?'" She chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, it'll go over really well."

Only Serena laughed at that.

The sky was clear and blue, the air fresh and light in its breeze. In the distance, he heard a bird singing.

And damnit, he had a pisser of a headache.

The dreams were becoming more and more vivid, ending with the redhead calling herself Beryl laughing at him and offering her hand, just as he felt he strong urge to kneel before her. But the parts before it, of the ball where strangely familiar people dressed in ethereal formal wear danced and laughed and chatted, of the tall, slender woman with silver hair and an upside-down crescent moon on her forehead smiling kindly at him, of a bloody and painful battle were so real that he swore he'd been apart of it.

Was it actually possible that they were memories of his past life He was debating it as he sat in the café by the window, all the while pressing the pause button his thoughts every time a fan spotted him and asked for a photograph. With automatic motions and a smile that was beginning to hurt his cheeks, he signed a notebook, autograph book, CD, magazine or picture, took pictures until he was left alone and continued to think.

Half of him wanted to just shrug off the disturbing images, but the other half…Something in him wanted to know if those dreams were really memories or just tricks his mind was playing on him.

"Track fourteen."

EJ looked up from study of his hands and looked up at the black-haired man who'd been with the girls Mina had been with. "Huh?"

Darien gestured to the CD he was holding, the first of EJ's two. "Track fourteen, 'Save me.' It really helped me out with a few problems a year or so ago."

EJ nodded, understanding. He'd been dealing with the plane crash of his entire family, of having been the only one surviving it as a child when he'd written it. "Glad to have helped. You're Darien, right? One of Mina's friends?"

He nodded and took the seat across from the celebrity. "Look, I'm gonna be cliché here and say if you hurt her, I'll break your legs without a problem, okay?"

EJ knew his eyes had cooled to the point of freezing and didn't care. "You can try, but point taken." He reached out, saw that the disk was unscratched with humor. "You bought a copy just to threaten me, didn't you?"

Darien shrugged. "It worked. Serena's gonna flip when she sees that you signed it, though," he added as he stood and took the newly autographed CD. "See ya."

EJ nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off his headache. "Jackass."

Mina lifted a brow at the muttered word and softly cleared her throat. Her pulse drummed at the intensity in his eyes before he immediately stood and smiled at her. "Bad fan?"

He glanced out the window. "No, just Darien warning me to behave myself." He watched, fascinated by the temper flashing in her eyes, before taking her hand. "Look, Mina, if I ever cross a line ever with you, let me know. I can't promise that I'll be a perfect gentleman, but I'll do my best."

She blinked in surprise, temper forgotten. "I wasn't going to go by what the tabloids say, about you being a charming playboy and stuff," she defended, sitting in seat facing his.

He returned to his seat and waited for her to order. "That's good. So, tell me about yourself."

Urged by his quiet attentiveness, the way he smiled or chuckled at the humorous parts of her story, she told him about her father, a company worker, and her housewife mother and cat Artemis, excluding her life since thirteen as Sailor Venus and that her cat could talk.

It was strange, but he found he was utterly relaxed around her. He'd been that way with Jane before she'd gotten bored of his surly attitude and cheated, but there was something about this one that told him she wouldn't do such a thing. That had to be why he was so relaxed, yet still dangerously attracted to her.

Mina thanked the waitress for the refill of her water and saw the young woman eyeing EJ as she walked away. He didn't seem to notice, his attention solely on her, which warmed her heart. "What about you? What's your story?"

Something cold, empty, and sad flashed in his eyes and he glanced away. "Haven't the magazines gotten it right yet?"

Mina saw the look and reached out to lay her hand on his. "They keep guessing. You don't have to if you don't want to," she added gently and stared when he stood.

"Let's go for a walk," he suggested with a small smile. It was the smile that made her stand, wait for him to lay a few bills on the table and pay the tab before leaving with him.

"You didn't want to talk about it with the people staring, huh?"

He nodded and waited until they had gotten to the cherry blossom trees and quiet to sit next to her against a tree. "I grew up in London," he started, knowing his voice had gone emotionless and soft. "I had two sisters and a brother, loving parents, the whole lot. We were going to go to Kiev to visit my grandparents-"

"Where?"

He glanced over at her quickly. "The capital of Ukraine," he murmured and lifted a hand to the ladybug that had fluttered onto her shoulder and watched it crawl onto his index finger, speaking even as it crawled up his hand to fly away before getting to his elbow. "I've Ukrainian, Irish and Welsh heritage. Anyway, the plane's first engine failed just over the Carpathian Mountains and we crashed. Everyone but me died almost instantly and I lost my memory of everything until my grandparent's arrived at the hospital and slowly reminded me of everything from pictures." He turned his head slightly to see her face, saw that she was to the point of crying and instantly felt guilty. "Mina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" He trailed off when she shook her head.

There was no way he could be part of the Negaverse, she knew as she sniffed back tears. And darn it, she'd just fallen head over heels for him. "No, it's not your fault. I just feel so sad for you."

