Disclaimer: All characters are owned by Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely borrowed them for a short while, and thank her most profusely for their use.

Story written for daily challenge ("Guardian Senshi", "Late") in the SMMonthly community in Live Journal.

Wedding Day Rush

"Oh sure, I can make that," Makoto said as she studied the picture in the magazine. The elaborate five tiered cake covered in white roses and silver netting seemed more time consuming than difficult. She looked up just in time to see Minako's face light up. "Why?"

"It'd be perfect, don't you think?" her blonde friend said in a bubbly voice. "She'd love it!"

Makoto got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Perfect? She? Minkao-chan, you aren't thinking..."

"Oh, come on, Mako-chan, you said you could do it. I have faith in you. Although..." Minako studied the picture once more. "I think she'd prefer red roses, don't you? And maybe some sort of moon? Or rabbit? Of course, the Rabbit of the Moon joke would probably fall flat after so many years," she muttered as her voice became softer and softer.

"Minako-chan," Makoto said sternly. "You can't possibly be thinking that I should make that for Usagi-chan's wedding. It's tomorrow morning!"

"It's just a cake," Minako said innocently. "It couldn't take you that long, could it? You're an expert baker!" As Makoto stared at her stubbornly, Minako's expression turned pleading. "She'd love it! And she needs something to cheer her up." Makoto snorted which caused Minako to grin. "Okay, so maybe that was a slight exaggeration. After all, she is finally going to get to marry her beloved prince." Her expression turned wheedling again. "But, it's been a very long six months. Not only has she had to worry about Princess Kakyu and her Starlights getting home safely and rebuilding their world, and whether or not ChibiUsa made it home safely, and organizing a big wedding in six months, she's had to fight her family over whether or not she should get married now. And then there was the winter exams, and all that homework, and everyone coming down with that flu bug, and..." She stopped as Makoto held up her hands.

"You're right. Something like this would be perfect to lift her spirits. And, yes, she'd love it, but Minako-chan..." Makoto stared into Minako's wide blue eyes. For several long minutes they stared at each other each trying to make the other agree with them. Finally, Makoto sighed and slumped her shoulders. Minako grinned triumphantly. "Does it have to look exactly like that?" Makoto asked in a defeated voice.

"No, no, I told you, red roses not white. And something moon-ish," Minako responded brightly.

Makoto shook her head. "No, no, I mean can it have fewer layers? Or maybe three or four big roses, not all those little ones. And no netting."

Minako studied her brown headed friend's face, and then sighed. "Whatever it takes, Mako-chan. She'll love it anyway, knowing that you made it," she said with a resigned smile. "But can you try to make it as pretty as that as possible?"

Makoto smiled and shook her head. "Of course I will. It's just... Those roses... And that netting. Did you know it takes at least a day to make those? And I only have..." Makoto looked at her watch, and grimaced. "16 hours until the wedding. Which I am participating in, so I have to be there early, so make that about 15 hours. If I don't go to the spa session you set up for 8:00. That would be 13 hours. Unless I sleep. Then I only have..."

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Minako said suddenly and shoved the magazine into Makoto's hands. "And sitting here talking about it only wastes your time. Do you need anything from the store? How can I help?" she asked as she picked up the check and hurried away to see Motoki to pay it. Makoto smiled.

(13 hours later at the beauty salon and spa)

"Good morning, Ami-chan!" Minako said brightly as she grinned at her blue headed friend.

"Good morning, Minako-chan," Ami said with a smile. "You are here early."

"A woman must look beautiful for the most important day of her life," Minako responded happily. Her smile faded and was replaced by a frown. "So where's Usagi-chan?"

"Relax, she's right here," Rei said from behind them. As they turned around, they heard Usagi's muffled good morning as she covered up a yawn.

"Usagi-chan," Minako whined in a scandalized voice. "Aren't you excited? Why are you still sleeping? You're getting married today!"

