Verdantia: Chapter Four

Chapter Four: A Place of Magic

She stared openly as the woman let her silver hair loose from its ties. In the privacy of her own bed chambers the silver haired woman undressed with ease; she was used to having an audience of one in her rooms. Realizing she would be distracted, the visitor looked around while the other woman undressed; after all, there was an important matter to be discussed first and foremost. Her garnet eyes wandered, landing on walls richly decorated with tapestries-weavings of graceful women long gone. This was a splendor which she would never get used to.

"So it worked?" Hope shone in the voice floating from behind the long silver curtain of hair as the woman bent to undo a garter belt.

Suddenly hot in the cloak, she found it difficult to speak with the view in front of her. Clearing her throat, she answered, "Yes. Everything is going as it should. There will be movement in the near future."

The silver-haired woman stood upright, completely naked and breathtakingly beautiful. She clapped her hands together, obviously quite pleased. Blue eyes glowed. "Wonderful!" She crossed the room towards her visitor, almost seeming to glide in the process. "Now, what about this kind of movement?" the silver haired woman asked as she brushed her body provocatively against the garnet eyed visitor in the dark cloak.

Water Lilies: Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen: A Helpful Hand

Two weeks had passed since Makoto returned to Tokyo, but thoughts of Ami, Yukikura, and Otari Village stayed with her. Despite distracting herself with work her thoughts constantly returned to Ami. In the midst of a simple chore, or while working on a report, Ami's face would float up from the depths of her mind, interrupting whatever trail of thought she was following. Once, while in the middle of brushing her teeth, she recalled Ami's face the moment she climaxed, sweet with ecstasy yet bitter with tears as she called out Makoto's name.

After the first week she decided to call someone who had the knack for romance down pat. Of course once Mina had answered her cell Makoto had not done much but mumble how she had ruined her and Ami's friendship. She could not bring herself to speak of the matter further when questioned by Mina. How could she begin to explain what happened when she couldn't quite understand all of it herself? She hesitated in answering any specific questions until the persistent blonde conceded with a sigh and switched topics. She had avoided all calls from Mina since then.

Her days were very much a blur, all melding into a blob of gray. Sleep did not come to her as it did before no matter how much she exercised and exerted herself during the day. Those nights she sat outside the small terrace of her living room staring out at the brightly lit spread of Tokyo before her. There was a certain beauty of the glittering city at night but even this she did not notice. If she had known it would be like this after sleeping with the doctor, would she still have made the choice? Makoto couldn't even answer that question. The thought she was doing the right thing by leaving Ami constantly warred with the guilt of hurting the woman. She was protecting herself from a life of love and complications and in doing so had exposed Ami to pain instead.

Water Lilies: Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen: Shoulders to Lean and Laugh on

The building in which Makoto resided was indeed as beautiful as Usagi claimed while driving over. Ami stood at the base of the structure counting the twenty-plus floors before her eyes were drawn to the subtly twinkling lights at the very top. The sleek lines combined with floor-to-ceiling glass walls and landscaped surroundings were all very nice; but something about the entire picture disturbed Ami. What it was struck her immediately as she followed Usagi into the lobby, which was pretty, stylish, tasteful-and sterile. It did not suit Makoto at all. Ami could not picture the brunette being at home in such an obviously manufactured environment.

She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves which had gone haywire when she stepped out of Usagi's car. Makoto is up there somewhere.

The thought made her heart thump wildly as she trailed after Usagi. Thick carpet muffled their footsteps from the lobby into the soft recessed lighting of the elevator. Ami caught sight of herself in the mirrored walls of the compartment and anxiously brushed her bangs back from her forehead. Her face appeared pale except for two high spots of color in her cheeks.

"Ami..." Usagi's reflection peered over her shoulder and Ami met her friend's inquisitive look.

"Nervous?" Usagi asked. A small encouraging smile lit up her ultramarine eyes while she waited for Ami's answer.

Under the Autumn Leaves

Disclaimer: All Sailor Moon characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha

Under the Autumn Leaves

They followed the winding path into the trees. Warm bits of color, yellows, browns, oranges,crimsons and myriad shades in between splattered atop trees like an artist's palette of paints awaiting the touch of a brush. Their very breath was taken away every so often as they strolled side by side, fingers loosely entwined. Fallen leaves along the path crunched under their shoes creating a melody of their footsteps. They were the only ones in this section of the park. They could hear the songs of birds deeper in the brush and this pleased them. They turned to each other and smiled, perfectly aligned, harmoniously synched in their enjoyment of this nature filled afternoon.

