Chapter 7

Lunch, Jokes & Arrivals

(Friday)

They exited the car and entered the Italian place just after 12 o'clock searching the area they quickly found their friends in the back of the little restaurant sitting in a large circular booth much like the style at the Crown. Haruka and Michiru sitting on the right with Makoto and Ami in the back by the middle leaving the left side for Minako and Rei to slid in.

"Hey girls" Mina said cheerfully as they walk up.

"Hey Mina nice glasses" Haruka comments teasing about the overlarge designer sunglasses she was wearing so as not to be noticed.

"Zip it Tenoh" Mina jokes back referring to Haruka by her last name.

"Girls please cant we all get along no fighting or teasing" Makoto say with a very serious voice totally out of character for her, it causes everyone to look at her surprised until she stated in an equally serious voice "wait never mind I'm talking to 2/3 of the dumb blond brigade they cant control themselves." Makoto finishes with a smile now on her face. At that everybody busts up laughing.

"Oh my gosh Mako I haven't heard you call us that in so long gosh its crazy the things you miss" Minako says while trying to control her giggles.

"Yes well if some people would visit more often we would have more chances to insult them " Haruka teased while pointedly looking at Rei and Minako the only people who hadn't visited since they moved away.

"Sorry guys the music business is demanding" Rei said in reference to both her and Minako's jobs, while forcing a very superior tone of voice with a big smile.

"That's true" comes from the aquamarine haired professional violinist. "that's why I stayed in Japan if I moved away I would never have time to see any of my friends I travel so much as it is" Michiru said backing them up.

"ok I think we have sufficiently told them they are bad for not visiting so lets talk about other things now, like Usagi's wedding there are a lot of things we need to get done when they get here, and that's not including the things Usagi has forgotten about either" Ami said in a cheerful voice. Everyone laughed at this they all knew that when Usagi and Mamoru got into town they would have so much to do, Usagi always forgets something and it would be up to them the ever dutiful brides maids to fix whatever their princess had messed up or forgot.

"OH by the way Rei, Mina" Ami asked getting their attention.

"Yeah Ames" Minako said in response. Rei just looked at her.

"Do either of you have a boyfriend you can bring to the wedding Mamoru needs more groomsmen since Usagi has a crazy amount of bridesmaids. We have Motoki, Ken and Umino they all went to undergraduates school together, and he's got three more of his friends from England coming so we need two more to make it even and none of us here have boyfriends " Ami stated.

"Nope no guy here, but maybe Youchiro would do it he's known Mamoru for a while now" Rei said.

"Good Idea Rei how could we not have gotten him before" said Michiru looking at the other girls.

"What about you Mina, any hot men you can shove in a tux and put at the alter" Haruka said grinning widely.

"Well John is coming in to visit me here but he never met Mamoru before and I'm not sure how long he will be staying. Then again I'm sure I can convince him to stay for the Wedding." Mina said without thinking. Referring to the fact that he mainly worked for her.

"Oh I'm sure you can" Makoto said with a lot of insinuation in her voice making everyone but Rei and Mina laugh Minako just blushed and Rei forced a smile.

"Anyway at this point it doesn't matter if Mamoru knows him as long as one of us know him since one of us will be the one dancing with him and everything at the reception."

"I'm guessing that's going to be Mina since she's the one who knows him." Michiru stated.

"So who's matched with who then" Rei asked hoping she would be matched with someone she knew. Ami was the one to answer since she seemed to know everything.

"Well its going to be Mako and Ken since they have been friends for a while, Motoki and Haruka since we are sure he isn't shorter then her. Umino and me since we are sure everyone else is taller then him, and probably Rei with Youchiro since he was her pick," 'thank god' thought Rei as Ami continued. " and Michiru, Setsuna and Hotaru will have to be paired up when the rest of Mamoru's friends get here from England." The talk continued about the wedding all through ordering and the meal until they were done eating and getting ready to leave.

"So to the mall then" Minako asks cheerfully as she anticipates a shopping spree with her friends.

"Yup" says Makoto as her and Ami get into Ami's black SUV.

"Race you there dumb blond" Haruka said as her and Michiru get into Haruka's new dark blue corvette. At that challenge Mina jumped into her rented convertible glad now that it was so fast and that Rei was already in the car. She blares the engine to life and steps on the gas effectively throwing her into the congested street following close behind Haruka down the freeway. Ami following at a more leisurely and safe pace, much to Makoto's dismay.

Rei thought she was going to die many times, when Mina pulled into the far lane and whipped passed Haruka she started to get sick, gripping the seat with all her might. She turned white when Haruka swerved onto the shoulder effectively passing Minako right before the exit to the mall. After that there was no more chances for passing unless you wanted to drive on the grass. 'How does Michiru handle this' Rei thought knowing that Haruka drives that way all the time not just when she is racing.

Haruka jumps from her corvette with a gloating smile followed by Michiru at a more lady like pace.