Rei rolled her eyes as Usagi grinned sleepily back at Minako. "I know, I know, but it's not for another three hours yet. Why can't I sleep just a little bit longer?"

"You want to look absolutely beautiful, don't you?" Minako asked as she threaded her arm around Usagi's. "Of course you do. So let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"You'd think she was the one getting married," Rei muttered irritably. Her violet eyes, however, twinkled as brightly with excitement as Minako's baby blue ones. Suddenly, she paused. "Where's Mako-chan?"

Minako stumbled over the step, almost pulling Usagi down, and then looked back over her shoulder at Rei. "Um, Mako-chan? Um... She said she might not be here this morning."

"What?" her three friends chorused in shock. "But... But, we were supposed to all get ready together," Usagi said in confusion.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll be here when she can," Minako said quickly. "She just had something she was working on, so she said she might miss the spa session."

"Oh," Usagi said softly in disappointment. As she studied her princess' expression, Minako felt a little guilty.

"Don't worry, Usagi," Ami said softly as she placed a gentle hand on the sixteen year old's shoulder. "She'll be here. Why don't we go ahead and get started?" Slowly Usagi nodded.

(One hour later at Makoto's apartment)

"I don't have time for this. I don't have time for this!" Makoto grumbled as she scurried around the apartment gathering up her shoes, purse, dress, hair ornaments, and other necessities. She bustled into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to check on the cake decorations. "Come on, come on!" she muttered impatiently. "Dry out, will you?"

As the light inside the refrigerator flickered, she quickly let go of the door. "Oh no. Not that, too. Calm down, Makoto. Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san do not need a thunderstorm on their wedding day." She took several deep, calming breaths and then stared at the refrigerator reflectively. "Guess I'd better get dressed here. That will save some time," she murmured to herself, already turning to walk out of the kitchen.

Half an hour later, showered and dressed, she checked on the decorations again. "Still not ready?" she whined to herself. "What should I do? What should I do?"

She let the refrigerator close again. She paced the kitchen a few minutes, unable to think of what else she could do, but at the same time unable to sit still. Finally, she walked over to the tiered cake and began to put on all of the non-frosted decorations. She had intended to wait and put them on last, but she really needed something to do.

After another fifteen minutes, she checked the frosting decorations again and they still weren't done. She fretted and fidgeted away another fifteen minutes, staring anxiously at the darkening sky outside her window.

"That's it. If they're not done now, they won't be," she said irritably as she opened the refrigerator again. She pulled the trays out and hurried them over to the table. Quickly, she began gluing the decorations into place with frosting. She fumed and grumbled each time one of them went on wrong or refused to do exactly what she wanted. By the time she finished, her hair was beginning to float around her, and she was shocking herself each time she touched something metal.

Trying to hurry cautiously, she slipped the tiers into their carrying boxes, placed them in a bag, and snatched up her purse, jacket, and shoes. She glanced at the clock as she hurried to the door, and let out a low growl when she realized that she only had 45 minutes to make it to the chapel where the ceremony was to be held. It would take at least half an hour to get there, and she still didn't have any makeup on or her hair done up properly. To make matters worse, she was supposed to have been there 45 minutes ago for the pre-wedding photo shoot.

"Minako, you're gonna pay for this," she swore as she shoved her feet into her heels, grabbed up her things and ran out the door. She got to the end of the hall before she realized that she had left the cake on the floor of the foyer. Lightening flashed in her emerald eyes and in the sky as she scurried back up the hall to retrieve it. "You are sooo gonna pay."

(at the chapel)

"Where's Mako-chan?" Usagi fretted nervously as she paced the small area set aside for the bride. Ikuko, Ami, and Minako exchanged worried glances as Rei studied the dark sky.

"She'll be here soon," Minako tried to soothe. Her voice came out weak and unconvincing, however, and she winced when she heard it.

"Maybe something happened to her," Usagi said suddenly as she turned to look out the window. A lightening bolt flashed across the sky. "Maybe she got in an accident. Or, she was attacked by some enemy. Or, someone kidnapped her. Or,..."

