AN: Last real chapter of this story, although the plot is pretty much already wrapped up so it's mostly just an excuse for more fluff. Thanks for the feed back on ideas for the Mamoru/Usagi story - I had been thinking along the lines of Endymion/Selene...we'll see. Thanks for reading!
The Snow Queen
Chapter 6
Mina rubbed her head. She had an enormous headache and her house was only half clean yet. She had a mop, a broom and a bucket of water in her arms, a kerchief on her head, and a very sour expression on her face.
"Stupid boys," she muttered for the fortieth time that week.
She hadn't slept the night of the party for fear that one of the boys would get sick in his sleep. So she'd stayed up to nurse all of them and ended up falling asleep as they were waking up. Evidently they'd left their brains at home because on waking in a strange place Neph had been convinced he'd been kidnapped and was trying desperately to escape through her balcony window when the crashing noise of her breaking furniture had woken her up. Jade was still so ill he couldn't get off the couch, but had only wailed feebly for someone to make Neph shut up, while Mamoru had misunderstood the entire situation and pestered Mina with desperate and demanding questions about 'what exactly happened with us last night?'
After finally convincing Neph that he hadn't been kidnapped (who would want him?) and reassuring Mamoru in the most animated language possible that 'nothing had happened last night' (as if!), Mina kicked both of them out and told them to go home.
But Jadeite had to stay with her for another day, recuperating, and now Mina lived in fear of going outside her apartment because she knew that somewhere, waiting to descend upon her, was the formidable wrath of Hino Rei.
"Why is life so unfair!?" she cried. She was as close as she'd ever been to a nervous break down.
Just as she contemplated sticking her head in the bucket of water and mercifully ending her agony, her cell phone rang.
"You have interrupted my tragic last moments!" she yelled, recognizing the number as Nephrite's, "why can't you let me die in peace!?"
"Who are you – Madame Butterfly?" Makoto's sarcastic voice retorted.
"Oh, it's you, I thought it was your stupid boyfriend."
"I'm on his phone, and I'll forget you said that," Mako answered, tersely, "Now, listen up poisoner, you had better come up with a really good idea to apologize to the guys or Rei is going to murder you in the next twenty-four hours."
"Just let her take me," Mina sighed, languishing on the couch, her cleaning supplies forgotten.
"I have a good mind to do just that, but unfortunately I still have some lingering feelings of pity and friendship for you, so -"
"Oh, Makoto," her friend cried, "You are the only friend I have in the world!"
Mako snorted.
"Just think of something nice to do for the boys, ok? And Mina -" she added, "Give up on the whole 'boy's club' thing. Curiosity isn't worth losing your life over."
"Thank you, Makoto."
Mina sighed as Mako hung up. She knew she should get up and start cleaning again, but she just couldn't budge.
"What could I do?" she asked herself, "What would the boys, or more specifically, Rei, like as an apology?"
She squeezed her eyes shut tight to think and ended up dozing off when her phone rang again.
"Ami-chan?"
"Actually it's Zoi."
"What is it with you guys? Have all your cellphones been destroyed by an earthquake?"
"Uh...I just left mine in my bag, and..."
"Never mind," Mina huffed, "So, how did it all go? I assume because you're using Ami's phone that things have gone well?"
"Yeah," he replied casually, "everything is pretty good."
"Uh-huh," she smirked, "Come on, give me the juicy details."
"I don't think so, Mina," he replied, "but I do want to thank you for helping me. Is there anything I can do for you? Any favor?"
Mina, being the extremely intelligent woman that she was, seized her chance.
"Tell me what the boy's club is."
"Oh, but Mina, I promised -" he wavered.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to thank me?" Mina accused, "And here you are backing out already!"
"Well, I..."
"Please," she sniffed, "I just want to know this one thing..."
"Well, alright," he agreed after a moment, "I don't really see why the guys wanted to keep it a secret in the first place – I mean, it's not like we're in high school anymore. Just lean in and I'll tell you..."
Mina's eyes grew large as he whispered the details of the secret she had plotted for so long to uncover.
