Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Happily Ever After or Something Like That ❯ Travel Plans ( Chapter 20 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: deadlydiva 
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.05.2005 | Updated On: 08.20.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 240 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Sailor Moon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.05.2005 | Updated On: 08.20.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.0K | Visits: 240 | Status: Work In Progress
Taiki and Yaten rode in silence as the contemplated their situation. Seiya was unconditionally released from the Lighthouse. If the council found out about Seiya’s role in abduction of Kino Makoto, he would be confined for the rest of his life. Yaten looked over at Taiki. The intellectual of the Starlights uttered not a word. This was beyond his comprehension. Taiki peered at Seiya through the rearview mirror. His head was bowed. The dark circles around his blue eyes were a testament to the trauma that they all had experienced.
“Why did you do it?” Taiki’s voice was barely above a whisper, yet it was audible to all in the vehicle.
Seiya had always been the wild child of the group, always ready to do the unimaginable. He was a risk taker. Everyone knew it and he made no attempts to suppress his daredevil nature. However, this went beyond anything Seiya ever tried in the past. He had crossed the line separating the outrageous from the unforgivable.
Seiya remained silent. His only response was a barely noticeable shaking of his head. Seiya’s thoughts drifted to how he wound up in this situation. All he wanted was to make Usagi happy. He wanted to be the reason that her smile shone brightly. He wanted the chance to love her. For that reason, he agreed to help Naru. It didn’t matter that he was hurting Makoto and Nephrite. Seiya’s sole purpose was to find a way to make Usagi’s eyes twinkle the way they did whenever she heard Mamoru’s name. He never thought that it would turn out this way. As Seiya thought back to the day that he aligned himself with Naru, he shuddered. The logical part of him knew that Naru was more unstable than he could ever be. Seiya knew that she was dangerous, but he ignored his instincts. He allowed Naru to use his feelings for Usagi against him.
“You bastard!”
Seiya’s head jerked up.
“How dare you try to lay all the blame on Naru?! You had a choice to make and you chose to abduct Makoto! You chose to betray all who trusted you! I am ashamed to be associated with someone like you.” He slammed his fist into the dashboard. Yaten had enough of Seiya’s excuses. He never accepted the consequences of his behavior. Yaten was often considered the least mature of the group, but truth be told, Seiya had Yaten beat by a country mile.
Yaten had taken to probing minds lately. It was a new power and he took great delight in testing it out. This time was different. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as Yaten listened to Seiya rationalizing his actions, blaming them on the influence of Naru.
Seiya opened his mouth to try to explain, but Yaten wanted no part of it. The black haired starlight slouched down in his seat. The remainder of the ride was quiet. Each starlight was consumed with their own thoughts.
* * * * *
Ami leaned over, reaching for her carry-on bag. The narrow airplane seat did not allow much room for movement. Frustrated, she groaned. All she wanted was the well-worn copy of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting.’ Even though she had read it cover to cover, Ami never did tire of it. It often was the only thing that eased her mind.
“Something to drink miss?”
The flight attendant looked down at the struggling water senshi. She knelt down and removed the bag under the seat. Handing it to Ami, the attendant noticed Ami’s swollen abdomen. She smiled and placed a small carton of orange juice on top of the bag. Ami looked into the eyes of the woman offering the juice. She returned the smile took a big gulp of the orange juice. Satisfied with her good deed, the flight attendant continued her leisurely walk down the restricted aisle.
Ami peered down the aisle. Knowing that the well-meaning flight attendant could not see her, Ami spit the orange juice back into the container.
“I hate orange juice. Why does everyone think that pregnant women want orange juice?” She shook her head at the flight attendant’s presumption. Ami fingered the worn book, searching for an elusive scrap of white paper. The paper itself was non-descript. However, the words printed on it caused the dedicated Mizuno Ami to leave her conference early.
FLASHBACK
Ami walked into the modest home of her host, Monsieur and Madame Lemieux. They were the aunt and uncle of one of Ami’s college roommates. Upon hearing that she would be in the area, they opened their home to the shy Ami.
