A/N: ^_^ Another chapter, enjoyable I hope! I tried to make it longer (and it is! It's longer than any other one I've done so far.) The story is still far from over, but I'm still far from knowing exactly what's going to happen…. Well, have fun reading with the fluffy love bits all thrown in!

Now dry

          The next morning dawned clear and crisp. And this wasn't just an assumption on Ami's part. She had been sitting at her windowsill when the sun came up, watching out over the city vista and thinking strange thoughts.

           "More than anyone else, I don't think I could bear it if you hated me. I'd die, I'd die if you hated me… because… because… I love you too much…"

          Had that happened? Had that really happened? Had the tall girl, who was so strong on the outside, really collapsed in front of the swing set and said that?  Makoto, who used to belong to a gang?

          Not that that really bothered Ami. That was a strange thing indeed. To a girl who was terrified of rule breaking, what kind of sense did it make to suddenly be fascinated with such a tough person? But Makoto wasn't hard, she was kind. And this story, Ami noted, has been played out so many times. Good girl falls for bad boy. Only, this time, it was strange. Good girl falls for slightly bad girl? Not bad at all, really, Ami said. Perfect girl, I've fallen for such a perfect girl.

          In the middle of these exhaustive thoughts, Ami turned towards her bed. It lay untouched, and she realized that every inch of her body longed to curl up inside the sheets and be completely and utterly unconscious.

          Makoto, wearing her tattered old pink bath robe, picked up the phone slowly. Her insides were quivering and quaking in a way that she would have called fear, if it had not been for such a silly subject. "You, Makoto, have called this girl thousands of times. You've called her, knowing the feelings you have for her and hating yourself for it, hundreds of times. Why should today be ANY different?" She upbraided herself. "Now. Dial."

          Her fingers followed the order. Makoto, having once read a book on the topic, knew that everyone talked to themselves. Everyone constantly had a little inner monologue running, analyzing and commenting on everything. So, when she was alone, she had decided to be straightforward about it, and just talk out loud.

          The phone was ringing. Makoto clutched the earpiece, and for all the fluttering inside her chest, she almost hung up again. After three or four chimes, a groggy but familiar voice answered.

          "Mizuno (yawn) residence, may I ask who is uhnn calling?" Ami asked. Makoto almost screamed inside, "ANSWER HER!"

          "Its… Its Makoto…" she said shakily. "I, I'm really sorry, did I wake you up?"

          "Don't worry about that too much… I'll go right back to sleep…"

          "Oh I'm sorry, I should hang up, we can talk later, go sleep!" No matter how much courage this took, Makoto thought, her rest is more important.

          "No, no!" Ami said quickly, sounding awake for the first time. "We should talk, don't hang up!" Makoto's skin shook with the desperate warmth of those words for a moment.

          "It's really okay, if you need to sleep…" An idea dawned on the brown haired girl, but it was the kind of idea that was terrifying to suggest. What if Ami said no? What if she laughed and slashed the vision of last night to pieces?

          "Uh... Ami-chan?" There was a silence. "Ami-chan?"

          "Huh? Oh what? Huh?" came the muddled reply. "I was... I was resting my eyes..." Makoto giggled. "I wasn't sleeping!" Ami defended.

          "Look, you need to get some sleep." A pause. Makoto took a deep breath and pulled whatever resolve she had out into the open. "Why don't we meet later when you're all rested?" And now it was completely beyond her hands.

          "That…. That sounds good… How about we have lunch?"

          "Uh, hate to burst your bubble, but it's already twelve thirty…" Ami sighed mournfully. "Dinner then? How about I just come by and get you, you'd sleep in and miss it otherwise?" the girl on the other end made a faint uh huh. The line clicked off. Makoto had to laugh in spite of herself, it wasn't often that you asked someone out and they answered by falling asleep.

          The sun's rays were dancing on the city streets ferociously as the day came to an end. As Makoto trudged down the streets, in that pair of boots that had caused her so much embarrassment last night, she had to squint in order to see anything, whenever her route took her west. The other remnants from last night's vengeful storm, the puddles, were the reason Makoto had been able to bear wearing those again. She kept seeing her two friend's faces pop up from the table and stare at her in wonder, and then calling after her as she dashed away into the storm.

          "How am I going to explain that to them?" She muttered. "What am I, what are we going to tell them?" She questioned herself, jumping back as a bus sped by and splattered rain water all over the sidewalk in front of her. "We? Is there even such a thing as 'we'?" She asked, hoping fervently that there was.

