Chapter 9

	The day of the trip had finally arrived. Akira woke up even 
earlier than usual that morning, partly from excitement and partly 
because he and Ami had decided it would be best to get an early start. 
Climbing out of bed, he got dressed in a pair of jeans and a heavy 
sweater, then headed to the kitchen for a simple breakfast of oatmeal 
and coffee.

	As soon as he finished eating, the phone in the living room 
began to ring. Akira answered the phone and smiled when he heard his 
girlfriend’s voice on the other line.

	“I can’t believe today’s the day,” Ami said. “Two whole weeks 
during which we don’t have to hide who we are. I can’t wait.”

	“Me neither,” he agreed whole-heartedly. The day had been a 
long time coming. “Are you ready to head out?”

	“Hai. All I have to do is pack up a few toiletries and say 
goodbye to Mako-chan, then I’ll head over to your apartment.”

	“Ami, are you sure you don’t mind coming over here?” he asked, 
not for the first time since they finalized the plans. “I hate the 
thought of you having to drag all your things over here.”

	“It’s not a problem. I already called the taxi company, and 
they’re sending me a car in twenty minutes. Besides, it’s not like you 
have a car either.”

	“Yes, but --”

	“It’s safer this way, ” she assured him. “I don’t want to risk 
anybody seeing you and figuring out our secret.”

	Akira again started to protest, until he realized she was 
probably right. Besides, he didn’t want to ruin the little surprise he 
had parked outside in the parking lot -- on loan from Dr. Nakajima. 
“Okay, I’ll meet you outside the building in half an hour,” he said. 
“Ja!”

	“Ja ne!”

	After hanging up the phone, Akira started gathering some of 
Mercury’s things and threw them into a large duffel bag. While he and 
Ami were gone, Matsuno Hideki had generously agreed to dog-sit the 
excitable Corgi, who seemed to sense something was amiss. Dark brown 
eyes filled with sadness as Mercury watched him pack.

	“Oh, don’t give me that look,” Akira said the third time he 
passed by couch where the dog lay and noticed Mercury giving him the 
most pathetic puppy-dog face he had ever seen. “It’s only going to be 
for a couple of weeks. You’ll hardly notice I’m gone.”

	Mercury whimpered as Akira tossed one of his favorite chew toys 
into the bag.

	“It’s not like I’m sending you to stay with some stranger or at 
one of those kennels. You’ll be right next door at Matsuno-kun’s place. 
You like Matsuno-kun, remember?”

	The dog, in response to the question, turned his head to the 
side in a huff. If Akira didn’t know better, he would think that 
Mercury was actually giving him the silent treatment.

	“You know I would take you if I could, boy, but the inn doesn’t 
allow pets. You probably wouldn’t like it anyway. There’s lots of snow 
and ice, and you know how you hate the cold weather…”

	Pushing his guilt away, Akira shook his head in mild disbelief 
and zipped up the bag. It truly was amazing how a pet had the power to 
manipulate its owner’s emotions with just a look and a whimper, but he 
was not going to let Mercury ruin his vacation. The dog would be fine.

	“Come on, Merc,” he sighed, attaching a leash to the Corgi’s 
collar and throwing the bag over his shoulder. “Ami’s going to be here 
soon, and I need to take you over to Matsuno-kun’s.”

	It took some prodding, but, reluctantly, Mercury hopped off the 
couch and followed Akira down the hall to Matsuno’s apartment. Akira 
knocked on the door, and a few moments later, the computer science 
major answered, evidently having just woken up. He had a major case of 
bed-head and was still dressed in the clothes he had slept in: sweats 
and a ratty T-shirt that said “King of the Geeks” in faded lettering.

	“Kitagawa-sensei?” Matsuno said, struggling not to let out a 
yawn. It looked like he could barely keep his eyes open. “What are you 
doing here?”

	“Gomen nasai, Matsuno-kun,” Akira apologized, feeling bad he 
had awakened the hard-working student so early on the first day of 
vacation. “I didn’t mean to wake you, but I’ll be leaving in a few 
minutes, so I wanted to drop Mercury off. You do still want to take 
care of him while I’m gone?”

	“Oh, yeah, of course. Come in.” Moving aside, Matsuno showed 
Akira inside his apartment. “Do you have time for some coffee?” he 
offered.

	“I wouldn’t mind another cup,” Akira replied. “It’s going to be 
a long trip. I could use all the caffeine I can get.”

	As Matsuno headed to the kitchen to fix the coffee, Akira 
kneeled down and unattached the leash from Mercury’s collar, tossing it 
in the bag with all the rest of Mercury’s things. Free from his 
restraints, the Corgi immediately took to investigating his new home 
for the next two weeks, running around the small living room and 
sniffing the furniture.

	“He’s not going to tear anything up, is he?” Matsuno asked 
worriedly from the kitchen, which was only separated from the living 
room by a bar.

