Heero closed the apartment door behind the five Gundam pilots, still silently marveling at the absence of pain from his torso. They settled into collective seats around the dining table, while he settled for leaning against the counter, arms folded, Prussian eyes narrowed in concentration. Several moments passed before anyone spoke.
"Well, any thoughts?" Quatre initiated conversation, his pale blue eyes scanning the faces of his comrades. Duo dangled his braid in front of his indigo eyes, watching it sway back and forth, as he pondered.
"I have a thought. That was completely insane." He offered, only half joking as he said it. Wufei 'hmph'ed but did not comment, keeping his obsidian eyes on the tabletop.
"The mobile suits, were they Preventors? Are they working together with those alien creatures?" Trowa spoke next, but appeared to be thinking aloud more than anything else. They sat in silence for another stretch, until Heero finally deemed it time to give his input.
"The suits were dolls, unmanned and very basic. They could have come from anywhere. After comparing the personalities of Sailor Moon and Usagi Tsukino, they seem to be opposites, but it's still inconclusive as to whether they are the same person." His deep, monotone voice cut off, and he walked toward his room without another word. The rest of the pilots dispersed as well, content to let the matter rest for the moment.
xXx
'Dear God, my head.' Usagi peeled her eyelids apart, trying to adjust to her blurry, disoriented vision. A familiar blur of raven hair appeared above her, and even through the haze, the blonde girl knew a scowl decorated Rei's expression.
"You idiot! You could have untransformed right there and gave away your identity to those boys, who may very well be our enemy! Not to mention, you would've compromised this information while helping one of these potential enemies, and a very ungrateful one at that!" The priestess paused in her rant as Usagi's hand clenched around her forearm.
"Rei, my head is throbbing," she managed to whisper, earning a mixture of annoyance and sympathy from her friend. A moment passed before Ami appeared, pressing a cold pack gently against her forehead. Usagi smiled with gratitude as she held the cool object against the epicenter of her headache. After a moment, her pain alleviated enough for her to sit upright.
The sight proved grim. Even Minako looked solemn in her seat, light blue eyes focused on her entwined hands. Makoto's eyes stared out the window, longingly, almost melancholy. Both Ami and Rei looked at her, waiting for her to say something.
With a sigh, she said, "It's obvious now that the five boys are not our allies, based on their reactions during the battle today. At least, what I seen of it." Rei and Ami nodded to confirm, and the other two girls finally brought their attentions to their leader. "I think we should continue being their friends in school, or they'll get suspicious."
"Right," Ami encouraged the suggestion with a smile, adding, "Really, the closer we get the better. Maybe we'll be able to anticipate their moves from a friendship vantage point. Still, we have to be extremely careful to not give away our identities."
"Yeah, like they always say, keep your enemies in a row!" Minako exclaimed cheerfully, startling them out of the somber temperament. The other girls sweatdropped.
"Even I can't understand what she meant on that one," Usagi conceded with a laugh, bringing the group into smiles again.
"I think you mean, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'" Makoto provided, her voice laced with mirth. Minako nodded her cheeks red from embarrassment, but laughing along with them nonetheless. The five girls giggled to themselves, trying to ignore the fact that they were the only defense for the earth. Trying to forget that they were really discussing enemy tactics and their duties; trying to be five normal teenage girls.
Later that evening, after the friends returned to their homes, Usagi settled in to work on her dreaded Science homework. Not five minutes in, the phone rang, and her mother called for her to answer.
"I've got it up here, Mom!" Usagi raised the receiver to her ear and heard the click of the line on her mother's end. Subconsciously her eyes traveled over the empty bedroom, imagining Luna nestled with Artemis over at Minako's and smiling. Suddenly, she remembered the phone, and said, "Hello?"
"Usagi-chan," the voice, though a bit thicker than normal, belonged undoubtedly to her dear friend Rei. Her cat shaped clock told her she'd only been gone from the Hikawa Shrine a little over half an hour, and bluntly reminded her of Luna again.
"What is it, Rei-chan? Did something happen?" The worry evident in the blonde girl's voice made Rei feel tinges of guilt, but she forced them aside and focused her intense violet gaze toward the ceiling, trying to collect her words.
"No, Usagi, everything is fine. I wanted to talk to you alone but I didn't want to worry the other girls, so I figured I would call." The raven haired girl finally answered. Usagi pushed the thoughts of her former guardian and pet to the far reaches of her mind, focusing solely on Rei and the anxiousness in her tone.