"Kicked your ass" Haruka exclaims as Mina parks next to them and steps out.

"Yeah but at least I stayed on the road" Minako said smiling at the fun she just had trying to best the F1 racer. Rei slowly steps from the car feeling a little sick. Not long after Ami and Makoto show up parking across from Haruka's corvette.

"Who won?" Makoto asks as she gets out of the SUV.

"Who do you think" Mina said sarcastically. As Haruka got a big grin on her face.

"Lets go I need a new shirt and I'm making you get some hot tight pants for tonight" Michiru said while pulling Haruka along the rest followed the couple into the mall.

It was like Christmas to the girls last time they were all together shopping like this they still had allowances, now they were all successful working women who were out with friends having a ball. The afternoon went by fast they all had new outfits. (some had more then that) and it was time to make there way to the Airport to pick up their friends. They pulled up paid for parking and walked into the airport not having the wait long they heard a high pitched screech as a running Hotaru barreled into Michiru and Haruka hugging them both fiercely.

"Oh my gosh I've missed you guys so much" Hotaru said while giving the other women hugs as well. "My plane got here early so I've been waiting for ten minutes but it was no big deal I went and got a snack knowing you guys would be here about 2 seconds before my flight was going to get in I was already expecting some kind of wait." Rei looked at Hotaru noticing how much bigger the girl had gotten in 5 years she was a little taller then Ami about Rei's height with black hair that was cut to her shoulders with deep purple eyes that had a tendency to look sad although there was no such emotion in them at the moment.

"My you have grown last time I saw you, you were still a little girl now your off to college living abroad you must have really cool parents" Rei said smirking at Michiru and Haruka since everyone there knew they had pretty much raised Hotaru after her father died.

"Yeah their the best, so when does Usagi's plane get in?" Hotaru answered.

"Well it should have been getting in in 10 minutes but its going to be ten minuets late so we will have to wait a bit" Ami said while looking at the screen stating arrival and departure times for flights. Almost immediately after Ami started talking Rei's phone went off, she blushed while searching for it in her purse, everyone just laughed at Rei's phone playing Mina's number one hit song.

"Hu I don't know this number" Rei said before answering the phone.

"Rei Hino" She said into the cell.

"Hi Rei its John, Minako said to call when my plane got in and I'm stepping off of it right now are you guys still in the airport?" John asked while dragging his bag down the hall connecting the plane to the airport.

"Oh hi yes were are actually waiting for my friends flight to come in" Rei answered in a polite voice.

"Great I guess I'll be meeting you in a while then bye" John said excited to finally meet the woman his sis was so madly in love with that she hardly would ever date. Just as he hung up the phone he noticed Mina standing with her back towards him with a big group of women he casually walked up behind her so the other girls wouldn't notice him.

"Who was that Rei" Minako said just before John swept Mina up bridal style from behind while he said.

"Hey beautiful miss me??" he grinned when she squealed and gave him a big hug.

"John Oh my gosh you were supposed to call when your plane got in" Mina said as John set her back onto the ground.

"I did, talked to your friend then I walked out of the gate and you were standing right here"

"That's who was on the phone" Rei said with fake happiness. She did not like the obvious display of affection John had just shown Mina, or how familiar with her he was acting.

"So this is the infamous Rei I've heard a lot about you" John said while stretching the word a lot. He walked forward and shook her hand in a western style greeting. ' yup she's hot no wonder Mina is so head over heels for her.' John thought.

"John this is" Mina began but John cut her off saying.

"Wait I wana guess for myself, since you never shut up about your friends I bet I could identify them from across the country.

"Ok wise guy lets see it then tell me who they are and what they do" Mina said doubting his ability to remember everyone and their jobs.

"Ok" he said turning to Ami and pointing. "Dr. Ami Mizuno first year resident." then to Makoto "Makoto Kino chef and owner of her own restaurant" then to Michiru "Michiru Kaioh professional violinist and outstanding painter" then to Hotaru "Hotaru Tomoe first year Harvard law", over to Haruka, "Haruka Tenoh formula 1 racer, exceptional pianist and my female twin according to Minako" then back to Rei "Rei Hino, Jr. Executive of Phoenix Music inc. also temple priestess with a fire obsession and really short temper. "The only two that are missing are Usagi Tsuinko who is a teacher and Setsuna Meioh who is very mysterious and I don't know what she does" John finished everyone was speechless for a while.

"Damn Mina how much do you talk about us" Makoto spat out while trying to contain a smile. 'Wow he knew everyone, him and Mina must be really close, dating for a really long time for him to be able to identify not only us who are here but those who aren't too. Rei's thoughts making her sad with the knowledge that John was obviously a very important person in Minako's life.

"Mina's right about the twin thing with Haruka" Michiru said while walking up to shake Johns hand. "You guys look almost exactly alike except your eyes are different and your much more masculine" she continued. Haruka didn't like Michiru being so close to the new guy that looked like herself so she walked up and put her arm around Michiru's waist saying clearly with the action 'she's mine' she then smiled and said. " Yeah he does look like he could be my twin, so you must be John, Mina said you might be able to help us with a little problem."

