Hotaru gently stroked at Usagi's long blonde hair, holding the younger woman close to her in her arms. The light outside the window had dimmed somewhat, and she could hear that things were starting to settle down a bit in the tavern just below them. Usagi woke up from her doze, her bright blue eyes opening up to meet Hotaru's own. "What time is it?" Usagi asked, stretching out on the bed. She hid a smile, watching Hotaru looking at her nearly bare body as she stretched. A faint blush marked Hotaru's cheeks, made even more vivid by her usual paleness. "It's nearly nine, I think," she answered her, smiling over at Usagi. Usagi suddenly sat up, looking rather alarmed. "Do you think we missed diner?" she asked Hotaru anxiously, a few tears in her eyes. The darker haired girl sweatdropped. "I didn't hear Makoto ringing the meal bell," Hotaru said with a smile, "we should still be fine." Usagi bounced to her feet, grabbing up her clothes from the pile resting on the floor. She dressed as quickly as she could manage, Hotaru watching her with a amused expression on her face. She got up off the bed herself, pulling her simple little black dress back on, and then tidying her hair with a simple flip of her hand. 'Short dark hair really does come in handy sometimes,' she thought with a little smile on her face. Hotaru noticed that Usagi was having some problems with her own hair, so she stepped up behind her to lovingly help her untangle the long blond tails. "I think we'll just have to give up on eating any of our lunch," Michiru said, sounding rather amused by the situation. Michiru poked through the big picnic basket, looking around for anything that was still even somewhat warm for them to eat. She hadn't gotten dressed yet, just wrapped Haruka's shirt around her shoulders, and Haruka thought that she looked quite charming in only a white cotton shirt. Haruka sat up on the blanket, only her blue eyes showing her amusement. "We should probably be getting back, anyway," she said with a little smile. Michiru looked over at the slim young woman, her sandy blonde hair messy, a flush to her cheeks, and wondered why she had once been afraid of her. She nodded her agreement, looking up at the darkening skies, "We can make it back for dinner, I think." The two dressed quickly, occasionally sneaking little kisses as the did so. The picnic was packed up, and they were reluctantly ready to go. Walking over to the patiently waiting horse, Haruka reached over to gently stroke along Michiru's cheek. Haruka took a deep, steadying breath, then she asked Michiru softly, "I'd like to do this again, if you don't mind." Michiru bent into the caress, and if she was a cat she would have been purring aloud. "I'd love to," Michiru said with a happy smile. Haruka held her close as the rode to town, her arms circled firmly around her curves, occasionally sneaking a naughty caress. "If you keep that up," Michiru said to her rather breathlessly, after a very naughty touch "I think I'm going to fall right off this poor horse!" Haruka gave her a smoky little laugh, but her hands stilled their restless touches, at least for now. "We can't have that," she said in a sexy whisper into Michiru's ear, "it would spoil all my evil plans for you tonight." Michiru laughed softly as they reached the Palace. "Your room or mine?" she asked Haruka archly as the other woman helped her down. She could get down herself, but it felt so nice having that firm grip around her waist. "If we wear out one bed, then we'll just move on to the other," Haruka said with a cheeky grin on her face. Michiru batted her arm, blushing brightly, and Haruka laughed. They stabled the horse and walked in together. There was a moment of near silence when they walked in, then the conversations started up again. The crowds had begun to thin out for the evening, but the servers were still kept busy. A pretty new girl with green hair was flirting from table to table, taking their orders and then delivering the plates full of steaming food. Strangely, there was a odd giggling going on as Haruka and Michiru passed through the crowds to the stairway where Setsuna was standing. She watched them get nearer with thinly veiled amusement, stopping the two of them once they reached her. "What's going on?" Haruka asked, a bit worried. A smile teased at Setsuna's lips. "You're buttoned up wrong," she explained to Haruka softly, pointing at the front of her shirt. Haruka looked down, blushing a bit. Obviously, she had gotten dressed a little too fast. She looked at herself, then at Michiru, and realized that it was very likely obvious what they had been doing, at least by the state of their clothes. "Congratulations," Setsuna said with a little grin. "Go get changed," she advised them, "you've got leaves on your clothes, too." Haruka and Michiru went upstairs with as much dignity as they could manage, holding hands to the loud cheers of the crowd. Emerald deposited the pile of plates on the table, then she carefully placed the dishes in front of each customer. She turned to head back to the kitchen, when she saw Haruka and Michiru walk in together. She noticed the way they stood close, holding each other's hands, and realized they were almost certainly a couple. 