Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Best Friends ❯ Chapter 14

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter 14: Friday morning/afternoon
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Ami waited anxiously while Makoto showered and dressed. She
tried not to think too deeply about that, instead focusing her
attention on the new group of basketball players arriving on the
court. Apparently, a women's team in one of the Sports Center
leagues had reserved the court for practice, as about 15 tall
young women were going through a variety of drills and shoot-
arounds.

Unconsciously, Ami found herself staring at one player in
particular. She must have been almost 6 feet tall, with light
brown hair, lithe and athletic. Though she was only watching the
woman run sprints, Ami still felt a twinge of guilt. As fate
would have it, at the precise moment that that little twinge
brought a hint of pink to her cheeks, Makoto returned from the
locker room. "Kenjo says that his dad told him once that you can
always look, you just can't touch," Makoto whispered in an amused
tone.

Ami nearly jumped into the air at the sound of Mako's voice in
her ear and the feel of her breath on her skin. "I was... it
wasn't..." Ami stumbled to reply, as if she were a child caught
with her hand in a cookie jar.

Makoto brushed Ami's hair with her hand in a fond gesture and
smiled reassuringly. "It's ok, Ami-chan, I'm just teasing you.
I watch this team play quite often. They're very good, and some
are very good looking." Makoto directed Ami's attention to one
of the point guards, immersed in a passing drill. "Personally,
that one is more my type," she admitted. The woman in question
was about Ami's height with short black hair and a slender build.

Blushing furiously, Ami smiled at her girlfriend, "So, you're not
jealous?"

With a gentle laugh, Makoto tousled Ami's hair and drew her away
from the court. "Ami-chan, I'm glad you're attracted to women,
particularly tall brunettes. How could I be jealous? She might
have your eyes for a moment..." she began.

"But you have my heart, forever," Ami finished, slipping her arm
around Makoto's waist. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted
some strange looks, some amused or intrigued, some disdainful, as
they exited the Sports Center, but she didn't really care. Ami
had never put much stock in what other people thought of her, and
she was simply too happy to care in any case.

As they exited, Makoto suggested that they could get something to
drink at a coffee shop next door. Ami agreed and they soon found
themselves seated at a cozy table for two in the back of the
shop. Makoto had changed into a long brown skirt with a red,
sleeveless blouse. A white sweater provided some protection from
autumn's chill. Thoughts of any other woman fled from Ami's mind
as she caught herself taking every opportunity to stare at this
lovely creature across from her.

"You're so beautiful," Ami whispered to herself. Makoto heard
her, however, and lowered her eyes shyly.

"I'm glad you think so," Makoto murmured, "I hope that I can be
as beautiful to you as you are to me."

Ami did not drop her gaze. Normally, she was quite shy and, in
the past, any hint of romance had sent her heart aflutter and
discombobulated her completely. With Makoto, though, she felt a
surge of confidence and security. This was right; this was how
things should be. True, she did blush and feel shy at times, but
for entirely new reasons. She reached out and took Makoto's hand
just as she had at the restaurant the night before. "As I told
them at the game, you are the most beautiful woman in the world."

Makoto thrilled to hear Ami talk like that about her. She'd
never really considered herself beautiful. With friends as
obviously gorgeous as Usagi, Rei, Minako, and especially Ami
herself, Makoto had always placed herself at the back of the
pack. A chill spread across her skin, increasing as Ami began to
stroke her hand with her thumbs, a gesture that was becoming
increasingly endearing to her. Ami made her feel like a
princess. No, that wasn't quite it. Ami made her feel like a
woman; she made her feel comfortable in herself in a way that no
one else, even Kenjo, ever had. All of those fantasies about
being a bride, a wife, a mother came flashing back. Though she'd
decided previously that a life with her true love was more
important than such ideals, Makoto now understood that she could
still have all of those things and so much more.

"Were you surprised I came to watch you play?" Ami asked gently.

"Truthfully?" Makoto asked with a wary smile.

"Always truthfully, my love," Ami answered.

Another shiver went down Makoto's back. "Well, you kind of threw
me off my game. Especially with Minako-chan cheering on Kenjo-
chan like that. When I saw you, I wanted to...well, I wanted to
impress you."

