Love Potion No. 19: Chapter Four
Alicia Blade

And I have no author notes this time. How odd.

Thanks a hundred times over to all reviewers and, of course, my lovely editor Stormlight, an amazing author that everyone should go read.

Love Potion No. 19
Chapter 4: Love is Unique

"Good morning, mother!" Usagi chimed, dancing into the kitchen on slippered toes.

Ikuko spun around, saw her daughter almost fully-dressed with her makeup already applied and her hair done, and turned vastly pale. She looked at the clock, then back at the blonde whose feet were doing pirouettes on the tile floor.

"Usagi! It's only 8:30 in the morning! You do know it's Saturday, right?"

"I know, Mama. But I have places to go and people to see! Say, Mom, where's a good dry cleaner around here?"

"Dry cleaner? Honey, what do you need washed? I can wash it for you this afternoon."

"No, it isn't for me. Actually, it's Mamoru's jacket—the one that I spilled the milkshake on yesterday. I'm having it cleaned . . . as an apology."

Ikuko scrunched up her lips, then took a sip of her sugared coffee. "Well, fine, but don't let that boy make a maid out of you."

"Oh, Mama, he wouldn't! But I want to show him what a good housewife I could be."

The coffee came spitting out. "What? Usagi, you are way too young to be thinking about stuff like that!"

Usagi took a step back in surprise. "Young? What does age matter once you've met your soul mate?"

Throwing a dishtowel onto the table, Ikuko shook her head. "You better not let your father hear you talking like that. There's a dry cleaner on the corner of Fourth and Sakura."

"Thanks, Mom!" Usagi gave her mother a peck on the cheek, then twirled around and fled from the kitchen with determination.

"I hope this is a phase," Ikuko mumbled to herself. "And if that boy breaks her heart, I'm gonna break his . . ."

"Oh, balls!" Usagi exclaimed, kicking the base of the door with her toe. "What kind of a business doesn't open until ten on a Saturday?" Grumbling, she threw the coat over her shoulder and leaned bitterly against the cleaner's window, digging in her pocket for her list. "I guess I'll just have to come back later. What else is on the schedule for today?" She scanned the list, mumbling to herself, "Show him the makings of a good wife: cooking, baking, ironing, vacuuming, dusting, foot rubs . . ." Giggling, she turned on her heels and began walking idly down the sidewalk. "I could give him a foot rub. I really would. I wonder if it would freak him out. Maybe a shoulder rub, instead?" Her imagination conjured the image of Mamoru's shirtless back, his arms strong enough to sweep her up with no effort, his skin tanned and flawless, those muscles taut beneath her touch.

"Yoo-hoo!" Fingers flicking across Usagi's forehead snapped her back to reality and she found herself staring into teasing purple eyes. She screeched and jumped backward, clutching a hand over her heart.

"Rei! You scared the living daylights out of me!"

Rei guffawed and placed her hands on her hips. "Well, honestly, Usagi-chan, if you hadn't had your head in the clouds, you would have seen me. I've been standing here for five minutes waiting, but you just kept dawdling down the sidewalk. What were you thinking about, anyway?"

Usagi blushed crimson and Rei's eyebrow shot up comprehendingly.

"Ooh, Usagi's having dirty thoughts about a boy!" she taunted.

"I am not!" But the redness deepening on Usagi's cheeks and crawling down her neck hardly made for a believable denial.

"So who is it? Motoki? Oh, no, I know! You were dreaming about Umino, weren't you? Hoping for another prune shake one of these days?"

Usagi could already feel herself gagging. "No way! I would never think of him… that's just…" She couldn't help it: her evil, conniving imagination instantly showed her massaging the shoulders of a shirtless Umino. "Ew!" Shuddering, she scrunched her eyes tight and shook her head, desperately trying to rid herself of the imagery. "Oh, I think I'm scarred for life."

Rei was laughing so hard, tears were beginning to form in her eyes and she leaned against a lamppost to keep her balance, clutching her arms over her stomach. "Oh, you should have seen your face! Whatever you just thought of, I am so glad I didn't see it!"

Usagi couldn't help but giggle a little herself, and reeling back the idea of Mamoru half-dressed made it easy to rid her mind of any thoughts of Umino. She sighed and looked at Rei from the corner of her eye. The priestess was brushing tears out of her eyes.

"So what are you up to, anyway, Rei-chan?"

"Heading over to Crown. You going there?"

"Oh, um… Yeah. I was just heading there, too."

"A little early for you, isn't it?" Rei checked her watch. "In fact, it's really early! When was the last time you saw nine o'clock on a Saturday?"