“Ami,” Madame Lemieux called from the kitchen.
“Yes.” Ami put her bag at the foot of the stairs. She sniffed the air. Madame was baking again. Ami was certain that she put on at least ten pounds during her short stay.
She crossed the threshold into the kitchen. Madame Lemieux looked up when she heard Ami enter. Bright brown eyes, shadowed by smudges of all-purpose flour, greeted Ami. Madame Lemieux saw the laughter in her guest’s eyes, so she attempted to wipe the flour from her face. While she removed the flour from below her eyes, the middle-aged woman now had flour on her forehead.
“Bonjour, Madame Lemieux--”
“Ami, how many times have I told you to call me Sarah?”
Ami blushed. She was not accustomed to addressing her elders by their first names. She sat at the table and picked at the fresh baked bread that Sarah had placed in front of her.
“How was your day Ma--, Sarah?”
“Pretty uneventful.” Sarah walked over to the icebox to retrieve Ami’s patented pre-natal smoothie. On the way back, Sarah grabbed a nearly forgotten phone message.
“Cherie, I almost forgot. Someone from Japan called for you.”
Ami slowly raised her head to look Sarah in the eye. “Are you certain that they were from Japan?”
“There’s no mistaking that accent.” Sarah smiled as she handed Ami the message.
END OF FLASHBACK
Ami, call home. Rei said it was quite important that she speak with you.
Ami put the worrisome message back in the book. She looked out the small window into the might sky. As the aircraft soared through the clouds Ami wondered what calamity awaited her in Tokyo.
“Attention! We are beginning our descent into Tokyo International Airport. Please place your seat backs and tray in their upright positions. Please stow your carry on luggage. We shall be arriving in Tokyo, Japan in forty-five minutes. Thank you for flying with us on Nippon Air.”
Ami put her book away and somehow got the bag under the seat in front of her. She adjusted her lumbar pillow and tried to relax in the final minutes of her flight. Within the hour, she would have all the answers she needed.
* * * * *
A gray shirt was all he wanted. A gray shirt. Clothes were strewn all over the room. The bed and floor were a veritable rainbow of silks, cottons and poly blends. He groaned as every color, but the one he desired, was visible. He cursed himself for not being able to find it. Thinking back, he remembered that she had been the one who could find whatever he need. A wayward glance alerted hi that his time was running out.
“Damn!” His frustration grew with each passing second.
Logically, the lack of a charcoal gray shirt should not have caused such distress. However, logic had not been his companion for some time. Realizing where his thoughts were taking him, he stopped the journey. It took six painful months to get here; there would be no going back.
A shrill ring, recognized as a cell phone, pierced the bothersome silence.
“What?!” His greeting sounded harsher than intended. “Sorry, I’m having a bit of a time here. What’s going on?”
“Did you forget you have someplace to be?” Nephrite asked.
“I thought Kunzite was coming.”
“He had to see Mamoru about -- never mind. We have to go.”
“Fine, I’ll be right down.”
* * * * *
Taiki sped down the highway. Ami’s plane would be landing in an hour. He knew why she was returning early. Ami was worried about her friends. Taiki cursed Naru and Seiya. Those two had turned a perfectly peaceful existence into something flawed and ugly. The universe’s guardians deserved the lull in paranormal activity. Everything was going so well. Lives were being rebuilt that did not revolve around the latest threat. Granted, there were still a plethora of personal issue to sort through, but they were the type of things that normal people had to deal with.
Taiki saw his exit coming up. Signaling with his turn indicator, he made his way down the exit ramp. Taiki still hadn’t figured out how to explain everything that happened. He couldn’t even make sense of it himself.
Taiki pulled into the airport’s parking complex. He was grateful to find a spot in the closest lot. After the long flight, Taiki did want Ami to have to walk too far to get to the car. He looked at the clock in the dash before exiting. There were twenty minutes until her plane touched down. Hopefully by then he’d have something to tell Ami. He walked through the parking lot, momentarily stopping to admire the aircrafts as they darted across the night sky. Taiki knew the stress this situation put on Ami. He just hoped that it wouldn’t harm the baby.