"She's fine, Usagi-chan," Ami soothed. She stood up quickly to prevent Usagi from running out the door. "She's just a little late, that's all. She'll be here."

"I'll go check and see if anyone has heard anything," Ikuko said as she rose, too, slipped behind Ami, and walked quickly out the door.

"What if... What if she objects to my marrying Mamo-chan?" the young queen said frantically as the door closed behind her mother. "What will I do?"

"Usagi, get a hold of yourself," Rei snapped irritably.

"But... But back in the Silver Millennium, everyone objected to us being together. What if she still does?" Usagi babbled as tears filled her eyes.

"Dummy. Mako-chan is just as happy about this as you are," Rei growled as she gave her best friend a gentle shake. "We all are. No-one objects to you marrying Mamoru-san this time, not even your father."

"It's my fault," Minako admitted guiltily. "I'm sorry, Usagi-chan. It's all my fault Mako-chan is late."

"Mako-chan still isn't here?" Luna asked from the open window, interupting Ami and Rei as they turned on their leader to demand an explanation. "Why not? What has happened?"

"Oh, Luna!" Usagi wailed as she dashed across the room to snatch up her black adviser. "She's been in some sort of accident, and we don't know what, and she's bleeding to death somewhere out there, and we don't know where, and..."

"U-sa-gi!" Rei growled loudly as Luna looked frantically from one person to another. Briskly, she gripped the bride's shoulders and shook her. "Stop that. Stop that right now. And let Luna go. You're getting black fur all over your white dress."

"I don't care!" Usagi wailed.

"Well I do. You were the one who insisted on wearing a white dress," Rei groused as she firmly took Luna out of Usagi's arms and gave her to Minako. "Now calm down," she ordered as she began to brush fur off of the front of the dress. "Minako-chan was just about to tell us where Mako-chan is and why she's so late."

Usagi, Ami, and Luna looked anxiously over at Minako. The blonde leader of the senshi gulped nervously, and opened her mouth to explain. Before she could, however, the door opened.

"She's fine, Usagi-san," an alto voice said soothingly. "See? She's right here."

Everyone spun to see Haruka, Michiru, and Ikuko escorting the flustered, windblown, anxious Makoto into the room.

"Mako-chan!" Usagi cried as she flew across the room. "Mako-chan! Mako-chan! Are you all right? What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Usagi-chan, I'm fine," Makoto soothed in a strangled voice as the smaller girl hugged all of the breath out of her. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"No, no, it's my fault," Minako said as she hurried over to Makoto with a brush. "I'm so, so sorry, Mako-chan. I didn't mean to make you miss everything!"

"Everything?" Makoto asked with a wild look in her eyes. Electricity danced around her and Usagi making everyone else draw back. "I missed the wedding!"

"No, no, I meant all the stuff leading up to the wedding," Minako corrected quickly. She eyed her friend warily and slowly approached her with the brush again. "I told everyone it was all my fault, and I 'm really, really sorry." Gingerly, she began to brush at the tangles in Makoto's hair. When she wasn't zapped, she began to work a little more firmly.

A knock sounded on the door. "Two minutes, ladies. Is everyone here now?" a muffled male voice asked.

"Yes," they chorused back.

"At least you already have your makeup on," Rei said as she snatched up a brush and began working on the tangles on the other side of Makoto's windblown head.

"Michiru-san took care of that for me in the car," Makoto replied as she gently pried Usagi away from her and began to blot the tears off of the blonde's face. "Thank heavens they came looking for me when they did. I had just missed the bus and couldn't think of how on earth I would get here in time. Michiru-san? I think Usagi-chan might need some help repairing her makeup."

