A/N So here I finally am with an update. Sorry about the wait, but I have been super slammed lately. As those of you that read GT are probably aware from my last posting there, I had to put my 16 year old dog to sleep recently and it's been really hard to say goodbye to someone that has been such a huge part of my life. But enough with that sob story! Anyway, I also work at a school, and springtime means achievement test time! So needless to say that I've been busy with getting ready for that. But I did manage to scrape this chapter together for you. I hope you like it. Let me get my hugs out so you can get on with it. BIG HUGS TO:

jade2nightwing

Angelstar14

sabina21

Chibi Kitt

blk0912

Atem's Sisiter Atea

MeganLeBlanc

Seredhiel05

Shinobi of life

SammieAtHome

CharmedSerenity3

saveme57

shar1993

samsox

Tiny2008

silvermermaidprincesskerry

KageNoNeko

LadyRosalie29

YingYing

tryntee13

unlockurdestiny

gots2luv

anime-lover10

AyameRose

GoldenDragom326

v

rainbabie

inufan155687

Kelly

Katie

sailorashes

SailorMercuryROCKS

Bookworm0913

Whew! I think that might be the longest list I've ever had, but I'm not complaining! I think everyone seemed to be pleased that Serena and Darien finally…ummm…shook the sheets. There's no warning for this chapter. The hanky panky has been laid to rest…for now. But I still have four other couples to play with. Fun! Now I'm going to let you get on with it.

ENJOY!

When Bad Boys Go Good

Chapter 10

Cold Drinks and Hot Tempers

"Well now, don't you two look disgustingly cheerful today," Andrew said with a smirk as he sat a cup of coffee and a chocolate milkshake on the table. "And you're both hiding back here in the corner like a couple of recluses. I'm offended! You used to hang out at the counter and keep me company."

Serena raised her head from Darien's shoulder to beam one of her 1000-watt smiles at him. "Sorry, Drew. It's just that the booths are so much more comfortable than the stools at the counter."

Andrew cast an appraising look over the petite blonde, taking in the light purple shadows under the hazy, slightly out of focus blue eyes and the way her pink lips seemed to be a little fuller than usual, almost swollen looking. A quick glance at Darien showed him to be a little dazed looking as well.

The sandy blonde man snickered to himself. It looked like his two friends had enjoyed a very pleasant Saturday night together. "Sooo, I guess you guys got over your little argument you were having the other day."

Darien was careful to keep his face impassive as he reached for his cup of coffee. He was well aware of his best friend's habit of gossiping and he sure didn't want to add any fuel to the fire burning in those inquisitive hazel eyes. "It wasn't an argument, it was a disagreement. And yes, we worked things out."

Serena began giggling uncontrollably and turned her face to muffle the sound in Darien's shoulder, causing his lips to twitch just a bit like he was fighting to hold back a laugh.

"Uh huh," Andrew muttered, clearly not convinced that things were as simple as Darien made them sound. "Anyway, can I get you guys anything to eat, or are you two just going to sit here acting goofy and making goo goo eyes at each other?"

Darien rolled his eyes. "I'll have a burger with the works and fries."

Serena's head popped up and her eyes sparkled at the mention of food. "Make mine a cheeseburger with pickles only and cheese fries. Ooo, and an order of onion rings and a slice of chocolate pie."

Andrew chuckled and couldn't help but tease. "Hmm…looks like somebody worked up a healthy appetite."

"What do you…" Serena began and then blushed fire engine red as she caught the double meaning of his words. "Oh!" She buried her face in Darien's shoulder once more.

Darien growled low in his throat. "Furuhata…"

Andrew jumped back from the table with his hands held up in surrender. "I was joking! I'm going to go put your orders in now." As he walked away he looked back over his shoulder with mischievous grin. "Actually, I take that back. I wasn't joking. You two definitely look like a couple that has pulled an all-nighter. You animals!" Then he laughed long and loud.

"That drama queen! I'm going to kill him!" Darien snarled and half rose out of his seat.

Serena put her weight against him and pushed him back down. "Oh, let it go, sweetie! Drew's been picking on us like that for a long time. You should be used to it by now."

"That was before it was actually true," Darien grumbled as he folded his arms across his chest.

Serena giggled and turned to wrap her arms around his neck. "It's not entirely true. We did get some sleep, just not a whole lot." Then she smothered a yawn behind her hand. "Why did we leave your apartment again?"

He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. "Because you said that you were hungry and I didn't have any food in the kitchen because I haven't had the chance to do my grocery shopping yet. Then when I suggested having something delivered you claimed that you wanted a milkshake. So here we are."

"I must have been delirious," she sighed. "You should have known better than to listen to me. I wasn't in my right mind."

Darien's eyes twinkled merrily. "I don't think either one of us have been in our right minds for about the last twelve hours or so."

Serena's breath caught as she felt his hand under the table squeeze her thigh lightly right above her knee. "Is that such a bad thing?" she asked on a gasp.

His gaze darkened as he watched her cheeks flush. "No. It's not a bad thing at all. In fact, it may be slightly…addicting." He leaned down and nipped at her earlobe.

She squealed and scooted slightly away from him. "You just keep your hands and lips to yourself right now, mister! I'm hungry!"

He smiled wickedly. "I am too."

She held up a hand to ward him off as he tried to move closer to her. "I mean I'm hungry for food, genius. Stop that!" she cried as he kissed her fingertips. "If you don't knock it off I'm going to move to the counter so I can have my lunch in peace."

"Okay, okay," he conceded and sat back to take a sip of his coffee. "I'll be good. But later…" he trailed off suggestively.

Serena rolled her eyes and muttered, "Great Selene! You give a guy one night of sex and he turns into a giant walking hormone."

"But what a night it was," Darien chuckled, causing her to blush violently as she thought back over the events of the overnight and early morning hours.

The red finally faded from her cheeks and she reached for her milkshake just as the arcade doors slid open to admit a flying mass of tangled golden hair.

Mina stood frozen in the middle of the floor, staring around with panicked blue eyes until her gaze landed on the back booth. "There you are!" she screeched as she ran over to where Serena and Darien were sitting. She practically fell into the seat across from them.

"Mina! What in the world happened to you?" Serena exclaimed as she took in the unusually wild hair and the sloppily thrown on shorts and t-shirt. But what hit her most were the red, swollen, tear filled eyes.

"I've been trying to call you, but you had your phone turned off," Mina gasped. "I've been going crazy for hours needing to talk to you, so I thought I would take a chance and see if you were here."

"Okay, calm down," Serena said soothingly as she leaned across the table and covered Mina's tightly clenched hands with her own. "Take a deep breath. Now what's going on? Did something happen last night?"

That was obviously the wrong thing to say, because Mina burst into sobs and wailed, "It was absolutely wonderful until…" Then her eyes fixed on Darien. "I'm not saying anything with him here!"

Serena cocked her head toward the counter and then slid out of the booth to let Darien out. She grabbed his hand and whispered, "Sorry about this."

He squeezed her hand back. "It's fine. She needs you. She's definitely upset about something."

"Thanks," Serena said and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Do you think you could have Lizzy bring a milkshake over for her? Lizzy, not Drew. This is obviously a girl thing."

Those were the magic words to send Darien scrambling away. He grabbed his cup of coffee and almost ran toward the counter and hopefully some normal male company.

Serena sat back down and eyed her head scout critically. "Okay, spill! This is way out of the norm for you. It's 11:45 on a Sunday morning and you look like you just rolled out of bed after a really bad night's sleep. You usually sleep until at least noon and I've never known you to leave your house without having your hair, make up, and clothes absolutely perfect. So what happened? Did Kunzite do something to you?"