* * * * *
Ami sat patiently as the other passengers de-boarded the plane. It amazed her how rude people were. She didn’t want special privileges. Ami just wanted to be treated with common decency. No person, pregnant or otherwise, should be herded down a narrow corridor, poked and prodded, just because some drunken reprobate in couch is in need of a drink.
When Ami finally stood to leave, the only other passengers were a loving elderly couple. She reached down to pick up the bag that caused her so much trouble before. Out of habit, Ami looked back at her seat to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. She ambled down the aisle, secretly hoping that the overzealous flight attendant was occupied. Ami had nearly gotten away when she heard the cheerful voice of her least favorite airline employee.
“Enjoy your stay in Tokyo. Thank you for flying with us on Nippon Air.”
Ami nodded politely and continued her walk off the aircraft.
“Miss--”
Ami paused. Slowly she turned around. She was so close. “Yes.”
The well-meaning woman handed Ami an extra carton of orange juice for her littlest passenger. A weak smile adorned Ami’s face as placed the contraband in her purse. When she exited the plane, the walkway was empty. Apparently, the elderly couple moved faster than she did. It amused and upset Ami at the same time. At six months, she should have become accustomed to her body’s changing dimensions. Nonetheless, Ami still wasn’t able to move as she desired.
The airport terminal was much brighter than the tunnel in which she had been walking. There were so many people; it was difficult for Ami to get her bearings. The crowd was too dense for her to maneuver through, so she decided to sit near the gate and wait for Taiki.
* * * * *
Nephrite put the car in park and turned off the engine. The ride to Tokyo International Airport took longer than expected. A tractor-trailer had jack-knifed on the highway. Though the scene was cleared, there were still people slowing to get a look at the wreck. Nephrite was just glad that they made it in time for Zoicite to catch his flight to Rome.
After the Makoto’s ordeal, Zoicite just needed to get away. That’s what Zoicite told everyone, but Nephrite could see that the brief run in with Taiki Kou was as much a factor as Makoto’s kidnapping. Even though Nephrite was not as close to Zoicite as Kunzite was, he was not blind. Seeing Taiki reminded Zoicite that he was not, and more than likely would never be, a part of Ami’s life.
No sooner did Nephrite cut the engine did Zoicite jump out of the sedan.
“Damn it! I’m going to miss my flight.”
Nephrite smirked. “If you moved your legs half as fast as you run your mouth, you’d have nothing to worry about.”
Zoicite glared at his impromptu driver, impatiently waiting for him to pop the trunk so he could get his carry-on. He snatched the bag from the trunk and dashed through the airport.
“And he didn’t even say goodbye,” Nephrite said to himself.
He reclined his seat and closed his eyes. It was the first time since the kidnapping that all was silent. The stargazer hadn’t realized how he missed simple silence. Amid the chaos that was his life, silence was oft forgotten and under appreciated. Nephrite slowly re-opened his eyes. He could not stay in the airport parking lot all day. Reluctantly starting the engine, Nephrite back out of his parking spot.
He pulled up to the guard booth and handed the attendant his ticket. As the gate arm rose, Nephrite paused to let a young couple pass. The man was tall and thin, wearing a hat and sunglasses. The woman was markedly shorter and pregnant. Nephrite smiled, wondering when he and Makoto would have children all their own.
“Taiki, slow down. I can’t walk as fast as I used to.” The young woman stopped in front of Nephrite’s car. Her companion backtracked to take her by the hand.
“Sorry Ami-chan.” The two looked into Nephrite’s vehicle and mouthed a quick apology before getting out of his way.
Nephrite was blown away. Whoever said that life is what happens when you’re busy making plans was right. Ami, little Ami, was very pregnant with Taiki’s child. How had everyone missed it? A pregnancy, by its nature, can’t be hidden. Yet she managed to do it.
