Dinner, Part 1
"Even if you check it a thousand times, it's not going to matter,
you'll still look as lovely even if you had to wear a trash bag and your
hair was covered in feces. At least, I'm sure Mizuno-sensei will think
that."
Setsuna let out a soft snort of frustration and turned from the
mirror to find an exasperated Makoto leaning against the door jam, half
grinning at the guardian.
"Not all of us can achieve that 'fall straight out of bed, not
even bothering to comb your hair' look as well as you Makoto."
"Nope, Snape-sensei and I are two of a kind, don't you think?"
Emerald eyes twinkled and the young girl smirked as though she were
Kami-sama's gift to everyone.
The older woman could only smile in response and turn back to the
mirror to check her hair and make-up once again. She pulled out a tube
of deep red lipstick, pausing to speak to the teen before applying it.
"Snape-san mentioned that you're doing quite well in his class,
but he's not completely satisfied with your in-class behavior."
"He told you that?"
"He didn't have to. Usually his beady eyes cloud over with
happiness whenever I ask how you're doing, but the last time we spoke,
he appeared a bit frustrated." Setsuna pressed her lips together and
pouted them out. Pleased with the outcome, she began to repack all the
make-up strewn across the counter and continued to talk to Makoto, "Is
there anything you want to tell me about?"
The teen could only shrug before scampering off towards the
kitchen muttering something about checking on the dinner.
Magenta eyes maintained eye contact with the empty doorway where
the tomboy was once standing. Allowing a small sigh to escape her lips,
the guardian shook her head and pushed the make-up bag back into the
drawer. She took one last good look into the mirror in the bathroom
before exiting into the hallway. Stopping briefly at the full length
mirror, the dark haired woman smoothed out the lines of her dress.
Makoto walked back into the hall after having successfully
stirred, poked, and prodded the cooking dinner and stood watching
Setsuna as the older woman looked intently into the mirror. Setsuna was
wearing a V-cut, forest green, ankle-cut dress, with a black sash-belt
connected by a silver oval ring, and a pair of velvet forest green
high-heels. She sported several pairs of silver, dangling earrings that
were barely visible through the woman's long dark main, but made their
presence known vibrantly in the right light. As for the woman's hair,
Setsuna had done a loose braid, letting a generous portion fall around
her face and ears.
The young girl really truly believed that she had never seen her
guardian more beautiful than she was at that moment and the thought
created a sense of calm inside the rogue. Setsuna had never questioned
nor interrogated the teen, never crowded into her personal life, never
pushed her in any direction the tomboy didn't want to go, and yet, as
distant as she seemed about the teen's life, she gave her love freely to
Makoto. Though the teen didn't respond as well as she could to this
love, she didn't want to shy away from it either, for deep inside of her
damaged soul, she believed that her guardian was the parent-type whom
was secretly desired to comfort her in all the bad times.
Those bad times were in the past now, though.
"I don't take notes in Snape-sensei's class."
"Nani? Oh, I hadn't realized you'd come back." The dark haired
woman smiled and Makoto felt her breath catch in her throat at the site
before her, "You not taking notes is what is bothering Snape-san?"
Dismissing the rising blush, the teen turned back towards the
kitchen, being followed tentatively by her guardian. She spoke, not
bothering to turn around, "Probably. I don't think it irks him that I
do well without notes; I think it irks him to have disobedience of any
sort in his class. He probably just got down on me because he doesn't
want to seem like he favors me."
"I see."
A silence fell between the two women as the tomboy continued
working her magic with the various pans and pots. The dark haired woman
took a moment to gaze around the apartment, giving it one last
endorsement on the cleanliness. After a short walk through the living
room and up and down the halls, Setsuna stopped at the glass sliding
door and peered out into the well lit city, admiring how beautiful the
evening had become. It was taking all her might to keep from becoming
nervous and therefore, a distraction to Makoto.
Still, Hitomi over for an intimate evening...Setsuna shivered
lightly at the thought and smiled broadly out into the night.
"Meioh-san, could you put the wine on ice? I think this is a good
time, it should be chilled just enough when we're ready to eat. Also, I
need a hand with dessert." The teen's impromptu voice caused the dark
haired woman to glance at her watch briefly as she walked back to the
kitchen.
"They should be here soon..." Setsuna spoke evenly as she could,
not wanting to give away the excitement hidden beneath, but failed as
she felt a slight tremor and shaking on the last word.
