For the First Time

AN: Please, read and review. I do like reviews.

Chapter Three

Lita took it upon herself to make breakfast for the group, since she was already up. She loved to cook as it was the perfect way to get her mind off of her worries for a while. If she tried to think while she cooked, she would burn it, so she could only keep her mind on the stove and food, nothing else.

But, it wasn't helping. She couldn't keep from thinking about the orange-haired prince from her dream. The man who had swept her off her feet.

"Lita, the eggs are on fire," Raye's voice snapped her out of her ponderings.

Sure enough there was a fire in her pan. Lita jumped. "Whoa!" Quickly she grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the flames. Sighing, she turned off the stove and went to wash the skillet of the eggs and extinguisher fluid.

"Are you alright?" Raye asked her. "I've never known you to mess up food before, let alone not notice when a fire is going."

Lita shook her head. "I don't know. My mind's just on other things. Maybe we should eat out this morning. I just can't concentrate on my cooking today."

Raye nodded, "Good idea. I don't think Grandpa would like it if we burned down the temple. I'll go get the others up and we can go."

Lita gave her a half-smile as she left. She looked down. There was no way she could let them know that she was STILL thinking about that Amazon. She couldn't let them know that secretly she wished that she could see him again, and not just in a dream. They wouldn't understand. He was their enemy. He'd used her, hurt her. They would only tell her that it would be alright, that she would get over him, that he was just another crush. They would only try to find ways to make her feel better. She appreciated it, every time they did things like that she knew that they really cared for her. But sometimes, like now, she just wanted to work through it on her own.

She removed her apron and walked outside for the third time that morning. She needed fresh air. "Why do I want to see him again?" she asked herself softly. "I don't understand."

"That makes two of us." came a voice startling her.

Lita turned around. "You!" she all but shouted. "What are you doing here?"

Tiger's Eye looked to the side. "Again, an answer neither of knows."

"Get out of here, now!" she ordered. "Before I have to get rough with you." She got into an aggressive stance, ready to kick his butt.

"Hold on there, Little Fish. I'm not here to hurt you or any of your little friends. I just wanna talk." he insisted.

Lita leaped into the air and flung a kick at him. "HIYAH!"

Tiger's Eye dodged easily. "Hey! Will you knock it off! I said, I just want to talk. Are you deaf?"

"And why should I trust you? You lied to me. You knew I liked you and you treated that as if it were nothing."

"I didn't say you should trust me. I won't ask you for that. But it seems we are both asking the same questions. And I want to know the answers." he told her.

Lita glared at him, but didn't strike again. "Questions?"

"I have gone after so many women, mostly to try and find Pegasus. Each and every one of them, I have been able to just forget after the mission was over. Everyone but you." he told her. "I think you know why. Tell me."

She looked away. Her prince had asked the same thing in her dream. Was it possible that it was her dream was trying to tell her something. "I don't know. I wish I did. I've been having the same problem. I can't stop thinking about you. And I want to hate you for what you did to me."

"But?" he asked her slowly. "I know there's a but in there, I can hear it."

"But I can't. Maybe it's because," she sighed. "I don't know. And I wanted to see you again, still. Even now. But…you hurt me. You took advantage of me, of my trust."

Again, Tiger's Eye felt a strange stirring inside him. He felt an array of feelings he'd never known before. Was it shame? Was this how it felt to be sorry for something. "I know you won't believe me. I don't believe me. But I didn't want to hurt you. When you told me that you wanted to see me again, yesterday, you were the first person to ever say that to me, and I didn't want to hurt you. Because I discovered that I wanted to see you again. You're right, I took advantage of you. Right from the beginning. You weren't my intended target at first. I asked you to dance because I knew the other girls would see and would want to dance with me. And when you asked me if I would dance with you again, I wanted to. I wanted to dance with you again. And now…well, I just wanted to find out why. Why I can't get you out of my head. Why I can't stop wanting to talk to you, to spend time with you. I'll leave now." he opened a portal and was about to jump in.

"Wait." Lita stopped him. She knew she would want to kick herself later, but she believed him. "Maybe…maybe we can start over again. Because I want to know too. Why I can't stop thinking about you. Maybe…"

Tiger's Eye wanted to smile, but held back. "It would be dangerous. No one else could know. No one, not even your friends."

Lita bit her lip. She'd never kept anything from her friends. But he was right. It would be dangerous. "Tonight. I'll meet you in the park, in the forest."

He nodded. "Tonight." It would be hard keeping that secret from Fish and Hawk, but he couldn't let anyone know that he was actually going to give it a go with this girl. That he was really going to make an effort to understand what he was feeling. But, on the other hand, he was excited. He was going to see her again that very night. Under the cover of darkness. "I'll be waiting for you under that huge oak tree." He leaped into the portal above him.

Lita smiled. Maybe now her mind would give her a break and allow her to enjoy her time with her friends. As she turned to go back inside, she found another thought going through her head. What should she wear that night?

AN: Okay, now we've got an established plotline. A clandestine relationship has begun. Although it's not exactly love at the moment. Challenge, dress Lita/Makoto and Tiger's Eye for their secret meeting. Email pics to chibikan380 at hotmail dot com.