"Silly Mako-chan," Ami giggled, "you don't need to impress me.
Now, tell me, who really won?"

Makoto's eyes went wide, "But, we told you, it was a tie."

Ami simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for a better answer.

Makoto laughed sheepishly, "I suppose I should have known better
than to think that we could pull one over on you. If you must
know..."

Ami held up her hand, "No, on second thought, I don't want to
know. That's between you and him. As far as I'm concerned, I
was the big winner." She blushed slightly, recalling the feel of
Makoto's tongue sliding across her own, the weight of Makoto's
chest pressed against her own. "I don't suppose we have time...
to...pick up where we left off?" Underneath the table, Ami
slowly slid her stockinged foot across Makoto's ankle.

"Ami-chan!" Makoto declared. "What's gotten into you?" She felt
quite flush as Ami generated chills that ran up and down her legs
to match the ones on her arms and spine. Indeed, Makoto shivered
quite visibly.

Ami's eyes smoldered as she caught Makoto's gaze, "Well, I was
just thinking..."

Makoto leaned across the table and kissed her friend on the
forehead. "I know what you're thinking!" Loving the blush she
got in response, Makoto continued regretfully, "I have a lunch
date with Kenjo-chan. I need to get the goods on him and Mina-
chan. They seemed quite cozy together, didn't you think?"

Ami laughed, "Yes, and good for them. Maybe we can double date
sometime. I'd like to get to know him better, especially since
he's such an important part of your life." With a deep sigh,
Ami became suddenly serious. "I don't know what I was thinking
anyway, I have an appointment this afternoon." Ami explained
about the visit to the psychiatrist that her mother had arranged.

As Ami described her mother's reactions, not to mention the
nature of this so-called "Quality Time", Makoto felt her ire
rising. It took much of her strength of will to resist blowing
up. She didn't like injustice and she especially didn't like it
when anyone mistreated her friends. Still, Ami needed support
and Makoto suspected that if she got mad, Ami might respond by
trying to defend her mother. She certainly didn't want Ami in
that frame of mind. Instead, she tried in vain to think of an
alternate solution to the immediate problem.

"You could just go and say the kind of things that people like
that want to hear," Makoto suggested half-heartedly.

"We both know that won't work," Ami replied softly, "and that's
not the problem. I have to deal with my mother eventually. I
might as well do it today. There's no sense in putting it off."

Makoto squeezed Ami's hands and gave her a supportive smile.
"You can do it, Ami-chan. You're one of the strongest people I
know." Seeing that Ami was on the right track set her mind at
ease immensely.

With a skeptical snicker, Ami corrected her, "You are the strong
one. It's your job to protect me, after all. I wish you could
this time, but I don't think you can." The serious expression on
Makoto's face made her pause.

"You are a strong woman, Mizuno Ami. Don't you dare imply
otherwise. That's my girlfriend you're disparaging and I won't
just sit here and let you do it!"

Makoto's earnest expression, the love and pride in her eyes, the
determined set of her jaw, overwhelmed Ami. She couldn't
remember ever feeling so loved, so safe. The only occasions that
even came close were those few times when she and the other
senshi had joined their powers as one. "I'm sorry, Mako-chan, I
won't do it again," she promised meekly.

Makoto grunted, "Damn right you won't, or I'll have to punish
you."

"In the name of the moon?" Ami prompted sweetly.

"In the name of _me_," Makoto replied with a fierce grin. All of
her seriousness faded in an instant as she reached forward to
caress Ami's cheek. "You handle her, and when you're done, come
home. I'll have a nice dinner waiting for you, among other
things." She winked at Ami saucily.

"Having that to look forward to should be all the incentive I
need to resolve things," Ami declared. "What would I ever do
without you, my dear Mako-chan?"

"How about we never find out?" Makoto suggested. "Now, you have
an appointment to keep, and not with some headshrinker, and I
have a lunch date."

