Disclaimer: I own nada.

Another Tommy/Kat one-shot. Kinda short and sweet. (I'm currently working on ideas for the full-length one). As I've said before, Kat needs more respect. So, T/Kat writers, KEEP your fics coming! Don't let anybody make ya crazy!

(The Dino teens have graduated already, of course).

(Oh, and Kat returned from London a year earlier).

Age: 26

Reawakened Love

(August- 2nd Week)

"What are you in the mood for tonight? Chinese?" Tommy Oliver asked Katherine Hillard.

"Chinese would be great," Kat said with a smile.

She'd come over to Tommy's house a couple hours later. The two of them had been spending quite a bit of time together the last few months. It'd just happened naturally. Everything was so comfortable. It was like it'd been in high school, but... much better. Maybe because they were adults now.

Kat wasn't sure how she'd categorize her and Tommy now. They were more than friends, but, not exactly a couple. She was sure, though, about how she felt. Spending all this time with Tommy had brought feelings she thought had faded back to surface. And... they seemed to be more powerful this time around.

"Cool. I'm gonna order the food now," Tommy said, grabbing the phone. 'Should I tell her?' Like Katherine, he'd been desiring a reunion. His feelings were also intense. Tommy'd been so sure that everything in his past would stay there. No way... .

A little while later, they were sitting in his kitchen, eating their takeout. Kat was telling him about funny things that'd happened in London. Tommy was only half-listening because he couldn't stop thinking of how absolutely beautiful she was to him and how much he wanted to kiss her.

Should he tell her? What would she say? He was dying to tell her what he was feeling. To tell her how much he wanted to start over. But what if telling her would be a huge mistake? What if she said she felt that starting up again wasn't the best idea?

Kat took notice of Tommy's thoughtful expression and her brow furrowed. "Tommy?"

Her voice snapped him completely back to the present. "I zoned out there for a minute. Sorry about that."

"It's okay. Dollar for your thoughts," she said with a soft smile.

He half-smiled. "They're worth a helluva lot more than that."

She laughed. "Well, you feel up to sharing them with a certain Australian companion of yours?"

Tommy began squirming in his seat. Maybe he should tell her. Even if he didn't get the reaction he was hoping for, at least he'd be able to stop driving himself crazy over this! Besides, Kat was a gentle, loving, kindhearted woman. If she rejected him, she wouldn't do it in a heartless way or anything.

Kat bit her lower lip. It was more than obvious how uneasy he was. "It's all right, Tommy, if you don't want-"

"No, I do. Trust me. I just don't know if I should. I mean, I don't..." his voice trailed off and his eyes began darting around the room.

"Tommy, whatever it is, it can't be that bad. You know by now that you can talk to me about anything," she said.

He locked eyes with her. "Yeah. Yeah... I do know. I've always been able to talk to you. That's something I hope will never change."

She grinned. "It won't."

He reached across the table and squeezed her hand. Okay. He was going to tell her. Right now. He swallowed hard and sat up straighter. "Kat, I'm gonna tell you what's been on my mind... and in my heart."

Her pulse rate picked up a little. In his heart. That could mean... hope began filling her slowly.

"All right," Tommy muttered. Then, he cleared his throat. "Kat, we've been spending so much time together and it's been great. No, I take that back. It's been incredible."

"Agreed," she said softly.

"I'm- well, I've been... I just didn't expect to start feeling this way again. I've fallen in love with you all over again and I've come to believe that... I'm only gonna keep falling," he said honestly.

Tears of happiness instantly sprang to her eyes. "I feel the exact same way, Tommy. I was just nervous about bringing it up because I wasn't sure how you felt."

"That's why I was so hesitant about telling you,' he said with a laugh. He cheered silently. She felt the same way. He couldn't believe his luck! He grinned as relief and happiness surged through him.

"I'm so glad we got all this out in the open. I love you so much," she said.

"I love you, too. I always will," he said seriously.

"That works both ways," she said, nodding.

He kissed her hand softly. "I'm never letting you get away again."

"You better not," she said with a teasing smile.

He chuckled and stood. Then, he gestured for her to do the same. She did and he stepped up to her.

"So, we're officially back on again," he said, circling his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

"Right you are," she said, curling her arms around his neck.

"Then, our lips having a little meeting really shouldn't be much of a problem at all, should it?" he said.

"Since my lips've cleared their schedule, no, it's not a problem," she said, her eyes dancing.

They smiled fondly at each other, her fingers began travelling up to his hair, they leaned in slowly at the same time and the second their lips touched, powerful sensations began washing over them both. He deepened the kiss and tightened his hold on her. She lovingly ran her fingers through his hair.

When it ended, he let out a low whistle after his breathing returned to normal. She laughed and nodded.

"I'll say," she agreed.

He grinned. "You're back in my arms."

"And if I were any happier about that, we'd both be floating around a cloud right now," she said- causing him to laugh.

"Yeah. Happy isn't even a strong enough word for what I'm feeling right now," he said. Then, he began caressing her back gently. "You know, Kat... I think we need a change of scenery. I want us to start over fresh somewhere else."

"That's fine by me. Do you have any particular place in mind?" she asked as she resumed running her fingers through his hair.

"How about... Australia?" he suggested.

Her eyes lit up at the mention of her birthplace. "You wanna move to Australia?"

"If you do," he said.

"I'd love that," she whispered.

"Then, we're going to Australia," he said before kissing her once again.

If you liked it, I love ya dearly. If ya didn't, why'd ya take out the time to read it? Cya.