"That's it?" she said when he'd finished.
"Yeah, I don't get why it's such a big deal. Do you?"
"Huh," she replied, "No idea. But it does give me an idea of how to apologize to the guys."
"Apologize for what?"
"I'll tell you later," Mina finished hurriedly, "I've got to get back to work. Thanks for telling me."
"Sure. Thank you."
Mina clicked the phone off with a satisfied sigh. At least she knew the secret now, although – she had to admit that she was disappointed. It wasn't nearly as naughty or kinky or even as exciting as she'd hoped.
"Oh, well, time to get working on that apology."
With that she looked up Rei's number in her phone and pressed the dial button.
Zoi shook his head as he handed Ami's cellphone back to her.
"How was Mina?" she asked, sipping her hot chocolate.
"Oh, the same. I didn't understand most of what she said."
He slipped his arm around her shoulders as they walked together through the park.
"What did she ask you to do for her?"
"Oh, she just wanted to know something about high school," he shrugged, "she probably wants to tease Kunzite about it."
"Why does she call him Kunz-chan?" Ami wondered suddenly.
"To annoy him, I think," Zoisite answered.
"Wouldn't it annoy you if I called you Zoi-chan?"
"I think it's kind of cute," he replied, "I mean, I call you Ami-chan."
"But that's different," she countered.
He shrugged again.
"Well, I won't insist on it. If you can come up with something better and cuter, that's fine with me."
Ami nodded, chuckling.
"I'll try my best to be creative."
"Good."
They stopped at the river and sat on a nearby bench. He let her sip her chocolate for a few more minutes before he turned to her and gently took it out of her hands.
She looked at him questioningly.
"We're going to finish our earlier conversation," he explained.
"Oh." She blushed.
"Now, let me see if I remember correctly," he said and scooted Ami over until she was almost sitting on his knees.
"I think that's about right," he muttered to himself.
Ami was getting very nervous. There were other people in the park! She swallowed and felt itchy suddenly.
"I – I'm," she stuttered, "I think, um-"
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It's just – uh, don't you think maybe we should...wait?"
"Hm," he seemed to consider this, then smiled: "No."
He leaned closer and Ami suddenly couldn't stand it. She reached both hands up to her face and sneezed.
Her eyes snapped open in horror.
Zoisite looked at her for a moment before he burst into laughter.
"You look so adorably funny," he giggled.
Ami frowned and turned ever redder.
"It's – I'm – I always get this way." she murmured, "I even break out in rashes just thinking about it."
"Really?" He sobered up, "That is a problem."
Ami felt embarrassed; she felt horrible about her reaction but there was nothing she could do.
"Ami-chan," he said suddenly, sitting back but not releasing her, "tell me which of my papers you like the best."
Ami blinked.
"Alright," she agreed, rather sadly – he must be trying to change the subject to keep from embarrassing me, she thought – it only made her more embarrassed, "I really liked the latest one you wrote about using the new discoveries in basic chemistry to further advances in pharmaceutical work – in particular -"
She broke off as he lightly kissed her cheek.
"Please, continue," he murmured, his lips just tickled her ear, "pharmaceutical work -"
"Um," Ami gulped, and managed to say, "yes, I thought that the idea of more efficient b-bonds could be utilized to produce more efficient -"
She squeaked when he kissed her nose.
"Yes?" he prompted, his eyes staring into hers. She felt herself relax.
"M-more efficient m-money management could..."she mumbled as he leaned in and kissed her.
Ami's knees inexplicably gave out, and so it was fortunate he'd had the foresight to wrap both arms around her.
"That's one of my favorite papers too," he said when he'd finished kissing her.
"Yeah, mine too," she breathed, dazedly.
He had his most self-satisfied grin on his face.
"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" he demanded.
"No," she answered, then her eyes snapped open wide.
"You-You – k-k-" she spluttered.
"And you didn't even sneeze," he pointed out.
She gasped.
"I didn't!"
She smiled ecstatically at him.
"So, want to try it again, just to make sure?" he suggested.