AN: To any of you who may have favorited/followed this story so far, I have made a few tweaks to the first couple chapters. Nothing MAJOR, but just a head's up! To anyone new... HI! :)


This coffee is doing nothing, Lena thought as she took a sip of the hot beverage. She had lost count of how how many cups she'd had today. On a normal day she had a two coffee limit and anything more left her jittery. Today, however, had been far from normal.

Taking off her glasses she rubbed her eyes. They felt fuzzy from staring at her computer screen for so many hours. The first draft of her thesis was due in less than a week and she had, so far, only written the introduction. What else is new though?

Lena had come to her favorite coffee shop after her last class of the day, stopping briefly at her apartment to feed Elliott and grab a few of her books. The coffee shop had been blessedly emptier than normal with her favorite corner booth waiting for her. She had been a regular at the coffee shop for several years and every one of the shop's employees, including the new people who had come and gone, knew her order by heart. Hell, she thought, they probably keep a pot of it on standby.

A knock on the glass window behind her got her attention, causing her to jump slightly in her seat and turn quickly. In the dim streetlight she saw her new neighbor - Hale, was it? - standing on the other side of the glass, waving at her. She smiled in return, giving him a little wave. Her eyes followed him as he walked past the window, the tinkling bell above the door sounding as he walked in.

"Fancy meeting you here," Hale said as he approached her table. "This scene reminds me of every day of medical school."

Lena laughed. Her table, which was made for at least six, was covered in books and papers. "Getting off of work?" she asked, motioning to his blue scrubs. He nodded. "Kind of late."

"Such is the life of a resident," he said with a shrug. "They give you all the really great shifts. Mind if I join you?"

"Of course," she replied. She started clearing her books, making space for him, as he slid into the seat across from her. He put a hand on hers, stopping her from moving a book. She glanced up, catching his hazel colored eyes. She could just make out flecks of emerald in them. His dark hair was tousled, as if he ran his hands absentmindedly through it during the day. He is pretty cute, she thought as he moved his hand and leaned back in the booth.

"Seriously, don't move your stuff," he said with a chuckle. "If I learned one thing from all my studying, it's that straightening your notes in a hurry now leads to frantically searching for them later."

"I really hope that's not all you learned in your studying," Lena teased.

"Touche," he said, laughing. A waitress came to the table and asked him what he'd like to drink. "Just whatever she's drinking," he replied, pointing to Lena's nearly empty coffee cup. The waitress, Jenni, who was a coffee shop old-timer as Lena called her, glanced at Lena, eyebrows raised. Lena giggled.

"What she's drinking?" Jenni asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it's fine," Hale replied, glancing into Lena's cup, seeing it was just coffee. Jenni made a slight face and shook her head, going back to the counter to fix his drink.

"So, Hale," Lena started, leaning her chin on her fist. "Tell me about yourself."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it you'd like to know?"

"I don't know… where are you from? Family? Interests? Pets?"

Hale seemed to consider her question for a moment when Jenni returned to the table, sliding a white mug in front of him. He missed the amused glance the waitress and Lena shared before she walked away.

"I moved around a bunch growing up, so I don't have one place that I call home. Father was in… government and traveled a good deal, and Mother didn't want to sit at home waiting for him to come back. So we traveled with him." Hale paused and took a sip of his coffee, nearly choking on its strength. "What the hell is this stuff?" he sputtered.

Lena laughed. "It's their darkest roast with two shots of espresso. It's definitely not for the faint of heart."

"That's for sure. Luckily I am self-aware enough to admit that in regards to this coffee, I am certainly faint of heart," Hale said, eyeing the offensive beverage. "Anyway, where was I?"

"Father in government, moved around a lot," Lena prompted.

"Oh yeah. Mother oversaw my education when I was young, but when I was close to high school age Father insisted I attend a school. I started boarding school when I was fourteen," Hale explained.

"And now you're a doctor. Your parents must be proud," Lena commented. Hale frowned slightly.

"Well, parent," he said. "Father died when I was sixteen."

"I'm so sorry," Lena whispered, unconsciously placing her hand on top of his.

He waved a hand, giving her a smile. "Thank you. It was a long time ago." He took another sip of his coffee, grimacing slightly. "Tell me about you."

Before Lena could respond her cell phone beeped. It was a message from Michiru.

Flight tomorrow lands at 4:47. Car arranged for pick-up. Text me with dinner details.

Lena frowned. Michiru's messages were always so… to the point. Another beep came through.

Looking forward to seeing you Leenie.

A picture of Michiru and Haruka followed the message, both of them smiling widely and waving at the camera. It was hard to tell from the picture, but Lena swore Haruka was wearing what looked like a Yale sweatshirt. She smiled slightly before realizing she was ignoring Hale.

"Sorry about that," she said, her cheeks warming as she slid her phone into her bag.

"It's fine," Hale said. "So was that good news or bad news? Your facial expressions made it hard to tell."

"Neither, or both, I guess," Lena replied. "My cousin is coming into town tomorrow. It was just her sending me the details."

"Where is she from?" Hale asked.

"She's from Japan," Lena responded. "Crystal Tokyo, to be exact."

"I have-" Hale stopped suddenly, a look coming over his face as if weighing his words.

"You have…" Lena prompted.

"I have been there before," he said, smiling. "It's very nice."

"Yes, it's lovely," Lena agreed.

"Do you ever go visit her?"

Lena shook her head. "I haven't been back there in years. Difficult family stuff there."

"Oh?"

With a sigh, Lena leaned on her elbows, biting her lower lip for a moment as she considered how to explain. She rarely, if ever, told people about her family, namely her cousin. But for some reason, I want to tell him... Deciding it was best to just spill it, she inhaled a breath.

"Michiru, my cousin, is... well, she's Princess Neptune. She's also one of the queen's Guardians, Sailor Neptune. Let's just say that there are some tensions between us because of that."

She turned slightly towards Hale, taken aback by the odd look on his face. He looked paler than he had, his eyes wide as he stared incredulously at her.

"I've freaked you out," she said hurriedly. "I'm sorry. I typically don't tell people about my cousin for this very reason."

"What?" Hale asked, shaking his head slightly. "No, I'm not freaked out. I think it's just this coffee. I don't know how you stand it."

Lena laughed softly. "Years of practice." She glanced at her watch, surprised at the time. "It's nearly 1 am!"

"What time did you think it was?"

"I don't know," Lena shrugged, pulling her books together. "Close to 11?"

Hale laughed and started helping her gather her books. "What time did you come in here?"

"Er…"

"About 3:45," Jenni called from behind the counter. Lena blushed as Hale laughed.

"Come on," he said when all her books and papers and computer had been packed away. "I'll walk you home."

"So gallant," Lena teased.

Hale winked at her as he held the shop's door open. "Only because I'm going that way too."