"Do you think he'll tell you what's going on with Mina-chan?" Ami
inquired. She was immensely curious to know. The fact that
Minako and Kenjo seemed to be finding each other at the same time
that she and Makoto were had not been lost on Ami. She was
anxious to compare notes with Minako and to find out how far
they'd gone. That idea opened up other lines of thought that
threatened to raise Ami's pulse rate too quickly, so she tried to
drop it. In passing she wondered why she was so.... well, as
crude as it sounded, she had to be honest with herself... why she
was so randy all the time lately!

Makoto nodded, "Oh, he'll tell me, if only because he'll want to
know all the juicy details about you and I."

"Do you really talk about such things with him?" Ami asked.

"We always have," Makoto admitted, "but if you'd rather I didn't
tell him anything, I won't. There will always be things we don't
share, details about things at least, mostly because neither of
us really wants to know that much."

Ami shook her head, "No, please don't change your friendship to
suit me. I trust you completely, Mako-chan." The weight of that
statement hit Ami, so she repeated it more carefully to make sure
they both understood. "I trust you completely."

Again, Makoto dropped her eyes shyly. "I trust you too, Ami-
chan." They sat together, silently holding hands, letting the
comforting depth of their love envelop them both. Finally,
Makoto realized they could no longer linger in the moment.
Unfinished business stood between them and this evening, and
nothing could be allowed to stand between the two of them any
longer. "I should get going, and you should too." She rose and
drew Ami with her out of the shop. On the sidewalk, she gave Ami
a warm hug. "Till tonight?"

"Till tonight," Ami agreed. Unsatisfied with a simple hug, as
scrumptious as it was, Ami pulled Makoto down in a torrid, if all
too brief, kiss. "Tonight," she said again with firm resolve.

Makoto felt her knees go weak in the face of the desire flaring
behind Ami's eyes. She could sense her own longings responding
in kind. With a firm shake of her head, she marshaled her
willpower and headed away with a wave and a knowing smile.

Ami watched her go with some regret but also renewed purpose.
She knew would need all of that energy to deal with Mom, but for
the first time she felt certain that she'd be able to do it.

---------------------
Walking in a daze, Makoto found her way home. So many happy
thoughts floated through her mind that she found it hard to focus
on any one in particular. Ami loved her. Ami had kissed her.
Ami was coming over tonight. Ami was her girlfriend. She was
Ami's girlfriend. Two of her very best friends seemed to be
falling in love. Ami thought she was beautiful. Ami wanted her,
maybe almost as much as she wanted Ami.

Her mind darting between these and other images, Makoto unloaded
her gym bag and took care of a few chores around the house.
She'd have time after lunch to clean more thoroughly, though
truthfully, her place never got very dirty or disordered to begin
with. She needed to come up with a new idea, though. Years of
fantasizing about the ideal romantic dinner with the man of her
dreams (ok, so some things had changed) had resulted in the
candles last Wednesday. She'd never really bothered to think
about how to prepare for a second romantic dinner. It had always
seemed like one would be enough.

'We could eat Chinese take-out from little white paper boxes
over the sink and it would still be the most romantic dinner of
my life,' Makoto decided. Inspiration would come. Perhaps Kenjo
would have some ideas. For a guy, he could be quite romantic.
It was one of the reasons she'd known that he and Minako would
hit it off so well. For all of her spunky, take-charge attitude,
Makoto knew that Minako had a very romantic soul. Perhaps that
came with the job, she considered since, upon reflection, all of
the senshi did, even the Outers.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang and Makoto went to let
Kenjo in. He stood in the foyer, looking around while she got
her sweater. "Your place looks as great as ever, Mako-chan."

"Thanks! Take a good look, I might need your decorating advice
later," Makoto requested.

"Thinking of rearranging the furniture or painting?"

"No, nothing major, just something romantic for tonight," Makoto
replied with a broad grin.

They stepped into the hall and headed for the elevator.
"So, you and Ami-san are having dinner together?"

Makoto nodded, "Yep, but we can talk about all of that later.
First, I want all the dirt on you and Mina-chan!"

Laughing, Kenjo agreed. "Ok, I promised to tell all when we got
together today. Besides, I know you can't wait to tell me, so
we'll see how long you can hold out. Is she a better kisser than
me?"