Makoto stopped stirring a moment and turned to meet a strained
pair of magenta eyes looking doubtfully at the bottle in her hands. The
teen felt a little pull in her heart and she cursed Mizuno Hitomi
silently, but took it back just after, and then cursed her again. She
didn't know exactly how to feel about Mizuno-sensei: on the one hand,
the woman seemed to lack interest in her brilliant, but shy and
uncertain daughter, but on the other hand, she made Setsuna feel so very
happy. A pair of clean, but still rough looking hands grabbed the thin,
dark hands of the guardian and the two women simply looked towards one
another for a moment.
"What's the worst that could happen? Hmm? We all die from an
earthquake. How about we just enjoy the night?"
The dark haired woman broke eye contact and shook her head, trying
to hide the amused smile, "Live each day as if it were our last?"
"Exactly!"
A buzz at the door caused both women to pull apart and Setsuna
headed calmly towards the door.
"Right on time, I wouldn't expect anything less from the
Mizuno's." Makoto laughed and began to adjust knobs on the stove.
Setsuna looked back over her shoulder, one last glance at
perfection, but instead rested her eyes on the young tomboy hard at
work. Makoto seemed completely at ease as she shifted from one pan to
the next, opening the oven and pulling a few last minute items out of
the fridge. One thought went through her head before turning back
towards the door; she planned this... all of it. That sly little...
----------------------------------
Ami stood behind her mother, completely self-conscious and feeling
extremely ill at ease as the woman in front of her rang the door bell,
or, rather, buzzer, to Meioh-san's apartment. Behind that door were two
people who seemed to tear the fragile young girl right down the middle
and then some. Baby blue eyes darted frantically for something to
fixate her mind on and found her mother as the only distraction.
As much as she did not want to admit it, seeing the doctor glow so
vibrantly filled the teen with a great sense of pride and anticipation,
as she had never seen the woman like this. There were times when her
mother came close to it, usually involving Meioh-san, but never such as
it was tonight. The young genius gave the woman a once over, noting the
perfectly ironed crease in her dress slacks and also noting that the
shoulder on the blouse, which was sewn up last night, did not show any
signs of the needle or thread. The doctor held her light blue coat in
her shoulder and stood wholly straight. Her mother did not do anything
half-way, a trait impressed upon the blue haired teen.
If you're going to do something, do it right.
The genius looked down at her own outfit, currently underneath a
stone grey light coat and frowned slightly at the simplicity of it,
hoping Makoto nor Setsuna were dressed extravagantly. She doubted the
rogue would be wearing a dress at all and wondered briefly what her
mother would consider about this. Actually, she wondered if the doctor
would notice anything other than Meioh-san this evening.
"Konban wa Hitomi, Ami-chan, come in, please." The dark haired
woman's gentle voice seemed to pull the two Mizuno's inside the
apartment, where the young teen unintentionally gasped and covered her
mouth as a flush of red came with embarrassment. The inside was very
elegant and yet very simple in its design. The bold, dark colors seemed
to reek of sophistication while at the same time, one felt comfortable.
It reminded the genius of a home in a novel she once read several years
ago involving vampires in the 1600's. She could not recall the name,
though, something which irked her slightly.
"Konnichiwa, Setsuna, eto... Matoko-kun." Ami noted her mother
never was one for remembering names unless they came with a chart and
medical history.
The dark haired woman laughed gracefully and reached her arms out
towards the blue haired doctor, "Ma-ko-to, Hitomi. Her name is Makoto.
No harm though." Magenta eyes seemed to sparkle in the glow of the
older Mizuno and Ami began to feel a rush of guilt about having any
ill-attitude towards the guardian.
"Oh oh! Gomen Makoto-kun. Please forgive me!"
Behind Setsuna stood the relaxed rogue, smiling softly as she
spoke, her emerald eyes lingering between night blues and baby blues.
"As Mei... no, Setsuna-san said, no harm done."
Ami stood transfixed; allowing the atmosphere to envelop her as
her mind became blank, forgetting about the book in the process. Her
rogue stood, slightly hunched over but not enough to notice, with her
arms at her sides and the tips of her fingers pushed halfway into the
pockets of dark slacks. Makoto wore a long sleeved, pale green
button-up shirt, with a couple buttons undone at the top to reveal a jet
black shirt underneath and part of a silver chain necklace Ami had never
seen before. The blue haired teen noted that the tomboy did very
little, if anything to the scraggly mop atop her head, and was surprised
to feel as happy as she did about it.