EJ brushed a thumb against her cheek to catch the tear that had fallen. "Don't cry for me, Mina. Anything that I can't remember all I have to do it touch something related to it and it comes back to me. That, or in dreams," he added and couldn't help but remember the dreams of late. He winced when he felt the sharp slicing pain that had happened in his dreams at his side and rested a hand where the pain was. "I think you know how I got to be a celeb," he attempted to continue, unaware of the thickening of his voice.

She looked at him, saw that he was removing his hand from his side. "Something wrong?"

He shook his head, the pain already gone. "Nope." A thought occurred to him and he chuckled. When she gave his a questioning look, he took her hand, holding it lightly in case she wanted it released. Relief spread through him when she laced her fingers through his and a blush rose on both their cheeks. "Mina, can I ask you two questions?"

"Sure."

"Are you upset that you bumped into me?"

She shook her head and smiled. "Nope. I've never been happier to bump into someone."

He smiled when she shifted to rest her back against his chest, tucked under the crook of his arm while their hands were still interlaced. "I've never been happier to have someone bump into me," he confessed and pressed a soft kiss to her temple. "Second question, do you think dreams can actually be memories of a past life?"

She tilted her head up to look at him. "Depends on the dreams, I guess." Here goes nothing, she thought. "Want to tell me about it? No judging, I promise."

Funny how he was smiling around her so much more than he did around the people he'd known for years. "I'll hold you to that. Most of the time, it's the same thing: I'm at this really weird party, knowing that I somehow belong but feel left out by my own choice. So I'm standing in the shadows, watching people laugh and dance with each other, thinking everything's picture-perfect. The next thing I know, I'm in this massive battle, with magic and stuff, and I'm doing most of the damage against these crazy-eyed guys in grey suits. I turn around and see a girl in an orange-trimmed and feminine sailor outfit fall down and not move and I just, I don't know, lose it." His heart was pounding at the images racing through him and he saw that Mina had straightened to face him with a serious look in her eyes.

He was remembering the last battle, she thought. He had to be. "What happens next?"

Running a hand over his face, EJ tiredly sighed. "Um…I see this redhead, the same one who keeps calling me the prince of Pluto and then it all goes black." He opened his eyes and saw the concern on her face, leaned forward. "Mina, it's just a dream. But I do think she was trying to get me to join her for something."

Mina lowered her gaze and bit her bottom lip. "Do you think you would have?"

"No. She…she seemed evil, in every sense of the word. Honestly, I think I would've rather died than join her, however melodramatic it sounds."

She shook her head quickly. "No, it doesn't. It sounds brave and courageous."

"Those are the same things," he said gently and lifted her chin with a finger. "Your eyes are troubled, Mina. I've upset you and I'm sorry for it." He shifted so he was on his knees like her and brushed back a strand of golden hair from her face. "I haven't known you for very long, but I swear I'll do my best not to hurt you."

"I'll hold you to that," she said, repeating his words and earned a smile. "You know," she said as they stood, knowing that she was expected home soon, "You should smile more often."

"I seem to do it more around you than anyone else," he admitted and chuckled at her blush. "Hang on," he said when his cell rang. "I'll ignore it if you want." Mina shook her head and was surprised when he shook his head as she made to give him privacy. "Tommy, what's up?"

"Well, glad you're in a good mood. I'm about to put you in a better one. Jane said she's your date."

Anger flashed and was controlled in a steely grip. "No, she's not. I have a date, and I told you on Wednesday that I did." Damn her, he thought, referring to Jane.

"But I bought her a dress and everything!"

"Then take her as your date and I'll get Lita another ticket for her own date. I'm not having anything to do with Jane Stuart anymore." He saw the confusion on Mina's face and mouthed that he'd explain in a minute. "No, Tommy, I don't care what she said. She took advantage of me and what I felt for her at the time and I done with her and the business. I'll do charity events and the photo modeling, but I'm my own boss. Not you."

"You're just being difficult."

"And you're one shot away from being fired. Tell Jane that I'm done with her and to get another date."

"Just one more thing: is it a new girl?"

EJ looked at a concerned Mina and smiled, lifted his free hand to caress her cheek. "Yes. I…Tommy, I won't talk about her with you. She's…hell, she's perfect."

"Maybe I should meet her." There was a leer in his voice and EJ heard it and was disgusted and furious.

"Good-bye, Tommy." EJ disconnected and folded his slim phone and put it into his pocket. "Jane Stuart, my ex, told my agent that she's going to the ball with me. Does Lita have a good sucker punch?"

"One of the best. I'll tell her to use it as much as she wants."

He chuckled. "Good." He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and found that he didn't have a headache. "Well, that's-"

"Did you mean that?"

He looked at her, found her breathtaking in the setting sunlight. "About you being perfect? Absolutely."

She cocked her head to the side a little. "You're not trying to charm me so you can kiss me good-night?"