"I'm glad everything is fine. What do you want to talk to me about?" The pigtailed girl tried to keep her tone even so that Rei could concentrate on the conversation and not worry about her apprehension.
"I've just noticed," Rei's voice dropped in a way that let Usagi know she was serious and concerned, "I noticed you've been overly hyper recently. You know, like you're straining to be happy. I know you never really talked to any of us about what happened, so please, Usagi. If you need someone to talk to, I'm right here. All of us are. Don't kill yourself trying to lock it all up."
"Rei-chan," she couldn't push past the single name, her cerulean eyes brimming with tears. The emotions flowed through her freely, "Thank you."
"Also," the raven haired girl continued, her voice equally emotional, "even though you were a little stupid today, you've really grown up Usagi-chan. You're a great leader and Princess. I'm proud of you."
At that moment, Usagi wished her best friend was standing right in front of her so she could hug her tight enough to squeeze the air out of her. Instead, she crumpled into tears and laughed a little as Rei scolded her for reverting back to her crybaby ways.
xXx
"Hey Heero," one blonde bunny echoed faintly as she slid into her seat beside him. If Heero manifested as Duo for that moment, he may have dropped his jaw or uttered a cry of shock. Instead, he remained Heero Yuy through and through, his eyes only flickering slightly as they observed this strange new side of Usagi.
As he shared a glance around at the other four girls, he noted no significant change, nor in the pilots as an afterthought. When his eyes returned to the original specimen, he felt like rolling them in exasperation. Usagi's head nestled in her arms, and she was no doubt fast asleep.
"She doesn't kick into gear until second period, hence why her math grades usually suffer," Minako informed brightly from the desk behind the sleeping blonde, breaking conversation with Duo in the process. The chocolate brown haired boy turned back toward the front and wondered on the connection between Usagi and Sailor Moon.
Rei turned in her desk to look at the sleeping form of her best friend, tendrils of golden blonde haired tousled all around her face. Her mind wandered to their previous night's conversation, anxious at the stresses Usagi kept piling on her shoulders. That sunny smile proved a scarily effective mask for the troubles beneath.
"Is the stupid onna that important?" Rei turned her fiery violet eyes on Wufei, pinning him with their intensity, but only for a split second. He met her hard gaze with an equal of his own.
"Don't talk about her that way. Also, it's none of your damn business." The raven haired priestess informed in a clipped tone. Before Wufei could respond, Usagi shot straight upward in her seat.
"Blueberry muffin!" She nearly scared the wits out of the people immediately surrounding her, and she blinked with confusion as Rei started laughing at her. "What did I do?"
"Dreaming about food again, Usagi-chan?" The blonde immediately blushed and grinned sheepishly as she nodded her head.
"Why don't we go for a milkshake after school? We haven't been to the arcade in ages!" Minako suggested.
"I'm broke," Usagi pouted while the delicious chocolate milkshake ran away from her in her mind's eye. Then, she looked straight at Heero and a grin spread over her face. "Hey Heero, why don't you come with me? We can order a large and share!"
"I hate sweets." The Prussian eyed boy informed without emotion, his eyes not even diverting toward the blonde. Usagi and Minako made eye contact, the same look of horror etched on their eerily alike faces. In further creepiness, they simultaneously pointed a finger at Heero and declared, "Alien!"
Luckily the bell ended homeroom before any real pandemonium could ensue.
xXx
After school, Quatre walked into town on his own, intent on nullifying a sudden and intense craving for a French Vanilla cappuccino. He meandered down the street, gazing contentedly at the boutique windows and restaurants he passed. Past a block or two, he reached a corner café that looked fairly empty and decided to take his chances there.
The woman at the counter greeted him kindly, and after the platinum haired teen placed his order they shared some idle chitchat for several minutes. When he received the warm beverage he turned to pick one of the small round tables to occupy while satisfying his hankering for cappuccino. What he found surprised him.
"Hello," Quatre greeted, his eyes trained on the familiar crop of blue hair. Ami only appeared a little startled, but when her dark blue eyes met his pale, a warm smile spread over her face. In her hand she held an open paperback copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Even behind the reading glasses perched on her petite nose, her eyes sparkled.
"Hi Quatre-san. I'm surprised to see you here. Not many people I know come to this place." Another easy smile graced her as she invited him to sit across from her. Quatre felt the blush creeping into his cheeks as he accepted, falling into place just across from her. Ami closed her book, placing a slip of paper in to mark her page, and folded her reading glasses on the cover. To herself, she added, 'Truthfully, no one I know comes here.'