Mina stared down at her clasped fingers. "Not exactly. It was a great evening. We had a fabulous dinner and we talked for hours. Then he took me home and I asked him in for a drink and we talked some more."

"Okay," Serena said, not seeing anything too incriminating so far, but she knew something had to have happened to put Mina in such a state. "What else?"

Mina heaved a deep breath. "He was getting ready to leave and I was thanking him for the wonderful night, and then he kissed me."

"Really!" Serena squealed. "That's great! I just knew you two would hit it off again."

"Don't get your meatballs twisted too tight!" Mina snapped uncharacteristically. "There's more to it than that."

That made Serena pause. "What do you mean more?" Then her eyes widened. "Omigosh! You don't mean…I know you two are soul mates and all. But on the first date!"

"No, no, no!" Mina said hastily. Then she blushed. "Well almost. I don't know what happened. When he kissed me it was just like something zinged between us. The next thing I knew I was crawling all over him."

"But nothing happened, right?" Serena reiterated.

Mina shook her head. "No. But it might have if he hadn't…" She broke off, eyes filling with tears again.

"If he hadn't what?" Serena growled. If Kunzite had done something to hurt her friend she would hunt him down and kill him herself.

"He called me Minako," Mina whispered in a trembling voice.

Well that hadn't been what Serena was expecting. "Okay. Is that all he did?"

Mina banged her hands on the table. "Don't you see, Serena? He was fantasizing about my past self while he was kissing me." She paused as Lizzy approached the table and set a milkshake in front of her.

The red haired girl clucked her tongue. "Guy trouble? Welcome to my world. Personally, I think they're all idiots."

"Thanks for the milkshake, Lizzy," Serena said as cheerfully as ever, but there was a definite tone in her voice that said that this was a private conversation. It was nothing personal against the girl, but it was a well-known fact that the entire Furuhata family were huge gossips, and she was pretty sure that Mina didn't want this story getting around.

"So let me get this straight," she began once they were alone again. "Things were getting hot and heavy between you two until he slipped up and called you Minako. Then that just threw ice water on the whole thing."

Mina nodded as she slurped on the milkshake. Then she shook her head. "Not exactly. It just kinda snapped us out of the moment. Then we talked and we both agreed that we need to take things a little slower between us."

Serena sipped thoughtfully on her milkshake. "Well that seems like the logical thing to do. So what's the problem?"

Mina set the already half empty glass down with a thump. "The problem is that he is confusing me with my past self. I don't want to be a replacement for who I was before. I want to make sure that he is with me for me. He had me so mixed up last night that I couldn't sleep. Every time I dozed off I kept having these dreams. I don't know if they were real memories of the past or if they were just figments of my imagination, but they were…very detailed, and he called me Minako the whole time."

"Look, Mina," Serena replied, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible. "Some slips into the past are bound to occur. Darien and I even slipped up a couple of times last night and called each other Serenity and Endymion. Sometimes your subconscious mind just takes over and you can't help it."

A hint of a grin lightened up Mina's face. "How did last night go anyway?"

Serena waved a dismissive hand. "Mission accomplished. But we're not talking about me right now. We're talking about you. Now don't take this the wrong way, but I think you're over-thinking this whole name confusion thing. If I were you I would put it behind me and move on. Kunzite is definitely aware of who you are and I don't think he would have asked you out if he wasn't interested in the real you."

A hopeful smile appeared on Mina's face. "Do you really think so?"

"I'd be willing to bet the Silver Crystal on it," Serena said confidently.

Mina let out an ear-piercing squeal and jumped up from her seat to run around to the other side of the booth where she gave Serena an enthusiastic hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You are the absolute best! I knew talking to you would make me feel better! I couldn't go to Raye or Lita because the whole guy subject is taboo with them right now. And poor Amy is so innocent that she'd probably just blush and stutter through the whole thing before trying to give me some long, drawn out scientific explanation that I could never hope to understand."

Serena laughed. "I'm glad I could help."

Then Mina happened to look up and caught sight of her reflection in the large plate glass window beside them. "OH MY GOD! Is that what I look like?" she screeched. "I can't believe you sat here carrying on a conversation with me while I look like this! Why didn't you put a bag over my head? I have to get home before somebody sees me. Oh! And what am I going to do if Kunzite calls and says that he wants to see me? He said that he probably would. It's going to take ten pounds of concealer to cover up these dark circles. Sorry, Serena, but I've got to run!" She whirled for the door.

"Hey, Mina!" Serena called after her. "Keep it in a public place for now, okay."

Mina fluttered a hand to indicate the she'd heard her, and then almost mowed right over Amy, who was coming in the door as she was going out.

Darien had been in the process of getting up off of his stool to rejoin Serena, but he sat back down again as he saw the blue haired girl hurry over and take Mina's abandoned seat across from his girlfriend. It looked like some more girl talk was on the way.

"Hey, Ames," Serena said as her quiet friend sat down. Then she did a double take as she took a good look at her. "You look pale, Amy. Are you feeling okay?"

Amy shook her head slightly. "No. Not really. My stomach is so squirmy that I almost feel sick."

"Did you want a soda or something to if that would help?" Serena asked in concern.

Again the blue head shook. "No, thank you anyway. That would just probably make things worse. I don't think anything could drown the butterflies in my stomach right now."

Serena smirked. "This wouldn't happen to be because you have a date with a certain blonde general tonight, would it?"

Amy's face actually turned a faint shade of green as she moaned and laid her head on the table. "Oh! Don't remind me!"

Serena looked confused. "What's the matter? I thought things were going well between you and Zoicite."

Amy lifted her head. "They are. He's been very nice and we are getting along fine."

"So what's the problem then?" Serena asked, perplexed.

Amy's blue eyes widened until they almost took up her entire face. Then she whispered, "Serena, I've never been on a date before."

Serena almost choked on the sip of milkshake she had just taken. "That's not true! Greg took you to the amusement park that time."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and the rest of you girls were with me. That doesn't qualify as a date. He never even held my hand."

"Well," Serena mused. "What about yesterday? Doesn't that count?"

"That was just a trip to the museum. That was different," Amy protested.

"That's not what I picked up on," Serena insisted. "He came to your place and picked you up, didn't he?"

Amy nodded.

"And you had lunch together, didn't you?" Serena continued.

Another nod.

Serena leaned forward. "And it was just the two of you together, alone. And he took you back home. That sounds like a date to me."

"But…but…" Amy stammered.

Serena's eyes glittered. "Did you kiss him?"

Amy's face went brick red and she looked like she was about to slide from the seat and under the table.

"You did!" Serena said smugly. Then her expression turned serious. "Look, Ames. You've been my friend for a long time and I think of you like a sister. All I want is for you to be happy. Do you want to try to have a relationship with Zoicite?"

Amy's head snapped up and she met Serena's eyes steadily. "Yes. I wasn't sure at first, but after spending some time with him I have discovered that I care for him. Not because of what we had in the past, but because I truly like who he is."

Serena sat back with a look of satisfaction. "Then you don't have anything to worry about. All you have to do is be yourself. Now I would suggest that you go home and maybe take a few hours nap. You don't look like you slept well last night. After that you can get yourself dressed up in one of those cute little dresses you have hanging in your closet and then go out and have fun. We're only going to be this age once, so we should enjoy it while we can. There's plenty of time for us to be responsible adults later in life."

Amy smiled and, much more sedately than Mina had, got up to go around the table to hug her friend. "Thanks, Serena. You always know what to say to make me feel better. Now I see your lunch coming so I'm going to run. I have preparations to make."