          And then in the middle of her wondering, there was Ami's apartment building. It could never fail to impress Makoto, this twenty story, shining wonder. Ami lived there. No wonder she was so smart, so sophisticated. She lived in a palace, practically. Makoto's steps clicked on the marble entranceway; there was the scratch Minako had made across the floor so long ago. She giggled at the memory, once again seeing the Soldier of Love and Beauty reduced to tears, running to marble was so soft that it scratched easily. Makoto laughed now, as she entered the elevator. Ami managed to be a genius, even then. That was one of the things that Makoto had first been drawn to. She'd wanted to be near the brainy girl, just to soak up all the wisdom that seemed to come pouring out of Ami's mouth like a fountain. As time passed, and she got to know the girl behind the brain, Makoto had simply wanted to sit there and bask in everything that made Ami; her kindness, her steady emotions, the fact that no matter how rich her mother, she still acted just like a normal girl.  

          The elevator went 'ding', snapping the brown haired girl out of her thoughts. It was the eleventh floor, Ami's floor. She walked unsteadily along the carpets, trying not to drip her messy boots onto them. There was soft lighting, wall sconces and gorgeously crafted lamps on tables. Nothing like Makoto was used to; her apartment building was the bare minimum, the hallways were just decks facing the parking lot, her lighting was the sun and fluorescent overhead lamps that attracted moths.

          She rapped lightly on the door, and after a moment Ami's mother opened it. "Kino-san! Good to see you again!" said the older woman. She looked so much like her daughter, although her hair was darker. They kept it styled in the same way, short and practical. "I think Ami's in her room, you can go on in." said Mizuno-san. "I have to finish up a speech, I'm speaking to the board of directors tomorrow about immunization expenses." She motioned Makoto towards the far door, and then took off down the hall in the purposeful way that she seemed to have passed on to her daughter.

          Makoto knocked again, this time on Ami's door, and even more gently. "Ami?" she called, knocking again. There was no reply. The door was hanging slightly ajar, so Makoto pushed it inwards, feeling slightly guilty. She searched around the low-lit room; none of the lights were on, only a streak of yellow sliding in under the drawn curtains. And there was Ami. She was leaned on the desk next to her phone, sound asleep. Mako crept up on her, looking down. It was too gorgeous to not watch, even for a moment. Ami was asleep, her head on her crossed arms, and strands of her bright blue hair were spilling onto her face. Her skin looked flawless, white like the moon, soft like a breeze. Makoto sat down on the edge of Ami's bed and stared, lost in worship.

          A yawn came from the sleeping girl after a few moments, and one eye lazily opened. It caught on to Makoto, and the poor Mercury almost jumped out of her skin. "Mako-chan! Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! Have you been waiting?" Ami asked, and then rubbed her face briskly. "I was going to wake up and have some lunch later… but… I suppose its dinner time by now?"

          Makoto nodded, and her companion sighed. "Ah well. Let me take a shower, then we can get food…?" she asked, tentatively. Makoto nodded.

          "Should I go somewhere else? Leave you to change in peace?" the taller girl asked, standing to go.

          "No, no, you stay here, I can get ready in a second or two." Ami zipped into the bathroom, and soon the sound of hot water running filled the house. Makoto looked around Ami's room. There, on the walls, were academic certificates, trophies of the higher mind. There were paintings that her father had sent her. And there were photographs, of Usagi stuffing food into her face, of Minako posing like a super star. There was Rei glaring at the camera, and Luna or Artemis looking innocent and feline. Chibi Usa and Hotaru were holding hands and laughing, or Chibi Usa was yanking on Usagi's hair. There was their family, scattered all over the walls. And there was a picture of her, Makoto saw. Not just the group photos, not hanging on the wall, but a lonely, tattered photograph of herself, almost asleep at one of their late study sessions. She walked towards it, curious as to what Ami saw in this picture, other than a bored girl who was about to get a D in History if she didn't pick up her studying. The door behind her opened again, and Makoto realized that the shower had stopped a few minutes ago.

          She turned to see Ami, her hair still a little wet, dressed in a long jean skirt and looking quite awake. "Shall… Shall we go?" Ami asked, a little fright showing in her voice. Makoto walked over to the door with her.

          "Let's." Her heart was beating a mile a minute. She took the doorknob in her hands and headed out into the living room. Ami followed.

          "Mom! I'm going out; I'll be back by eleven thirty!" Ami shouted into the kitchen. A faint "Mmmhmm!" told them that her mother was indeed listening, but barely. They opened the front door, and then Ami closed it behind her.

          "So, where do you want to eat?" Makoto asked, looking up and down the hall. Anywhere but looking into Ami's eyes, which made her feel so liquid inside she could hardly walk.

          "Hm…" Ami said. "How about the Italian place down the block?" She slipped her hand into Makoto's. "They have really good pizza." Makoto blushed, and they started walking down the hallway together.

          "You like pizza?"

          Ami laughed.