Roleplay between Kunzite/Minako after Beryll. Both have their memories and after a chance meeting in the modern world, they decide to start dating.

Goddess, she was running late! First week of classes and if she didn't hurry and grab her much needed coffee, she was going to be late for this class as well. Why couldn’t she be more organized and time conscious like Ami-chan? She had stayed up too late last night reading manga and now she was paying for it. She knew better, she really, really did, but it had been such a good story, she had been unable to put it down.

Lost in her thoughts, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. She never saw the man with silver hair sitting on a chair in the little café where she liked to get her coffee and sometimes one of their little cakes, before she tripped on the chair on the other side of this table from where he was sitting, sending her crashing towards the ground.

Kunzite had been having a typical morning.

Wake up, get dressed, go get coffee.  It was the same as any other day.  At least, it was, until that psycho blonde had crashed right next to him.  He had seen her come in, or rather, heard her.  Her footsteps were loud and obnoxious as she hurried to get her morning coffee.  Kunzite didn't bother to look over at her when she entered, him being used to crazy college freshman rushing in and out.  But when she fell, his attention was completely on her.  

She had tripped on the chair across from his, and then proceeded to crash to the ground.  Kunzite's eyes widened in surprise and he stood, being the gentleman he was, to ask her if she was alright.

But something caused him to pause.  

That hair...

He had only met one person with hair that long, that beautiful.  No, he told himself, it can't be her.

Ow, ow, ow. That hurt. She groaned as she sat up, taking stock of any potential injuries on her body and making sure that her bag stayed together and her stuff wasn’t all over the floor. She turned to apologize to the person whose table she had tripped on. When she saw him, however, she paused.

Sitting at the table was one of the last people Mina ever expected to see in her life. Kunzite. Just saying that name sent shivers down her spine. Beryl’s General. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she glared at him, slowly getting up off the floor. Suddenly, she was assaulted with a memory from her time in the Silver Millennium. They, they had been lovers? No, no that couldn’t be possible, but it was. She remembered how heartbroken and devastated she was when he betrayed them, betrayed her.

“You,” she growled. “What are you doing here?”

Kunzite was speechless as she turned to face him, her beautiful, deep blue eyes cutting into his heart and soul.  It had been so long...so long since he last held her in his arms, last felt her lips against his, last been this close.  His mouth was open as he stared, taking in all of her beauty and grace.  

Ha, that was a good one.

She was still the same.  Beautiful, entrancing, slightly clumsy.  Headstrong, too.

Memory after memory flashed through his mind of those many nights they spent together during the Silver Millennium.  He gave everything to her, practically worshipping the ground she walked on.

But then he betrayed her.  He allowed his mind to be controlled by Metalia's evil manipulations, and let his entire consciousness fade.  He attacked the woman he loved, thus destroying any thought of happiness they shared.  

Would she ever trust him again?

Snapping out of his stupor, Kunzite said, "M-Minako..."  

He couldn't contain himself any longer.  In a flourish, he lifted her off of the ground and pulled her into an enveloping hug.  For the first time in a millennium, he let his emotions cloud his judgment.

“What are you doing?” She squeaked as she felt him pick her up and hug him. Her arms automatically wrapped themselves around his shoulders, for balance she told herself.

“You’re the bad guy, you’re not supposed to go and pick up the good guys. That’s not how this is supposed to work,” she muttered. A small part of her wondered if perhaps he got his memories back as he called her by her given name and not Sailor Venus. It felt good to be back in his arms, too good. Minako knew she should put a stop to it, but she had missed this so much and hadn’t realized how much until she was back in his arms.

Kunzite realized his mistake merely seconds later.  "What am I doing?" he thought, letting go of his past lover.  He shouldn't have touched her...he didn't deserve to even look at her.  The pain and regret of his actions during the Silver Millennium hit him like a brick wall, and he stepped back slightly.  

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at her sadly.  He could feel eyes on them, and he suddenly grew wary of their position in the universe.  "Perhaps we should...talk somewhere else," he murmured, his voice quiet so that only she could hear.  He had classes in a half an hour, but sorting things out with Minako was far more important to him.