"See ya!" Serena called, waving after her. She moaned a few seconds later as Darien and Andrew approached the table and the smell of hot, delicious food wafted past her nose. "Omigosh! I don't think I've ever smelled anything more heavenly in my entire life. Drew, you are an absolute god!"

Andrew laughed as he started setting plates on the table. "Can I get that written out in a signed statement so I can show it to my sister the next time she calls me the devil?"

"That wouldn't matter to me. You're still evil," Lizzy sneered as she walked by.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "She's still mad because dad and I chased off her latest loser boyfriend. The bum was a high school dropout and had no job, but somehow seemed to still have money. We're pretty sure he was dealing drugs. I wish she would just find some nice guy on campus instead of these assholes she hooks up with at the clubs."

Serena, who had wasted no time tearing into her food, chewed rapidly and then swallowed before cooing, "Aww…you're such a good big brother. Sometimes I wish I'd had a big brother instead of a little one. Can I trade Sammy for you?"

He chuckled and pulled one of her pigtails. "I thought you had already adopted me back when you were ten and I stopped that boy from trying to bully you away from the Pac-Man game."

"Could you two please stop flirting? I would like to eat my lunch without getting indigestion," Darien grumbled, but it was in a good-natured way. He knew they weren't really flirting with one another. They just both had naturally friendly personalities; and they had been friends long before he had come into the picture. Besides, Andrew had a girlfriend.

That reminded him. "Hey, Drew. I forgot to ask how Rita's doing since you talked to her last night."

Was it his imagination, or did the bright smile on his friend's face flicker just a little? His eyes suddenly seemed a little bit duller as well.

Andrew shrugged. "She's okay, I guess. She sounded exhausted and really didn't say a whole lot. I think I ended up doing most of the talking. They're really piling the work on her since she's nearing the end of her course and I guess it's taking a toll on her."

Then he seemed to shake himself and laughed. "If I know her, she's probably working herself too hard. She probably would have dropped from exhaustion back in high school if I hadn't made her take a break every now and then. But that's okay, in another two months she'll be back here where I can keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't overdo it. Oops! The counter is getting crowded. I better go help Lizzy before she starts yelling at me."

Serena watched as he hurried away. "Is it just me, or did you sense a little tension there?"

"Yeah," Darien muttered. "I guess being apart from Rita for so long is finally starting to get to him since it's getting closer to time for her to come back."

"Poor guy," Serena said softly. Then she blushed when her stomach let out the loudest growl yet and turned her attention back to her food.

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped to both her vocal stomach and her snickering boyfriend.

Raye gritted her teeth as the sound of laughter floated to her on the early afternoon breeze. Her grip around the broom tightened and she swiped viciously at the sakura blossoms on the ground, causing them to fly around wildly instead of being pushed into a neat pile.

"That rotten, no good, lousy bastard! Just what the hell is he trying to pull?" she growled to herself.

To say that this had not been a good day would be an understatement. She had hoped against all hope that after she had told Jadeite off the afternoon before and had stormed away that she had seen the last of him. He had been gone by the time she had gotten back from her hiding spot in the back corner of the property where she had gone to have a good cry and figured that he had finally gotten the hint that she didn't want him around.

Boy had she been wrong! The morning had gone normally enough. She had gotten up early and taken care of a few chores before helping Chad set up the charm booth. Once that was done she had decided to walk down to the store at the bottom of Cherry Hill and pick up some things that they needed. She had only been gone about an hour, but what a difference that hour made.

When she had come back she had been floored to find Jadeite sitting with both her grandfather and Chad, sipping tea and laughing with them like they were old friends. She had stood completely still in shock for a full minute until Chad had looked up at her and said, "Hey, Raye! Where did you find this guy? He's an absolute riot!"

Jadeite had just grinned and winked at her, sending her temper straight into volcanic mode. Her mouth had popped open to spew angry words like hot lava, but before she could her grandfather interrupted her.

"Now don't go getting your temper up. Jadeite is here by my invitation," the old man had said smoothly. "You just run along and do whatever it is that you have planned for the day while we men visit."

Well that had knocked the wind right out of her sails. She'd started to protest, but her grandfather had given her a stern look that had clearly told her that he wouldn't condone any of her temper tantrums. It was a look that he hadn't used on her since she was a child, but she knew better than to argue with him. All in all he had been lenient with her while she was growing up, but he could be strict when he had to be and she respected him too much to be disobedient. So she had bitten her tongue and walked away.

Now here she was a few hours later…and he was still there! Granted he hadn't tried to approach her or even speak to her, but his presence was as unnerving as hell!

She abandoned her broom and fished her cell phone from the pocket of her robes. She needed to talk to somebody before self imploded. She frowned as she looked through her contacts. Mina was no good. She would just go on about soul mates and encourage her to jump Jadeite. Amy, bless her heart, was too sweet and innocent for her own good. Lita was always good for a round of man bashing, but that probably wasn't the best thing for her temper right now.

That left Serena. She was the logical choice actually. Even though she had been one of the major players behind this whole fiasco of bringing the generals back to life in the first place, she had a kind and loving heart. She was someone that Raye could spill her guts to and not have her be overly critical or judgmental. She would listen quietly and then offer her thoughts. And amazingly some sound advice usually came out of the Meatball Head.

She pressed the button to dial her and put the phone to her ear. But after just one ring the call was forwarded to voicemail. That meant one of two things. Either the ditz had let her battery die, or she was holed up with Darien and they were in their own little world. But considering the last time that she had seen the couple they had been ready to practically strangle each other for some reason, there was also the possibility that Serena had turned her phone off to avoid Darien. Despite their unwavering devotion to each other, the couple was known to have spats every now and then that could last a few days.

"Ugh!" she growled. "Most of the time I can't get that airhead off the phone! Now the one time that I need to talk to her I can't get her on the phone! This day just keeps getting better and better."

The smell of something burning drifted past her nose, and she looked down to see smoke rising from her tightly clenched fist. She forced her hand open and shook it briskly to cool it off while she glanced around quickly. There were a few people strolling around the grounds, but luckily none of them were close enough to her to have seen anything suspicious.

She heaved a sigh of relief. That had been a close one. Another ten seconds and her hand would have probably burst into flames. That kind of a spectacle would have really sent the neighborhood tongues to wagging. She already had a reputation for being…different. She sure didn't need to do anything to add to the speculations.

But perhaps fire was exactly what she needed right now. Meditating usually had a calming effect on her, as long as the fire didn't show her any disturbing visions. But since Jadeite had been released from the curse the Great Fire had been very calm and soothing to her, and she craved its comfort.

She hurried toward the building that she had called home for so long, keeping her eyes peeled for a certain blonde haired nuisance. Things had been quiet for the last couple of minutes with no more sound of that smooth tenor voice or his husky chuckle. Maybe he had finally left. That would make her day. She spotted her grandfather and Chad over by the charm booth, surrounded by a small group of visitors, but there was no Jadeite to be seen.

She blew out a pent up breath and felt a little lighter. Perhaps she could salvage what was left of this day. She would go meditate for a while to get her head back on straight and then she would change her clothes and wander down to the Crown for a milkshake. More than likely she would run into at least one of the girls there. The arcade was like a second home to them, and they always seemed to gravitate there for some reason.

She climbed onto the wooden porch and walked swiftly to the door of the fire chamber. She slid it open and welcomed the rush of intense heat that wrapped around her. Most people would find it unbearable, especially on a hot summer day like today, but she relished it.

