Damia - "And now a word form our sponsor,"


Solatina - "How dumb can you get?"


Wren - "I thought it was cute,"


Damia - "Shut up, I'm giving ages, and I expect you two to help,"


Wren - "Setsuna, Haruka, and Michiru are 17,"


Damia - "Minako, Rei, Makoto and Ami are 16. Hotaru is 15,"


Solatina - "Trowa is 18, the other boys are 17. As is Relena,"


Damia - "I No own you no sue,"



~*~*~*~*

Shopping Spree

~*~*~*~*


The next night a TV blared loudly in a room as five boys watched with slight amusement.

"Orange Stock and Bonds, inc. was broken into last night. The police found a few small explosive devices and bugs. The police left with a warning to keep their eyes open for anymore bugs. The front door and the three VP office doors sustained heavy damage and the press was told that nothing valuable was taken and the minimal danger had passed. Four hours later the twelve board members died at their weekly meetings of unknown causes. As of now the police have no suspects,"

One of the boys laughed out loud.

"That was great," He said with a smile.

"Men lost their lives baka, how is that great?" Wufei asked.

"I didn't mean that part, I meant that the people who did this will bring us a bit of competition," Duo said with a smile.

"School starts in three days," Heero commented.

"You just want to see Minako Aino," Duo said with a grin. Heero glared at the other boy.

"She's a lovely girl Duo," Quatre said with a scolding tone.

"In more ways than one," Duo said with a wink.

"She would have to be in her line of work," Heero said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You say that the same way you would say that someone has to be able to swim to be a lifeguard at a pool, when it's not even close to the same thing," Duo said with a frown.

"I saw her on a TV thing the other day," Trowa commented.

"What was she doing?" Quatre asked.

"Modeling," Trowa said with a shrug.

"And I'll bet you anything that she was modeling Miss Meiou's clothes," Duo said with a sneaky grin. Trowa just gave him a steady look.

"Trowa?" Quatre asked with a slight smile. Trowa kept looking at Duo for a few moments and then looked back at the magazine in his hands.

"I knew it," Duo crowed.

"It's not very surprising," Wufei commented.

"I never said it was," Duo said with a shrug.

"So why did you bring up school?" Quatre asked Heero.

"To make sure that you all realize we are not going to go looking for the people who are responsible, because it wouldn't fit with our covers," Heero said.

"I think we should call the girls and see if they want to shop for back-to-school with us," Duo said with a smile.

"Face it, you're just hoping that Makoto will invite us for lunch," Wufei said with a snort.

"And you don't want to see the lovely Miss Rei?" Duo asked.

"Rei is a friend, nothing else," Wufei said with a glare. Duo shrugged and winked at the others.

"Call," Trowa said.

"YES," Duo raced to the phone on the wall and dialed the number, "Hi Haruka . . . Yeah I'm fine . . . Yes I know that it's 11:30 . . . No, I don't think I'd like that very much . . . Well you see, I'm rather fond of my braid . . . No, I rather like having that part of my anatomy . . . I don't think I like that one either . . . Now that's just anatomically incorrect . . . . . . Hello Michiru . . . yes there was a point . . . The boys and I wanted to know if you would be interested in shopping with us tomorrow at about 1 . . . Alright, see you all tomorrow," He hung up the phone.

"Well?" Quatre asked.

"We'll meet them at the mall tomorrow at 1. That Haruka's got the worst mouth in the kingdom," Duo said shaking his head.

"That's why you hang out with her," Wufei snorted.

"That and the fact that she's famous, completely hot, and knows about vehicles," Duo said with a grin.

"Not to mention that she's dating Michiru," Heero said.

"Which keeps it from looking like I want down her pants," Duo said cheekily.

"Let's just get to bed now," Quatre said. He stood up and went to his room. The others followed suit.


~*~*~*


"And we're waiting here why?" Rei asked. It was five past one.

"Patience is a virtue," Ami said with a grin.

"But not one enjoyed," Makoto said, equally annoyed. A motorcycle, a jeep, and a corvette all came tearing into the parking lot at the same time. Hotaru smiled.

"They're here," She said with a laugh.

"Duo's gonna ruin the shocks on that hunk of junk if he isn't nice to it," Haruka said. The boys came out and walked over to them. The looked the girls over appreciatively. Having Setsuna as a best friend and room mate was a definite bonus. She helped design everyone's wardrobes. Haruka wore slightly more feminine versions of men's suits, while Michiru preferred things that flowed loosely. Ami liked modest clothes with simple lines, and Minako liked anything that made her look good. Hotaru was a bit of a goth She liked her clothes to be skin tight and daring at the same time as they were loose, flowing and mysterious. Rei and Makoto both liked things they could move in, but Rei's was more skater, and Makoto's more girly.