	Putting the duffel bag on the coffee table, Akira sat down in 
one of the chairs and shook his head. “No, Mercury is generally very 
well-behaved. I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about.”

	“Good.” Matsuno came out of the kitchen a couple of minutes 
later and handed Akira one of the coffee mugs he carried. “So, where 
are you going again, Kitagawa-sensei?” he asked, taking a seat on the 
couch.

	“Nagano, my hometown. A friend and I will be staying at a ski 
resort until Christmas morning, then we’ll spend the rest of vacation 
at my folks’ place. I wrote down the numbers, along with the vet’s, and 
put them in the front pocket of the bag, in case you need to get a hold 
of me while we‘re gone,” Akira informed him, taking a sip of his 
coffee. “Oh, you’ll also remember to get my mail, as well?”

	“Yes, sir. Not a problem.”   

	“I hope I’m not being too much of an imposition, Matsuno-kun.”

	“You’re not; I’m happy to do it,” the younger man assured him. 
“I don’t have any real plans for the holidays myself. My parents are 
taking a much-deserved cruise, and my older sister is staying with her 
fiancé and his family, so it’ll just be me and Yui. She‘ll be staying 
here since the dorms are closed for vacation.”

	“Ah, Yokoyama-san,” Akira said with a knowing smile. “She told 
me you two were dating. She’s not allergic to dogs, is she?”

	“Not that I know of.”  

	“Good.”

	The rest of their conversation consisted mostly of instructions 
for taking care of Mercury, which didn’t take very long. Two meals a 
day, one in the morning and one at night, and regularly scheduled walks 
were pretty much all the dog required. Once he was assured Matsuno had 
all the required information, Akira said goodbye to Mercury, then, 
noticing the time, headed downstairs to meet with Ami.  

	The taxi pulled up to the building right on schedule. As Ami 
got out of the car, Akira started retrieving her things from the trunk 
the cabbie had popped open and set them on the sidewalk.

	“Akira, what are you doing?” she asked, confused. “And where 
are your suitcases? I thought we were taking the taxi to the train 
station.”

	“Slight change of plans,” he replied, reaching into the pocket 
of his jeans and pulling out some money. “Here, pay the cabbie and I’ll 
explain.”

	“What? But how will we --?”

	“Just trust me, Ami.”

	She seemed doubtful, but, still, she took the money and went to 
pay the driver. By the time she finished, Akira had unloaded all of her 
luggage and was shutting the trunk closed.

	“Okay, do you mind telling me what this is about?” she demanded 
to know as the taxi drove off. “How are we supposed to get to the 
station with all our stuff? You don’t expect us to take the bus, do 
you?”

	“Of course not,” he said, reaching into his pockets and pulling 
out a set of keys. “Just wait here. Your carriage awaits.”

	Leaving Ami to wait on the sidewalk in front of the building 
with her luggage, Akira headed toward the stylish black sedan parked 
near the back of the lot. It actually belonged to Dr. Nakajima, but the 
professor had gone out of town for the holidays and had generously 
decided to lend the car to Akira once he heard of the plans for their 
trip. Akira got in the car and drove it over to where a surprised Ami 
was waiting, her dark blue eyes widening when she saw him exiting the 
driver’s side to help her load her things. His luggage had already been 
packed in the trunk the night before to save time.

	“Akira, where did you get this?” she asked, looking in at the 
rather luxurious leather interior of the car through one of the 
windows. “You didn’t buy this, did you?”

	Chuckling, Akira opened the trunk and began loading her bags. 
“On my salary? I don’t think so,” he joked. “Nakajima-sensei loaned it 
to me for the holidays. I thought it would be safer.”

	“Safer?”

	“There’s bound to be more than a few people from the school at 
the train station,” he explained. “Everybody’s heading home for Christmas 
and New Year’s, so I thought it would be less risky if we drove to 
Nagano ourselves instead of taking the train.”

	“Good point,” she agreed, tossing one of her smaller bags in the trunk. 	

	When they finished loading Ami’s things in the trunk -- 
luckily, she hadn’t packed much, so there was plenty of room -- and 
tied her skis to the top of the car with his, they both got in the car, 
and Akira slowly started to pull out of the parking lot, trying to 
remember the rules of the road. It had been a few years since he was 
last behind the wheel, and his nervousness must have shown because Ami 
arched a questioning eyebrow in his direction.

	“Akira, you *do* have a valid driver’s license, don’t you?” she 
asked when he let a prime opportunity to get on the road pass by.

	“Valid? Yeah, sure,” he replied with a forced chuckle, rubbing 
the back of his neck. “I got it renewed my last birthday.”

	Ami frowned. “Why doesn’t that news make me feel better?” 

	“Well, it’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve actually had 
the chance to…um, drive.”