Quickly, the eight women bustled around the small room, trying not to trip over each other and taking care of the last minute touch ups and details. When the man knocked on the door again, they were ready. Motoki stepped back, stunned by their beauty, as they filed out of the room. Minako grinned, while Rei, Michiru, and Haruka smiled. Ami didn't notice as her eyes were already turned toward the back of the chapel looking for any other detail that needed to be attended to. Makoto had closed her eyes and was taking deep, calming breaths. Ikuko was fussing over Usagi's dress, while Usagi's eyes were flashing around looking for either her fiancé or her father. Luna slipped out into the hall behind Usagi and her mother. Hotaru, who was patiently waiting in the hall with Setsuna and Usagi's father Kenji, gave in to one of her rare childish impulses and raised her hands to her mouth and gave a gasp of appreciation.

"Ready?" Minako asked softly.

All eyes turned to look at Usagi. The bride took a deep breath, and then smiled radiantly. "Yes!" she breathed.

(after the wedding)

"Mako-chan," Minako called when she saw Makoto standing by a small table. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I just wanted to say again how sorry I am that I made you miss all the fun this morning." Minako's face and eyes were troubled and regretful as she studied her tall friend. "I'll make it up to you. I promise!" she vowed.

Makoto glared at her, narrowing her eyes to mask the twinkle in them. "Oh you will. You definitely will. Now help me with this, will you?" Minako gave her a curious look, and held the bag that Makoto gave her. "And if you drop it or smush it, so help me I'll call down the biggest thunderbolt you've ever seen and fry all that pretty golden hair off of your head."

Minako's eyes widened in shock and she stood perfectly still as Makoto carefully dug the boxes out of the bag. "Okay, you can relax now," Makoto said with a small smile. "But don't bump the table, don't touch it, don't..."

"I get it, I get it," Minako grumbled as she took a step away.

"Don't take that away yet," Makoto snapped. She took a deep breath. "Sorry. Just... Stay right there, okay?"

"Okay..." Minako replied starting to get curious. She looked in the bag and saw several pieces of plastic tubing. Her eyes widened as she realized that it was the small pipe that she had helped Makoto cut the night before. Her eyes narrowed again and she cocked her head as she realized that there were a lot more in there than she remembered cutting. Curious, she turned her gaze back to the table and Makoto's boxes.

She gasped as Makoto drew a large black cake out of the largest box. It was decorated with garnet colored roses and small hourglasses. Makoto reached into the bag and drew out eight small pieces of plastic, put them on the top of the cake, and then placed a smaller plastic circle on top of them. Next came an aqua color cake with blue roses and small tridents, an indigo cake with yellow roses and clouds, a purple cake with red-orange roses and fireflies, a green cake with pink roses and little thunderbolts, a red cake with purple roses and little firebirds, an orange cake with blue roses and little golden hearts, and another blue cake with pale blue roses and spun sugar snowflakes. Each cake was slightly smaller than the cake below it. On the very top of the tower, she placed a small cake, half blue-green with white roses and half white with red roses. This cake was topped with a single, large, pink rose.

Halfway through the assembly, Makoto had drawn a crowd. By the time she was done, everyone had gathered around her, mummuring in shock and delight. Setsuna overheard several people commenting on how the colors matched those of the Sailor Senshi, and one quick witted person began to call it a Protection Cake. Usagi and Mamoru stood in front of them, staring wide-eyed at the work of art Makoto had produced. Finally, Makoto stepped back, grabbed Minako's arm, and carefully led her around to where the bride and groom were standing. For a moment, they simply stood and admired. Then, Makoto took a deep breath.

"Congratulations on your wedding," she said with a bright smile as she turned to her friends. "It was Minako-chan's idea. I hope you like it."

Minako shook her head slowly. "I suggested a beautiful tiered cake full of roses and such, but something like this... Mako-chan!"

"It's beautiful," Usagi breathed happily as Mamoru nodded. "It's absolutely beautiful!" She threw herself at Makoto, who staggered but somehow managed to stay up right. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" the bride gushed. "Look Mamoru! Isn't it perfect!"

As everyone gathered around Makoto, congratulating her on her accomplishment, Shingo studied the cake. By his leg, Artemis heard him mutter to himself. "But, how are we going to cut it?"