"Tell me a story, something romantic!" "If I tell you a story, Chibi, do you promise to lay down and try to sleep?" "Yeah, I promise." "Well, once upon a time there was a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair that she liked to wear...." "No, Auntie Ami! I've heard that story. I don't want to hear about Mommy and Daddy again. That's the only story Mommy ever tells! Tell me... tell me about how you and Auntie Mako met." "I suppose that would be all right. Once upon a time, there was a young woman with short blue hair. Everyone said she was a genius and she worked very hard in school, but was still very lonely...." -------------------- Ami had been awake for an hour before she realized that something was wrong. Somewhere between the shower and the elevator ride to street level, as her thoughts shifted from the initial haze of waking up towards a review of the day ahead, she felt the twinge. At first, she wondered if she was coming down with something. A quick review of the symptoms revealed nothing that would indicate illness, however. If nothing physical, then something mental perhaps? She was certain that she had prepared for her classes today. Homework assignments were organized in her binders appropriately, as were her notes and worksheets. There were no tests upcoming, and, even if there were, she had preemptively studied all of her course material just in case. If it was nothing related to school, what could it be? Ami shifted her frame of reference to consider what else there might be. She smiled quickly as she realized that only a month or two ago, there would have been nothing else to consider. Since she had met Usagi, and then Rei, her role as a Sailor Scout had become an increasingly important part of her life. It was hard to remember what it had been like before she'd met her friends. Again, the twinge, erasing that brief smile. There were no enemies she was aware of. The Negaverse had grown quiescent over the last week or so. So much so, that the three scouts had decided to take a day off from their normal meeting. Usagi had promised Naru she would go shopping and Rei had some things to take care for her grandfather. Of course, Ami had immediately realized how much studying she could get done in that free time and begged off accompanying either of them. There it was again, no longer a twinge, but now an ache. Ami scrambled to recall if she had remembered to eat breakfast as she clutched her stomach. She felt empty inside all of a sudden. Even though she remembered she had eaten, the empty feeling lingered. Usagi could not be found at lunchtime, so Ami ate by herself, reading ahead in a textbook, just the way she used to spend all her lunch periods before they had met. Despite the nice lunch she had prepared for herself, that emptiness would not go away. For the first time in memory, Ami couldn't focus on her books. ------------------------- "...until one day, the young woman was walking along with her friend's pet cat and lightning struck..." ------------------------- "Hi, what's your name?" Ami's heart stopped, but she couldn't tell. Heat rose to her cheeks and goosebumps crawled down her arms. Who was this? Later, Ami would barely remember stammering out some sort of reply, making polite small talk, nodding and smiling at the appropriate places. She would remember much more vividly when the tall brunette blushed and swooned and dashed off after a boy in the arcade who reminded her of an ex-boyfriend. That, and the long walk home that followed. "Lonely," Ami thought. "It was loneliness. I must have grown more dependant on my new friends than I'd realized. That girl, Makoto. She must be one of us, I must have sensed it and that is why she shocked me so. After all, she is so beautiful, just like Usagi and Rei. More so." Ami sighed, remembering the way Makoto's hair had smelled, the way the light glistened off of it, giving it a reddish sheen, as she had petted Luna. Ami did not, however, stop to wonder at what point she'd begun to notice how attractive her friends were. -------------------------- "... though it would be quite a while before she realized it, the young woman was in love." "Did Auntie Makoto know that she was in love with you, too, Auntie Ami?" "No, it took her some time, Chibi. It took me some time as well." "Hey! That's not what happened! I knew just as soon as you did. Heck, I knew before you did!" "Have you been listening all this time, Mako-chan? It is not polite to eavesdrop you know." "Auntie Mako! You tell it! You tell it!" "Yes, 'Auntie Mako', if I am not telling it correctly, why don't you take over?" "All right, I will!" ------------------------------ Makoto looked nervously around the arcade. Usagi had invited her to play video games, something Makoto really enjoyed. Why was the bubblehead blonde girl being so nice to her? Makoto had a good sense of when she was being played, or set up for a fall, but Usagi seemed so genuine. It was almost impossible not to like her. She was cute, if not her type at all. Still, making one new friend was odd enough. What if Usagi's other friends didn't like her, or thought she was a 'karate maniac'? Makoto's heart stopped. Who is that?Ohmigod, she's one of Usagi's friends.She's coming over here.My face must be red, am I sweating?Genius?Ohmigod, smart too.She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.She's standing right in front of me.Does she have any idea how hot she is?Gotta say something.Can't lose another friend over this.Can't let Usagi see me all googlyeyed over her best friend.Please don't let me be totally flushed.Cat, there's a cat.Focus on the cat.Everyone loves cats, right? "Hi, what's your name?" Ok, I'm doing ok.Ohgods, why is she blushing?She saw me gawking over her and I've offended her.Or am I just seeing things.Need a distraction. Looking. Looking. Looking. There.That guy looks like the jerk.Quick, look that way. Focus.Look at him not at her.He's playing the crane game.She's still there.Did you see her hair and how it set off her blue eyes.I've always been a sucker for dark hair and blue eyes.And that smile, and those cheeks.I hope she wasn't really blushing because she noticed.Think of the guy, think of the guy, she's leaving.Breathe, breathe again.Ami, that was her name.[sigh] ------------------------------- Ami stood up slowly from the bed, put a finger to her lips and drew Makoto into the hallway, one arm slipping unconsciously around her love's waist as they quietly adjourned to their bedroom. "I suppose it really was love at first sight, wasn't it?" she asked demurely, looking up into emerald eyes. "From the moment I saw you, Ami-chan, I knew," Makoto answered softly, stepping up to brush a stray strand of blue back into place. With a wry smile, she added, "And you already knew that, silly one. I've told you that story before." Realization dawned. "Hey, you knew I was there the whole time, didn't you!" "Of course, my Mako-chan. I am a genius, after all," Ami laughed, eyes glittering. "I never tire of that particular story, though, and I knew you couldn't resist telling it." Makoto frowned, feigning offense, until the smile slowly returned, bringing with it a heat that smoldered in her eyes and gave Ami chills. "I know why you never tire of that story, love," she said in a thick voice. Ami trembled again, looking down chastely because she knew how much Mako enjoyed it. She could feel her complexion betraying her once again. "Why is that, Mako-chan?" Makoto slid her fingers through Ami's hair, along her cheeks, over her shoulders and down her arms, taking her lover's hands in her own. Leaning forward, she inhaled deeply and breathed into Ami's ear, "Because it excites you to know how much I wanted you, how much I want you every time I see you." Her lips closed around Ami's earlobe. "We have to be quiet, we have a guest," Ami stammered, trying and failing to maintain any sense of decorum or control. Makoto just chuckled and drew her one, her only, her truest love back toward their bed.
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