Giggling nervously, Usagi shrugged and began walking in the direction of the arcade. "It's been awhile."

"Say, isn't that Mamoru's jacket?"

She gasped and unconsciously rolled the blazer up into a ball, hugging her arms around it in a vain attempt to conceal the fact that it was. Rei was obviously not fooled, and Usagi found herself laughing nervously again and unrolling the jacket to avoid getting it wrinkled.

"Yeah, actually, it is." She bit the inside of her cheek, preparing herself for the onslaught of questions to come.

"Why on earth do you have Mamoru's jacket?"

She inhaled deeply, but Rei cut her off before she could begin to explain.

"Wait! This is about that milkshake, isn't it?"

"What? You know about that?"

"Yeah, Mina-chan called me last night and told me all about it. Honestly, Odango, how could you? On that perfect hair…"

Usagi felt a sudden lump of jealousy clogging her throat. "Hey, don't talk about him like that!"

Rei snorted. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean he isn't the hottest thing on this side of the Pacific."

Usagi had to bury her fist in the folds of the jacket to keep from smacking one of her best friends, silently trying to remind herself that Mamoru was, indeed, the hottest thing she'd ever laid eyes on and of course other girls would feel the same way. But Rei shouldn't be thinking about him like that! He was hers!

Except, he isn't really.

Slumping her shoulders, Usagi couldn't help but feel strangely betrayed. "Yeah, well, I offered to take his jacket to the dry cleaner for him."

Rei turned to her, her eyes wide. "You did?"

Usagi nodded, a hint of pride filling her at Rei's stunned, and obviously impressed, expression. After a moment during which Rei seemed to be struggling to think of an adequate response, she finally smiled. "Well, that was actually pretty mature of you, Odango Atama."

The blonde blushed and found herself immensely grateful to see the Crown Arcade come into view. It was nearly empty at the early hour and the girls found themselves with first dibs on any game machine they chose. Tokens in hand, Rei immediately charged over to the brand new Sailor Scout Universe game, from the creators of Sailor V. Tempted as Usagi was to join her, she refrained when she spotted Motoki sweeping in the corner. She felt like there was something she was supposed to talk to him about.

Fishing out her mastermind plan, she scanned the list, and felt her stomach plummet. "Oh, right. That."

Pry info from Motoki: What kind of girl does Mamoru like, anyway?

She couldn't help feeling sick and uncomfortable as she skirted the machines, approaching Mamoru's best friend as cautiously as she could. She knew she wouldn't get a better chance to play detective, but how was she every going to bring up the conversation without clueing him in to her feelings? She didn't want anyone to know how she felt—she would die if anyone knew—and especially the one person in the world who was most apt to spill the beans to the man himself.

Except maybe Minako. That girl couldn't keep a secret if she was stranded on a desert island with her mouth duct-taped shut.

She cleared her throat and Motoki looked up at her and grinned.

"Good morning, Usagi-chan!"

"Good morning," she chirped, clasping Mamoru's jacket behind her back.

"You're here early!"

"Yeah. I wanted to get a head start on the weekend!"

Chuckling, Motoki propped the broom up against the wall. "Well how about a donut to get the day started right? And some hot cocoa?"

Usagi could taste the drool forming on her tongue and it required all of her willpower but she managed to shake her head, very sadly and with great pain. "No, I can't. How about some apple juice instead? And maybe an egg with a slice of toast? Uh, wheat bread, if you have it."

Motoki blinked at her uncertainly as he rounded the counter. "Um, well, that sounds very… healthy, Usagi. Are you sure?"

She forced a smile. "Yeah. A donut would just sit in my stomach like a rock this early in the morning. Besides, I'm sort of trying to lose some weight."

Understanding dawned in Motoki's eyes and he leaned toward her, propping his elbows on the bar. "Ah, is that what this is about?"

Though she knew that he wasn't trying to sound condescending, Usagi suddenly felt ashamed and silly. She set the jacket down on a stool and climbed into the one beside it, avoiding eye contact.

"It never hurts to be a little more fit," she muttered.

Motoki scratched nervously behind his ear. "That's true. It's good to eat healthy, but you should be sure you're doing it for the right reasons. To be healthy and strong would be good reasons. Is that why you're changing your eating habits?"

She didn't need to answer, of course, because Motoki already knew that those weren't her reasons.

"That's part of it."

"And the other part?"

She shrugged guiltily.

"Usagi, look at me."

Pursing her lips together, she slowly met his gentle smile.

