A/N this chapter is a bit longer to make up for not posting yesterday. Enjoy!

Rei and Jadeite quickly got dressed and stepped out into the hallway, looking at one another when they heard Usagi and the others chatting excitedly in the living room. Before they went in to greet everyone, Jadeite pulled Rei back to the bedroom, reaching out to brush her hair out of her face. She looked up at him, furrowing her brow concernedly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sensing something was off. Jadeite chuckled and shook his head, reaching for her hands.

"Nothing is wrong, I promise. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be okay?" she asked.

"What we just did was…" the door opened suddenly, prompting Jadeite to stop talking. He looked up, and Rei turned slightly, seeing Mamoru in the doorway.

"I thought I heard you two" he said, grinning. "Usagi and the girls are here, and breakfast is almost ready" His eyes darted around the room, eventually falling on the crumpled bedsheets and the towel on the floor. He smirked slightly, turning to leave. "Take your time…" he teased. Rei threw a shirt at him, trying to hit him before the door closed. She looked up at Jadeite and giggled, leaning her head against his chest.

"Anyway…you were saying?" she giggled. Jadeite wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head before speaking again.

"I was just saying that what we did earlier was…amazing, but I only just realized that it was so sudden, and we never talked about it beforehand…" Rei interrupted his rambling with a soft kiss on his lips, which he gladly returned. After what felt like an eternity, he pulled away, allowing his forehead to rest on hers.

"You worry too much" Rei teased, leaning in to kiss him again. "You should know by now that I never do anything I don't want to."

"That is very true" Jadeite chuckled, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "Want to do it again?" he joked, grinning mischievously. Rei giggled and reached for a pillow to smack him, yelping when she suddenly found herself on her back.

"Jade…" she giggled, lifting her head to kiss him. "We can't…" Her protesting was cut short by the feel of Jade's lips on her neck.

"Can't we?" he asked, sliding his hands up her shirt. She let out a squeak, quickly catching his hands and smirking up at him.

"You're crazy" she giggled, lacing her fingers through his. He pouted slightly and lowered his lips to her heck, voicing his argument between kisses.

"But…Mamoru said…we could…take our time." He gazed down at her, pouting slightly. Rei giggled again and sat up, kissing his nose playfully.

"Later" she insisted. Jadeite frowned slightly, but Rei refused to back down. "We can't just stay in here and ignore everyone." Jadeite grumbled under his breath and stood up, reaching for Rei's hands to help her up.

"Fine, but you owe me" he chuckled. Rei stuck her tongue out at him and walked toward the door, finding herself engulfed in Usagi's arms as soon as she opened the door. She gladly returned her friend's embrace, though she was mildly concerned by the way Usagi was shaking.

"Are you okay?" she asked, pulling back to look at her. Usagi's brilliant blue eyes were brimming with tears.

"Mamoru told me about your boyfriend…I'm so sorry we told him where you were. We didn't know" she explained, on the edge of breaking down.

"It's alright…he's no longer in my life. I promise, I'm fine."

"He hurt you, Rei…why didn't you tell us? We could have been there for you." Rei nodded slightly, suddenly feeling extremely guilty for the double life she had been leading.

"I know…I just didn't want to risk getting him mad at you…" Rei sighed. Usagi pulled her into another hug while Jadeite gently rubbed her back.

"We could have taken him…look at all the guys we've taken down over the years. Right, Jadeite?" Usagi teased, winking at him playfully.

"Right" he agreed, chuckling slightly. Rei let go of Usagi and smiled as she walked toward the kitchen. Jadeite and Usagi followed, standing by and smiling as Rei reunited with her fellow guardians.

"It's so good seeing you all again" she said softly. "I'm sorry I never told you about Kumori…"

"Don't worry about it" Mako said with a wink. "If he ever bothers you again, we'll take care of him."

"I don't think Jade would give you a chance" Rei giggled, turning and smiling at her better half. He smiled back at her before walking into the kitchen to make up a plate of food for each of them.

"What are you ladies up to today?" Mamoru asked, still surprised by their unexpected arrival.

"We're going to steal Rei for the day and go shopping" Usagi said, directing a smile at Rei. She smiled back, reaching up to brush her raven bangs out of her eyes before she started eating. A day out with the girls would be a nice break for Rei, though she didn't mind being at the apartment with Jadeite and the others.

"That's nice" Mamoru said with a smile.

"Are you sure you guys can get along without me?" Rei teased, looking specifically at Jadeite as she spoke. He stuck his tongue out at her, and she giggled.

"We'll be fine. You girls have fun." After everyone finished eating and said their goodbyes, the girls headed out for the day. Shortly after they left, Jadeite announced he was going out for a while as well.

"Where are you off to?" Mamoru asked.

"I'm just going out" Jadeite said casually, offering no further explanation. Before they could ask, he was out the door. Jadeite headed downstairs, nearly tripping over his own feet on the way down. He headed out the door to the bus stop to make his way to the Juban Shopping District. Little did he know, Rei and the others were there as well.

As the girls walked down the sidewalk, they were chatting excitedly about their beloved generals, still in shock that they were back. Rei didn't contribute much to the conversation, as she was distracted by the numerous window displays of the shops. She stopped in front of a trendy clothing store, gazing longingly at a stunning black dress.