"Nope, just telling the truth. Although that would be a perk to it," he admitted with a wink. As she laughed, he stepped forward, laid a hand on her shoulder. "Well, now that you've put the thought in my mind, I won't be able to stop thinking about it. So…"

Her eyes widened when he cradled the back of her head with a hand, shut tightly when his lips, firm and only a little warm, brushed hers. His skin was a little cool from the breeze that lifted her hair, rustled his own, firm over muscles she felt as her hands lifted to rest on his biceps were powerful and comfortingly capable.

She found herself unable to think, unaware of the breeze or the cherry blossomed trees anymore, unable to feel anything but EJ's arms around her, holding her so gently that she got the suspicion that he half-expected her to bolt in disgust, the feel of his muscles and his lips on hers.

Other lips had touched hers, but Mina knew that no other kiss had ever been as powerful and sweetly gentle as this one. She sighed when his fingers threaded through her hair and the kiss shifted into another, just as sweet, as powerful yet gentle but with the tantalizing hint of controlled passion, reached up to tease the ends of his hair, found it surprisingly soft, despite the spikes.

He'd only meant for it to be a light brushing of his lips against hers, but once they'd touched, as soon as the shockwave hit him and made her tremble, that idea simply flew from his mind. Knowing that he was apt to letting his passions control him, he'd held back and was surprised that the gentleness had come naturally for him in her case.

Slowly, though it cost him, he drew back, waited for her eyes to flutter open, dazed as he was. "I…wow." He settled for that, since nothing intelligent would come to his mind.

She was equally numb-brained. "Yeah, wow. Big wow, but a happy wow."

He chuckled and rested his forehead on hers briefly. "You have to be perfect in order to make the simple word 'wow' sound so great," he murmured and pressed another kiss to her lips.

"Stop doing that!" she exclaimed, frustrated by the stupefying effect. When she explained just that, he grinned and kissed her again, just for effect. "Darn you," she whispered, shivering from the heat snaking through her.

He grinned still and slipped off his leather jacket, let her slip her arms through the sleeves and laughed when she was completely dwarfed in it. "It's never looked better," he admitted and loosened his fingers from hers as they passed a tree to pluck a full blossom from a branch and tuck it in her hair.

"That's cheesy," she accused with a fond smile while touching the blossom. "How'd you know I was a sucker?"

He shrugged and sent a small wave to the shutterbug from across the street. "Paparazzi," he muttered and kept his face as it had been. "They're actually really nice if you're the same with them."

Mina nodded and waved at the man as well. "How was that?"

Had Jane hated the paparazzi? He couldn't remember and didn't care. "Great. You want to get a cab, or keep walking?"

She smiled sweetly at him and the camera caught the soft look on the international bad boy's face. "I like to walk. Besides, it's only a few blocks and my mom wants an autograph to show to the book club and a chance to meet you, so keeping the cab waiting won't work."

"Oh, so you went on the date just to use me?" The grin was playful as he tickled her ribs lightly, causing her to giggle. It had to be the sweetest sound he'd ever heard.

"No! I mean, it was the only way she'd let me go out with a twenty year old!"

"You're eighteen, though," he said as they turned the corner and entered her neighborhood. "Am I gonna have to charm her to get you out on another date tomorrow and pick you up from school on Monday?"

She eyed him with interest. "Did you just ask me out again in a clever, not-quite-asking way?"

"Yep. But you didn't answer my question," he reminded her as they walked up her sidewalk. "Will you?"

"In a heartbeat," she answered without thinking and rose up on her tiptoes for a kiss. "How's that for you?"

Damn if he hadn't been expecting that. "Shocking, wonderful, and perfect come to mind. Hold on, I got one more question for you, Mina Aino."

Her brows lifted at his use of her first name. "What's that?"

Just keep up the corniness, his sarcastic mind told him as he took off the ring he wore on his right pinky finger. It was platinum with a winding band that resembled a vine. "The record company got this for me when my first album when triple-platinum. I want you to have it, on one condition."

Her eyes widened like saucers. "You're asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"Yeah. I'm not that great at this kind of thing," he admitted, shifting with discomfort. Was it just him, or was the white cat in the second floor window staring at them with disapproval? "And I know we've only been on one date."

"That doesn't matter," she murmured and smiled when he slid the ring on her thumb, only to catch it when it fell off. "Here, we can put it on my necklace until I wrap enough string around it to make it fit. I never take it off," she said as he automatically moved behind her to unclasp it and slid the ring on the chain. "Here, take this," she said on impulse and pulled off the simple black band she wore around her wrist, fastened it around his.

He grinned down at her and kissed her with eager passion, breaking away to see her comically flutter her lashes and blink like she'd just woken from a dream. "You're my girlfriend," he mused and was simply awed.

"And you're my boyfriend. Now, let's go inside."

A/N: How'd you like it? Preview for Chapter 3: An old enemy escapes from the Negaverse with more strength than ever but not enough to take over the universe and get revenge on the Scouts--not yet. As her (massive hint there and in the summary!) forces attack an innocent group of people for their energy and the Scouts battle the monsters, something strange happens to EJ...

O.O What could happen? You'll have to wait and see!