'This could make things a bit more difficult,' she mused, then she continued on into the Palace's bustling kitchen. Makoto was standing at the stove, handling several different cooking pots and pans at once. She juggled various seasonings, ordered her assistants around, and continued to produce wonderful meals. The smells alone were terrific, not to mention the tastes! "That's incredible," Emerald said softly, looking around her in awe. "Thanks, Emi," Makoto said distractedly. The last few orders were brought in, but Makoto kept concentrating on her cooking, a few pans and pots left out. "Why are you still cooking?" she asked her curiously. Emerald would have thought that the taller woman would have wanted a break by now. Makoto looked a bit little surprised, then she laughed kindly. "I forgot you just arrived, Emi," she said with a warm smile, "I also make the dinner for all of the people who work here in the Palace, including you." Emerald smiled back, and bowed to her deeply. "Thank you very much," she said with real sincerity. After smelling Makoto's cooking, she really wanted to try some! Minako stuck her head in the door, reporting to Makoto "Ami's back from helping Priss give birth." She smiled, "Sylia was a bit worried, but the baby's just fine. They were going to name the poor kid after Ami, but she talked them out of it." Emerald smiled and raised her eyebrows at that. "Does that happen very often, then?" she asked the two of them curiously. Makoto laughed softly. "More than a few times," she admitted with a grin, "until Ami got tired and put her foot down about it." "I was just imagining a whole generation of little girls and boys all named after poor Ami," Minako chuckled, an odd look on her face. Everyone shared a soft laugh, then Emerald headed out into the tavern to help with the last of the clean up. 'Gee, they're all such nice people,' she thought, carefully wiping a table down. She stopped for a moment, then ahe went back to work with a fierce frown. 'I can't belive this, it's only been a few hours, and I'm already liking these people. I'm not supposed to like them,' she angrily thought, 'concentrate on your mission from Diamond, damn it! I'm here to take out Haruka, not make nice with the locals.' "Thanks for the help," she heard, and turned to meet Rei's amused gaze as she continued, "but I think that table's as clean as it's going to get." She looked down and realized she'd been busily scrubbing just one spot for a bit. "I'm sorry," Emerald said, blushing. "I got a bit distracted," she admitted softly. Looking around, she noticed Ami was leaning back in a chair by the hearth, her face rather strained. It looked like the childbirth hadn't been quite as easy as Minako had implied. 'Probably downplayed it so Makoto didn't get alarmed,' Emerald thought. She poured a coffee from a nearby urn and took it over to the young doctor. Ami's nose twitched, and her eyes opened, an honest smile apearing on her tired face. "Ah, coffee," she sighed, taking the cup in her hands and having a small sip, "nectar of the gods, I swear." She gave Emerald a warm smile, "Thank you very much, Emi." A bit of blush apeared on Emerald's face, "Your welcome." She walked away, 'These people are way too easy to like.' There was a soft sound on the stairs as Usagi and Hotaru came down them. The taller blonde looked a bit strange with the older, dark hared woman, but the seemed to be happy together. As far as Emerald could tell, anyway. "Have a good time?" Minako asked the two of them archly. A blush appeared on both young ladies cheeks. "More than good, thank you," Hotaru answered her with as much dignity as she could muster. Rei had a little frown on her face. "Have you told Setsuna about the two of you, yet?" she directed the question to Usagi. The blonde blushed brighter, "No, I have not told Setsuna." "Told me what?" Setsuna asked, coming back in from the porch, giving a fairwell to their last few patrons of the day. "About your gift, of course," Hotaru said, improvising an answer quickly, "we don't want to spoil the surprise, do we?" "I guess not," Setsuna said, giving the dark hared girl an odd look. She looked like she was getting ready to ask some pointed question, when they were interupted. Makoto stood her head out of the kitchen, ringing a small bell. "Dinner's ready," she announced, "get the table ready and let's go!" "Saved by the bell," Usagi sighed softly. Haruka and Michiru came back downstairs together, a pale flush to their cheeks. Both had changed clothes, and looked a little bit neater. Everyone gathered around the long table, and the platters of food began to appear like magic. Three, four, then five separate dighes were laid out, each one of them smelling absolutely marvelous. Emerald took a forkful hesitantly, almost afraid that the taste wouldn't be able to live up to the smell. She put it into her mouth, chewed a bit, then her eyes grew wide. "Marvelous," she softly sighed after swallowing her mouthful. Haruka was often adjusting the napkin laid across her lap, and each time she did Michiru, who was sitting right beside her, would blush brightly. Emerald rather suspected that there was a lot more going on under the table than just napkin adjustment. From the head of the table, Setsuna would give a scolding glance to all the loving couples, but it only stopped them a few moments. Then the games under the table would begin again. A foot brushed Emerald's leg, and she blushed, looking around her wildly. Minako met her eyes with a gin, mouthing at her silently, "I missed." It took all Emerald's self control not to start laughing, especially after she saw the look on Rei's face when Minako actually succeeded.
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