Chapter 2: Day 1. Let the Games Begin

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sailor Moon and its characters. I only own this fanfic and the plot.

Ami sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Today, the girls would meet at the crown as they normally did on Fridays, only she and Rei would be absent. Today was "Day 1" of the plan. In other words, today was the first "pretend" - Ami mentally stressed the word - date with Rei. Now why Ami was sighing? She didn't know what to wear. She wanted to wear something decent enough so others wouldn't notice any difference, but something good enough so others, at least Makoto, would notice a bit. "Oh, why can't fashion be as simple as logic?" Ami groaned. If she had to draw a tree of possibilities, the tree for fashion would have endless branches! Although, that would be an intriguing problem to solve - she can't help loving such mathematical problems - it would do no good for her at the moment. 'Nor do I have the time,' Ami mused.

Ami looked over to her right where her cell phone was currently put. It was bad enough to ask Rei to even join her so-called plan. How could she even possibly call Rei and ask what to wear? Not following her mind, her hands reached out and idly played with the device. She opened it and closed it, repeatedly. She opened it for the eleventh time. Instead of closing it or searching for Rei's number, she opened the picture album within. A small hobby of hers was taking pictures. There were pictures of flowers, animals, sceneries, and of course, her friends. She browsed the photos and found the one she was looking for: one particular shot of Makoto. Makoto had made chocolate chip cookies that day, but they were not just ordinary chocolate chip cookies. No, Makoto had used the chips to make each planet's mark respectively. Ami recalled when Makoto had invited her over and asked if she liked the way the Mercury symbol had turned out. Well, she did ask the same question to everybody else, but... the fact that Makoto had given a bit more concern to hers - Makoto said so herself - was heartwarming.

I don't wanna be alone this Christmas.

Ami nearly dropped her phone to the floor. Her phone had suddenly turned off. The meeting was only one hour away and it was unlikely that Usagi or anyone else could have canceled or changed plans.

Like other lovers in the streets, I wanna whisper to my love to the one.

"Rei?" Ami squeaked. 'Why would she be calling?' Ami wondered as she answered the phone.

"Hello, Ami? This isn't a bad time, is it?"

"No, no, not at all. I was just getting ready."

"Ah."

"So," Ami dragged on.

"Ah, well, I, too, was getting ready, but, um... Frankly, I have no idea what to wear."

"Really? That's rather unexpected of you, Rei. I would rank you as the second person who'd always know what to wear."

"And the first would be Minako, I presume?" Rei chuckled.

"That would be correct," Ami giggled back.

"I'm flattered that you thought of me that way, but really, I haven't an idea on what to wear on dates," Rei rambled on, "I guessed something formal to wear would be nice, but I actually don't have many formal clothes to choose from."

Ami sighed. "I've been having the same problem, Rei. All I have are a few dresses but I think they're all too formal for dates."

"I have a few dresses and a tuxedo."

"A tuxedo? Why on earth do you have a tuxedo, Rei?"

"Actually, my grandpa had bought me that."

"Really? Why? Aren't dresses the usual apparel grandparents buy for their granddaughters?"

"Well, yes, but I think he already knew what I felt for Minako."

"What?"

"He has a keen insight he does, that old windbag."

"He is your grandfather, after all," Ami chuckled.

"He is, he is," Rei laughed, "So, since neither of us has a clear idea on what to wear, how about we each ask Makoto and Minako?"

"Oh," said Ami as realization dawned upon her. "Why didn't I think of that before? It is obvious that those two have more experience than we do."

"Exactly! And we could, um, make them, uh... huh, jealous, er... earlier than we planned, right?"

Ami chuckled. Who would ever have thought the great Rei could stutter? And on top of that, all because she was nervous to make her crush jealous! Not that she was in any position to tease - no, never - what was funny was funny. "Yeah, I believe we would get a head start on our plan." Ami suddenly heard Rei groan on the other side. "Rei? Is something the matter?"

"To talk about clothes with that woman..." The rest was a mumble Ami couldn't interpret, but she guessed it had to do something with the several trips to the mall Rei had gone with Minako. 'Now those would be interesting stories,' Ami thought. Speaking of malls, she never really went there with Makoto. Sure, time to time she had gone there with the whole group, but never with Makoto. Alone. Just the two of them. Mercury and Jupiter. "...ko?" Her thoughts skidded to a sudden stop. "Uh, sorry Rei, I didn't get what you just said. I got carried away." She heard Rei snigger.