"Allow me to take your coats."
Mechanically, Ami unbuttoned the grey coat she wore, glancing
upwards every so often to find those mesmerizing green eyes each time.
And each time she looked back down towards her coat, the girl would take
in more of Makoto's figure, especially liking the black leather belt
that hugged the rogue's hips so flawlessly and how though it seemed from
afar, the tomboy looked as though her hips were as slender as a boys,
but up close did clearly have a definite curve of femininity.
After handing her coat to Setsuna, she watched as her mother
followed the woman into the apartment, making polite conversation and
leaving Ami completely exposed and alone with the rogue.
"You look..." Makoto's voice died off as baby blue eyes looked up
and right into her own. The genius smiled, catching the tomboy off
guard and Ami watched anxiously as the chestnut haired girl looked away
abruptly. As the taller girl collected her thoughts, Ami noticed a deep
shade of red crawling up her neck and along the edge of her ears. She's
blushing...
Feeling a slight spurt of confidence, the blue haired girl took
another step into the apartment, carefully observing the rogue tense up
slightly and then relax just as quickly. Burning green eyes turned back
towards Ami causing the shorter girl to stop dead in her tracks and
losing that hint of confidence.
"You look beautiful."
Ami felt her head droop as she looked downwards at the somber
carpet, blushing very intensely and suddenly going extremely dry in the
throat. She hadn't chosen anything as extravagant as Meioh-san or her
mother. Clothes had never been the girl's forte—that was Minako's
thing; nevertheless, she wanted to wear something she thought the rogue
would like. Apparently it had worked, something must have caused the
intense tomboy to blush and noting that they were the only two the room,
the genius deduced that it had to be her self.
But does this qualify me as beautiful?... no...
Though even as she thought those words, she found herself feeling
just the opposite; she could believe in her beauty if Makoto thought her
that way. Tilting her head back upwards, intensely aware of the red
which covered her face, the genius spoke softly, "A-Arigatou,
Makoto-san."
Makoto's eyes had been moving up and down, her jaw hanging open
slightly, smiling at the sight before her. This gave Ami another spray
of confidence, "You look very h-...handsome yourself."
"Oh, that smells wonderful Setsuna! What are we having tonight?!"
Hitomi's voice broke through the reverie between the two teens and Ami
fidgeted as the tomboy headed back into the kitchen, leaving her behind.
"Please, compliment the chef, Makoto is cooking everything tonight
for us." Magenta eyes settled warmly on the blue haired teen causing
the younger girl to smile in response.
"Makoto-kun is cooking?! It smells fabulous, is she an
apprentice?" The doctor looked approvingly towards the kitchen where
the tall teen was fiddling with several dishes, apparently too involved
in preparation or not caring enough to notice the conversation about
her.
"No, she's not an apprentice. I'm not sure where she picked it
up, actually." Setsuna brought a finger up to her chin thoughtfully and
turned towards Ami, "Please come in and make your self comfortable
Ami-chan, dinner will be ready shortly; Makoto will call for us."
Nodding, the blue haired girl followed her mother and Setsuna into
the living room where she hovered near the arm chair tentatively until
her mother seated herself at the couch. Quickly, the genius moved and
sat next to her mother as though on protective reflex.
"Shall I get you something to drink while we wait?"
"Red Wine or whatever you have that's chilled." Hitomi's gaze
hadn't left the dark haired woman since entering the apartment and was
now looking very appreciatively towards Setsuna. Ami closed her eyes a
moment, pushing back the unwanted feelings, and then reopened them to
find the guardians comforting face.
"I'm fine, thank you." The teen managed a convincing smile which
the older woman returned and then left the room.
The teen became aware that there was soft music playing from the
stereo in the corner of the room; perking her ears up, she figured the
music to 'Rhapsody in Blue' by Gershwin and smiled at the piece, as it
was one of her favorites when studying. Night blue eyes rested on the
smiling genius to her right, though fidgeting every so often and
readjusting the rimless glasses that sat upon her face. Feeling those
eyes on her, Ami looked towards her mother inquisitively. The doctor
merely smiled and reached up to tuck a stray hair behind the girl's ear,
triggering another blush from the shy genius.