It was on the tip of her tongue to refuse, to tell him to back the heck off before she’d transform and blow his behind to smithereens, but something made her pause. He looked so incredibly sad. A part of her wanted to know why. Why he betrayed them, why did he betray her. You may never get another chance like this to get your questions answered, a little voice in her head whispered. She knew that her conscious, which sounded suspiciously like Ami-chan sometimes, was right. Besides, she had her transformation pen with her, never left home without it, so if things started to go bad, she’d just transform and kick his butt.

“Alright, yah, let’s get out of here and go talk,” she responded softly.

A wave of relief washed over Kunzite when Minako approved of his suggestion. He took her gently by the arm and led her out the front doors of the cafè, down the block, and into the city park. Hardly anyone was out at the park that early in the morning, so Kunzite deemed it a perfect place for them to lay everything on the table.

Feeling his nerves rising by the minute, Kunzite motioned for his previous beloved to sit on a bench. With a deep breath, he said, "Instead of my trying to explain everything that happened, I think it may be best for you to ask me any questions you have. I promise to answer them all with complete honesty."

She wanted to be angry at him, to scream and rage, perhaps hit him a few times, but she couldn’t seem to muster up the anger or the energy required. She felt drained and the conversation had barely begun. She was quiet for several moments as they walked through the park. She spotted a bench nearby and decided that it was perhaps best that they sat for this conversation.

“The biggest question I have is why, why did you betray us?” betray me.

Kunzite felt his heart shatter. He knew she would ask. Why wouldn't she? He couldn't imagine the pain he had caused.

With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair. "It..." he faltered. He knew what he wanted to say, but he didn't know how to say it.

"I was the last one left," he started. "Beryl had already gotten Jadeite, Zoisite, and Nephrite. I watched them change. The brightness just...faded from their eyes. Jadeite was first. The four of us were in the courtyard of Endymion's palace, on our way to retrieve -" he paused, thinking about his next word, "- something. And she appeared out of nowhere. The things she said, the images she showed us...they were so real. She cracked Jadeite first. Zoisite was soon after, and Nephrite even cried. I was alone. I fought for as long as I could against her manipulations, but she was a powerful sorceress at that time. She got to my head, and losing my closest friends was too much. I relented."

He looked down in shame as a lump formed in his throat and hot tears stung his eyes. Kunzite never, ever cried, but thinking back to that moment and all of the pain and guilt that plagued him was too much. He clenched his fists, trying to hold himself together. "I'm sorry, Minako. I know that an apology isn't enough, and it never will be, but I want you to know that I would give anything to take away the pain I caused you."

Minako was unusually quiet as she listened to Kunzite talk. She heard him pause and couldn’t help but wonder why. So Beryl had been alive during their time and had brain washed them. It was a plausible scenario, she thought to herself. After all, the inner senshi had seen Beryl do it to Mamoru years ago when they first became senshi.

She could feel her hands tighten where she had rested them on her lap. They had all died, for what; because one woman couldn’t understand that no meant no? That if someone wasn’t interested you moved on? They had lost everything, she had lost everything. She had lost her heart that night; shattering into a million tiny little fragments full of hurt and betrayal.

She had been boy crazy earlier when she was younger in this life, but deep down she knew, she’d never be able to love anyone else. She could feel it deep in her bones that she still loved this man. Now, sitting beside him, she didn’t know what to do. He was alive, and so was she. Could she ever trust him again? Give him her shattered heart to hold? She knew that if what he said to be true and he had never lied to her before, then he had not betrayed her of his own volition.

“Why did you change what you were able to say just then?” she asked. In order to trust him again, even as a friend, there had to be no secrets, not now.

Kunzite blanched, struggling to think of an explanation. Why was he so flustered? He was never around this with people.

But Minako wasn't any regular person. She was the love of his life, his soul mate.