	“Akira…”

	“Don’t worry, Ami. Nakajima-sensei wouldn’t have loaned me the 
car if he didn’t think I could drive it,” he tried to assure her. 
“Besides, I used to be a very good driver. All I need is a lit-- Hang 
on!”

	Spotting an opening in the holiday traffic, already heavy 
despite the early hour, Akira stepped on the gas and shot out in front 
of a small Honda. A symphony of honks and curses from angry drivers 
followed, but he grinned triumphantly at his success and looked over 
his girlfriend, whose skin had turned as white as a sheet as she 
tightly gripped the handle above the passenger side door.

	“See? I told you.”  

	Sitting back in her seat, Ami sighed and shook her head. “I 
have a feeling this is going to be a very long drive…”

*****

	A couple of hours later, they were there.

	The resort was even more beautiful than the pictures posted on 
its website. As Akira smoothly pulled up to the inn, his driving much 
improved from when they first started on the trip, Ami’s mouth dropped 
open in awe when she looked out the car window at the snow-capped 
buildings and dozens upon dozens of gorgeous pine trees surrounding the 
resort, some decorated with strands of white lights in celebration of 
the season. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought they had 
taken a wrong turn somewhere and somehow ended up at the North Pole, 
but, of course, the senshi’s battle with the Dark Kingdom at D point 
had destroyed any illusions she had of the mythical home of Santa Claus 
being a beautiful, magical place.

	Leaving her in the car, Akira went inside to check in at the 
front desk and get the key to their private cabin. Check-in didn’t take 
long, and soon, they were heading to Cabin 6, located on the northern 
edge of the resort, a perfect, secluded spot for lovers who did not 
wish to be disturbed.

	“We were really lucky,” Akira remarked as he grabbed the two 
largest suitcases from the trunk of the car and started leading Ami 
toward the cabin. “The couple who originally reserved this cabin 
cancelled the day I called to make our reservation. If they hadn’t, we 
probably would have gotten stuck with a suite in the main inn, if even 
that. The manager says they’re booked solid for the holidays.”

	“I can see why,” Ami said appreciatively. “It’s absolutely 
picturesque.”

	Akira nodded in agreement. “I just wish we could have gotten 
the cabin for more than a few nights. I really did want us to spend the 
entire winter break alone together.”

	“A few days is better than nothing, Akira,” she assured him.

	Ami didn’t deny she had been somewhat disappointed when they 
had only been able to book the cabin until Christmas morning, but she 
was looking forward to meeting Akira’s family and seeing his hometown. 
She had never been to Nagano before, so it was going to be a real 
treat. According to Akira, who had spent most of the long drive up 
there regaling her with stories from his childhood, the city was 
supposed to be gorgeous during the winter time.

	Finally reaching the cabin, Akira set down their luggage and 
unlocked the front door with the key. “Well, here we are,” he 
announced, pushing open the door and switching on the lights. “What do 
you think?”

	Ami stepped inside and gasped. The website hadn’t lied when it 
promised a romantic atmosphere. From the elegant furniture to the 
massive stone fireplace, Ami felt as if she had stepped right into a 
scene from one of Makoto’s romance novels. 

	“It’s perfect, Akira,” Ami breathed. Spotting an arrangement of 
poinsettias on the mantel above the fireplace, she walked over to read 
the card. “Are these from you?”

	Shaking his head, Akira brought in the suitcases and set them 
by the door to be put away later. “No, but I wish they were,” he 
admitted, pulling off his gloves. “Don’t tell me you already have a 
secret admirer, Ami. We just arrived twenty minutes ago.”

	“I doubt that,” Ami said, blushing as she read the note. It 
turned out the flowers were from management, welcoming them to the 
resort and urging them to call if there was a problem with the cabin. 
“It’s only a gift from the managers.”

	“Well, you can’t blame me for being a little suspicious,” he 
teased, coming up behind Ami and wrapping his arms around her waist. 
“After all, you are the most beautiful girl here.”

	“Aki--”

	Her protest was cut short by her lover’s lips on hers, soft, 
but insistent. Ami turned around, surprised, but didn’t protest as he 
kissed her again, one of his hands pulling down the zipper of the sky 
blue ski jacket she had worn up to the resort. “I’ve been wanting to do 
that all day,” Akira murmured, his hands then finding their way up her 
angora sweater.    

	His touch was surprisingly warm in spite of the below-freezing 
temperatures outside. Placing his hands on the small of her back, Akira 
drew Ami closer toward him, and she could feel his desire building. She 
wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened their kiss, the closeness 
of their bodies providing all the heat she needed. 

	It was difficult, but Ami finally managed to pull away, smiling 
at the small groan of disappointment that escaped from Akira’s lips. As 
much as she would have liked to continue, there was still unpacking to 
be done, and she wouldn’t fully be able to enjoy herself until they 
were settled in. Besides, she wanted to surprise him with one of the 
new pieces of lingerie Makoto had convinced her to buy.