Makoto punched him hard on the arm. "You jerk, you and I only
kissed a couple times and it was a long time ago. Yes, she is,
but I'm sure you've gotten better over the years. The way Mina-
chan couldn't wait to get at you would indicate that you have."

Kenjo rubbed his arm, smiling shyly. "She's really great, Mako-
chan. Everything you said, and so much more. I'm kinda
worried."

"Worried?" Makoto asked as they hit the street. She decided to
lead him to a nice place not too far away. The food wasn't the
best in the city, but it was good enough and the set up was
perfect to allow for long conversations.

The normal tone of jest and banter that characterized their
conversations was gone when Kenjo replied. "I think I could fall
for her, Mako-chan. Hard."

Makoto hugged herself to his arm as they walked. "If you think
you could, it probably means you already have."

Kenjo chuckled. "I guess. I mean, we've only seen each other
twice, well three times counting today. Two and a half. There's
just something about her."

"You remember who she is, don't you?" Makoto asked slyly.

After a moment's hesitation, Kenjo answered, "The Senshi of Love,
I know. She doesn't know that I know, of course." He laughed
suddenly, "How can I stand up against that?"

"Do you really mind?" Makoto skeptically pointed out.

"No, not really," he admitted. For the rest of their walk, he
related the events of their two dates. Makoto asked which songs
Minako had chosen, smiling knowingly to herself as he told her.
When he got to the end of their second date, they had arrived and
been seated at the restaurant. After ordering, he finished his
story.

"So, she pulled me along behind her to this little playground and
sat down on one of the swings," Kenjo related.

Makoto grinned, "She's always sitting on those things. It's
where she goes when she has some serious thinking to do. Artemis
told me once that if we ever needed to find her, if we were
worried about her, we should look there first."

"Artemis?"

"Her talking cat," Makoto whispered, realizing how odd that
sounded, though it was the most normal thing in the world to her
now.

She'd told him about Luna at one point, so Kenjo was not too
surprised, though he wasn't sure what he thought about having a
girlfriend with a talking (male) cat. He decided not to worry
about it, at least not until he met the cat.

"So, anyway, I pushed her on the swings a bit and then I helped
her up..."

"And?" Makoto encouraged him to continue, sensing that he was
getting to the good parts.

"And I took her in my arms and I kissed her," Kenjo concluded.

Makoto beamed at him. "I'm so happy for you, Kenjo-chan. I just
knew that the two of you would hit it off."

"Yeah, but now I have to leave for the rest of the semester," he
lamented.

"Oh grow up, it's only a month or so and you've certainly gone
longer with out getting any!" Makoto teased. "Besides, you've
heard of email and phones, right?"

Kenjo gave her a nasty look, but they both knew he didn't mean
it. "Ok, enough about me, what's this with you and Ami-san?"

"Ami-san?" Makoto raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well, I know I don't really know her, but she is dating one of
my best friends, and I guess I'm dating one of hers, so..."

"Oh, I'm just teasing. She certainly wouldn't mind. And don't
you act so surprised. I understand that you've been up to things
this week."

Kenjo eventually admitted what had initially lain behind his
desire to have dinner with Minako, telling his friend about what
he'd noticed, and why, and how he'd tried to help. As he
explained, Makoto was taken aback by how very much he wanted her
to be happy, how very much he and all of her friends loved her.

"I'm not really sorry I did what I did, and it wasn't like I was
betraying a confidence, since I knew before you," Kenjo pointed
out as Makoto rolled her eyes (she'd seen that coming!).
"Anyway, I think that it might have helped. I understand that
guy Urawa tried to cause some trouble."

"Did cause some trouble," Makoto sighed. She told him all about
what Urawa had done and how Ami's mom had reacted. "Right about
now she's supposed to be seeing this doctor."

"She's not going to, is she?"

"No, I think she's going to talk to her mom and try to sort
things out. I don't know what she'll say, but I know she'll do
it. She certainly took care of Urawa, though I'm not exactly
sure what she said to him. I guess I'll find out tonight."

Kenjo gave her a provocative look, "So, tonight huh? And what
exactly do you plan to do with your new girlfriend tonight?"

"Nothing like that, no more than you're planning to take Mina-
chan to some seedy hotel room!" Makoto retorted.