"Do you think Makoto's dinner will be good?"
The small girl looked downwards towards her lap briefly before
meeting her mother's gaze and replying, "I think it will be wonderful.
Makoto-san doesn't seem the type to do things frivolously." She
wondered why the doctor became suddenly curious in the chestnut haired
girl but kept the question from reaching her facial features. It was
nice to know that the older Mizuno wasn't completely and utterly focused
on Meioh-san tonight.
Hitomi smiled and nodded, turning her head to look around the
room, "What do you think of this place? It's quite dark, but sort of
romantically furnished, don't you agree?"
Before the genius could answer, Setsuna walked back into the room
carrying two glasses of red wine and handing one to the older blue
haired woman who smiled immensely. Ami's gaze stayed on the dark haired
woman for several seconds, watching as she charmingly slipped into the
arm chair, leaning towards the doctor and Ami. The young girl all the
sudden felt considerably drained and leaned unconsciously back against
the sofa wishing she could go lie down somewhere.
"Have you been feeling better Ami-chan? All rested?"
Sitting back up, the small girl mustered up whatever energy she
could find and to proceed to make small conversation with her mother and
Meioh-san, all the while wishing she could simply be very far away from
both. Or maybe helping Makoto in the kitchen wouldn't be such a bad
place either...
"You must be parched; didn't you have cram class before you came
here?"
The sudden interrupting voice broke through the reverie and the
genius looked up to see the tall teen standing to the right of her
seated guardian, holding a glass of ice water in both hands, neither
smiling nor frowning. Baby blue eyes became large and the small girl
silently thanked the rogue for her good timing. Taking a step forward,
the rogue stretched her arm out, smiling slightly as Ami graciously
reached out to take the glass out of the other girl's hands, softly
brushing her fingers against the tall girls.
Blushing lightly at the contact, Ami looked downwards and quietly
thanked Makoto.
"You're welcome," the tomboy replied as she backed away. Turning
to the other two women, Makoto remarked that dinner would be ready
within ten minutes.
"Thank you Makoto," Setsuna smiled secretly towards the girl.
Shifting in her seat, Hitomi leaned forward to set her glass on
the coffee table in front of her, then turned back towards the chestnut
haired girl, "What are we having tonight, Makoto? It does smell truly
delicious." The blue haired woman smiled inquisitively, giving the teen
a once over look as though just seeing her for the first time.
Emerald eyes glanced towards the shorter Mizuno as Makoto turned
causing the girl to quickly bring the glass of water up to her lips to
take a deep drink. Smiling on the inside, the rogue calmly rested her
line of vision against the doctor's night blue eyes and responded
shortly, "Kaiseki-ryori."
"Kaiseki-ryori!? Demo, that's incredibly extravagant..."
The tomboy merely nodded and smiled before going back towards the
kitchen. Hitomi's shocked gaze fell on Setsuna causing the older woman
to fidget slightly in her seat, smiling in reassurance towards the older
Mizuno. Meanwhile Ami had stopped drinking and was looking yearningly
in the direction Makoto had gone, not quite registering anything other
than the roguish girl and those shimmering emerald eyes.
----------------------
There was a slight pause in the conversation, Setsuna not sure of
how to respond about Makoto's culinary talents, Ami preoccupied with
other thoughts, and Hitomi sensing some tension coming from the dark
haired woman.
"Setsuna..." The doctor felt her voice catch in her throat when the
other woman's deep magenta eyes lifted upwards. She nearly lost her
head at how sexy Setsuna looked upon entering the apartment; now having
those mysterious, lust filled eyes gazing towards her, Hitomi suddenly
realized how much wasted time that had occurred between the two. Taking
a breath, the blue haired woman continued, "Setsuna, how are, er,
rather, I mean, eto... Gomen." The doctor's voice became slightly
flustered but she pressed on, "How is your work going at the
university?"
Smiling, the tall woman leaned back in her chair taking a long
drawn sip of wine before responding, "Oh, tedious and boring, I suppose
would be the best way to explain it. We're doing research and mapping
of nebulas. I spend most of my time staring at a computer screen at the
recordings they retrieve from the giant telescope."
"Didn't you mention that a teacher from Ami-chan's school is
assisting as well?" The doctor leaned forward in her seat like an eager
young school girl, resting her chin in her hand.