"Thinking about Makoto, I presume?"

"..."

When Rei received nothing but silence, she mentally noted that this is the sound of someone blushing. But then again, this was Ami. This might be the sound of someone fainting of embarrassment. 'Now I somewhat understand Minako's love to tease,' Rei thought as she cleared her throat. "Hey, Ames? You still there?" Rei first heard an "eep!", a few stutters, and some rants she just couldn't understand. "Relax Ami, I was just teasing and I had just asked if it were okay to call Minako."

"Oh, oh, we did get a bit carried away, didn't we? I'll see you later."

"Yeah, same here."

Rei hung up and stared blankly at her cell phone. What now? Casually call Minako? Rei scoffed. Her talking - no, asking advice - about clothes to Minako? Yes, totally casual. Bah. Wait. Are those footsteps she hears? The only person who dashes to her room in such a matter was...

"Hey, Rei! You do know it's only like, forty minutes before we meet, right?"

Minako. Why in the world... no, how could she know she was needed? She wasn't the psychic, Rei was! 'Then why am I standing here, wondering why, and staring at her... Sweet Ares, she is beautiful.' Rei let her eyes rake over Minako, starting from the tip of her toes. She was wearing white socks, a light-colored jean skirt - that dare did not cover most of her delicious legs, a white blouse and an orange cardigan. Damn her for being so beautiful. Damn her for being perfect. Damn her for being Aphrodite's reincarnate.

"See something you like?"

Rei's head jerked up. Obviously, she had been caught staring. 'Oh dear me,' Rei thought as Minako walked up to her in a sultry way. Not good, her head tells her; she is supposed to pretend she is dating Ami and here she is caught red-handed for looking at some delicious night snack. To make things worse, she just had to blush. She saw Minako smirk at her. Not a good sign. She had to control herself or else she would ruin the plan even before they executed it. She was a miko for crying out loud! She was and is practicing how to focus and control her thoughts, her feelings, her everything! All she had to do was focus and...

"Stop being ridiculous and give me some privacy so I can change."

Clearly, articulateness was not her strongest suit.

"Aw, come now, Rei, are you being the shy little Martian again?"

And obviously, Minako was not going to let the opportunity to tease to go.

"Shut up and just let me be. My head hurts enough without you annoying me."

"Obviously. I don't see any reason why you would want to wear a red sock with a white one. Not to mention, your clothes are spread all over your room! If it weren't for the traditional door, I would have thought this was actually my room."

Rei looked around. Yes, indeed it would be more arguable to state it as Minako's room than hers. Clothes were thrown away in random directions, layered on top of another. If this were the result of getting prepared for a fake date, well... She didn't even want to imagine what it would be like when - if - she were preparing for a real date with Minako. Rei sighed.

"Something the matter, Rei?"

"Nothing it's just," she paused. It wouldn't hurt to have a head start, would it? Besides, Ami probably had called Makoto. She, Hino Rei, the reincarnate of Ares, should not chicken out even before the actual plan is taken into action.

"Just what?" Minako asked. She wondered what Rei's answer would be.

"I just got nervous for my first date, that's all."

"Your what?"

"My. First. Date." Rei made sure that she emphasized the word "date."

"Oh, so after the meeting, right?"

"Actually, the time overlaps so I won't be able to go."

"Oh."

Rei had a small little hope rising inside her. Usually when someone mentioned something about dates, Minako would be the first to start conversations on it. Yet, here she is, silent as a stone. Perhaps, just perhaps, Minako was jealous. It was most likely she was just jealous of the fact that Rei had a date, but she wished. One small part of her heart hoped of a teeny tiny possibility that Minako was jealous because it was just her, Rei. Bah. Too early for hopes, her rational side reasoned. The only way to find out would be first to get that plan started. And so, Rei asked Minako to help her out on her attire for her date.

'Looks like tonight is going to be the longest Friday night ever.'

Yay an update. Chapter 3 will be up... before my deathbed I promise.

Oh yeah, and the song of Ami's ringtone is titled "This Christmas" sung by and belongs to JYP Nation (including JYP, Wondergirls, 2AM, 2PM, Lim Jeong Hee, Miss-A, and San-E)

a very nice song to listen to :)