"I never asked how you got back," Ami stated. They had long escaped the constant questions and teasings of Jadeite and, after Ami explaining she'd come to update them on her day's conversation with the senshi, taken to hiding in Zoisite's room. Though originally extremely apprehensive about it, Ami was now on the floor, leaning in complete comfort against his bed.

"Don't… don't know," Zoisite muttered, looking at the floor. He was sitting close beside her, barely an inch between their shoulders. "Ah, that's part of our fear, I guess. We don't know how we got back or why, so we're playing it very cautiously."

Ami turned slightly towards him and offered a small smile, setting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure it's nothing like that. You had always deserved a second chance; it was just taken from you before you got to grab onto it. Now's your chance."

Zoisite tilted his head slightly to look at her. She was staring with such startling motivation that he found himself thrown backwards over the years, straight back to the Silver Millennium. She had always had this intense look about her, like she had all the answers to the universe and you should just trust her.

He gave her a half smile, "I want to believe that. We all do, you know? But… but we love him more than anything and the thought of hurting him… or killing him… again…"

He clenched his mouth shut firmly. He felt like a broken record. She'd tried to reassure him on this multiple times over their last few meetings, yet he found himself dwelling on it and, worse, complaining about it to her again and again.

He shook his head as she opened her mouth to respond and looked at her with a full grin, "I know. I will get there. We will all get to the point where we trust this. I think that's what keeps us here. We know there will come a time when we can let ourselves go back to him."

She smiled, her hand tightening on his shoulder. This was one of the first positive things she had heard him say about his return. She liked the positivity. She could see no reason that they would be back in their own mindset for evil causes. No, she was sure they were back for their original purpose.

They'd sat like that for only a matter of seconds, staring at one another with her hand still gripping his shoulder. He moved first and she had seen what was coming before he'd even started. She'd seen the thoughts playing out in his eyes; the brief battle and then the decision.

She didn't hesitate when his lips met hers. He had moved slowly, stopping just as his lips touched hers, and she pushed forward against his mouth and her other hand moved to the side of his face.

He was certainly not her first kiss in this lifetime, though it'd be a lie to say she was particularly experienced. This, however, was exceptionally different from the few before now. He started out gentle, almost nervous, but he quickly seemed almost hungry. He pushed against her, causing her to fall backwards, trapped against the floor below him. One hand gripped the side of her neck softly, but firmly, while the other gripped her hip.

And then, suddenly, the memories were flowing back into her mind. Every kiss they'd ever shared in their past lives was as vivid as though it had actually been Ami's own memory and not that of a former life. The places where he had touched back then were tingling, burning, on her body now, as though knowing the same would happen again. Even worse, Ami felt she was waiting for it.

At that thought, her eyes flew back open. In one swift movement, she had pushed Zoisite away and wiggled out from under him. She was back on her feet and grabbing her things before he had fully realized what had happened.

"I'm sorry. This… No. This is just no. I've to go. I'll se… Bye, Zoisite," she had left the room before he had gotten to his feet. She mumbled a goodbye to Kunzite and Jadeite, who had both looked up at her quick and abrupt exit, and was gone by the time he'd gotten to the door of his room.

Kunzite and Jadeite look from the entry hall to Zoisite at the same time.

"Were you that bad," Jadeite laughed.

Zoisite turned and entered his room again, shutting the door back without a word.

-x-

It took a total of two minutes before Zoisite's door opened again. He didn't even bother looking up to see who was entering. Kunzite would be here equally to check if he was alright and if he'd screwed anything up too badly. He was sure Jadeite's shit-eating grin was well put away and he was full friend, now.

The two found Zoisite sitting in the same place he'd been with Ami, his elbows on his bent knees and his head in hands, facing the floor. Kunzite sat next to him and Jadeite crawled onto the bed, flopping on his stomach with his head next to Zoisite's. Neither said a word for a few moments, hoping that Zoisite would start the conversation. However, after Zoisite refused to even look up, Kunzite finally spoke.

"So, were you that bad?"

Jadeite coughed, half in surprise and half to cover up his laugh and rolled away from Zoisite.

Zoisite looked up at Kunzite and glared, muttering, "Et tu, Brute?"

"Don't quote Shakespeare at me. I was only trying to get you out of your slump," Kunzite waved him off. "Why don't you go ahead and tell us what happened."

Zoisite looked back at Jadeite, who had rolled back after recovering himself, apprehensively. Jadeite shook his head with a smile, "I'm not here to tease this time, honest."

Zoisite sighed, leaning back against the bed, his head lying next to Jadeite's as he stared at the ceiling, "It's not nearly as juicy as you guys would hope. Nothing really happened. I mean, I kissed her. And she was okay with it. I guess I just got… carried away or something. One second she seemed fine and then she jumped up half in tears. It wasn't like it was bad or anything."

"Carried away how?" Kunzite prompted.

"Oh, nothing like that. It was just… not chaste. My hands didn't move or anything," Zoisite groaned, pressing his palms to his eyes."

"Maybe that was the problem," Jadeite suggested. Both men turned and glared at him and he pouted in return, "I was serious."

"You know her," Zoisite stressed. "It wasn't that."

Kunzite interrupted the bickering before it truly began, "Do we though? We don't really know anything about her."

"Yeah," Zoisite muttered.

"Anyways," Kunzite continued, "I doubt there was any real harm done. To your relationship with her and the rest of ours. Give her time, talk to her, figure out what she's thinking."

"Thanks, Kunzite," Zoisite replied, offering a half smile of gratitude. He turned to look at Jadeite, "You, too."

"Just here for moral support," the other blonde responded, wrapping his arm around Zoisite's neck in a quick hug before he jumped up. "Anyways, I should get ready for my date."

With a wink, Jadeite was out the door. Kunzite clapped Zoisite on the shoulder and then pushed off the floor. He turned before he walked out the door, "If you need anything else."

-x-

Ami lay in bed fairly later than she normally would. Her classes didn't start until the afternoon on Tuesday's but she was already up and ready early, usually studying the morning away. She had the luxury of not having to work as long as she lived with her mother. She spent the majority of her free time in assistant lab positions or volunteering at the hospital. Tuesday mornings, however, were her own study mornings.

Zoisite had called on Sunday evening, but she hadn't even been able to bring herself to answer the phone. The last few days, she'd felt a jumbled mess, unable to concentrate even on her simplest course work. She kept thinking back to the kiss she shared with Zoisite the other day and, even worse, all they shared in the Silver Millennium. Everything about both the situations felt wrong to her.

She knew she shouldn't have even been there in the first place, but to let her past feelings get the best of her was a mistake she couldn't believe she'd made.

Past feelings.

She'd mulled the words over and over the past few days. She couldn't make sense of if they were remaining feelings or new feelings or if she was just assuming what she should have been feeling. She had never had so much trouble knowing her own thoughts before. She was sure she didn't like it.