Disclaimer still stands.

It was cold outside.

Really freaking cold, as Makoto could attest to. She was out there in the snow, bundled from head to toe, grumbling to herself as she chopped wood for the fireplace. Damn snow. Damn fire. Damn Minako and Setsuna. It was all their fault, really. She had come down the stairs around noon, just out of the shower. Eating some Fruit Loops and enjoying them, she had asked what the dark spot on the carpet was. At first the two pretended to not know what she was talking about, yet when Makoto pointed at the spot with her spoon Minako immediately started to stutter out something about a pillow. She was drowned out only by Setsuna loudly asking Makoto to go outside and chop wood.

It was a good thing that the young Kino was already bundled up, otherwise she might have frozen to death when she was given the two simultaneous boots to her behind that sent her flying out the door. Hitting the ground, she rolled around in the deep snow for a minute before slumping to a halt. She had tried to get back in, but the two had locked the door. Growling, Makoto set down the ax and put another log on the chopping stump.

It was a big one, and would have to be spilt into fourths before Makoto could carry it back inside. She picked up the ax again and attempted to hit her target, but the edge swung down past it harmlessly and knocked the log off the stump and onto her foot. Dropping the ax, the brunette yelped and sat down in the snow. Makoto gave the woodpile a hearty glare as she rubbed her sore and aching foot. She knew that the wood was out to get her. Getting up, she grinned as she replaced the log, lifted the ax, and brought it down, cleaving the insolent hunk of timber right in two.

She kept going until it lay in sixths all around her. Unable to resist, the brunette did a victory dance around the woodpile. Fancy being challenged by her own element! "Oh, what now? You've been pwned by Jupiter, sucka. Who's your daddy? Hah!" Makoto taunted the inanimate objects. Feeling full of victory, Makoto carefully set the ax down out of the way and gathered up the wood. The color had returned to her cheeks in the middle of all her exercising. As she walked back to the mansion, Makoto idly watched her breath faded away into the biting air in small trails of steam. She kicked the door with one foot.

"Hurry up and let me in, guys. I bring wood and stuff for the fire!"

Minako's reply was muffled from behind the door. "I trust thee not, cave woman! You have come for me Lucky Charms. Pshaw, get thee thence! I am not fooled by your trickery."

Makoto sighed and asked the heavens above for patience. "Fine. You can just stay inside and let the fire die out. It must be fun freezing to death."

The door suddenly opened. The young Kino smirked and walked in. Minako stepped out from behind the door and relieved Makoto of her burden. "Yeah, that's what I thought," the tall girl teased as the blond rushed to stuff all the wood into the fireplace. The flames, which had been reduced to glowing embers, sprang up again. Minako let out a happy sigh and sat down in front of the fire, monopolizing it. Makoto rolled her eyes and sat down on the couch. She felt herself melting into the cushions. It felt so nice to be in a warm house after the subarctic temperature of outside.

Yet she could not rest. Already her sharp ears had picked out footsteps coming closer. It could have been anyone; there were eight or so other people in the mansion excluding herself and Minako. Despite that, her heart increased its pace. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. Just like the fire, Makoto sprang up from the couch and went into the kitchen. She couldn't handle this. She needed some tea or something if she was going to deal with the way her nerves danced at the mere idea of Ami coming into the room. Minako watched her go, amused, then curled up in front of the fire and promptly fell asleep.

Makoto searched for the kettle, growing steadily more irritated. Where the hell was it? The young Kino growled softly as she opened cupboards and drawers. Bending over, she looked under the sink. It wasn't there. Makoto kicked the drawers closed and folded her arms. She looked around. If she was a stoic Senshi of Time, where would she hide a tea kettle. Makoto grinned and tilted her head up at a lone cupboard that had previously escaped her notice. Of course. Someplace so high up it wouldn't catch anyone's eye.

Rolling up her sleeves, Makoto climbed on top of the counter and reached for the handle. Pulling the door open, she smirked. There was the kettle. Figured. The young Kino grabbed it and jumped off the counter. She landed gracefully. Smiling from her second victory that day, Makoto swung the kettle around in the air and nearly hit Ami in the face with it. The genius squeaked.

"Woah there!"

Makoto jumped and looked at her, fighting a blush.

"Ah! Ami-chan! Are you okay?"

The young Mizuno nodded and tried to smile, her heart beating rapidly from the close encounter. Makoto moved closer, and her heart increased its pace for a very different reason. Makoto tried to sound upbeat and casual. "That's the jungle for ya, Ami. Watch out or I might just eat you alive!" The two of them laughed, although something was a little bit off. Ami's mind was in a whirl over the perverted connotations of Makoto's words, even though she assured herself that Makoto did not mean for them to be like that. She tried to shove the image out of her mind. Ami failed.