Fall had arrived quickly unlike the slow saunter of summer. Despite schools reopening, and stores prepping for a busy holiday season they were thrilled at the arrival. They loved the brisk air that came with autumn, could very well smell the change in the cool air as the boastfully green leaves of summer discarded their warm weather wear, deciding instead to go out with a bang; a veritable explosion of colors. Just the smell of the air was exciting. There was no rhyme or reason for it but the feeling enveloped them anyway. They were lovers in love with Fall. They were lovers in love with each other. And so, on one perfectly cool, crisp bright autumn day, they decided to go for a walk in the park.

Renewal

Renewal

"What the hell-"

The slam of the bathroom door punctuated Makoto's exclamation. Long legs in faded blue jeans strode to the door and tanned knuckles rapped on the unyielding wood.

"Come on Ami, open the door now!"

"You were undressing her!" The muffled shout did not prevent Makoto from discerning the seething tones in which Ami spoke.

"I explained what happened. Ami, will you just open the door? Please?" Cajoling did not seem to work at all as silence spread through their apartment. Makoto could feel a fury growing despite her efforts to stay calm.
Her hands grabbed the trim around the door, squeezing the wood with increasing force that would splinter and break if she did not stop. Her knuckles protruded whitely from the backs of her hands.
One minute of quiet.

One minute, thirty seconds.

Two minutes had passed since Ami last replied. No sound emerged from the bathroom beyond the door.
Makoto's forehead made a small thud as it dropped on the wood. "Ami..." A soft snarl of her loved one's name, and still no response.

"Fine then. I'm leaving." Her hands dropped to her sides, she could still feel the grain of the wood pressed into her palms not a moment ago. She made her way back to the couch where she had carelessly dropped the motorcycle helmet and her keys upon entering the apartment.

Makoto had almost made it to the front door when she heard the click of the lock and the door opening behind her.

"Wait, Mako..." The voice called out hoarsely from behind her and Makoto's body stilled, and stiffened. The balls of her feet were planted flatly on the floor, her back straight, her shoulders thrown back. In that instant she resembled a strong steadfast oak neither bowing or bending to the harshest wind. She did not turn to face Ami.

"What?" She could have been asking for a second cup of tea, the anger which had quickly flowed into her nowhere apparent in the word.

Once again there was no response from Ami but Makoto heard the tentative footsteps of the smaller woman as she crossed the room behind her. Even so, she did not turn. The set of her shoulders relaxed when she felt Ami's arms wrap around her waist from behind. She could feel the warmth from Ami's body as it pressed against her back.

"I'm sorry. Please don't go." The words were muted, absorbed into the cloth of Makoto's shirt but she heard them clearly. "I'm sorry."

There was a loud thump as the helmet fell from Makoto's fingers followed by the jingle of keys as they crashed to the floor. She gathered the smaller woman into her arms as she turned and Ami buried her face into Makoto's chest.

"You know, of the two, people usually call me the hothead." She joked. Ami trembled in her arms and Makoto felt a wetness penetrate the shirt. "Ami..." Surprise and concern colored the name of her beloved.

"I-I'm sorry!" Ami sobbed into Makoto's chest and the tall woman brushed the shorter woman's hair soothingly.

"It's okay," she reassured, "It's fine now. I just wanted you to talk to me."

"I walked in and saw the two of you and she was shirtless and I was so scared I lost you to someone else."

"Nothing happened, love. She received a cut while training and I helped her clean and dress the wound," Makoto explained once more.

"I know." Ami nodded, "I believed you but the picture of you two standing there...it couldn't leave my head and I got so angry at myself for even thinking you would do that to me. My love is selfish, I only want you all to myself."

"I feel the same," Makoto said quietly before a soft laugh erupted. Ami looked up at her in puzzlement and Makoto grinned while she gently swiped at the smaller's woman's tear trail with a callused thumb. "Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. I would have probably killed someone if I had seen you in a situation like that without knowing the circumstances."

"Well, it really is no surprise you're known to be hot-headed." She rested head against Makoto's chest again.

"Wha—what are you doing?"

The brunette had bent and picked up Ami in her arms, her calf and thigh muscles flexing under jeans as she strutted towards their bedroom. "Why, I'm going to renew my vows I made that day."

"Mako-" a blush of excitement spread across Ami's cheeks as she stared wide-eyed at the brunette.
Laying Ami gently down in the middle of the bed Makoto bent and kissed her at the corner of her parted lips. "I'm going to prove how much I love and want you over and over again."

"Mako..." It was the barest of sighs, yet Makoto heard and felt the love uttered in those two syllables.
"Only you."