She quickly closed the door behind her and slipped off her sandals before crossing the rather large room and sinking to her knees in front of the crackling fire. She clasped her hands together and mumbled a short prayer as she closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander. She didn't focus on anything in particular. She wasn't searching for an answer to a question; she was merely looking for some solace from her conflicting thoughts.

But even with all of her years of training, she couldn't push Jadeite completely out of her head. An image of how he had appeared in the past popped up and refused to leave. But the soothing effects of the fire were keeping her calm, so she took the opportunity to try and organize her feelings.

He was a handsome man; there was no doubt about that. He was tall with a medium, leanly muscled build. His golden hair was just as bright as Serena's or Mina's with definite curl to it, but not in a feminine way. And his blueberry eyes always seemed to be twinkling with a hidden joke, unless he was mad or fighting. When things turned serious he could be just as fierce as any of the other generals. He was a highly skilled fighter, and his gifts of telekinesis and the ability to create and manipulate fire had earned him a widely known reputation back during the Silver Millennium. There had even been stories of how enemies had fled the moment he stepped onto the battlefield, because they knew that the heat was about to be turned on.

But despite his reputation and his position as a general in charge of the royal army of Earth, he had carried himself with a carelessly casual grace. He was cocky and obnoxious, but there was just something endearing about him; like he was an overgrown boy trapped in a man's body. He flirted outrageously with females of practically any age and had the most annoying habit of trying to turn everything into a joke, even if it wasn't funny.

In spite of his unorthodox behavior, the young Princess Rei of Mars had been unexplainably attracted to him. It was probably Aphrodite's idea of a huge practical joke to make them soul mates. Sure they had a lot in common; they both had spiritual powers and they could control fire, but apart from the fact that they were both stubborn and had horrible tempers their personalities were light years apart.

Raye contemplated the similarities between then and now. The Sailor Mars of the past had also fought against the pull she'd felt toward Jadeite and had pushed him away and kept him at a distance. But in the end she had fallen madly in love with the general…and had landed herself in a sea of heartbreak.

'I just can't do it again,' she thought. She had carefully guarded her heart over the years, only allowing a select few to worm their way into it. And there was no way that she would ever hand it over to someone else. Serena, Mina, Amy, maybe even Lita might be willing to take the risk of having their hearts broken, but she couldn't. She wasn't that strong. She was weak.

"You're not weak," a quiet voice said.

Raye's eyes snapped open. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't sensed another presence come into the room; nor had she felt the aura that had been lightly brushing hers. But she felt it now.

"What do you want, Jadeite? I thought you had left," she ground out.

She heard him take a few steps closer. "I'm about to. I just took a few minutes to walk around before I leave and I wanted to say goodbye to you before I go."

He was close behind her, but she refused to turn around. "Are you sneaking up behind me to find the best place to stick a sword in me this time?" Her words were laced with venom, and she knew that it was petty to say them, but her natural defense mechanism had the words spilling out.

A sharp breath hissed past Jadeite's teeth. "Okay, I probably deserve that. But Raye, I'm trying to show you that I'm not that person. I know that deep down you know that I would have never harmed a single hair on your head if I had been in my right mind."

A harsh laugh ripped from her throat. "And when were you ever in your right mind? You were an arrogant, cocky little prick that walked around like the sun shown for you alone. There's a name for mental disorders like that, it's called narcissism."

"I don't know if I like the words little and prick being used together in the same sentence when someone's talking about me," he quipped, and then chuckled at his own lame joke.

Raye was glad that she was still turned away from him, because she couldn't stop the smile that sprang to her lips without warning. A laugh bubbled up inside her, but she covered it with a growl. "You are so not funny!"

He sighed. "So everyone keeps telling me. But I'm not giving up. I'm hoping that someday I'll come up with something that will make even you laugh."

She ducked her head to make sure he couldn't see that smile on her face and snorted. "Yeah, right! Don't hold your breath, general! Your humor is still just as dry as it ever was."

Suddenly his voice was right by her ear. "And your wit is still just as sharp, but that doesn't deter me one bit. You used to laugh for me at one time; I think I can make you do it again. I already seem to be making some progress with you."

She fought back a shiver as his breath brushed her skin. "What do you mean you're making progress?"

He let out a low chuckle, one that made her bones felt like they were melting. For one wild split second she entertained the idea of whirling around, throwing herself into his arms, and kissing the living daylights out of him. God! How could someone that could be so annoying sound so sexy? Luckily the thought was short lived and she managed to keep control before she did something impulsive.

His lips were almost touching her skin as he whispered. "You're trusting me at your back, aren't you? I'd call that progress."

She sucked in a deep breath as she realized that he was right. She had been focused so much on keeping herself emotionally defended from him that she had left herself wide open physically.

She spun around quickly. "Why you little…" she began, but she broke off as she found herself almost nose to nose with him. His sparkling blue eyes bored intensely into hers and wiped all coherent thought from her brain.

Jadeite's heart jumped right up into his throat at the vision before him. Her violet eyes had been shooting flames only seconds before, but now they smoldered darkly as she stared at him. Before he knew what he was doing, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

Her eyes darkened even more with some emotion that he couldn't identify. "Jed, please don't," she whimpered softly.

He smirked cockily. "Don't what?"

She tried to twist away from him. "Let me go!"

His arms tightened around her. "What if I don't want to let you go?"

"Stop being an idiot and let go of me before I light you up like a bonfire!" she snapped, pushing at his chest.

He shook his head. "I lost you once, due to my inability to fight off Beryl. I'll be damned if I'm going to pass up on the chance to get you back. I don't care how much you try to push me away, I'm staying right here."

"But I don't want you here," she tried to insist, cringing at how breathless her voice sounded.

"Tough break, sweetheart," he drawled as he began lowering his head toward hers.

Raye froze in panic. She knew that if he kissed her it would all be over with. The Raye side of her may hate and resent him for breaking her heart a thousand years ago, but her soul, Princess Rei's soul, craved the return of the bond they had once shared and longed to feel his hot lips on hers once more.

Only two inches separated them when the door slid open. "Hey, Raye! I was wondering…"

Chad froze in the doorway, taking in the scene for a moment before a big grin appeared on his face. "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Jadeite growled, but turned to smile at the other man. "I'm just trying to woo the lady. You know what that's like, right?"

Chad's grin grew. "Oh yeah! I'll just leave you two alone then." He began to close the door.

Raye snapped out of her daze. "Wait, Chad! What were you wanting to ask me?"

He waved a hand. "It's not important. You lovebirds have fun."

"We are not lovebirds!" Raye screeched, feeling like she was about to spontaneously combust. "I don't even like him!"

Chad smirked. "That's not what it looks like from where I'm standing."

"Ooo!" she fumed, managing to send a fist slamming into Jadeite's stomach. His breath rushed out in a whoosh and he let her go. "Men are such morons! This is exactly why I always say that women would be much happier if they just make their own way in life without depending on the pathetic male species. What woman wants to have to deal with a bumbling jackass screwing up her life?"

She stomped to the door, sweeping past a wide-eyed Chad, who had scrambled quickly out of her way, before disappearing into her room and closing the door firmly behind her.

Chad rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Oh man! I just know she's going to get me back for this. The last time I pissed her off she almost threw my favorite guitar in the fire. There's no telling what she'll do now."

In spite of the pain in his stomach, Jadeite began laughing. Raye could claim to hate him all she wanted to, but he knew differently. He had seen the look in her eyes and knew that she had wanted him to kiss her just as badly as he wanted to deliver it. It may not have happened yet, but it would. He just had to keep the pressure on her.