"Let's go in," Setsuna suggested. Heero had automatically maneuvered himself so that he was beside Minako. They all filed in and stood in a group in the middle of one of the buildings.

"What are we supposed to be getting anyway?" Duo asked.

"Idiot," Wufei muttered.

"Uh, paper, pencils, that other boring stuff we need for school? After that, SHOPPING SPREE," Hotaru suggested.

"CLOTHES," Minako yelled happily.

"What did you get me into Baka," Wufei growled at Duo. The girls, (minus Ami), and Duo all started arguing over where to go first. Duo wanted a bathing suit store, Minako wanted the new gucci outlet, Setsuna wanted to go to the fabric store, Haruka wanted Car Toys, Hotaru wanted Light of the Moon, Rei wanted Hot Topics, Michiru wanted a music store, and Makoto wanted the cooking store. Ami growled.

"Quiet," She shouted loudly. Everyone looked over at the girl.

"Now, I have decided that we are going in groups, three to be exact. Me, Wufei, Trowa and Setsuna together. Heero, Minako, Hotaru, Duo, and Makoto together. Lastly we have Quatre, Rei, Michiru, and Haruka. Meet back at this point at three. We'll have a late lunch. Sound good?" Ami started off without paying any attention to whether they cared or not. The three groups split up.


"Where are we going first?" Duo asked.

"There's a really cute bathing suit store. You reminded me that I need a new one for the pool party," Minako told the boy with a grin.

"The one at our place?" Hotaru asked.

"That's the one," Minako said with a wink.

"I don't know, I never choose the right suit," Makoto complained.

"Then I guess that means that you'll have to go out and ask for opinions," Minako said with a grin.

"I don't really need a new suit," Makoto said quickly.

"Awe, come on Mako, I'll give you good advice, and Heero can grunt," Duo said with a smile. She raised an eyebrow as they walked into a store called 'Fun in the Sun'.

"Try this one," Minako tossed a suit to Makoto. Ten minutes later the three of them walked into the changing rooms with about fifteen suits each. "First call," Duo said. Minako giggled at that and the three came out. Duo whistled. Minako's was a yellow bikini was little gold chains holding it together. Her bottoms were string bikini, but the string was a gold chain. The top was triangles of yellow with gold chains around her neck and back. Makoto's was a deep green. It had boy shorts and a simple tube top. Hotaru's was a simple black one piece. Half an hour later the girls bought what they wanted and went to Light of the Moon. A place the Hotaru liked.

"This place smells funny," Duo commented.

"It's called incense braid-boy," Hotaru said dryly. They walked around the store. Hotaru eventually bought a dark plum colored satin dress that was completely covered in an overlay of black lace. It squeezed her top like a corset and hugged her curves until about halfway down her thighs where it belled out. They moved on to the Gucci store.


"Now we can go to the fabric store Setsuna," Ami said as they came out of the office supply store.

"Finally," Setsuna said with a smile. The walked over to 'First Stage' a the largest fabric store in the kingdom.

"Look at that one," She said happily, jumping at a soft silky material. It was a pretty icy blue color and shimmered to midnight blue at certain angles.

"That is gorgeous," Ami said with a smile.

"I designed a new dress for you last night for the first ball of the year. This would be perfect," Setsuna gushed. Trowa raised the eyebrow they could see as his eye twinkled.

"It's much to fine for that," Ami said, eyeing the material with a certain longing that reminded them of a puppy who knew she couldn't have the steak on the table.

"It's fine," Wufei said with a shrug.

"Do you really think so?" Ami asked him. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her.

"Do not ask me to elaborate on Onna things Onna," He said. Ami was undaunted.

"My name is Ami not Onna," She said, turning back to Setsuna.

"I don't care if you think it's better than you need or not. I designed it therefore I choose the fabric and this is perfect," Setsuna handed the bolt of fabric to Trowa with out a second thought. They went through the store and found fabric for all of the other dresses that Setsuna had designed for the first school dance of the year.

(Solatina - "here we go again," Wren - "So what if she goes into detail," Damia - "You all know I want to be a clothing designer. Live with it,")

Haruka was getting a Navy blue suit made of rayon. For michiru they had found a sea green chiffon that was completely sheer and nude raw silk. Setsuna had chosen a deep bottle green satin and maroon lace fabric. For Rei they had found crushed velvet in fire engine red. Minako had gotten a yellow raw silk fabric and they had also picked up orange lace. Makoto had a sugar pink cotton that shimmered slightly. Hotaru had basic black velvet and black silk.

"We have to meet everyone soon," Ami commented.

"Sword house," Wufei said quickly. Twenty minutes later they were done with that and were walking to the meeting point. They got there and waited for everyone else. Minako's group came first. Heero and Duo were carrying loads of boxes and bags while the girls carried two bags in each hand.