"Go try it on" Minako insisted, causing her to jump. Rei nodded and walked into the store, followed closely by the others. When she was halfway in, she stopped suddenly, looking down the length of the sidewalk curiously.

"That looks like Jade…" she murmured, pointing in the direction of a blonde haired man walking into a jewelry store. His eyes met hers and he quickly ducked into the building before she had a chance to recognize him. When he was out of sight, she shook her head and walked into the clothing store. She quickly found the black dress in her size and walked to the fitting room to try it on. As the fabric draped over her body, she could picture Jade's facial expression after seeing her in it.

"Don't change out of the dress before we can see it!" the others demanded. Rei giggled and stepped out of the changing room.

"You have to get it" Usagi gasped. The others nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right" Rei said with a smile before going back into the fitting room to change back into her clothes. afterwards, she paid for the dress and the five of them decided to go out to lunch. After looking around for a place to go, Minako pointed to a cute 50's style diner.

"What about that place? I heard it's really good." The other girls nodded in agreement and walked toward the restaurant, taking over the large booth in the corner. Shortly after they sat, their server came over to take their orders. While they waited for their food, they decided to catch up on what had been going on in one another's lives. Rei listened to the conversation, surprised to learn that everyone had managed to find time to spend with their guys. Had she really been so distracted by everything lately that she hadn't noticed?

"What about you, Rei?" The fire senshi shook her head slightly and looked up at Minako.

"Sorry, what?"

"How are things with you and Jadeite? The first time we saw him, things didn't seem like they were going so well." Rei smiled at the girl and sighed.

"Things are perfect, now…when I saw him again, it really confused me. I was with Kumori, I was mad at Jadeite for what he had done, but at the same time, I was glad to have him back. Now, I can't imagine my life without him."

"Well, that escalated quickly" a male voice mused from behind her, causing her to jump. She turned slightly, dreading who she would see.

"Kumori…" Hearing his name caused the others to keep their guards up, ready to defend Rei if they had to.

"So you haven't forgotten me" Kumori chuckled, almost mocking Rei. "You moved on rather quickly…" He immediately noticed the tension mounting among Rei's friends and smiled sweetly at them. "I'll let you ladies get back to your conversation, and hopefully I'll run into you again" he whispered in Rei's ear, running his fingers through her hair. Rei watched him walk away, shivering as soon as he was out of sight.

"I hate him…" she muttered, reaching for her milkshake and taking a sip.

"He won't come near you again" Usagi promised her. The other girls agreed, and began eating before their food got too cold. After they paid the bill, they left the restaurant, deciding to head back to Mamoru's. when they arrived, Rei politely excused herself and went to the bedroom to lie down, still upset by what had happened at the restaurant. She pushed the thought out of her mind, soon coming to the realization that she had not seen Jadeite anywhere since she got home. She came out of the bedroom and found Mamoru, smiling as she walked up to him.

"Where's Jade?" she asked. Mamoru smiled and tilted his head slightly before answering.

"He said he was going out. I'm not sure what he's up to." It suddenly dawned on Rei that it must have been him she had seen walking into the jewelry store…what was he doing there? Her stomach flipped slightly as every possibility ran through her mind. She decided to retreat to the bedroom to mull it over, smiling again at Mamoru before leaving.

"Thanks…let me know when he's home." Mamoru nodded in response and Rei returned to the bedroom, trying to think of what Jadeite could have possibly been doing. She soon drifted off to sleep, the chatter inside the apartment lowering to a dull roar.

After a while, Rei awoke to a pair of lips grazing her cheek. She stirred slightly and rolled over, finding herself face to face with Jadeite. He reached out to run his fingers through her hair, and she quickly caught his hand, pressing it to her cheek.

"I missed you" she murmured sleepily. Jadeite smiled and laid on the bed next to her, leaning in to kiss her.

"I missed you too." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, holding her to him as if his life depended on it. Rei leaned into him and closed her eyes, breathing in his scent to help her forget that she had seen Kumori. Jadeite sensed something was off and pulled her closer, stroking her hair.

"I saw him today" Rei whispered. Jadeite felt his body go rigid when she spoke, but he quickly calmed down when she spoke again. "He didn't do anything, he just said hello." Jadeite immediately calmed down and leaned in to kiss her forehead softly.

"Lucky for him. You were out in Juban today, right?"

"How did you know that?" Rei asked, confirming her suspicion that it was him she had seen.

"I was there too…I got your something" Jadeite said softly, pulling a small black box out of his pocket and handing it to her. He could almost feel her heart stop, and he quickly explained himself before she had a chance to freak out. "It's not a ring…not yet" he assured her. She smiled at him and opened the box, finding a diamond necklace inside.

"Jade…" she murmured, looking at him.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it" she whispered. Jadeite took the necklace out of the box and put it on Rei, smiling.

"It looks stunning on you" Jadeite said, stunned by her beauty. Rei leaned in to kiss him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It'll look perfect with my new dress" she said with a smile. Jadeite raised an eyebrow, and without hesitation, Rei got up from the bed and undressed before pulling the dress out of the bag and slipping it over her head. She turned to face Jadeite, who was completely speechless.

"Rei…" he murmured.

"Do you like it?" she asked, twirling to give him a view of the whole thing. Jadeite stayed silent for a moment, biting his lip. "Jade?" The next words he spoke sparked a fire in Rei like none other.

"Rei….marry me."