"I..." he managed to say, still struggling for words. "Nothingg important," he muttered. He knew it would make her mad, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. She would freak out, and never look at him the same way.

Minako could feel hurt bubbling in her chest as he avoided her question. "I thought you said you'd answer any question I had truthfully," she said, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice. If he was unable to do that, what was the point of her being here?

A pang of guilt washed over the silver-eyed man. 'I might as well lay it all out on the table. Besides, what happened in the past differs from what is happening now," he thought.

"The shittenou and I went back to the Earth Palace..." he paused, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Engagement rings."

She could feel herself frozen in shock. Engagement rings. Rings, as in plural. As in more than one. No, no there was some sort of mistake right? Slip of the tongue he meant ring. One ring. Not more than one. Just one.

"You guys went back to get the ring for Endymion, the one he wanted to give to Serenity, right?" she clarified, having no idea why there was suddenly a lump in her throat or why she felt tears stinging in her eyes. She couldn't let herself believe that he had purposefully said rings. It was just a mistake. Besides, they had never talk about marriage, both knowing what their duties were. Maybe she had just heard wrong? She felt herself getting desperate, searching for a reasonable explanation for what she heard.

Kunzite chuckled and shook his head. "No, Minako. Rings, as in, each of us were planning to propose at Serenity's ball."

He smiled slightly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Rings...propose...Serenity's ball," she murmured. She could feel her mind stutter to a halt. She found herself for once in her life at a complete loss for words, having no idea what to say. The tears that had been threatening to fall earlier began to silently trail down her cheek. She could feel herself beginning to break down, heart beating faster in her chest as she sat beside the man she had once loved, and still loved with all of her heart. A heart wrenching sob forced its way past the lump in her throat as she quickly covered her eyes as she began to cry in earnest.

It was too much, seeing her cry like that. The lump at the back of Kunzite's throat grew larger, and the moisture pooling in his eyes began to spill over. He needed to hold her, to comfort her. In one swift motion, he moved forward and pulled her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Minako," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. He knew he shouldn't have told her.

Minako felt herself being pulled into Kunzite's embrace, allowing herself to thrown bury her face in his chest as she cried and mourned what could have been as she cursed Beryl all the while. If the woman wasn't already dead Minako would have surely killed her for all the pain she's caused them in two separate lifetimes.

"I would have said yes," she said softy after the tears had finally slowed down. At some point she had wrapped her arms around Kunzite in return. Almost feels like old times, when we use to sit together in the cold, trying to keep each other warm while keeping an eye on Serenity and Endymion who had snuck out at night to meet each other.

Kunzite felt his heart skip a million beats at Minako's words. "You....you really mean that?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper. His jaw was slightly open, and his eyes were wide in surprise. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. She truly would have accepted his offer for marriage?

He silently cursed Beryl for ruining such a perfect future. Now it was all ruined - they would never be the same way they were before. Or...would they? The simple thought caused Kunzite heart to go wild.

"Mhmm," she hummed, burying her face further into his chest. God, he smelt the same as she remembered, how was that even possible? Surely with the chemicals in today's shampoo he would smell differently.

"Do you believe in second chances?" she found herself asking after several moments of silence.

Kunzite processed her question and answered, "Of course. But not for me." He suppressed a sigh and pulled away slightly, holding Minako by the shoulders. "If anyone deserves a second chance, it's you. You deserve another chance at love, at happiness, with someone who won't hurt you like I did."

"You don't love me anymore?" she had been so sure that with everything he had just admitted, he still loved her. She knew they were both different, him with his time spent with the Dark Kingdom, and her growing up reincarnated with different experiences than they had been in the Silver Millenium...she had been so certain. Maybe he found someone better in the Dark Kingdom, a traitorous voice whispered in her mind.

She shifted, head tilted down unable to look at him and she the rejection she was so certain she'd see in his face.

Kunzite's eyes widened in shock. "No, that's not it at all! I just..." he looked away in shame, "...I want you to be with someone you deserve. I'm not...worthy of your hand in mine. Perhaps I was back then, but not anymore."