"Looks like you had fun," Ami said with a smile.

"I did," Minako grinned.

"I'm never shopping with them again. They made me carry the bags, and when I told them to do it themselves, Heero pulled his gun on me," Duo whined. Heero ignored the other boy as they put their bags down.

"We got new bathing suits," Hotaru said with a grin.

"We got fabrics for everyone's gowns," Setsuna said with her mysterious smile.

"Gowns? Now I hope you didn't forget me," Came haruka's voice. Setsuna smiled again.

"No, you have a fantastic suit heading your way," She told her.

"Can I see the fabric?" Rei asked.

"No, you will see them when they are finished. You will all be bells of the ball," Setsuna said with a smile.

"That's not exactly hard. Everything you make turns out beautiful," Hotaru said with a smile.

"Why thank you Taru," Setsuna said with a smile.

"Well, if everyone's done," Ami started.

"FOOD," Duo cried, jumping up and down. He grabbed Makoto's arm and started to chant the word.

"That was the plan but if you break my arm and deafen me, I'll never be able to cook again," Makoto told him. he stopped and stared at her with glazed eyes.

"Are we sure he's not related to Usa?" Rei asked.

"Positive," Ami said with a giggle. All of the girls laughed at it and the boys just looked at them.

"Inside joke," Minako said with a grin.

"Can we eat?" Duo asked as his stomach rumbled loudly.

"I guess that we'd better," Haruka agreed.

"Yippee," They all walked to their cars and dumped everything in. Duo had his jeep, Heero had his motorcycle, and Wufei had his corvette. The girls had come in Haruka's mustang convertible, Makoto's Ram, and Rei's Porche.

They raced home and Haruka, Michiru, and Setsuna won. Heero and Minako got there Second. The next one in was Makoto and Hotaru. Then came Rei and Quatre. Trowa and Wufei came after them, and Duo and Ami came in last. Everyone entered the house smiling and laughing . . . Well, Wufei was actually looking passive, Trowa's eye was sparkling, and Heero looked the same as always.

"Barbecue or something else?" Makoto asked.

"Barbecue," The rest chorused.

"Alright, the barbecue pit is by the pool, everyone out," Makoto called. They all went out and sat by the pool. The girls had a changing room by the pool and in it was about fifteen swim trunks, and the same amount of bathing suits. The girls all changed and sat around the pool.

Ami was in a powder blue one piece that only had a string that tied around her neck to keep it up. Michiru was in a white two piece with a triangle top and string bikini bottoms. Rei had on a sporty red top with black piping and a matching bikini bottom. Hotaru wore a black one piece that was extremely simple in design. Haruka wore a pair of boy shorts and a sporty top in a dark blue color. Minako was wearing an orange string bikini. Makoto had on a dark hunter green two piece that had regular bikini bottoms and a kerchief top. Setsuna had a simple maroon bikini. All of the boys were wearing regular swim trunks. Duo's was black, Wufei's red, Heero's dark blue, Quatre's soft yellow, and Trowa's dark brown.

Makoto carried out a large platter with all sorts of things on it. She started to toss them on the large barbecue and smiled. She looked adorable standing there in her bathing suit, black flip-flops, and an apron that said 'Kiss the Cook,'.

"I propose a race," Haruka stated two minutes later. Ami and Michiru grinned at each other.

"Between who, and doing what?" Duo asked.

"Ami and Michiru," Hotaru said.

"Eight laps back and forth the long way," Setsuna added.

"They can only use over hand strokes and the first one done wins," Finished Minako.

"Why not?" Ami asked with a grin. Michiru nodded and smiled.

"Bets?" Rei asked. She had a pen and paper out and Haruka was already betting on Michiru. The boys looked at each other.

"Five to one on Ami," Shouted Makoto.

"How much are you betting?" Duo asked.

"It doesn't really matter," Minako said with a smile. She to bet on Ami. The boys shrugged and placed bets. Ten minutes later everyone was done.

"This had better be good onna," Wufei commented.

"The name is Ami, not Onna," Ami said immediately. She grinned as she and Michiru squatted down into position.

"GO," Shouted Haruka. The girls both shot into the water like bullets and were racing neck and neck to the other side. The sped through the water like greased lightening through a cloud. 30 seconds later Michiru and Ami tied with each other. Everyone smiled good-naturedly and no one lost or won any money.

After that Michiru and Ami stayed in the pool and people started to join them. Twenty minutes after that Makoto rang a bell by the barbecue.

"Brunch is ready," She announced.

"More like n early dinner," Ami said with a smile.

"Whatever, so long as it's food!" Duo said, jumping out of the pool and racing over to the picnic tables. Makoto set everything on platters and put them out. Everyone ate. When people were done, they talked. At ten o'clock, everyone decided to call it a night and the boys went home.