Prompt: Ami, Kunzite, and Artemis, reading
Event: Cheerupemofic for coppercrane2
Shopping Trip
"You really have no idea what Minako wants for her birthday?"
"For the last time, no," Artemis said, managing to keep up with Kunzite's long strides as they walked through Juuban's busy shopping district. "When I asked her, she just said she wanted it to be a surprise."
Kunzite sighed, rubbing at his forehead. The cat was absolutely no help at all.
Minako's 19th birthday was less than a week away, and he still had no idea what to buy her. He never thought it would be so difficult to select a gift, but she was proving surprisingly hard to shop for. He didn't want to buy her clothes or CDs, deeming them not special enough for the woman he loved, yet jewelry seemed too much when they'd only been dating for a few months – ever since he and the other Shitennou had been resurrected by Princess Serenity's power.
Maybe some flowers? he thought as they passed by a florist shop, only to immediately dismiss the idea. They would only wilt and die in a few days anyway, unless he gave her some kind of plotted plant...and somehow he had a feeling that Minako was not the type of person who could keep a plant alive for more than a week or two.
Kunzite was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice the door to the bookstore swing open, a woman with her nose stuck in a book exiting the shop. The two of them collided into each other, the woman dropping the bag she was carrying and books spilling onto the sidewalk.
He knelt down, helping her to pick up some of the books. "Oh, forgive me, miss, I didn't see –"
"No, the fault is mine," the woman said. "I know I shouldn't read and walk, but – Kunzite? Artemis?"
Kunzite glanced up at his name, surprised to see the woman he had ran into was someone he knew. "Miss Mizuno?"
"Please, I keep telling you there's no reason to be so formal. Feel free to call me Ami." She smiled, gathering the last couple of books from the ground and sliding them into the bulging bag. "What are you two doing here?" she asked as they stood back up, moving out of the way of passing pedestrians.
"Kunzite dragged me shopping with him to find a present for Minako's birthday," Artemis said. The cat jumped up on a nearby bench, Ami affectionately rubbing him behind the ears. "We're not having any luck, though."
"Is that so?"
Kunzite stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. He hated to admit that he needed help finding a present for his own girlfriend, but he had already swallowed his pride once in asking the cat. Maybe Ami would be a better source of gift ideas. "Has she said anything to you about what she wants?" he asked.
"Hmm, not really, but I find that books tend to make great gifts," she said. "In fact, I just bought Minako a few for her birthday."
"Oh? What kind?"
A faint blush colored Ami's cheeks as she hugged her bag to her chest. "Um, well, I suppose you could say that they're graphic novels, um, of a...homoerotic nature?"
"In other words, BL manga," Artemis clarified. "Minako's a huge fan."
"Ah." Minako's love of such material was not unknown to Kunzite, her bookshelf filled with yaoi manga of all types. That wasn't quite the type of gift he was looking to give her, though… "Do you have any other gift ideas?"
"Honestly, I think Minako would love anything you gave her," Ami said. "But if you're really uninspired when it comes to ideas, how about whisking her off on a romantic date? Experiences can be just as meaningful as material gifts."
"A date, huh?"
That was actually a good idea. Now that he thought about it, Minako had been hinting that she wanted to go to the Three Lights reunion concert scheduled for the day after her birthday…
"Thank you, Miss Mi- I mean, Ami. You've been a great help."
DISCLAIMER: "Sailor Moon" doesn't belong to me.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hope you enjoyed the story! Feel free to follow me on Tumblr! My username is kaleidodreams.