BEEP! BEEP!
“Alright I’m going!” Nephrite tore out of the parking lot. Just when things started to calm down, something always came out of left field to throw their world out of whack. Nephrite searched through his car’s console for his cell phone. There was no way that he was going to keep this to himself. He flipped open the phone, turning on the speaker.
“Makoto.” The voice-activated phone book automatically dialed his fiancée’s mobile.
“Hello.”
“Sweetheart, you won’t believe what I just saw.”
* * * * *
Taiki unlocked the door and let Ami walk into the apartment. She happily collapsed onto the couch.
“So you mean to tell me that Naru and Seiya kidnapped Makoto?”
Taiki nodded. Ami shook her head in disbelief.
“A girl goes away for a conference and all hell breaks loose. This is why I can’t leave you people alone.” Ami giggled, grateful that the situation had been resolved quickly and without any harm coming to Makoto. Taiki stared at Ami. This definitely was not the reaction he expected. After living with Taiki for months, Ami could tell what he was thinking.
“What? Did you think that I was going to pass out or something?” Ami began laughing even harder. “Oww!” Ami clutched her stomach. “Taiki something’s wrong!”
Taiki rushed to Ami’s side. “Ami-chan, are you alright? What’s wrong?”
Ami licked her lips slowly. “Taiki…please…help me.”
“What do you want me to do?” Taiki knew he should have made sure that she was ready for the shock before he told her about Naru and Seiya. He would never forgive himself if Ami or the baby were hurt by his need to tell all.
Ami pulled Taiki close to her lips. Struggling for each breath, she managed to finally speak. “Taiki…I need…I need you to not be so gullible.”
Ami exploded into a raucous laugh. Taiki was mad. Ami was making light of not only Makoto’s situation, but also her own as well. He wanted to know where the real Mizuno Ami was.
“Oh calm down Taiki. I have decided that I am not going to stress over things I can’t control. Makoto is safe. That’s all that matters.”
Taiki was about to read Ami the riot act when the telephone rang. She picked it up, wondering who could be calling her. No one but Taiki knew that she was home.
“Moshi, moshi.” Ami’s face paled as the person on the other end spoke. “Okay. Tomorrow works for me. I’ll see you then.”
Taiki could see that Ami was not faking this time. “What’s wrong?”
Ami blinked away her tears. “It seems that our secret is out.”
“Why did you do it?” Taiki’s voice was barely above a whisper, yet it was audible to all in the vehicle.
Seiya had always been the wild child of the group, always ready to do the unimaginable. He was a risk taker. Everyone knew it and he made no attempts to suppress his daredevil nature. However, this went beyond anything Seiya ever tried in the past. He had crossed the line separating the outrageous from the unforgivable.
Seiya remained silent. His only response was a barely noticeable shaking of his head. Seiya’s thoughts drifted to how he wound up in this situation. All he wanted was to make Usagi happy. He wanted to be the reason that her smile shone brightly. He wanted the chance to love her. For that reason, he agreed to help Naru. It didn’t matter that he was hurting Makoto and Nephrite. Seiya’s sole purpose was to find a way to make Usagi’s eyes twinkle the way they did whenever she heard Mamoru’s name. He never thought that it would turn out this way. As Seiya thought back to the day that he aligned himself with Naru, he shuddered. The logical part of him knew that Naru was more unstable than he could ever be. Seiya knew that she was dangerous, but he ignored his instincts. He allowed Naru to use his feelings for Usagi against him.
“You bastard!”
Seiya’s head jerked up.
“How dare you try to lay all the blame on Naru?! You had a choice to make and you chose to abduct Makoto! You chose to betray all who trusted you! I am ashamed to be associated with someone like you.” He slammed his fist into the dashboard. Yaten had enough of Seiya’s excuses. He never accepted the consequences of his behavior. Yaten was often considered the least mature of the group, but truth be told, Seiya had Yaten beat by a country mile.