Nephrite caught the fist that was swinging toward his face in a large hand and chuckled. "Is that your way of saying that you're happy to see me, Sparky?"

Lita huffed and jerked her hand out of his. "No, it damn well isn't, you bastard! It's my way of saying that I'm pissed! Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been following me for the last twenty minutes like some kind of a stalker."

The chestnut haired man's face twisted up in a grimace. "I am not stalking you!"

She tossed her curly auburn ponytail behind her shoulder. "Yeah, right! I'm not saying that coincidences don't happen, but you're pushing the limit. I wrote it off when we bumped into each other this morning when I went out for my jog. I even ignored it when I came out of that store earlier and saw you across the street. I mean, we live in the same neighborhood, so it's only natural that we will cross each other's paths occasionally. But this is going too far! Are you staking out my apartment just waiting for me to leave?"

Anger darkened his face, but it was directed at himself and not at her because he had indeed spent all day watching her apartment building and following her wherever she went. But he wasn't about to tell her that. "No! I just didn't feel like being stuck inside all day so I've been out and about exploring the town. It's just a fluke that we've run into each other as much as we have."

"Sure it is!" she snorted. "What do you take me for, Nephrite, an idiot?"

He shook his head. "No, never an idiot. Okay, so I admit that I have been purposefully looking for you, but you don't have to make it sound like I'm some kind of lecher out to get you."

Lita's green eyes narrowed and she folded her arms across her chest. "And why were you looking for me?"

"I just wanted to talk to you!" he blurted out, throwing his hands up in the air. "Geez! Why do you have to be so pushy?"

She ignored his question. "You know, if you wanted to talk to me so badly you could have just walked up to me and said so instead of being a creeper."

Nephrite folded his arms too and returned her glare with one of his own. "And would you have given me the time of day?"

"Hell no!" she growled. "In fact, I don't know why I'm wasting my time talking to you right now."

He smirked. "Maybe it's because deep down you enjoy my company."

"Ha!" she barked. "As if! I think I'd rather sit down and have tea with Beryl before I had to suffer two minutes in your presence!"

His smirk grew. "Then why are you still here?"

Her face went as red as Raye's fuku. She stepped forward and poked him in the chest. "You just better be glad that there are people around right now, or I'd transform and hit you with a bolt so hard that they could hook you up and use you to power the city for a week!"

He felt a painful little zap where her finger touched him. Most normal people would have been knocked to the ground by the jolt. But he wasn't exactly normal. He grabbed her wrist and sent a small pulse of his own electrical energy to her. "Careful, Jupiter. You're not the only one capable of doing shocking things."

She jumped away from him, shaking her arm a little to try to get rid of the tingles of electricity racing up and down it. "Damn you, Nephrite! Don't think I've forgotten about the ass kicking I promised you. I'm just waiting for the perfect place and time."

He inclined his head mockingly at her. "I look forward to it immensely, Lady Jupiter. It has been a long time since we've had a chance to pit our skills against one another."

She smiled grimly, a few faint memories of the spars they'd had in the past flitted through her head. "Yes it has, but now is not the time. When our time comes I would prefer for it to be spontaneous and without an audience. I do have a secret identity to protect after all."

"Of course," he agreed.

She nodded her head hard once before turning and stalking away down the park path. Although he knew it wasn't a smart move, he followed her.

She spun around as she reached the park gate. "Why are you still following me?"

"I'm not following you," he insisted. "I'm bored. So I thought I would go to the arcade and see if anyone worth talking to was there. Isn't that where everyone seems to hang out?"

She growled but didn't say anything as she turned back around and stomped across the street to the arcade. Nephrite slowly counted to twenty before he calmly followed her through the sliding glass doors.

Lita was already seated on one of the stools at the counter and talking to Andrew. "Wow! This place is Deadsville, Drew. What did you do, run all the paying customers away?"

The sandy blonde laughed and looked around the empty arcade. "Nah! It's always like this for about the first week or so after school lets out. Everyone's out enjoying the weather. But once the heat gets to them they'll come pouring back in here for the ice cream, video games, and air conditioning. So what'll it be today?"

"I'll have a banana milkshake," she told him, doing her best to ignore the large man that had just had the nerve to sit beside her. "So where is everyone? I figured that at least one of the girls would be here."

Andrew chuckled as he began scooping up ice cream. "Serena and Darien were in here earlier for lunch. Mina and Amy both dropped by for a minute, but they didn't stay long. I haven't seen Raye, so I guess the shrine must be busy today. It's just been little ole me for the most part. I even sent Lizzy home early because I got tired of listening to her groaning about how bored she was."

Lita arched a brow. "So I guess Serena and Darien are back on speaking terms again."

He shrugged. "It sure looked that way to me, but they were both acting really weird. Serena was acting like more of a space case than usual and was giggling every five seconds and even Darien seemed a little loopy. Now you know that he's not usually one for public displays of affection, but it felt like every time I turned around he had his hands and lips on Serena. I was afraid that they were going to start making out right there in the back booth."

"I guess they had a good time making up after their fight," she giggled as she pulled the shake glass Andrew had just sat down toward her.

He laughed with her. "I guess so. At least I didn't have to turn the hose on them. This is a family establishment, not a roadhouse." Then he turned his attention on his other customer. "Hey, Nephrite. Can I get you anything?"

"I'll just have a coke," Nephrite answered shortly.

"Ooo," Lita drawled under her breath. "Somebody's living dangerously today."

He gritted his teeth and turned to look at her. He had loved the Sailor Jupiter of the past deeply, and he was pretty sure he was well on his way to falling hard for her reincarnation. Hell, who was he trying to kid? He'd been enraptured by her since the first night he had appeared to her on her balcony. He enjoyed arguing with her to a point, but this was getting old.

"Are you intentionally trying to goad me into losing my temper?" he ground out.

She shrugged. "Why not? You do it to me. I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

Andrew set the glass of coke on the counter and quickly hurried away. He could sense the tension rising between the two. And if something was going to snap between them he wanted to be far out of the line of fire. He just wished that they would find someplace else to hash out their problems besides the arcade. All he could do is hope that they didn't make a mess for him to clean up.

Nephrite calmly picked up his drink and took a sip. "I have not been goading you. As a matter of fact, I think I have been the perfect gentleman. I have endured all of your angry and sarcastic words without complaint every time we run into each other."

"That's just it! We shouldn't be running into each other so much!" she snapped. "You've been back here for only two days and I've already seen more of you in those two days than I used to in the past because you keep following me around like some kind of a perverted weirdo! I've already told you, I like my life the way it is. I don't need some jealous, overbearing man coming in and trying to take over. I am a strong, independent woman and I can take care of myself."

Nephrite couldn't stop his eyes from roaming over her. Not only was she the tallest of the scouts, she was also the most well endowed. The cut off shorts and tank top she was wearing made this fact almost painfully obvious. Her long, lightly tanned legs seemed to go on for miles and her other…voluptuous assets…were displayed quite well by the stretchy material of her shirt.

He smirked. "Oh, I don't think anyone would argue with you on that point."

"You asshole! Stop checking me out!" she snarled as she swung a hand to slap him.

He caught her wrist in his hand when it was only inches from his face and sighed. "That's twice today that you have tried to hit me in the face. Don't you think it's getting a little old?"

Her eyes glittered dangerously. "Fine! Then how about I try something new. This always works for Serena."

Before he could blink, Lita had lifted her almost completely full milkshake and emptied it over his head.

