The Library Garden

"…Give me one good reason why I shouldn't turn them into a pile of ashes."

Mercury and Zoicite both started forward at the same time. "You can't!"

All of their friends stared at them. "We're on the same side," Sailor Mercury explained, taking Mars's wrist and pulling her back, even as Zoicite was persuading Jadeite to sheath his sword. She stood in the center of the group and looked among the Senshi. "Beryl twisted their minds and made them fight us. They never wanted to. When Beryl killed them, they were turned into jade stones. Mamoru brought them back."

"You did?" Sailor Moon asked. Tuxedo Mask nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't sure how you would react. I thought it might be something like this."

"How do we know we can trust them?" Mars demanded.

"We're telling the truth!" insisted Jadeite.

"Enough!" cried Zoicite. "Mars, Jupiter, Venus, you trust Tuxedo Mask, don't you?" The three Senshi nodded mutely. "And I know you trust Mercury."

"Of course," said Jupiter.

"Well, they believe us. If we were still working for the Negaverse, wouldn't we have attacked you by now?"

"I see your point," said Venus. She turned to the nearest general, who happened to be Kunzite. "I'm sorry for doubting you."

He nodded. "I understand your reasons. In your position, I'm sure I would have done the same."

"Good," said Tuxedo Mask.

"Well, now we know that we're all on the same side," said Kunzite, ever the practical leader. "It's getting late. We should all get home."

The others all nodded and dispersed, leaving Zoicite and Mercury alone. The blue-haired girl closed her eyed. In a flash of blue light, her Senshi uniform faded back into her school one. She sat on the edge of the fountain and let out a sigh. "That was much less climactic than I expected."

I agree." Zoicite sat beside her, his clothes also returning to normal. "We make a pretty good team, you know."

"We do, at that."

"So, the next time anyone needs a garden defended from evil, or old friends-turned-enemies turned back into friends, they just need to call us."

Ami laughed. "As if anyone will need that after tonight."

He grinned to see her so happy. "Well, you never know."

She rose and began to stretch. "It's time to go, I think. I have school tomorrow."

Zoicite nodded. "I'd better turn in as well. Will I see you around sometime?"

"Absolutely." Ami started down the path back to the library when the sound of cracking branches and dark mutterings reached her ear. She turned to see that Zoicite had hold of his shirt hem and was trying to pull it away from a bush. "Zoicite."

He looked up at her and grinned. "I know. You'd have thought I had learned my lesson."

Ami came up beside him and easily untangled the fabric. "That's another you owe me."

Zoicite straightened and found himself staring into sparkling blue eyes. "Ami, I think I owe you more than that. I think…"

Before he even realized what he was doing, the blonde general leaned down and kissed her.

Ami's eyes widened. "Zoicite!" she breathed.

"I- shouldn't have done that," he stammered. "I'm sorry."

Instead of looking angry, a smile tugged on the edges of Ami's lips. "I'll forgive you, on one condition."

Something in her tone made Zoicite feel strangely hopeful. "Yes?"

Ami's smile grew broader. "Kiss me again?"

The End