I woke suddenly to the whistle of the tea kettle. The dream I'd been having raged through my mind. What on earth had that been? Had I been having an argument with myself? But my voice in the dream...it had been female.

"There will be war if Earth does not join with the Moon against the Dark Kingdom; you know that. Millions will die."

"How can I live knowing that you are with her instead of me?"

"Go be with your princess."

I pushed back the blanket over me and sat up, running a hand through my hair and rubbing my eyes. Despite my night of sleep, I was exhausted.

There was some clattering in the kitchen, and the tea kettle stopped whistling. Setsuna.

I stood and pulled back the curtains in front of the window; a city covered with snow waited outside. I'd never seen so much snow in the city before. Everyone had apparently decided to stay inside today; not a single person was to be seen.

As I stood there, the dream from last night seeped back into my head.

"Setsuna," my dream self had said, "I want you to know-"

"Hey, you're up," Setsuna's voice came from the kitchen doorway, breaking me from my thoughts.

I turned toward her. She was still wearing the clothes I had given her last night, but she'd reapplied her makeup and brushed her hair. I could see the shadow of her black bra underneath the white t-shirt.

"I made breakfast," she said. "Come join me."

I smiled. "It smells wonderful. I'll be there in five minutes."

She disappeared back into the kitchen. I grabbed my t-shirt off of the arm of the couch and slipped it over my head as I trudged into the bathroom. After using the toilet, I washed my hands and then began to splash water on my face.

I'd seen Setsuna's dream. I was sure of it. My power of psychometry had decided to manifest itself. But why? And why had she dreamed such a thing? It had been so full of emotion-full of pain.

I toweled off my face and joined Setsuna in the kitchen. The room was full of the aroma of breakfast; the table had already been set.

"Good morning," I said, announcing my arrival.

She turned away from the stove, greeting me with a warm smile. "Good morning."

"So, how did you sleep?" I asked tentatively.

"Oh, just fine," she said, wiping her hands on a towel.

"The bed was comfortable enough?"

"Yes, very much," she said.

I watched her as she reached up to the top shelf to pull down some tea cups. "No odd dreams?"

She hesitated the slightest bit-I wouldn't have even seen it if I hadn't been looking for it. "Oh, just the usual, I suppose," she responded, setting the cups down on the countertop.

She began to pour the hot water from the teapot into the teacups. I gazed out the window again, but my mind had gone back to the dream. Why had Setsuna dreamed about something so horrible? And why had I seen it?

"Mamoru?" Setsuna's voice rang out, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I noticed that she had set my tea and breakfast in front of me, and was looking at me expectantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I quickly apologized. "My mind was drifting while looking at all this snow. I'm not sure I've ever seen this much snow in the city!" I looked down at my plate and the steaming food. She'd made steamed rice, miso soup, and a rolled omelet. "It all looks delicious," I said.

She smiled as she slid into the seat across from me. The red glimmer in her eyes was particularly evident where we sat by the light of the window, making her eyes shine like garnets.

She took a sip of her tea. "So what are the odds of me getting home today?" she asked.

"Well, there's a lot of snow out there," I said, "but I bet things will be a little more clear by this afternoon. Assuming there's no more snow, I can probably take you home after lunch."

She nodded. "That sounds good. I'm so terribly sorry to impose on you like this," she said.

"I already told you-it's no imposition. I don't have any place I need to be today, and even if I did, traffic isn't necessarily going anywhere this morning. And after all, you did make me a delicious breakfast. It's nice to spend time with you."

The greenhouse on Pluto was one of my favorite places. It was the only place where Earth plants grew, of course, aided by sun lamps, water, and special dirt. The room was full of plants and greenery that I had collected, mostly with long green leaves that dangled toward the floor. A few Plutonian plants were here, though, such as the coelestis, which would be blooming very soon, I noted with pleasure.

I took a deep breath, enjoying the warm, musty air. I loved it in here because the warmth and life was everything that Pluto wasn't. Really, though, I liked it here because it reminded me of him.

Today I was potting a few new seedlings. I had taken the opportunity to dress casually, and wore a short, yellow gingham skirt and white lace tank top, and had my dark green, knee-length hair up in a thick ponytail. It was probably the wrong outfit for working in the dirt, but it seemed like the right kind of summery look for the greenhouse. Especially since tomorrow was the first day of summer on Pluto.

As I concentrated on my little pots of seedlings, a few droplets of sweat fell from my brow into my cleavage. I stepped back, wiping my brow with my forearm. It certainly was warm in here! I removed my purple gardening gloves, reaching for the glass of water that I had left nearby.

I heard the greenhouse door open, and I turned in surprise. No one ever came in here but me, so who would be intruding? And then I saw him, stepping through the door. Endymion!

My breath caught in my throat. It couldn't be. Was I hallucinating?

He smiled at me, rushing over as if he couldn't contain himself for another moment. He gathered me into his arms, hugging me tightly. "Hello, Setsuna," he said softly into my ear.

"Oh my god. Endymion!" I exclaimed, barely finding the words. His shirt was so soft against my cheek. I held him even tighter, afraid to let go and find out that I was imagining things. I could feel his heart beating against my chest. Tears of joy welled up in my eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you," he responded. "I woke up the other day and realized that just couldn't stand being away from you for another day. So I decided to do something about it and come and see you." He took a small step back so that he could look at me.

I was suddenly very aware of my sweaty face, dirty clothes, and messy ponytail. "You could have warned me that you were coming so that I could clean up a little."

He laughed softly. "You're gorgeous, Setsuna. More beautiful than I remember, actually." He continued to look at me, and I could see his blue eyes drinking in my every feature. "We see each other on the vid-screen, but it's so different in person…"

I was thinking the same thing about him. It had been two years since I'd seen him face-to-face. We'd seen each other via our vid-screens, but it was so different to see him in person. I felt like I was seeing him again for the first time, taking in his strong muscles and dark hair. He wore a dark red button-up shirt and black pants, which looked fantastic. My heart pounded in my chest with the excitement of it all.

He put his index finger under my chin, gently running his thumb across my lips. His touch made my lips tingle.

"I can't tell you how excited I was when I got up this morning, knowing that I was going to see you-to have an opportunity to kiss these lips."

My heart skipped a beat. Kiss? Was he going to kiss me? Was this going to be my first kiss?

"Is this a dream?" I asked quietly.

"There's only one way to check," Endymion said.

I couldn't take it any more. I had to kiss him. I'd imagined it a million times, but now it was really happening. As if acting on the same impulse, he leaned forward, gently pressing his lips against mine.

His lips were so soft, and their touch flooded me with warmth throughout my body. After all my dreaming, he was here. And we were sharing our first kiss.

It was all too soon that he pulled away. Tears began to form in my eyes, and I blinked clear them away.

He smiled at me. "I guess this isn't a dream."

I lifted my hand, tracing his jawline with my finger. "It still feels like one to me."

"I've been imagining that kiss forever," he said.

"Me, too."

Our lips met again.