"Point taken," Kenjo conceded. "No reason to rush things,
especially when kissing is so much fun all by itself." His eyes
drifted off momentarily as he recalled the scent of Minako's hair
and the playful way she nipped his lower lip when he tried to
break a kiss.

Makoto didn't notice Kenjo's distraction, since she was lost in
her own wonderland remembering the feel of Ami's toe on her ankle
and the look in her eyes. 'I can't believe it was her,' she
muttered.

"What can't you believe, Mako-chan?" Kenjo asked. Makoto
grimaced as she realized she'd said that out loud. Well, maybe
he would have some insight, she decided.

"I thought I knew Ami-chan better than anyone. I still think I
do, but she's been...it's hard to explain."

"She was your friend, now she's your girlfriend," Kenjo
theorized. "Wouldn't you expect her to act differently?"

"Of course, but, well..." Makoto took a deep breath. "I never
suspected she'd be so passionate, in public anyway! I think if
I'd agreed, she would have dragged me into an alley and ravished
me this morning."

Kenjo laughed, then stopped when he saw that she was serious.
Thinking about it, and what little he knew about Ami, he asked,
"Mako-chan, has she ever had a boyfriend? You know, a real
boyfriend?"

Makoto replied quickly, "No, not really. I don't think she ever
did anything but spend time with Urawa. I doubt she even ever
kissed him." As she said it, it came to her.

Kenjo realized it as well. "Mako-chan, that probably means that
today was...."

"Her first kiss?" Makoto concluded. "Her first real kiss, ever."
The weight of that settled onto her.

"More than that, Mako-chan," Kenjo went on, "she's twenty years
old and for all this time, through the entirety of her raging-
hormone teenage years, she's kept that side of her bottled up
completely. Now, she's in a place where it's safe for her to
finally explore that part of herself... difficult territory for
you, I'd say."

'She's probably never even...' Makoto thought, blushing at
memories of her own 'individual experiences' and thoughts of Ami
doing similar things. She looked up at Kenjo with a mix of
horror and amazement. "The poor sweet girl!"

Knowing he was surfing dangerous waters, Kenjo did not reply but
waited patiently for Makoto to sort things out.

"I think tonight might be a little more complicated than I
thought," Makoto realized. "I remember my first time alone with
my old sempai. Once he got me revved up, it was all I could do
to stop myself before taking things way beyond a point I would
have been comfortable with the next day."

"It gets easier, with experience, but she doesn't have any,"
Kenjo added. "She's also not a hormone-addled teenager, so that
will make things easier on both of you. Just take it slow and
you'll both be fine."

Makoto nodded. She could imagine what it might have been like if
she'd allowed her own desires to overwhelm her. As wonderful as
it would be to take Ami to her bed and make love to her all
night, she knew that Ami couldn't be ready for that, after only
having kissed anyone once or twice. Truthfully, it was new
territory for her as well. Though Makoto was no virgin, she'd
never been with a woman and, though she could imagine (and had!)
how things might progress, she would also be feeling her way at
first. The unintended pun brought a blush to her face.

"Just remember, my friend," Kenjo advised, "the important thing
is that you love each other."

Makoto grinned, feeling more at ease. She felt quite thankful
that she'd kept her lunch date for a variety of reasons now.

"Well, I should go home and get my stuff together. I need to
pack up for the trip back and Minako will be picking me up in a
couple hours." Kenjo grinned. "She's walking me to the train
station to see me off."

"She's almost as much of a sappy romantic as you are," Makoto
noted. "Email me or call me when you get back to school. More
importantly, email _and_ call her."

"As if I could help myself. Don't they have a winter formal just
after exams at her school? Maybe she'll invite me," Kenjo hoped.

"And maybe Ami will invite me and we can double-date! She said
she wants to get to know you better."

"I'd like that, too," Kenjo agreed. He pulled out his wallet and
took care of the check while Makoto pulled on her sweater.

"I thought we tied," she asked sarcastically.

Kenjo replied by flipping her the bird. "Next time, Mako-chan...
next time." Makoto simply laughed. After a farewell embrace and
appropriate words, they parted, sorry to say goodbye but looking
forward to what the evening would bring.