Nephrite sat there for a second, blinking in shock as the freezing cold dairy confection dripped down his face and slithered down the back of his neck. The girl sitting next to him looked at him triumphantly.

So she thought she had won, did she? Well he would show her. His hand was a blur as he snatched up his soda and poured it over her curly auburn hair.

Lita gasped in shock and outrage as ice cubes bounced off her head. She tried to pull away, but Nephrite was still holding her wrist tightly. Her bangs hung in front of her eyes in a wet, dripping mess as she turned a death glare on him. But he looked so comical sitting there with banana milkshake running down his face that her glare turned into a grin.

An answering grin unfurled on his face and he chuckled lightly. Lita looked half drowned with her dripping hair and rivulets of cola streaming down her face and neck. He also thought that he had never seen her look more adorable. Not stopping to think about the consequences of his actions, he pressed his lips to the palm of the hand he was still holding.

Lita sucked in a breath as a jolt of electricity skittered up her arm. It felt pure and raw, and for a second she lost herself in the sensation. And then she got mad, madder than she could ever remember being in her entire life. How dare he put his lips on her skin without her permission! Just because they had shared one funny moment together did not give him the right to kiss any part of her body.

She vaguely heard the doors slide open and the sound of voices, but she paid it no attention. She was completely focused on the man that was now lifting his slate blue eyes to hers.

"Lita," he whispered in a soft husky voice.

The way he said her name tugged at her heart, and that just pissed her off even more. She had just declared herself to be a strong woman, but now she found herself precariously close to throwing herself at Nephrite and begging him to hold her. She hadn't felt this vulnerable since her parents had died, and she didn't like it.

"You bastard!" she hissed as a green haze colored her vision.

And then she lunged for him.

"Bye, mom!" Serena called as she skipped down the stairs with her bag over her shoulder. She tripped on the bottom step, but managed to catch herself before she went sprawling out in a heap on the floor.

Ilene's head popped out of the kitchen door. "Bye, honey. Have a good time."

"I will," Serena almost sang as she ran to give her mother a hug.

Ken Tsukino's head appeared over the edge of the paper he was reading. "And where exactly are you going, young lady?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know. We girls hardly ever make plans that far in advance. We may end up at Mina's for some night swimming or at Lita's so we can eat up her yummy cooking. Then again we may end up at Raye's or Amy's for a movie night. I never know."

Ken grunted. "So you're not seeing him tonight?"

"Dad," Serena sighed as she flitted to her father's side. "He does have a name, you know. I can't believe you're still acting like this. Darien and I have been seeing each other for over two years now."

"That doesn't mean I have to like it," Ken grumbled, his eyes straying to the pink, heart shaped ring on his daughter's left hand. He'd about had a heart attack the first time he saw it. Serena claimed that it was just a promise from Darien that he was coming back to her, but he knew better. When a man put a ring on a woman's finger he was making a statement. And he didn't like the idea of any man, not even one as successful as Darien Shields, putting a claim on his baby girl.

Serena threw her arms around him and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek. "Daddy, you are so silly sometimes!"

A hundred memories of her doing the same thing when she was just a little girl flooded his mind and made him a little misty eyed. He retreated back behind his paper and said, "Go on! Get out of here!"

Serena giggled and called one last goodbye to both of her parents before making her escape. She did feel a small twinge of guilt for not being completely truthful with her parents, but what was she supposed to say? 'Mom, Dad, I'm staying at Darien's tonight.' Yeah, that would go over well. Her dad would lock her in the basement until she was a hundred.

She forced herself to walk calmly down the sidewalk, just in case either of her parents was watching out the window, but as she neared the corner her steps picked up. She was half running by the time she rounded the corner…and then she was in her prince's arms.

"Mmm…I missed you," Darien said before ducking his head down to give her a short, but enthusiastic kiss.

Serena giggled. "I wasn't gone that long. I told you all I was doing was checking in and grabbing some fresh clothes. I doubt it took me more than fifteen minutes."

He grinned as he stepped back from her. "But every minute away from you feels like a year." Then he took her bag and put an arm around her shoulders as they began to walk. "So where to, the arcade?"

She nodded. "That works for me. I haven't heard from Raye or Lita today, so I'm hoping that maybe they'll be there. Normally I wouldn't be concerned, but with the guys back in the picture I want to make sure they haven't killed each other yet."

"Well here's your chance," Darien muttered as they reached the next street and were waiting to cross. He nodded his head toward their left.

Serena craned her head to look around him and saw Raye striding briskly down the sidewalk toward them. About ten yards behind her a smug looking Jadeite followed.

"Um…hey, Raye," Serena said uncertainly as the raven-haired girl joined them.

Raye ignored her as she walked up and poked Darien in the chest. "Darien, would you please tell your friend to stay the hell away from me? He's driving me crazy!"

Darien shot a quick glance at the smirking Jadeite before returning his attention to the fuming girl in front of him. "Sorry, Raye, but Jed's free to go wherever he wants. I don't have any control over where he goes or what he does."

"But you could," Raye said slyly. "You could order him to stay away from me, and he would have to follow it. Are you the freaking prince of Earth or not?"

"For the love of god, Raye! Keep your voice down," Darien ground out. "Look, I get that you're pissed, but let's not go around blowing our covers. And yes, because of who I used to be I could issue orders, but I'm not going to. This is the 21st century, not the Silver Millennium, and I'm not going to boss anyone around."

Raye folded her arms and scowled darkly.

"He's right," Serena spoke up gently. "I'm in the same position because of who I was in the past. But in the almost two and a half years since we found out the truth, have I ever ordered you to do anything just because I am your princess."

Raye's scowl turned into a pout. "No. But do I go around annoying people?"

Serena couldn't help but giggle. "Only every day of your life, Pyro."

Raye stuck her tongue out at the blonde, who returned it quickly. It looked like a full-blown tongue war was about to break out, and Darien was desperately looking for a way to diffuse the situation before they got too deeply into it.

Luckily, a voice interrupted them. "Ooo…did we miss all the fun?"

Serena abandoned her standoff with Raye to smile at the newcomers. "Hey, Mina…Kunzite. Nah! You didn't miss anything. Raye was just being her normal, cheerful self."

"Yuck it up, Meatball Head!" Raye growled menacingly. Then she tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder. "Forget it! I need a milkshake."

She spun and stomped out into the street without even looking to see if it was safe. Luckily the light had changed a few seconds before and had stopped the oncoming traffic and the crossing sign was lit up brightly.

Suddenly Jadeite's face looked more furious than amused. "That little idiot! Her temper is going to end up getting her killed." He dashed after her.

After a moment of looking around at each other in silence, the other four shrugged and followed. They almost caught up with them a block away just as they were approaching the arcade. Raye was studiously ignoring Jadeite while he walked slightly behind her, fussing at her for not looking both ways before she crossed the street as he waved his hands around to emphasize his point.

"Wow! He sure is worked up," Mina said to Serena. "I never knew Jadeite could nag so much. Is he her potential boyfriend or her father?"

Darien chuckled. "Either position could be hazardous to his health. I wouldn't say Raye's a man-hater, but she's not exactly fond of anything of the male gender, except for her grandfather and those crows of hers. Then again, are we really sure Phobos and Deimos are even boys?"

An evil smirk curved Kunzite's lips. "Now I'm having weird mental images. I can just see Mars marching up to a couple of crows and demanding that they part their feathers so she can take a peek."

Mina elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "You are so bad!"

"You guys stop," Serena pleaded. "I feel so sorry for both of them. Jed is trying so hard to win her over, and Raye's just being…well…Raye. It makes my heart ache."