Yaten had taken to probing minds lately. It was a new power and he took great delight in testing it out. This time was different. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as Yaten listened to Seiya rationalizing his actions, blaming them on the influence of Naru.
Seiya opened his mouth to try to explain, but Yaten wanted no part of it. The black haired starlight slouched down in his seat. The remainder of the ride was quiet. Each starlight was consumed with their own thoughts.
* * * * *
Ami leaned over, reaching for her carry-on bag. The narrow airplane seat did not allow much room for movement. Frustrated, she groaned. All she wanted was the well-worn copy of ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting.’ Even though she had read it cover to cover, Ami never did tire of it. It often was the only thing that eased her mind.
“Something to drink miss?”
The flight attendant looked down at the struggling water senshi. She knelt down and removed the bag under the seat. Handing it to Ami, the attendant noticed Ami’s swollen abdomen. She smiled and placed a small carton of orange juice on top of the bag. Ami looked into the eyes of the woman offering the juice. She returned the smile took a big gulp of the orange juice. Satisfied with her good deed, the flight attendant continued her leisurely walk down the restricted aisle.
Ami peered down the aisle. Knowing that the well-meaning flight attendant could not see her, Ami spit the orange juice back into the container.
“I hate orange juice. Why does everyone think that pregnant women want orange juice?” She shook her head at the flight attendant’s presumption. Ami fingered the worn book, searching for an elusive scrap of white paper. The paper itself was non-descript. However, the words printed on it caused the dedicated Mizuno Ami to leave her conference early.
FLASHBACK
Ami walked into the modest home of her host, Monsieur and Madame Lemieux. They were the aunt and uncle of one of Ami’s college roommates. Upon hearing that she would be in the area, they opened their home to the shy Ami.
“Ami,” Madame Lemieux called from the kitchen.
“Yes.” Ami put her bag at the foot of the stairs. She sniffed the air. Madame was baking again. Ami was certain that she put on at least ten pounds during her short stay.
She crossed the threshold into the kitchen. Madame Lemieux looked up when she heard Ami enter. Bright brown eyes, shadowed by smudges of all-purpose flour, greeted Ami. Madame Lemieux saw the laughter in her guest’s eyes, so she attempted to wipe the flour from her face. While she removed the flour from below her eyes, the middle-aged woman now had flour on her forehead.
“Bonjour, Madame Lemieux--”
“Ami, how many times have I told you to call me Sarah?”
Ami blushed. She was not accustomed to addressing her elders by their first names. She sat at the table and picked at the fresh baked bread that Sarah had placed in front of her.
“How was your day Ma--, Sarah?”
“Pretty uneventful.” Sarah walked over to the icebox to retrieve Ami’s patented pre-natal smoothie. On the way back, Sarah grabbed a nearly forgotten phone message.
“Cherie, I almost forgot. Someone from Japan called for you.”
Ami slowly raised her head to look Sarah in the eye. “Are you certain that they were from Japan?”
“There’s no mistaking that accent.” Sarah smiled as she handed Ami the message.
END OF FLASHBACK
Ami, call home. Rei said it was quite important that she speak with you.
Ami put the worrisome message back in the book. She looked out the small window into the might sky. As the aircraft soared through the clouds Ami wondered what calamity awaited her in Tokyo.
“Attention! We are beginning our descent into Tokyo International Airport. Please place your seat backs and tray in their upright positions. Please stow your carry on luggage. We shall be arriving in Tokyo, Japan in forty-five minutes. Thank you for flying with us on Nippon Air.”
Ami put her book away and somehow got the bag under the seat in front of her. She adjusted her lumbar pillow and tried to relax in the final minutes of her flight. Within the hour, she would have all the answers she needed.
* * * * *
A gray shirt was all he wanted. A gray shirt. Clothes were strewn all over the room. The bed and floor were a veritable rainbow of silks, cottons and poly blends. He groaned as every color, but the one he desired, was visible. He cursed himself for not being able to find it. Thinking back, he remembered that she had been the one who could find whatever he need. A wayward glance alerted hi that his time was running out.