There was a silence.

Makoto flicked on the stove and turned back around, making much more hustle and bustle in the kitchen than was necessary. She filled the kettle with water, set it on the stove, checked it, and moved to the cupboard, acting like Ami wasn't even there. It might have been easier for the young Kino if she wasn't. Her fingers were shaking terribly as she opened the box of tea packets. Getting even one out was an unbearable struggle. Setting it aside on the counter, Makoto turned around to check the kettle again and almost crashed into Ami again. Leaping back, she smiled and laughed nervously.

"Ha ha ha, sorry about Ami. Guess I wasn't paying attention again. Would you like some tea? I'm making tea." Makoto rubbed the back of her head and tried desperately to act casual. It must have worked, because the genius smiled gently and gestured to the tea packets.

"That would be lovely, thank you."

Time passed in that manner, Makoto making tea, Ami watching, each furiously battling off waves of fantasies that Setsuna would have been proud to imagine. Finally, Makoto poured some tea into a cup, put the cup on a saucer, and handed the whole caboodle to the genius. Ami smiled and reached out to take it. Their fingers brushed. The accidental touch sparked blushes across each of their faces, and Makoto jerked her hand away as if she had been branded just as Ami dropped the cup in surprise. It fell and shattered on the floor. Makoto's hands rose to cover her eyes just as Ami's flew up to cover her mouth in horror.

"I'll get it."

"No, I'll get it!"

They ducked forward, hands outstretched to collect the pieces of broken china, and yelped as their heads collided. The two girls stood up, rubbing their skulls in such a manner one might mistake them for twins. By the time the pain had faded and they could open their eyes again, Hotaru had already swept up the ceramic bits and was depositing it in the nearby trash can. Grabbing a towel, the young girl mopped up the spilled tea as well.

"Ah, thank you Hotaru." Ami said, attempting to grin while her head still throbbed with a dull, aching pain. The frail-looking Tomoe rolled her eyes sarcastically but smiled anyway.

"It's okay. I'm used to doing stuff like this." Ami and Makoto first looked at each other, then back to Hotaru. Back and forth. Back and forth. Finally, Makoto worked up the courage to ask Hotaru just what she meant by that.

"Do Michiru and Haruka have you do chores around the house?"

"Hah, that's right. Sure they do. They work her like a slaaaave, don't they, Hotaru?" A new voice spoke from behind the genius and amazon. They leaped about a foot in the air and whirled around to come face to face with a smirking ChibiUsa. Usagi's time-travelling daughter strolled nonchalantly past the three girls to the refrigerator. As Ami got her breathing back under control and Makoto silently calmed her rapidly-beating heart, ChibiUsa opened the door and withdrew an apple. "I do wonder where you learned how to clean, though. Was it in...I don't know...Crazy Town?" She first placed it in her mouth, then suddenly bit down with a satisfying crunch. All of this was done while eyeing Hotaru with a mischievous hooded stare that did not go ignored.

"Oh, but I learned it from you, ChibiUsa. One just has to ask your mother how your room looked before I flew in from 'Crazy Town'." Hotaru answered sweetly, miming a bird flying away with her hands. "Especially about that mound of dirty clothes you had stuffed into her closet once because there was no room left in your own."

"..Hotaru, don't tell them that." ChibiUsa said in a pained voice.

"Oh? What about the famous 'peanut butter' incident? Shall I tell them about that instead?" Just like ChibiUsa's glare, Hotaru's teasing grin was the spitting image of her foster father...mother. She walked up to the fuming pink-haired child and briskly stole the apple away from her. "It took a week before she could go in your room without screaming, as I recall."

Hotaru took a thoughtful munch on the purloined apple, her teeth marks intertwining with her now ex-girlfriend's. Ami and Makoto stood forgotten in the background, looking as if they were enjoying a particularly heated tennis match. Silently, the brunette poured two more cups of tea and handed one to Ami. It didn't fall this time, and they sipped the hot liquid simultaneously. Hotaru did an obscenely flirtatious about-face, still mulling over the apple. Her skirt lifted to briefly expose a flash of tempting thigh before fluttering back down.

"Or was it two weeks...?"

Ducking an aggravated swipe at her head, Hotaru ran off laughing, ChibiUsa hot on her tail and trying to stay mad but not quite able to. Makoto smiled after them.

"Nothing like young love, don't ya think Ami?"

Ami nodded. They looked at each other, then quickly turned away, drinking tea so fast it burned their tongues.