Darien reached over to smooth the worry lines creasing her forehead with a finger. "Hey, don't stress yourself out about it. They'll either figure it out or end up barbequing each other. There's nothing you can do about that."

"I know," she sighed. "I've just got this feeling that something is wrong." Her hand unconsciously touched the bump in her short's pocket where her brooch was.

Darien's head immediately whipped around as if looking for a threat. "You mean like an enemy?"

A soft growl came from Mina as she reached toward the pocket where her henshin wand was.

"No, no! Nothing like that," Serena quickly reassured them. "I've just got this funny feeling. I can't explain it."

They joined Raye and Jadeite, who had paused just outside the arcade doors. Raye had finally broken her silence and was screeching at the blonde man, "You just don't take a hint, do you? What part of go away is so complicated for you to wrap your brain around?"

Jadeite, to his credit, didn't back down. He just stood there with a big grin on his face. "Hey! Like Darien said, I'm free to go wherever I want. And right now I'm happy going wherever you want to go."

Raye turned to walk through the doors, muttering curses under her breath that were harsh, even for her, and involved some rather…sensitive…parts of Jadeite's anatomy. The words made Serena and Mina blush as their mouths fell open in shock at their friend's language while Jadeite, Darien, and Kunzite all snorted back laughter.

"I'm going to flay every bit of skin from that son of a bitch and then roast him on a spit," Raye was still grumbling as she stepped inside the arcade. Then she looked up and froze. "What the hell?"

Serena stood on her tiptoes to look over Raye's shoulder so she could see what had grabbed her attention. Then she gasped at the sight.

Lita and Nephrite were sitting side by side at the counter, slightly turned toward each other. They were both wet and dripping and looked like they had just crawled out of a food fight. Nephrite had Lita's hand clasped in his and held close to his cheek. He was looking at her with a hopeful expression while Lita stared at him with an indefinable look on her face.

"Oh! Isn't that sweet?" Mina cooed softly.

Raye snorted. "Great! Another sell-out!"

Serena's heart banged almost painfully against her ribcage as that uneasy feeling that she'd had a few minutes before returned in full force. Now she knew what it was. All of the scouts had pledged their loyalty to her on the Silver Crystal, and since then a bond had been formed between her and her scouts. It was nothing like what she had with Darien, but she was able to get glimpses of their moods from time to time, especially when they were in close proximity and they were feeling an extremely strong emotion. She'd learned to block it out for the most part to respect their privacy, but sometimes one would slip through.

This one hit her like a speeding train. She felt anger, pain, self-loathing, and self-disgust wash over her in nauseating waves. And then she even felt the tingle of electrical sparks dance over her skin. When she noticed a faint green glow begin to shine around Lita, she knew what was about to happen. Jupiter was about to blow, big time.

"No, Lita!" she cried, pushing past Raye and Jadeite and running across the room so fast that she was a blur. She threw herself between the enraged Lita and Nephrite just as Lita lunged for his throat, electricity crackling at her fingertips.

Lita pulled up short when a spark of silver penetrated the green haze that surrounded her. She blinked hard and realized that her fingers were only an inch away from tearing into Serena.

"Serena!" she gasped as she let her hands drop to her sides. The haze retreated completely, although anger still bubbled inside her, but she was able to grind out, "What are you doing?"

Serena returned her look steadily. "I think that's what I should be asking you. You let your emotions override your power and were about to attack Nephrite. Why?"

Lita suddenly felt embarrassed and looked down at the floor as she mumbled. "He pissed me off."

Behind Serena, Nephrite muttered, "I didn't do anything."

This brought Lita's head snapping back up, fresh anger blazing in her green eyes. "You did too, you bastard, and you know it." She attempted to push Serena out of the way.

With surprising strength, Serena managed to shove the much taller and somewhat heavier girl back a few steps. "Back off, Lita!"

"Why are you protecting him?" Lita snarled. "He deserves everything that he's got coming to him. I just can't believe I waited this long to open a good old fashioned can of whoop ass on him."

Raye's eyes were gleaming and she was almost foaming at the mouth as she took in the scene in front of her. "Wow! If I'd known there was going to be a show this good I would have brought popcorn with me. Move out of the way Serena and let her wipe the floor with the son of a bitch! This is better than pay per view!"

"Shut up, Raye!" Mina suddenly snapped. Her voice had turned serious and an undercurrent of authority rang through it. "Stay out of this and let Serena handle it!"

Serena shot her fellow blonde a quick, grateful look before looking back to her auburn haired friend. "Lita," she began carefully. "I'm not doing this to protect Nephrite. I'm doing it to protect you. I know you like a good fight, but I also know that there isn't a mean or malicious bone in your body. If you were to beat him up tonight, you would feel horrible about it come morning."

Lita let out a contemptuous snort. "Not effing likely! He's just like a pesky mosquito that you keep trying to shoo away because it keeps buzzing around and annoying you. But once it lands on your skin and bites you…SWAT! Game over. So all I'm doing is ridding myself of a pest."

Serena read the tumultuous emotions in her friend's eyes and took a few steps closer to her so that she could go up on tiptoe and whisper in her ear, "Is it really Nephrite that you're so angry at, or is it yourself?"

Amy bit back a giggle as she saw yet another girl from her school turn around and look at her in shock. This brought the total number of gaping spectators so far up to four, and they had only gone six blocks so far. It seemed that the student population of Juuban High had a hard time believing their eyes when they saw their resident genius walking down the street on the arm of a tall, handsome, and older man.

Zoicite leaned down to ask softly, "What's so funny? Did I miss a spot when I shaved or something?"

Amy smiled and shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something."

Zoicite just grinned and then winked at her as he said, "I saw them staring too. Are they classmates of yours?"

She knew that she should feel disgruntled that he could read her so easily, but instead she felt giddy. "Yes, they are. They are all falling over in shock because I am the least likely candidate in the entire school to have a date."

A blonde brow arched at her. "And why would that be? You are a beautiful and intelligent young woman. I would imagine that men would be beating your door down for the honor to go out with you."

She grimaced. "Quite the opposite actually. I am the shy, quiet bookworm that most people never even pay attention to unless they are grumbling about my latest test grade."

He shook his head. "The men in this century must be idiots. I seem to remember that you were highly sought after in the Silver Millennium."

She ducked her head as she blushed. Princess Ami had definitely had her share of admirers, but her shyness had never allowed her to accept any of their offers of courtship. At least not until a certain blonde haired earth general had come along and quietly stolen her heart.

"Men are more interested in a woman's physical attractiveness than in her mental capacity nowadays," Amy mumbled. "Not that I think I'm ugly or anything, I am pleased with my appearance. But men seem to prefer the blonde bombshells like Serena and Mina or the dark, exotic ones like Raye. There are even some that like the strong, athletic types like Lita. Silent people like me tend to get shuffled into the background."

"Imbeciles," Zoicite muttered. "It's no wonder that chivalry and morality have declined as badly as it has over the centuries if people form their opinions about other people strictly based on what they see on the surface. Haven't they ever heard the expression 'You can't judge a book by its cover'?"

A light laugh bubbled past her lips. "I'm sure they've heard of it, they just don't practice it. And that's been perfectly fine with me. I've been grateful, actually. I've been so busy the last few years between school and my scout duties that it would have been impossible for me to juggle a relationship as well."

Zoicite gave her a sideways look. "And yet here you are on a date."

Heat flamed in her cheeks. "This is different." Then she saw him smirk a little. "Oh! You're teasing me."

"Maybe just a little," he confessed. "You're beautiful when you blush. It makes you look like you've been standing outside on a winter's day."