“Damn!” His frustration grew with each passing second.
Logically, the lack of a charcoal gray shirt should not have caused such distress. However, logic had not been his companion for some time. Realizing where his thoughts were taking him, he stopped the journey. It took six painful months to get here; there would be no going back.
A shrill ring, recognized as a cell phone, pierced the bothersome silence.
“What?!” His greeting sounded harsher than intended. “Sorry, I’m having a bit of a time here. What’s going on?”
“Did you forget you have someplace to be?” Nephrite asked.
“I thought Kunzite was coming.”
“He had to see Mamoru about -- never mind. We have to go.”
“Fine, I’ll be right down.”
* * * * *
Taiki sped down the highway. Ami’s plane would be landing in an hour. He knew why she was returning early. Ami was worried about her friends. Taiki cursed Naru and Seiya. Those two had turned a perfectly peaceful existence into something flawed and ugly. The universe’s guardians deserved the lull in paranormal activity. Everything was going so well. Lives were being rebuilt that did not revolve around the latest threat. Granted, there were still a plethora of personal issue to sort through, but they were the type of things that normal people had to deal with.
Taiki saw his exit coming up. Signaling with his turn indicator, he made his way down the exit ramp. Taiki still hadn’t figured out how to explain everything that happened. He couldn’t even make sense of it himself.
Taiki pulled into the airport’s parking complex. He was grateful to find a spot in the closest lot. After the long flight, Taiki did want Ami to have to walk too far to get to the car. He looked at the clock in the dash before exiting. There were twenty minutes until her plane touched down. Hopefully by then he’d have something to tell Ami. He walked through the parking lot, momentarily stopping to admire the aircrafts as they darted across the night sky. Taiki knew the stress this situation put on Ami. He just hoped that it wouldn’t harm the baby.
* * * * *
Ami sat patiently as the other passengers de-boarded the plane. It amazed her how rude people were. She didn’t want special privileges. Ami just wanted to be treated with common decency. No person, pregnant or otherwise, should be herded down a narrow corridor, poked and prodded, just because some drunken reprobate in couch is in need of a drink.
When Ami finally stood to leave, the only other passengers were a loving elderly couple. She reached down to pick up the bag that caused her so much trouble before. Out of habit, Ami looked back at her seat to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. She ambled down the aisle, secretly hoping that the overzealous flight attendant was occupied. Ami had nearly gotten away when she heard the cheerful voice of her least favorite airline employee.
“Enjoy your stay in Tokyo. Thank you for flying with us on Nippon Air.”
Ami nodded politely and continued her walk off the aircraft.
“Miss--”
Ami paused. Slowly she turned around. She was so close. “Yes.”
The well-meaning woman handed Ami an extra carton of orange juice for her littlest passenger. A weak smile adorned Ami’s face as placed the contraband in her purse. When she exited the plane, the walkway was empty. Apparently, the elderly couple moved faster than she did. It amused and upset Ami at the same time. At six months, she should have become accustomed to her body’s changing dimensions. Nonetheless, Ami still wasn’t able to move as she desired.
The airport terminal was much brighter than the tunnel in which she had been walking. There were so many people; it was difficult for Ami to get her bearings. The crowd was too dense for her to maneuver through, so she decided to sit near the gate and wait for Taiki.
* * * * *
Nephrite put the car in park and turned off the engine. The ride to Tokyo International Airport took longer than expected. A tractor-trailer had jack-knifed on the highway. Though the scene was cleared, there were still people slowing to get a look at the wreck. Nephrite was just glad that they made it in time for Zoicite to catch his flight to Rome.
After the Makoto’s ordeal, Zoicite just needed to get away. That’s what Zoicite told everyone, but Nephrite could see that the brief run in with Taiki Kou was as much a factor as Makoto’s kidnapping. Even though Nephrite was not as close to Zoicite as Kunzite was, he was not blind. Seeing Taiki reminded Zoicite that he was not, and more than likely would never be, a part of Ami’s life.
