"Thanks for helping me carry all this, honey," Makoto murmured, brushing a lingering kiss over her lover's lips before she shifted her stack of boxes into his arms. "I'd never have managed this lot on my own."

Already weighted down with a stack of boxes containing the sweet treats that Makoto had made for the scholarship fund carnival bake sale, she'd piled on even more. He could barely see over the boxes now. Makoto was busy wrestling an enormous tote bag of her own.

"No problem, sweetheart," Masato said with a satisfied smile. The kiss had been fine payment for his short stint as a pack animal. "I know how important this festival is to you."

"Well, without the scholarship program I wouldn't even be able to afford to go to school, so I've got to support it."

Masato frowned slightly at his girlfriend's words. "You know I'd be happy to help you pay your tuition, love…"

"And you know I don't want that," Makoto replied crisply. "Let's not get into it again, hon. We don't have the time. I've got to hurry and get changed. Would you drop these pastries at the bake sale booth? If Ami-chan or Mamoru-kun is there you can just leave them with one of them. But if not, guard them with your life until one of them gets there or Usagi-chan will scarf down half of the cakes before the carnival even starts. Jinsei-kun might need some help too, with Rei-chan's fortune-telling booth, if you get a chance…she says he's not exactly a handyman. See you in a little while."

Heaving her tote over one shoulder, Makoto disappeared into the women's locker room.

Masato sighed, shaking his head as he walked off toward the bake sale booth. She was still one of the most proud, independent-minded and downright stubborn women he'd ever met…and it practically took an act of the Diet to get her to accept a single yen from him, even if it was just for the groceries he ate.

After he'd dropped off his baked goods delivery into Ami's protective custody, he decided to wander around for a while, looking at the school club's various booths. Every year the university held a carnival as their major fundraiser for their scholarship program, and every club on campus, and consequently a good percentage of the students, participated in one way or another. Minako had somehow wound up as chairperson for the event, which made him wonder if the whole thing was going to blow up in their faces.

Hearing a pained groan followed by familiar muttered curses coming from the fortune telling tent, Masato grinned broadly, getting a quick mental image of Jadeite sucking on his bruised thumb. This could be amusing.

"Good morning," he called out, brushing through the gauzy fabric that veiled the entrance. Inside it was dark and the place smelled heavily of incense. "My own psychic senses told me that a certain blond friend of mine was in trouble, but I thought I'd get a second opinion."

"Well MY non-psychic senses tell me that you'd be better off picking up that hammer and helping than acting like a smart ass," Jinsei rumbled testily, his sea blue eyes stormy. He was holding now a staple gun and a length of lighting cord and eyeing the hammer like it was a snake. Tossing the tool in question at his friend, Jinsei knew that it would be caught before it could hit the ground.

"Just show me where, friend," Masato volunteered, soothing the man's ruffled feathers.

In the manner of men since time immemorial they experienced a bonding moment in the silence as they worked with their tools to finish setting up the booth. Finally Jinsei wiped his forehead, offered up a quick prayer and flipped a switch.

When the lights flickered once, then stayed on, he grinned in satisfaction. "Done! And none too soon either. Rei'll probably be here any minute." He paused for a moment, then mused, "You know, this'll probably be the first time these folks get any real fortunes and they won't even know the difference."

"Probably," Masato agreed. "But as long as Rei-san doesn't foretell the coming of the next major apocalypse or great horror then I don't think anyone will mind. They just think of it all as a game because, unlike some of us, they don't know any better. But maybe Rei-san will actually be able to help someone who needs it. She's very good at what she does, after all, even when she doesn't have a fire to read."

"I know," Jinsei said, looking proud, as if he was in some way responsible for Rei's otherworldly perception.

"Where is she anyway?"

"Oh, she just had to go get changed into something suitably dramatic to fit the show that people expect." Jinsei shrugged.

"Ah…show business." Masato nodded in understanding. "Makoto had to go change too."

Jinsei shot a quick glance from under his bangs at his dark-haired friend. "You know, you'll have to tell me how you did it. You were always so jealous, so when Rei told me about it, I was amazed you'd allow Makoto-san to participate…what with all the men who are bound to show up. We're both impressed, especially after how over-the-top possessive you acted over that old boy friend of Makoto-san's showing up in the apartment unannounced right after you got back together. Not saying that Mako's not entirely trustworthy, but really, how did you get your jealous streak under control?"

The comment drew a puzzled look. "What do you mean jealous? It's just a bake sale. It's not like she's running the kissing booth or something."

"Are you sure?" Jinsei asked, scratching his head, wondering if Masato was putting him on.

"Of course I'm sure. I've only had to live with the smell of fresh baking for the past three days without so much as being able to touch a single luscious bite under threat of an immediate and extremely painful demise. In fact, I dropped off the cakes and stuff just before I came over here. "

"Well, I know Rei-chan said Makoto was working anoth…eh heh.." Jinsei's voice trailed off as Masato sent him a black look.

"What ARE you talking about?"

"Um…never mind," he gulped, wishing he'd never brought up the subject.

"SPEAK!" bellowed the dark-haired man, his temper flaring. His grip tightened on the handle of the hammer.