"Maybe that's the reason you come." He suggested, blue eyes crinkling in a smile. Ami felt herself become the victim of a blush as he pegged her motives instantly, hardly even knowing her at all.
"Perhaps you're right." She answered neutrally, moving her hand over the table to grab her own drink. Quatre mimicked her movement, sipping his cappuccino and eyeing her identical cup with interest. She read his expression easily, "It's French Vanilla, my favorite."
"Mine too." The blonde acknowledge as he replaced the cup to its original position. They marveled at this common trait in silence for a moment before his clear blue eyes landed on her book again. "You're a fan of Jane Austen?"
"Oh yes, I've read all of her works. I realized a couple days ago that I hadn't read Pride and Prejudice in a long while, so I decided to read it again." Ami smiled fondly at the book cover a while she spoke. Quatre noted the nostalgic expression on her features but decided not to call her on it. With a glint in her eye, she added, "Elizabeth is quite a character."
"She is, but I've always liked Persuasion more than Pride and Prejudice." Quatre retorted. Ami's face lit up with innocent surprise at the declaration, and something in the notion tugged the Arabian boy from the moment. 'Innocent. She's innocent, Quatre. She's never seen the things you've seen, you can only ruin her.'
"Oh, me too! I think it's because I relate better with Anne than Elizabeth. I've never met someone who favored Persuasion, though." The blue haired teenager looked delighted, but she paused when she noticed her companion's change in demeanor. Her slender hand covered his across the table, bringing their blue eyes together again. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm okay." Quatre smiled reassuringly, feeling guilty for causing the worry he could feel clouding her mind. She returned the smile, but still looked concerned, and he still sensed the worry present with his empathy. He decided to switch the subject back. "I enjoy the way Anne and Captain Wentworth both try to avoid each other, but at the same time are subconsciously drawn to one another through their feelings, until finally Wentworth confesses."
"Yes," Ami nodded vigorously, her eyes alight as before and the traces of worry diminishing. She hesitated, her cheeks coloring slightly, before she said, "It may sound silly, but even though my friends are all very dear to me, I've never been able to talk with them over similar interests like these. I'm glad we ran into each other today."
Quatre smiled warmly at her words, his own comrades flashing through his mind as he considered her words. "Then we also share that sentiment."
The two carried on their conversation animatedly, jumping from topic to topic, sharing laughs and smiles, going through another cappuccino. By the time one of them looked at the window, dusk had made itself comfortable in the sky. They rose, convening outside the door of the café.
"Don't worry my mother works late nights. She's a doctor. I won't get into trouble. What about you?" Ami held her book in front of her and looked to him for an answer. Quatre could feel the anxious emotions returning to her.
"No, I'll be fine too. I should walk you home, it's getting dark." His eyes trailed over the street lights, expecting them to flicker on at any moment. With a slight smile, the girl beside him shook her head.
"I don't live too far, I should make it home before the lights come on. Thank you anyway, Quatre-san." The petite girl bowed slightly before she walked off down the sidewalk. She vaguely heard Quatre's parting words as he headed in the opposite direction, her mind drifting to their conversation and the conflicting emotions that passed through his eyes.
'It's hard to believe,' Ami thought as she let herself into her home, 'that he's the enemy.' As she walked toward the kitchen, her transformation stick pressed gently against her leg with every step, tucked safely in her pocket.
xXx
Aha! Yes this is my long to be thought dead GW x SM extravaganza! The reason being...well...you know that huge chunk of the story said to be written? Vanished into thin air. I know. It's like I live in the Twilight Zone.
Anyway, I decided this is a good thing because the chunk that's now escaped into the abyss was just plain I'm going to gag horrible. This way, I might be able to save some face. So I will attempt to not asphyxiate this story and try not to be too depressed that this category has cobwebs growing over it.
Please, if you can hear me, write a GW x SM story!! -waves a sign that reads 'Please resuscitate' over the category- In the mean time, review this short chapter and expect some more in the near future.
On a final note, yes the fuku I imagined up is completely and utterly tacky. Keep in mind I wrote this in...er...seventh grade? Maybe eighth. -bows- I apologize. Also, the sword mentioned that Usagi used (also extremely lame) I originally imagined as an incarnation of the stone sword she used to commit suicide in the Silver Millennium. Originally anyway. Again, I couldn't be more sorry for the tacky fuku.
Thank you to all the reviewers!
-Sachinyoko