"Ah, yes, Severus Snape. His main area of expertise is in
meteorites, though. But he also has a side interest in the black hole,
nebula, and other various space entities. He's written some
breakthrough's about the make up of nebulas."
It was the younger Mizuno who broke into the conversation this
time, "His articles were very fascinating. I still cannot believe how
lucky we are to have him at our school..." Upon realizing she'd
interrupted the conversation and seeing both sets of the older women's'
eyes on her, the shy genius slouched down in her seat feeling the heat
rise in her face. "Gomen, please continue."
The older Mizuno watched her nervous daughter with gentle eyes and
hesitantly reached out, resting her hand on the small girls shoulder.
Baby blue eyes looked up uncertainly, softening when they met Hitomi's
comforting smile.
"That is an interesting thing to point out though, Ami-chan,"
Setsuna's voice broke the tender moment between mother and daughter,
prompting the genius to quickly take the glass of water in her hands,
swallowing down another drink. "Did you know that he originally came
here from England to teach at Tokyo University? They offered him a very
large and accommodating house near the university, and a more than
reasonable salary."
Hitomi seemed slightly shocked at the information as her eyes
widened. Scrunching her eyebrows together in such a cute way that the
dark haired woman found practically irresistible, the doctor began to
question erratically, "Really?! I cannot believe it! I knew he was very
keen and intelligent, I'd heard about him from colleagues, but I did not
know that Tokyo U bribed him so!" The doctor paused in the middle of
her babbling, tapping the tip of her finger on her teeth, "But wait,
he's teaching at Juuban High... so why is he still here? I mean, he's
obviously didn't take that bribe..."
Setsuna shrugged slightly and set her empty glass on the table in
front of her, stretching languidly as she leaned in the chair. She
noticed night blue eyes appreciating this motion and smiled inwardly,
holding the pose for a moment before sitting back. Before continuing
with the chat, the tall woman made a mental note to get Hitomi alone
soon within the following week; she had a hunch their time was due.
"Dinner's ready." Makoto had slipped into the room so quietly and
unobtrusively, that her voice caused both Mizuno women to jump slightly
in their seats. Ami did her best not to choke on the water and finished
what was left in her throat, quickly rising from her seat.
Chuckling lightly at the timid young girl, Setsuna rose gracefully
from her seat, reaching her hand out towards Hitomi who flushed with
emotions upon slipping her hand into the other woman's and was helped up
from her seat. Moving aside, Makoto allowed to two women through and
into the dining area, smirking at the way the older Mizuno followed her
guardian like a puppy dog believing it was being lead to get a treat.
Emerald eyes turned back towards the strained young girl who
hadn't moved from where she stood in front of the couch and softened as
Makoto felt the extreme tension coming from the shy teen. Moving
quietly, so as to not spook Ami, the rogue came to stand next to the
short girl, breathing in the scent of vanilla and lilacs once again.
She looked the girl up and down, taking in the beauty that stood before
her; to less perceptive eyes, it would have seemed that Ami did very
little to her appearance and looked essentially the same. But the rogue
knew better than that.
Nothing did seem to change overall from the blue haired teen; she
emitted the same magnetism and purity that she always did day in and day
out. The changes were subtle, but were very obvious to Makoto at the
same time—and were they ever obvious. Ami had decided on a simple
sweater and skirt, and the cutest pair of boot-like shoes the tomboy had
ever seen. The sweater was fleece, cream colored, cut close to the neck
though not quite a turtle neck and it clung in all the right spots. And
that clinging was essentially emphasized by the genius tugging at it
nervously every so often.
Around her neck was a simple gold necklace with a mercury pendant
hanging from it. It seemed to reflect the glow from the shorter girl
whenever the rogue came near her and Makoto made a mental note to get as
near as possible this evening. Sensing the tomboy close to her, Ami
turned to meet the delicate gaze from the taller girl. Unconsciously,
she smoothed out the lines of her dark chestnut skirt, looking
down—anywhere away from those emerald eyes.
Makoto's eyes followed the short teen's baby blues towards the
girl's skirt and down her smooth legs and the rogue swallowed anxiously
at the thought of touching those legs. Taking a deep breath, the tomboy
willed her eyes upwards and forced herself to think of anything but the
extremely cute and blushing girl in front of her. Tentatively reaching
out, Makoto brushed an imaginary piece of lint off of Ami's shoulder,
finally getting the girl's gaze back at her again.
"Shall we go eat?"
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