"You're a beautiful girl, Usagi-chan. One of the prettiest I've ever seen. You don't need to change at all.

You're perfect just the way you are."

She smiled and looked down at her hands. "Thanks, Motoki-san."

"I mean it. Besides, you don't want to be one of those stick-thin anorexic girls. A little bit of meat on your bones is healthy, and healthy is attractive."

Though Usagi was grateful, she couldn't help thinking that Motoki's words were the kind of words you tell an ugly girl to make her feel better. Like "It's what's on the inside that counts."

Not that she disagreed, of course. It was just that she didn't want to be only attractive. She wanted to be gorgeous. After all, how else would she catch the eye of such a gorgeous man?

"Thanks, Motoki-san," she repeated.

He was silent a moment, then sighed. "You're not convinced, are you?"

Looking up, she batted her eyelashes at him in a means of apology, making him chuckle.

"It's just… well, I mean, maybe you like girls who have meat on their bones, but guys have different tastes, right? How will I know if I'm attractive to someone else?"

"If a guy ever wants you to starve to death just to make him happy, then you could do a lot better. Any guy who really cares about you is going to want you to be healthy—and happy. And I think happiness includes the occasional pizza or chocolate shake."

Usagi grimaced at the mention of chocolate shakes, but Motoki didn't seem to notice. "So what do most guys look for in a girl, anyway?" she pressed, trying to inch her way into the conversation she was itching to have.

"A good personality. Guys love a girl who is fun to be with. Someone who is sweet and funny and witty…"

Usagi yawned. "Blah, blah, blah. I mean physically, Motoki-san! What do guys look for?"

He shook his head. "It's different for everyone. Just like some girls like brunettes and some girls like blondes, the same goes for guys. But good hygiene is always important. White teeth and a healthy complexion never hurt."

"Hm, I see. So, typically, what kind of girl do you like?" She tried to sound nonchalant, begging her voice to remain steady.

Motoki shook his head. "I don't really have a type. Everyone has some attractive qualities, and sometimes even when you're not attracted to someone right off the bat, if you get to know them, their personality makes their beauty shine through, and you wonder how you never noticed it before."

"Honestly, can't you be just a little particular?"

He laughed. "I'm trying not to dig myself into a hole, here! You know the second I say I love brunettes I'm going to go and fall for a blonde!"

Usagi grinned and rested her chin on her palm as if in deep thought. "Fine, then. Why don't you tell me what type of girl someone else is interested in?"

"Someone else? How would I know?"

"Well, gee, I don't know. What about… oh, what about a guy like Mamoru?" Her throat clamped at his name and she swallowed hard. "He seems like he would be… picky."

Motoki's brown eyes rose up ponderously and his silence made Usagi anxious, but also hopeful. He was actually considering her question! This was her in!

After a drawn out moment, Motoki shook his head. "You know, Usagi-chan, I have no idea what kind of girl Mamoru likes."

Her heart sank.

"In all the years I've known him, he's never had a serious girlfriend and only gone out on a few sparse dates here and there. I've never noticed him flirting, and the thought of him hitting on a girl is laughable. And besides, guys don't really talk about this sort of thing."

She sighed. "I see. Um, how about that apple juice?"

"Oh, sure!"

As Motoki turned away, Usagi felt torn in her emotions. Part of her was grateful that Mamoru had never dated anyone seriously—there wouldn't be much for him to compare her to and she didn't have to worry about some other girl knowing his kisses or being familiar with his protective arms. But on the other hand, it scared her to think how very hard to impress he must be. How many hundreds of girls had failed to capture his attention, and certainly not due to lack of effort? What made Usagi think she could be the one he'd notice?

"Come to think of it," Motoki said, returning a moment later with a large glass of juice, "I do remember one conversation I had with Mamoru about girls."

"Yeah?" She sat up straighter.

"I don't remember how we started talking about it, but I'd asked him why he never asked anyone out. What with girls practically tripping over themselves to get close to him and all."

"And what did he say?"

"Well, first he gave some boring monologue about not having enough time for a girlfriend. But then he said that all those girls seemed… what word did he use? Plastic, I think. Or fake. And that if he was going to go steady with someone, he wanted to find someone special first. Someone unique."

Usagi smiled. She could hear Mamoru saying those things and felt herself falling even deeper in love with him. She so badly wanted to be that someone special.

When Motoki turned away, she whipped out her list and quickly scribbled down, Show him that you're unique.

Aye, I'd forgotten these chapters are so short. I'll try not to make you wait a whole week for the next one. But I hope the wait is proving worthwhile! Please let me know what you think!