#41: Jacket

Makoto had always had an uber-sensitive sense of smell. Usagi teasingly referred to it as her "rabbit nose" whenever Makoto sniffed at the aroma escaping her special stew pots or her famous chocolate muffins baking in the oven. Usagi's teasing was cut short, of course, the second Makoto shoved a sugary baked good into her mouth.

Makoto's rabbit nose had just gone off again and was twitching away. The girls were gathered for a sleepover at Rei's, and Makoto had just closed the front door, having let Usagi in. Makoto was in the middle of asking Usagi if she'd had fun shopping with her mom when she stopped short.

"Something...smells."

Mina and Rei raised their heads from the couch simultaneously. Usagi froze. Ami merely turned the page of her book, head propped up by her rolled-up sleeping bag.

Rei was the first to reason: "Well, Mina does wear that hairbow an awful lot..."

"Hey!"

Rei ignored her. "Could also be Amy's ancient tome."

Without looking up, Amy informed Rei that this "tome" had once belonged to a Japanese prime minister.

"And Japanese politicians don't stink?"

Makoto shook her head dismissively. "It doesn't smell bad. Just...familiar. Distinct."

Curious now, the other girls began to sniff as well, all looking like eager bloodhounds.

"Honestly, I don't smell a thing," said Usagi, creeping her way towards the bathroom.

Her friends shrugged and agreed. Makoto frowned. "Maybe I'm crazy. It's familiar though. Smells like...mint. And something else I can't put my finger on..."

"'Kay, I'm off to take a shower, put a movie in you guys!" Usagi called in a voice that had gotten alarmingly high and chipmunk-like. She rushed into Rei's bathroom so fast that they could hear a wastebasket toppling over as she crashed into it.

Mina blinked and turned to look at the bathroom door for a moment. "She seem weird to you?"

Rei merely yawned as she flipped through TV channels. "No more than usual."

One hour earlier...

"You know, this thing isn't as disgusting as I thought it would be."

"Excuse me? You want me to let you freeze?"

"I'm complimenting you!"

"Well, you suck at it."

"What I was trying to say was that I kind of like it. It's pretty soft actually."

"Mmhmm. And what else?"

"Seriously, you want me to flatter your hideous blazer?"

Darien eyed the girl he'd just draped his green jacket around to stave off the cold. The two of them had decided to meet up at a park near Rei's place. They sat at a bench where they had been talking for hours...among other things.

Usagi appeared cowed under Mamoru's stare. "Sorry, sorry, I meant to say your exquisite article of clothing."

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm."

"You can dish it, but you can't take it?" She squealed, as he enveloped her and the blazer all at once.

"So ungrateful," he muttered as he tickled her and she giggled and tried to push him away. He merely grabbed her hands, linking his fingers with hers. "Gotcha."

She pulled him closer. "I like it because it's so you," she confided into his shoulder. "Reminds me of mint and...roses."