"uh sure what kind of problem?" he respond slightly confused.

"Well it involves a tux, a church and a bouquet" Haruka said being deliberately vague. "So you up for it" John realized quickly that him and Haruka had much more in common then just their looks, they were both also teasing smart ass's he decided to get her back when he stated. "Sure ill marry you your not my usual type but your hot I can deal" When he said that everyone busted a gut they were laughing so hard except for Michiru who didn't think it was that funny since Haruka belonged to her, she settled for a smile. Haruka decided then that she liked this John guy.

"Well thanks for the offer and compliment but I'm taken you can have Rei or Mina they are both free" Rei and Minako glared at her while the other girls continued to laugh Michiru joining in now that they were no longer talking about her girl. John decided to keep the fun banter going and to tease Mina a little by flirting with Rei.

"Well I see Mina so much I'm sick of her so ill pass, plus Rei is way hotter" he said while putting his arm around the dark haired girls shoulders. Rei blushed and stiffened. Mina didn't find this funny at all she gave him a glare that clearly said 'take your arm off of her now or you will lose it'. he gave her a smile that said 'ha ha ha ha ha make me'. She decided that she would, she walked over giving him a shove effectively stopping him from touching her Rei anymore, then she said.

"Stop being a jerk you could at lease pretend to be a gentlemen around my friends." He put on a fake pout and said.

"But Haruka started it, why am I always the one getting into trouble" the group laughed at this until Michiru decided to get back to the original topic.

"Actually we were wondering if you wouldn't mind being a groomsmen in Usagi's wedding I know you've never met but we need one more guy and we can pair you up with which ever girl you want." she said hoping to sway him with his choice of a beautiful woman. John decided to play around a little bit more and said.

"Sure sounds like fun and in that case I think I'm calling dibbs on your hot blond" while he said this he grabbed Haruka's hand pulling her into his side and putting his arm around her waist. Haruka had an extremely surprised look on her face and Michiru was not happy she glared at him and grabbed Haruka's hand pulling her back while saying. "Any one but her" everyone laughed at her obvious show of jealousy. John decided to take pity on the jealous girl and said. "I'm just joking I don't care who I'm paired with ill be happy to help out in anyway" the group was just getting over their laughter when they all heard a very familiar sound. It started with a squeal then a crashing noise then a lot of apologies. Pulling herself from her laughing stupor Mina said with a smile.

"Usagi is back" and they all turned to look at Usagi who was still on the ground having tripped and knocked over someone else's luggage. Mamoru was standing nearby looking embarrassed with an equally embarrassed Chibiusa. They all walked over to Mamoru, Chibiusa and the now standing Usagi.

"Chibiusa oh my gosh what are you doing here, we didn't know you were coming" Hotaru said while she lunged at her long time friend. Who's face was almost an exact replica of Usagi with pink hair and red eyes, the younger girl was also a few inches taller making her height an inch or so taller the Hotaru.

"Damn you've grown how old are you this time" Hotaru continued not realizing that John didn't know Chibiusa was Mamoru and Usagi's daughter from the future who popped back in time every once in a while for a visit.

"Hotaru don't use such language" Michiru scolded her daughter. The two girls just ignored her and continued their conversation.

"I'm 19 now mom said I should come and visit because in a while I wont be able to come back here anymore" Chibiusa answered her friend. Everyone got excited about that, they all knew that once Usagi conceived Chibiusa she wouldn't be able to come back in to a time were her past self exists. That meant that Usagi was going to get pregnant soon. But Chibiusa knew the rules of time well and kept her mouth shut about anymore future information.

"What 19 that's not fair I'm just 18 you've never been older then me before" Hotaru said before she remembered John was here. He looked confused but didn't say anything. They all shared hugs and were introduced to John, grabbed their luggage and headed out to the cars.

"Usako and I will ride with Ami and Makoto since we have the most luggage" Mamoru said while approaching the blue haired girls SUV, and putting the luggage in the back. "Chibiusa you can ride with Hotaru if you want" both girls had already come to that conclusion without his help. "Thanks for letting us stay with you guys while we look for a place by the way" Mamoru continued.

"No problem the house is way to big for us anyway especially since Sets and Hotaru are always gone." Haruka said while helping with Hotaru and Chibiusa's luggage.

John threw his bag into the trunk of Minas mustang and turned around looking at the group. 'they are good people I'm glad Mina has such good friends' he thought while he approached them.

"Well we will meet you guy's at Elza's club tonight ok we have to go its going to take us forever to get ready anyway" Mina said

"Oh yeah we better go don't want to be late" Ami said while they said their good byes they still had to drop Mamoru and Usagi off at Haruka's before going home to get ready.

A/N The longest chapter yet. Once again this entire story is just coming off the top of my head im making it up as I go along.