No sooner did Nephrite cut the engine did Zoicite jump out of the sedan.
“Damn it! I’m going to miss my flight.”
Nephrite smirked. “If you moved your legs half as fast as you run your mouth, you’d have nothing to worry about.”
Zoicite glared at his impromptu driver, impatiently waiting for him to pop the trunk so he could get his carry-on. He snatched the bag from the trunk and dashed through the airport.
“And he didn’t even say goodbye,” Nephrite said to himself.
He reclined his seat and closed his eyes. It was the first time since the kidnapping that all was silent. The stargazer hadn’t realized how he missed simple silence. Amid the chaos that was his life, silence was oft forgotten and under appreciated. Nephrite slowly re-opened his eyes. He could not stay in the airport parking lot all day. Reluctantly starting the engine, Nephrite back out of his parking spot.
He pulled up to the guard booth and handed the attendant his ticket. As the gate arm rose, Nephrite paused to let a young couple pass. The man was tall and thin, wearing a hat and sunglasses. The woman was markedly shorter and pregnant. Nephrite smiled, wondering when he and Makoto would have children all their own.
“Taiki, slow down. I can’t walk as fast as I used to.” The young woman stopped in front of Nephrite’s car. Her companion backtracked to take her by the hand.
“Sorry Ami-chan.” The two looked into Nephrite’s vehicle and mouthed a quick apology before getting out of his way.
Nephrite was blown away. Whoever said that life is what happens when you’re busy making plans was right. Ami, little Ami, was very pregnant with Taiki’s child. How had everyone missed it? A pregnancy, by its nature, can’t be hidden. Yet she managed to do it.
BEEP! BEEP!
“Alright I’m going!” Nephrite tore out of the parking lot. Just when things started to calm down, something always came out of left field to throw their world out of whack. Nephrite searched through his car’s console for his cell phone. There was no way that he was going to keep this to himself. He flipped open the phone, turning on the speaker.
“Makoto.” The voice-activated phone book automatically dialed his fiancée’s mobile.
“Hello.”
“Sweetheart, you won’t believe what I just saw.”
* * * * *
Taiki unlocked the door and let Ami walk into the apartment. She happily collapsed onto the couch.
“So you mean to tell me that Naru and Seiya kidnapped Makoto?”
Taiki nodded. Ami shook her head in disbelief.
“A girl goes away for a conference and all hell breaks loose. This is why I can’t leave you people alone.” Ami giggled, grateful that the situation had been resolved quickly and without any harm coming to Makoto. Taiki stared at Ami. This definitely was not the reaction he expected. After living with Taiki for months, Ami could tell what he was thinking.
“What? Did you think that I was going to pass out or something?” Ami began laughing even harder. “Oww!” Ami clutched her stomach. “Taiki something’s wrong!”
Taiki rushed to Ami’s side. “Ami-chan, are you alright? What’s wrong?”
Ami licked her lips slowly. “Taiki…please…help me.”
“What do you want me to do?” Taiki knew he should have made sure that she was ready for the shock before he told her about Naru and Seiya. He would never forgive himself if Ami or the baby were hurt by his need to tell all.
Ami pulled Taiki close to her lips. Struggling for each breath, she managed to finally speak. “Taiki…I need…I need you to not be so gullible.”
Ami exploded into a raucous laugh. Taiki was mad. Ami was making light of not only Makoto’s situation, but also her own as well. He wanted to know where the real Mizuno Ami was.
“Oh calm down Taiki. I have decided that I am not going to stress over things I can’t control. Makoto is safe. That’s all that matters.”
Taiki was about to read Ami the riot act when the telephone rang. She picked it up, wondering who could be calling her. No one but Taiki knew that she was home.
“Moshi, moshi.” Ami’s face paled as the person on the other end spoke. “Okay. Tomorrow works for me. I’ll see you then.”
Taiki could see that Ami was not faking this time. “What’s wrong?”
Ami blinked away her tears. “It seems that our secret is out.”