Title: Chipped Glass
Author: Raya
SM Monthly Challenge Theme 10JAN06 (2nd Attempt and submittal): "Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on." – Bob Newhart
Genre: General / Drama
Version: Manga (Post StarS)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I am merely borrowing them, in the manner of dolls, to play with for a short while. And, as I discovered after writing this, some of the plot was inspired by seminumboy's submission for the Fight theme at SM Monthly LJ community. He has abosolved me of my mistake, but I will mention it anyway.

Chipped Glass

"Mako-chan!" Usagi gasped in shock and horror. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry!" Makoto stared at the broken cookies and shards of glass by her feet and felt her temper begin to rise. "It slipped. Oh, I am such a butterfingers," her friend continued guiltily. "I'll buy you a new one. Was it expensive? Mako-chan?" Usagi finally noticed Makoto's simmering silence.

"Get out," Makoto said softly in a tight voice. She clenched her jaw, afraid of saying more. Afraid to say something that she would regret.

"Mako-chan?" Usagi asked again uncertainly. Slowly, she reached out a hand towards her trembling friend. "Are you all..."

"Get out," the brunette said more loudly. "Now!"

Usagi jumped and drew her hand back quickly. With wide, teary eyes she quickly turned and made her way back into the living room, picked her coat up off of the couch, and slipped it on. "I'm sorry," she whispered again from the door as she let herself out. Makoto didn't hear her. She was still in the kitchen staring at the remains of her mother's favorite glass cookie plate.

She stared at it for a very long time, tears running unnoticed down her cheeks. Finally, she began to move, and jerkily cleaned up the mess. She tossed the cookies into the garbage and put every piece of glass she could find on the dining room table.

She sat down in front of it, and began to try and piece it back together once more. For hours, she ignored the thunder outside her window and worked on it using super glue, determination, and her memories of what it had looked like. Finally, though, she sat back and slumped her shoulders in defeat. Pieces were missing, she couldn't get the sides to stand up properly, and the superglue distorted the color of the glass. She stared at the ugly monstrosity a moment, and then laid her head on the table to cry again.

After crying herself out, she sat up and rubbed her sore eyes. She stood and walked into the living room to find some tissue for her nose. As she blew, a memory came to her mind unbidden.

'It's all right, Mako-chan,' her mother said as she put a gentle hand on her five year old daughter's head. 'Things break. Here, blow your nose. We'll go clean up that mess and have some cookies.'

'Mama?' she asked a few minutes later as she raised a third cookie to her mouth. Crumbs and chocolate littered her face, but she didn't care.

'Yes, dear?'

'Where'd that chip come from?'

Her mother smiled reminiscently. 'Would you believe I dropped it the very first time I served Papa cookies on it? It was a wedding present from his mother, and I was so nervous about breaking it. When I went to put it on the table, I slipped, and it fell.' Her mother chuckled at the memory. 'Cookies went everywhere, and I saw this HUGE piece of glass on the floor. I was so horrified, I cried. Papa finally made me see that the chip wasn't all that big. He was more worried about all the cookies that had been wasted.'

Makoto laughed. 'That sounds like Papa,' she said as she snatched up a fourth cookie.

Her mother deftly moved the plate out of reach. 'And like our little girl,' she chuckled. 'No more for you. You will ruin your dinner. Papa was right, you know.' She smiled down at the plate. 'This plate is special and important, but it's still just a plate.' Her smile grew bigger. 'And the chip isn't all that big.' Beside her, Makoto grinned.

Makoto sighed as she threw the used tissue away. It had been a thoroughly rotten day. First she had gotten up late, and missed the bus. Then, they had a pop quiz in calculus that was already half through by the time she arrived at school. It wouldn't have mattered if she had been on time, she still wouldn't have been able to answer half of the questions. She had forgotten her lunch in the mad rush, and had had to go out and buy a sandwich and juice from a nearby vending machine. And, Usagi's mysterious heartburn/chest-ache had flared up at least twice. Makoto had invited her friend over for a little comfort and reassurance.

"I should have known better," she chuckled reluctantly as she looked at the plate on the table. "It was such a rotten day, I should have known better than to break out Mama's special plate." As she studied the plate, she began to smile a little more. It had more than one chip in it now. And they were huge. The smile became a chuckle, and then a full blown laugh as she imagined what her mother would have said.

When she finally calmed down, she carefully wrapped the plate in plastic and, with great reluctance, put it in the trash on top of the cookies. She picked up the cookie tin and walked out into the living room. Quickly, she shrugged into her coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. Picking up the tin, she went and opened the apartment door. She stopped in surprise when she saw the crown of a blonde head, framed by two odangos, waist high in front of her.

Usagi looked up quickly, surprise in her azure eyes, and backed away. "Oh... Ah... Mako-chan... Um... That is..." she sputtered as she pulled her coat more tightly around her. She stopped and swallowed. "Mako-chan, I really am sorry about that plate. I hope... I hope this can make up for it..."

Makoto blinked and looked down in surprise. In front of her doorway was a present, crudely wrapped in sakura print wrapping paper. She stared at it a second, and then bent down to pick it up.

"Um.. well... Goodbye," Usagi said softly as she began to slip back down the hall.

"Usagi-chan! Wait," Makoto called. She looked at her friend with a smile. "I was just coming to look for you. Come in?"

Usagi's eyes widened hopefully. With a tremulous smile she slowly walked back into the apartment..

"You're wet!" Makoto suddenly exclaimed. Quickly, she shifted her present under the cookie tin, snagged her friend's arm, and drew her into the kitchen. Placing the stuff on the counter, she snagged a towel for Usagi to dry off with.

Usagi looked at her blankly, and then smiled. "It's raining, and I didn't have an umbrella," she admitted as she dried her face.

"You'll catch your death of cold," Makoto scolded, "and then Mamoru-san will kill me for killing his wife." When Usagi smiled and shook her head, she continued. "If Rei-chan doesn't take care of it first..." Makoto turned to her present. "So... You didn't have to get me anything, Usagi-chan."

"Yes, I did," the blonde woman replied stubbornly. Makoto shook her head, but decided not to argue. Usagi was easily the most stubborn of all her friends and if she was determined that she had to repay Makoto, then she would repay Makoto.

Quickly, she opened the wrapping paper and pulled out a box. From the corner of her eye, she saw Usagi watching her with bated breath. She opened the box and pulled out a glass cookie plate. Her eyes widened in shock as she realized that it looked almost exactly like the one which had broke. She turned her wide, emerald eyes to Usagi, who relaxed with a smile.

"It took me a little while to find one like that," her friend admitted. "Apparently, most people use plastic plates these days. Mamoru suggested that I look in an antique store, and I found that one just before they closed." Her expression suddenly became anxious. "Is it the same one? It looked the same to me, but I wasn't sure..."

Slowly, feeling the warmth of her princess' love and concern deep in her heart, Makoto shook her head. "No, it's not quite the same." When Usagi's face fell, she her smile brightened. "It's missing a chip. But I'm sure you can take care of that," she teased. And the laughing light that filled Usagi's azure eyes made the day seem not so horrible after all.