THE CONSEQUENCES OF FRIENDLY FIRE
THE CONSEQUENCES OF FRIENDLY FIRE
By: Masked Maiden
Ever since Shingo graduated from college and returned to
Tokyo, his relationship with Ami seemed to fluctuate from one extreme to
another. There were weeks when they were inseparable, in more ways concerning
their bodies than their minds and spirits, although all three certainly found
opportunities to intermingle with each other. Then there were weeks when one
mind found its logical side; the bodies protested endlessly and the spirits
stepped back, saying, “I’m sorry, but y’all are on your own.”
The said mind belonged to Ami, whose previous bouts with love were restricted
to love letters in her shoe locker. This time around, her reaction towards love
did not cause her to break out and to itch. It did cause her to ache, but she
ached with something she had never experienced before: desire. For once in her
life, she desired a man, and it frightened her. So when their relationship
became too much for her, she would have to back off, giving herself time to
calm down.
Shingo didn’t mind… to an extent. He wanted to be the patient and understanding
boyfriend, but it wasn’t easy when he had a girlfriend who could be hot one day
and cold the next. (Well, maybe not cold. Cold was such a harsh word, and Ami
was far from being a cold person. Perhaps “tepid” was a better description.) Still,
this was a vast improvement from two years ago, when neither of them wanted to
admit their feelings for each other. So Shingo would smile, give Ami her space,
and wait the best he could.
But at least those weeks were becoming shorter, and fewer in-between. The last
day of the calm actually ended on a day of a storm. Shingo made plans to travel
with Ami to her mother’s beach house. It was autumn, when the beaches were
vacant and cool, and the waves were high and untamed. Shingo spent half the day
in the waters, on his surfboard, while Ami sat in her folding chair, reading a
book and occasionally finding herself staring at the handsome young man with
the sandy blond hair and blue eyes…
When the rain began to pour down, Shingo and Ami gathered their belongings and
charged into the beach house. Both of them were soaked to the bone, yet Shingo
insisted on Ami taking a shower first. He dried off as best he could and donned
the extra set of clothes he brought with him… though he didn’t have to wear
them long.
He was sitting in front of the warm fireplace, a cup of coffee in his hands, when
he suddenly felt he was being watched. Shingo turned around and then gazed upon
Ami, who was standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but her light blue
terrycloth bathrobe. Still quite covered up for a woman who was obviously naked,
Shingo found it very alluring. And when she smiled a certain, innocently
provocative smile, he couldn’t take it anymore.
Neither could she. By the time thunder was rumbling outside, there was tumbling
under the sea-green cotton sheets on a full-sized bed. But then the other mind
developed a conscience, and perhaps some logic of its own. Ami looked up at
Shingo when he stopped sucking the nape of her neck, and she could hardly
phantom a coherent thought, let alone realize what the problem was.
“I, uh… I don’t have a condom.”
Ami eyeballed her boyfriend with a stare that actually struck a small amount of
fear and guilt into him. “…what?!” she replied with a tight throat and high
voice.
“Well, I didn’t plan this!” Shingo slightly raised his voice. What was he
supposed to do? If he’d kept a condom in his wallet, it would have given the
impression he was always looking for an opportunity to… well, do many things
with this beautiful, intelligent young woman.
“But you’re supposed to always be prepared!”
“No, that’s the boy scouts.”
“Shingo!”
“... We could still have some fun.”
To what Shingo was implying greatly intrigued Ami. She was in favor of his
suggestion, for it was certainly better than ceasing all pleasurable activities
and feeling bothered for the rest of the evening, even though it went against
the medical knowledge she learned and obtained over the years. But really,
these were one of those moments were knowledge meant nothing to her, and this
was coming from a young woman whose confidence in herself partly came from test
scores and achievements.
"... Okay."
Now, one month later, Ami was at Shingo's apartment, sitting beside him on his
couch, presenting him with a pregnancy test. It was one of several she had
bought and taken this morning, though she did not worry with presenting every
single one to Shingo. He could hardly believe the sight of one. All he could do
was stare at it, so hard Ami almost wondered if she should start expecting the
indicator to catch fire and burn.
Finally, Shingo addressed her. "We but-"
"I know." Ami interjected.
"And I-"
"I know."
"It was just-"
"I know."
"So why-"
"It can happen that way."
"... Really?"
Ami nodded and placed the indicator on the coffee table. "So... what do
you think?"
That was a bombshell of a question. Shingo let out a long breath and leaned
back, sinking into the cushions of the couch. He scratched his head, honestly
trying to allow his mind to wrap around the magnitude of what the positive sign
on the indicator meant. "What I honestly think?"
"Yes..."
Surprisingly to Ami, she could see the hint of a smile creep upon Shingo's
face. It then grew to a grin and he started to chuckle, for his very first thought,
even if it was a probably little insensitive and a tad self-favoring, was also
highly amusing.
"I think we don't have to worry about condoms anymore."
======
“Okay! On the night of said conception, uh, Kim and I nuded up and um… the dirty
talk began and I got a little over-excited… Anyhoo, there was some unexpected
friendly fire. And, uh, even though I never got a chance to enter… ‘the village’…
uh, there was a… ‘air strike’ on one of the outlying regions.” ~ J.D. from
“Scrubs”
