They walked in silence for what, to Ami, felt like forever. She was faintly pink and kept stealing glances at Zoisite, who was walking extremely nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets. Ami kept going over in her head what she has already said, and did, and was trying desperately to think of a next step. As it was, neither of them seemed to even know where to go to talk.
"Well," Zoisite finally spoke, "I think it's fair to say we'll want to talk someone away from people."
Ami nodded.
"And, my place is obviously out of the question. Nephrite and Jadeite would not be happy to see you. And, I suppose your place is just as dangerous for me to be seen in."
Ami nodded again and Zoisite sighed, looking around. He spotted a park and nodded towards it, "That should be fine. I live a pretty good ways that way, so the boys should be able to find us. You?"
Zoisite had pointed towards the south of where they were.
"Most of us live that direction still," She'd pointed southeast of where they were now. "It's as good as any, I suppose. Unfortunately, we all go to different Universities all over the place. But there's no reason anyone should be walking around here."
They walked into the park as silently as they'd gotten to that point. Zoisite led the way to a small area off the path in the midst of trees. Being this far out of the way of eyes and scrutiny with the man in question would have made Ami entirely uncomfortable and on her guard a month ago.
As they sat against the same tree with as much room as the broad tree would allow, Ami noted that she was still fairly uncomfortable but for entirely new reasons.
Zoisite spoke first, "So, worried?"
Ami pressed her lips together for a second and then sighed, "Makoto saw you. And, she told the others that she'd seen who she thought was you."
"You hadn't said anything?" he asked casually.
Ami's head snapped up quickly, and unbelieving look on her face, "Of course not."
He raised an eyebrow, "I just wasn't sure whether or not you would. You know, with how close you all are and… who I am."
She turned her head back towards the ground, coloring again because of her latest outburst, "I… I trust what you said. I didn't want to cause any problems that I'm sure will arise when the girls figure out you guys are back. It's better for now."
She had purposely avoided saying that she trusted him. She wasn't sure if she did. Believing what he said was one easy thing to do. She could understand what he was saying and it all seemed to add up. However, trusting him would be a whole other step that she wasn't sure when, or if, she'd be ready to take.
"When…" Zoisite let the word roll in the silence. He hadn't even thought of it a when. Him and his brothers had always said if. If a senshi saw them. If they were found. Never when.
Ami eyed him a second as if waiting for him to speak. When he seemed to be stuck on the word, she broke the silence, "I mean, look at how we just ran into each other. Not just ran into each other, how we were drawn to one another. It's bound to happen again while were in the same city, no matter how large that city is."
Zoisite sighed, leaning his forehead into his palm and grasping his short bangs, "Knew we should have moved elsewhere. But, we just couldn't take being that far away from the Prince."
She smiled slightly, laying a hand on the one beside her; he removed the other and looked at her as she spoke, "I would have done that same. It'd be worth the chance for them."
He half smiled back before leaning against the tree, looking up through the branches. He didn't move his hand from her touch and she didn't seem in a hurry to either. But, he had other questions he desperately needed to address as well, "So, what did they decide?"
Ami leaned back again as well, making herself comfortable, "Makoto convinced herself there was little chance it was you. She said you were really convincing. Rei, Mars, decided to rely on the fire and when it didn't come up with anything she let it go. Minako and Usagi ah… They went to the store this morning. Missed you by about five minutes. Uhm, Mamoru was with them too…"
He jolted up, his hand sliding out from other hers, eye wide, "That close. We were that close. Did he… did they… feel?"
"Nothing," Ami finished, pulling her hand back into her lap slowly. "Like me, none of them sensed evil or you. Mamoru would have been sure if he'd seen you though."
Zoisite relaxed again, "They would have killed me."
Ami laughed softly, "You've make it so far."
"Not them," Zoisite grimaced. "The boys. They've already taken my hair."
Ami looked closely again at the short scruffy hair that had replaced the long locks she'd loved so much. She reached up a hand and brushed through it, "It's nice but you're right. The loss of the hair is a tragedy."
"You always were a sucker for it," he smirked.
Ami quickly found herself blushing again, pulling her hand back to her lap quickly. She averted her eyes to her lap again. It was easy, too easy. She had actively missed him these last couple of weeks. She thought, or hoped, that he would have been much easier to forget than he was proving to be.
"I don't like it," she finally muttered. He didn't say anything but she could feel his eyes, waiting for her to continue. She took a deep breath, "I was worried. I was worried about you. About what would happen to you if they found out. I didn't want you hurt or to run or to leave… It's not fair. I don't want to feel this way but… And not to mention I hardly know you. Here you."
Zoisite stared at her for a second, letting her words sink in. It wasn't the first time he'd ever heard the woman bear her heart to him but it always took him by surprise. This time even more so with everything they had been through together, everything he had put her through.
"I wanted to forget you, too. I didn't want to have to face the past or what you thought of me. I'd hoped you never returned to that coffee shop after I'd seen you the first time," he was trying to calculate his words. This conversation, however, was more than he had expected and possibly more than he could bear at the time. "Honestly, I think it'd be easier if you did hate me, thought."
She laughed, first a slight giggle and then a full out, uncontrollable laugh. The complete lack of fairness in the entire situation caught up to her. She could see no way out of the current predicament and felt foolish to keep fighting it.
Zoisite just stared at her. Here was Ami, his Mercury, laughing, not only in a way he didn't know what possible, but at something he had said. There she had said something deep and heartfelt and then when he responded, she was laughed.
She calmed after a second and then met his eye, "It can't be easy."
He allowed half a smile and shook his head, still slightly unsure of what had come over her in that moment. A moment later she was standing and offering her hand to him. He took it and stood beside her.
"Well," she bent her head down and started rummaging through her back. "It seems inevitable that we'll meet again. Next time we can plan it. Here's my number."
She held out a piece of paper she'd just scribbled on. Zoisite hesitated, "Ami…"
"I'm not saying I trust you," she put her earlier thoughts into words. She said them with such an easy determination that they both knew she was telling the truth on that one. "However, it just… doesn't seem like there's a point to fighting it either. We don't have to seek out hanging out or anything just… if you need something or if there's another problem with one of the girls… You can just tell me now, okay?"
He took the piece of paper tentatively, still just watching her. She smiled another quick smile and she was gone. He knew she hadn't meant anything grand by it. There was no stumbling or blushing. This was the logical thing to do, not the emotional one.