She felt her face grow hotter as she mumbled, "Thank you." She looked up and saw that they were nearing the arcade. "Do you mind if we stop at the arcade for just a minute? I left a book I was reading there by accident and I'm sure Andrew stashed it away for me. I just want to pick it up."

He nodded. "Sure, no problem. The night is young."

They passed through the arcade doors and abruptly came to a halt as they took in the unusual scene before them.

Darien, Kunzite, and Jadeite were just inside the doors, each wearing a different expression on their face. Darien looked concerned while Kunzite appeared bored. Jadeite looked slightly amused. Mina and Raye weren't too far away, and they were glaring at each other. And then by the counter stood Serena, in between Lita and Nephrite, both of whom appeared to wearing their drinks.

"Uh oh! I think we just walked in on the middle of something," Zoicite whispered to Amy.

She nodded, but didn't say a word.

Somebody else had plenty to say though.

"That's it!" Andrew yelled as he jumped up to stand on the counter. He held a mop in his hand and he looked furious. "If all you people are going to do is fight then take it somewhere else! I am not going to stand here and watch the entire arcade get trashed just because some of you can't control your tempers! This is not a wrestling ring! Now either this crap stops right now or I'm going to start banning people from coming in here! I barely survived the Serena/Darien war, and I'll be damned if I have to go through this shit again! Comprende?"

The arcade fell completely silent after his outburst except for the sounds of the video game machines in the background. The scouts and Darien in particular knew that Andrew was one of the most mellow, laid back people in the world and that it took a lot to make him lose his temper. He must be really pissed if he just had the guts to yell at a whole group of people that had super powers.

He jumped to the ground and began shooing Serena, Lita, and Nephrite away from the puddle of milkshake and cola on the floor so that he could mop it up.

"Here, Drew, let me do that," Lita spoke up in a quiet voice.

"I've got it!" he snapped back, clearly still in a high temper. "Now those of you that are here for a legitimate reason and can behave themselves can sit down and I'll be happy to serve you whatever you want. Anyone feeling the need to bash someone else's face in can feel free to use the back alley. The door's that way." He hooked a thumb over his shoulder before taking his mop and stomping toward the back room.

After about five seconds of silence Raye muttered, "Wow! And people say things get hot when I lose my temper. I think the temperature in here just jumped ten degrees."

A few hesitant chuckles floated around at her words.

Serena looked back and forth between Lita and Nephrite. "Okay, I think we need to put some distance between you two for now."

Nephrite bowed his head dejectedly. "I'll leave."

Lita's voice stopped him as he walked away. "Nephrite, wait."

He turned to look back at her. "What is it, Lita?"

She suddenly looked unsure of herself. "I…I'm sorry, okay! I shouldn't have jumped at you like that."

That surprised him. An apology coming from the great Sailor Jupiter? Had the world stopped spinning?

He shook his head and grinned at her. "That wasn't the first time you lost your temper with me, and knowing my luck it won't be the last. I'll see you later."

Jadeite looked toward Raye and sighed in defeat as he realized that he had probably made all of the progress he was going to make today. He joined Nephrite as he walked out. "Come on, man! Why don't you go get changed and we'll go out and have a drink. I think we both need it."

"Hallelujah!" Raye growled. "I didn't think he'd ever leave. He's been hanging on like a leech practically all day. Now maybe I can get some peace and quiet."

Lita pushed her wet hair away from her face. "I'm gonna split too. I need a shower."

Serena grabbed her arm. "Wait a minute. What actually happened here?"

Lita shrugged. "He just did something that rubbed me the wrong way, that's all. I guess I've just got some issues where he's concerned. You were right before. I'm more angry at myself than I am at him, but I'll figure it out."

"If you need someone to talk to…" Serena began.

"You'll be the first one I call," Lita reassured her. Then she turned to Raye. "You don't have any plans, do you? Why don't you come over to my place and we'll pig out on junk food and watch some lame movies."

Raye nodded. "That sounds like a plan to me. I don't have a thing going on." She followed Lita out the door.

"Um…" Mina began hesitantly. "We were just stopping by for a snack on the way to the movies, but I think we'll pass and just hit up the concession stand at the theater. With the mood that Andrew's in he might decide to poison our drinks."

"I heard that!" Andrew said as he pushed his way through the swinging doors. His face was still flushed, but he looked calmer than he had before. "You should know by now that I would never poison anyone. It would be bad for business. But there are other ways for getting revenge." His hazel eyes gleamed wickedly for a moment.

Mina let out a squeak. "You're scary when you're mad, Drew! I am so out of here!" She grabbed Kunzite's arm and practically dragged him from the arcade, almost running over Amy and Zoicite in the process.

Amy's blue eyes were just as wide as Mina's had been. "I was just going to pick up my book, but I can get it some other time."

Andrew sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped as the tension drained out of him. He reached under the counter and pulled out a small paperback book. "Here, Amy. I promise I won't bite your head off."

She crossed the room swiftly and picked up the book from the counter to slide it into her purse. "Well, Zoicite and I have dinner plans. I'll see you guys later."

Serena smiled brightly at her. "Okay! By the way, I really like that dress on you."

Amy returned the smile as she smoothed down the skirt of the butter yellow, halter-top dress she was wearing. "Thanks. We're off now. Call me if you need any help wrangling Lita or Raye."

"Will do," Serena laughed, giving her a mock salute.

Andrew groaned and slumped forward to rest his head on the counter as the doors closed behind the couple. "Well I guess I cleared the place, huh?" Then he raised his head just enough to look at Serena and Darien. "I'm surprised you two are still here."

Darien snorted. "It takes more than a Furuhata temper tantrum to run us off. Besides, you can't get mad at us. I didn't do anything this time and Serena broke up the fight before anything too serious happened."

Andrew grinned. "True. But you guys missed the opening act. I suffered from some major flashbacks when Lita dumped her milkshake over Nephrite's head and then he doused her in soda. It was just like watching you two all over again. I guess I panicked at the thought of having to go through housebreaking another couple and I lost it."

Serena giggled. "You definitely got loud, that's for sure. I don't think I've ever heard you yell like that before. You even broke a sweat."

She reached out to push his damp hair off his forehead and her eyes widened. "Geez, you feel like you have a fever. Raye was right, you do get hot when you get mad."

Andrew sent her a mock pout. "And here I thought the ladies found me hot all the time." Crickets chirped for a moment. "Anyway, it's no big deal. I always break out in a sweat when I lose my temper and my body temp goes up. It'll pass in a minute."

Darien slipped into his doctor in training mode. "You're lucky you didn't give yourself a stroke. I bet your blood pressure shot through the roof."

The blonde man pushed away from the counter with a laugh. "Lita and Nephrite just better count themselves lucky that I don't have superhuman powers like they do, because I would have bashed their heads together for being idiots. Now what can I get for you guys?"

A/N Were the tempers flying or what? I think I've got all the fires put out, at least for now. I loved letting Andrew have a shot at telling everyone off. I mean seriously, why should he always be the one that has to clean up after everybody? I also enjoyed putting in a little bit of foreshadowing of what Andrew will come to be in Lunar Princess. That's my hot sun guy! Sorry, I'm sure that some of you are well aware by now that Andrew holds a special place in my heart. Okay, so now I've got to give Nephrite and Jadeite their chances to finally land their girls. I know I've been abusing them horribly, but their time is coming, I swear. Now I'm off to give my other stories a little TLC. Don't forget to hit that button and leave me a review. (Puppy dog eyes) Pretty please! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~