For the third night in a row, Ami woke up with a start. She was drenched in sweat, and with a sigh she felt between her legs. It had been such a vivid dream that turned into a nightmare.
All three dreams started out the same way; with Nephrite doing far more than just sleeping on her couch. But every time he had changed into someone or something else: Kunzite, Dark Mercury, a youma, all things she feared. That youma must have affected me more than I thought.
Her heart was still racing and she sat up in the dark with a quiet groan. There was no way she was going to fall back asleep when she was still trying to shake off the effects of the dream. It was already five a.m. and she had to be up in an hour for work, so she rolled out of bed and padded her way down the hall into the kitchen.
Her efforts to be quiet were in vain, because as soon as she opened the refrigerator door, Nephrite woke up, falling off the sofa as he jerked awake. "Ami-chan?" he asked groggily as he staggered to his feet. He squinted in the darkness. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I just woke up early," she said. She poured herself a glass of orange juice while Nephrite watched.
"You sure? You're sweating," he pointed out.
Suddenly she was reminded of their conversation in the hospital. Was sweat the only thing he could smell on her? She hurriedly slammed the refrigerator shut and rushed with her drink to the bathroom.
The juice didn't taste like anything as she waited for the hot water to kick in. She laid her face on the cold tile. She'd been so excited for Nephrite to move in that she forgot about the times when she didn't want him to know what she was doing.
When she came back from her shower and put her glass in the sink, Nephrite was sound asleep again and snoring loudly. Luna, apparently unperturbed by his impression of a saw mill, was asleep on his pillow. They got on surprising well, in Ami's opinion, despite their nearly completely opposite personalities.
The microwave's clock read five thirty and Ami silently glared at it. She was set to return to work at eight, but instead of the normal desire to help she only dreaded returning to the hospital. How much had her injury cost the project? Even if their research was continuing on schedule, it never looked goo to have the project head missing so much work. Still, with her leg out of commission, she'd have plenty of time to catch up.
The day with filled with lots of "get wells" and "feel betters." Many of her little patients were more concerned about her than for their own conditions. However, beneath the good wishes of the rest of the staff, Ami could read the underlying question of "Can she still do her job?"
Luckily, she had very few duties that required her to remain standing. Things had gone so smoothly that she'd even found the the time to ask the nurses in the maternity ward about doctor recommendations. The senior nurse, a rather obese, blonde woman named Dorothy, had pretended to be indignant about the perceived slight to their doctors on call until Ami explained it was for herself and not a patient.
In the end, she had walked out with the numbers of several local, OB-GYN offices, one of which was bound to have a schedule she could work with. With that accomplished, she spent the rest of her meager spare moments with a phone book, looking for a store that sold futons.
Luna had news for her when she returned home. "Minako was attacked by a youma early this morning," the plushie said before Ami even got all the way through the apartment door.
All of Ami's plans for the evening were forgotten. "What happened?" she asked as the color drained from his face.
"She and Artemis were at a late-night signing when the people in line started fainting. Luckily, Artemis was able to use Minako's cellphone to call Mamoru and here. Nephrite went off to help." Luna was calm and her lack of concern eased Ami's panic.
"He hasn't come back yet?" Ami asked.
"No, but the other tennou probably got involved as well." Luna hopped up on the sofa and made herself comfortable. "I'm sure we would have been notified already if something went wrong."
Youma outbreaks are routine, Ami told herself, remembering what Nephrite had said to her before the attacks in America were serious. "I wonder if this is related to the attack here," Ami thought out loud.
Luna pondered the idea for a moment, then said, "I hope not, the idea of the senshi being specifically targeted is not one I'd like to entertain."
It wasn't until after she had supper and finished the dishes that Nephrite reappeared looking distinctly disgruntled but unharmed. "What a waste of time," he muttered.
"Is everyone all right?" Ami asked as he walked over to the kitchen sink. When he came into the light, she could see the dirt smudges all over his arms and face. "You're filthy," she remarked.
"I know," Nephrite sighed. "I got tossed around a bit in the back room. Luckily I didn't injure anything but my pride."
"Did the other senshi turn up?" Luna asked as he washed his hands.
"No, and neither did the miko," he replied. "Venus was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He walked over to the small duffel bag with his things and rummaged around until he found clean clothes. "Ugh," he said while examining himself. "I need a bath."
Ami nodded. "The towels are in the closet," she said as Nephrite headed down the hallway.
A few minutes and much swearing behind the closed door later she could hear the faucet running. "I'm glad that it was just a random youma," she told Luna.
"Me too, although it would be nice to find out some new information," Luna replied.
As Luna continued to speak Ami's thoughts began to drift. She tried to pay attention, but her thoughts kept turning to Nephrite, wet, soapy and naked a few doors away. What were we talking about again?
Luna was smirking at her. "You have no idea what I just said, do you?"