Jinsei reached out and plucked the tool from Masato's hand, placing it in the storage box, which he then kicked out of reach beneath a skirted table. To himself he muttered, "Storm over the waters…definitely. Better batten down the hatches." To his friend, he simply suggested, "Look, I think you'd better find Makoto and talk to her. Just remember when you do that she really loves you."

Letting out a snort, Masato left the tent, somewhat less pleased than when he'd entered. Jinsei's voice carried out to him, "…and don't bite her head off."

When he tracked down Makoto, Masato suddenly realized what Jinsei had been talking round about. "You can't go out in public dressed like that, Mako-chan," he insisted, simultaneously intrigued and appalled at the amount of his girlfriend's creamy flesh on display.

She was dressed in a curve-hugging, tight skirt of bright green sequins that flared out in a cloud of tulle at mid-calf to form a fishtail. From the waist up she wore only a bandeau bikini top in a bright coral pink color and a shawl of fish netting trimmed here and there with seashells and starfish. A floral and pearl beaded tiara held back her hair, which she wore down, hanging in loose red-brown waves to her shapely hips.

Makoto arched an eyebrow at that. "What? It's just a costume. It covers more of me than the bathing suit I wear to the pool."

"Are you trying to tell me you're going to work the bake sale while in that getup? You can't even walk in it."

"No," said Makoto, looking at him like he was daft. "Of course I won't. I just baked stuff for the sale. I'm going to wear this in the 'Swim the Mermaid' dunking booth. I'm the mermaid."

An appreciative wolf whistle from a passing male student made Makoto flush and Masato snarl, stepping in front of her to block the man's view. "See what I mean, Mako? You can't wear that in public. Your…um…assets are almost completely exposed. Men will only be there to see your chest on display like some strum…"

"DON'T SAY IT!" She snapped suddenly, eyes glinting like green ice as she bounced up on her toes to go eye to eye with him. "Don't you DARE finish that sentence or everyone else will be seeing a lot more of my assets here in public than you will be in private…from your new bed on the couch!"

Makoto stuck a finger in his face, wagging it furiously. "This is a perfectly decent costume and I am wearing it, no matter what you say, Sanjouin Masato. I already told Minako I would not work the kissing booth because you'd have a jealous freak out and now you're freaking out anyway, and I am NOT in the mood to deal with it. Hell, if I got in a lather over every girl who ogled your fine backside, I'd get nothing else done.

"This is one of our biggest fund-raisers," she continued, poking him none too gently in the chest with a manicured finger, "and I won't let your little green-eyed monster attack spoil it. So you have two choices. You can follow me and simply glare over-protectively at people who buy tickets for my booth, or you can go home and I will talk to you later. But either way, I'm leaving and doing my bit for the scholarship fund. Like it or lump it!"

With that she crossed her arms over her chest, turned and stormed off in high dudgeon. She called back with a final parting shot over her shoulder. "Oh, and this skirt quite fully covers my ASSET, Masato-baka!" Her departure after that was marked by a very pronounced hip sway, just to irk him more.

Thoroughly incensed, but left with no one to argue, Masato steamed until he caught sight of Koichi striding his way, hand upraised in greeting. He was at the silver-haired man's side in an instant.

"Where's Aino-san?" he growled unusually harshly, ignoring Koichi's "Ohayo."

Koichi's brows drew together as he frowned. "Getting her booth ready. Why?"

"You've got to tell her she's got to change Mako's assignment. I won't have Makoto on parade for a bunch of guys to ogle over."

"Ah…you heard about the dunking tank assignment, then?"

Shooting the taller man a frustrated glare, Masato nodded curtly. "So you knew too, and neither you nor Jinsei bothered to tell me?"

"Minako said she thinks Makoto-san's booth will bring in more money than it has in years, what with the mermaid theme and all." He paused when his friend raked a hand through his espresso mane and growled. "Anyway, my telling you wouldn't make any difference. And I can't tell Minako what to do any more than you could change Makoto-san's mind, oh temperamental one."

"Why not?!" demanded Masato. It was not clear which statement he meant to question, but Koichi answered anyway.

"Look, if it was up to me, Minako wouldn't be over there putting on makeup for the kissing booth." He cast a sidelong glance at one of the booths where the blonde woman was indeed applying a coat of bright-red lipstick that matched her crimson hair bow. A short line was already forming in front of that booth. "But it's not up to me and I want her to be happy if this fundraiser is a success. So I'm dealing."

When Masato continued to scowl, Koichi smacked him on the arm. "Think! Minako, Makoto, Rei…all of them are like that. They're strong…they make up their own minds and make their own decisions. Just remember that she really loves you madly and this scholarship fundraiser is really important to her since she's one its recipients. So you could fume and carry on like a jealous ass and make her completely lose her temper with you. You could make your soulmate sincerely wonder if the seaweed really is greener in someone else's lake. Or you can show her how you care enough to put your jealousy and possessiveness on the back burner and she'll reward you for it hundredfold.

"It's your choice, Masato…but if you really love her, you'll put on your game face and go out and help make your her fundraiser a great big splashy success knowing that at the end of the day your personal Little Mermaid fairy tale will have a happy ending."