Blushing, Ami shook her head, "Was it important?"
"Thankfully, no," Luna said.
With an apologetic smile, Ami picked up the work she brought home and stared blankly at it in an attempt to distract herself. She had so much work to catch up on that she just couldn't afford to be daydreaming.
She was completely absorbed in a case study when Nephrite announced to no one in particular that he smelled like a girl. She added soap to the list of things she needed to buy for him. Maybe they could go shopping when she returned from work the next day.
--
Nephrite was already awake when she stumbled into the kitchen and Luna was already gone. "You're up early," she remarked as she put water on to boil.
"Someone was using my head as a chew toy in their sleep," Nephrite said grumpily. "I didn't get any sleep."
Ami stifled a laugh and tried to be sympathetic, "Why don't you go back to bed?" she asked.
He leaned over the edge of the couch and stretched his back. "I'm too stiff now, I'll try later."
"Hopefully we can call a cab after I get home and we can go furniture shopping," she said. "And we can buy some non-scented soap for you. Unless you like the way you smell."
"I like the way you smell so long as the smell stays on you," he said. "Men shouldn't smell like cherry blossoms or rice blossoms or any other kind of blossoms."
"Okay, well be ready by four," she said as she put her Pop-Tart in the toaster oven. "We need to get going early if we're going to be able to hit all the shops before they close."
--
By an incredible stroke of luck, Ami managed to hitch a ride home with Dorothy at three thirty. She began making a list of the places they needed to visit as she limped up the stairs. If they timed it right, they could call a cab, walk through town to the stores and then call a cab to come home. Pleased with her planning, she unlocked the front door, "Nephrite, I-"
Nephrite was attempting to use his teeth to pry open a jar of pickles, which would have been merely amusing if he had bothered to redress after his bath. He stared at her, eyes wide like a deer in headlights.
Like watching a train wreck, Ami couldn't tear her eyes away or move from the open doorway. The two stood staring at each other for several heartbeats until Nephrite finally had the presences of mind to grab the hand towel from the refrigerator door handle.
"You said you weren't coming home until four," he huffed, trying to strategically arrange the woefully inadequate piece of cloth.
Ami tried in vain to keep her eyes on his face and not on the lean muscles of his torso. "I said 'be ready by four' actually," she retorted. She edged over to his bag and tossed a pair of pants at him. "I'm going to the bathroom."
When she came back, Nephrite had managed to dress completely but was standing sullenly by the door. "Where are we going?" he asked shortly.
"There's a store that sells nothing but futons nearby," Ami said, "If you're ready to go, I'll call the taxi company."
Nephrite just grunted and crossed his arms, which she took as a yes. He responded monosyllabicly to anything she tried to say during the entire ride to town and eventually she gave up trying to talk completely.
The pretty, female employee at the futon store was extremely helpful and even spoke Japanese but Nephrite was just as short with her. "I apologize," Ami told her in English so Nephrite wouldn't overhear, "He got attacked by my cat this morning and hasn't had a very good day."
The clerk just smiled, "Even boyfriends can be temperamental."
Without warning, Nephrite dashed out the door of the shop, leaving the door swinging wildly, which saved Ami from attempting to explain the nature of their relationship. "What the hell?" she muttered under her breath as she hobbled over to the window.
There was nothing unusual in the street, just a bunch of punk teenagers and a few upper-class window shoppers in fur coats sitting on a bench. A light snow was falling, but it was only sticking where there was already snow. She scratched her head, maybe Nephrite felt something she didn't.
Trying to behave like everything was perfectly normal, Ami paid for an extra-long futon and arranged for it to be de4livred the next day. Nephrite or Luna would have to take the delivery but it would be easy. When he didn't return ever a few minutes after the transaction was completed, she zipped her coat up and headed back into the snowy street by herself.
She didn't have to wait long, because Nephrite turned the corner, sweating and out of breath. "I saw the miko," he said between gasps, "She's fast."
"You couldn't catch her?" Ami asked.
"She was dressed in civilian clothes, and I lost her on the main avenue."
She reached out to squeeze his shoulder, but he pulled away from her. Confused, Ami turned to watch a young, lesbian couple pause to look in the display window of the jewelry store across the street. "We'll have better luck next time," she said softly.
Nephrite sighed loudly. "I could sense some very weak Dark Energy downtown. I think there was a youma attack earlier that we missed."
"That means those senshi were probably here as well." Ami chewed her lip as she thought. Nephrite caught his breath, but still seemed annoyed. She was afraid to ask him to look for the senshi when he was clearly upset about something.
"I think we should go home," she said slowly, watching Nephrite carefully. He seemed relieved at the suggestion. "I'm too much of a liability if there's trouble," she added looking at her brace in disgust.
Nephrite just nodded and she called the cab to return to her apartment.