	“We’ll have plenty of time for that later,” she promised, 
taking off her gloves and jacket and hanging them neatly on the coat 
rack standing beside the door. “Why don’t you build us a fire while I 
unpack our things? It’s freezing in here.”

	“I can think of one way to warm you up,” he said suggestively, 
though he was already heading toward the fireplace.

	Ami blushed faintly, and, grabbing their suitcases, she headed 
to the door she assumed led to the bedroom.

	She was right. Opening the door, Ami found herself in a large 
bedroom, furnished with an elegant armoire, dresser, desk, full-length 
mirror, and the most massive four-post bed she had seen in her entire 
life. It was enormous, easily big enough for four people, maybe even 
five. Setting the suitcases down on the oval rug in the center of the 
wood-floored room, Ami hopped onto the bed and lightly bounced on the 
mattress. It was just right, not too firm and not too soft.

	“I could get used to this,” she sighed, falling on her back 
against the dark green satin comforter covering the bed and feeling a 
bit like Goldilocks from the old fairy tale. Her bed at home was nice, 
but it was nothing compared to that. 

	Remembering that she still needed to do the unpacking, Ami 
reluctantly got up and brought the suitcases over to the bed. The first 
one she opened belonged to Akira, and Ami rolled her eyes when she saw 
what a haphazard job he had done in packing his things. A couple of 
sweaters and a pair of jeans were folded, albeit looking as if they 
were done by a five-year-old, but the rest of his clothes appeared as 
if he had just thrown them in at the last minute. Shaking her head, Ami 
started folding his clothes to put away and made a mental note to teach 
him the proper way to pack when they got ready to leave.

	Her suitcase, of course, was organized to the letter, making 
full use of all the secret compartments available, including the false 
bottom, where she had cleverly hidden her new wardrobe of risqué 
lingerie and nightgowns. Those, Ami left packed in the suitcase where 
Akira wouldn‘t find them, except for the black teddy, which she kept 
out, deciding it would be the inaugural piece. If she could pull that 
off -- undeniably the raciest of the bunch -- without embarrassing 
herself too much in the process, then she knew she wouldn’t have a 
problem with the others. The rest of her clothes were put away in the 
armoire and dresser.

	Once she finished unpacking, Ami went over to the door and 
peeked out at the living room to see what Akira was doing. A toasty 
fire crackled in the fireplace, but her lover was nowhere in sight. For 
a moment, Ami was worried, but, since his shoes and coat were also 
missing, she deduced that Akira must have gone back out to the car for 
their ski equipment.

	That actually worked out quite well for her plans. The car was 
at least a good ten minute walk from their cabin, so that gave her 
plenty of time to prepare her seduction. Closing the door, Ami began to 
undress, thinking of what else she could do to make it a night Akira 
would never forget.

	She remembered that while she was putting her clothes away, she 
had found a box of unused white candles in one of the dresser drawers. 
Several brass candlesticks were already scattered around the room, and 
Ami thought she had seen a couple more in the living room. They would 
be perfect! After she finished slipping into the teddy, she went to get 
the other candlesticks, as well as some matches, which she found in the 
kitchen, and lit them up.

	When Ami was done, the room was aglow with the rosy radiance of 
the candlelight. She turned off the lights and admired her handiwork 
with a satisfied smile. For a first-time seductress, she wasn’t half-
bad. All that was missing was some rose petals on the bed, but she 
doubted she would be so lucky as to find a rose bush blooming outside 
the cabin on the official first day of winter. Lucky Usagi… With the 
prince of Earth for a lover, she probably never experienced a shortage 
of roses.

	Adjusting her teddy, Ami walked over to the full-length mirror 
in the corner of the room for a final inspection before Akira came 
back. She barely recognized her reflection, unaccustomed to seeing 
herself in something so revealing. The low-cut lace teddy really showed 
off her figure and made her legs appear to be much longer than they 
really were, especially with cute pair of kitten heels she had 
“borrowed” from Makoto. Ami blushed and grabbed the black silk kimono 
robe laying on the bed, tying the belt around her waist just as she 
heard the front door close.

	“Ami, I’m back,” Akira’s voice called, sounding rather 
breathless. “Mind giving me a hand in here? Some of this stuff is 
really heavy.”

	Flustered, Ami smoothed out a few non-existent wrinkles in her 
robe and ran a brush through her hair before heading to the door. Her 
heart was pounding a mile a minute, but she couldn’t tell if it was 
from fear or anticipation -- probably a mixture of both. After opening 
the door, she leaned against the frame and watched as Akira struggled 
to slip off his shoes while carrying two pairs of skis and a couple of 
bags they had forgotten on their first trip up to the cabin.

	“Ami! I could really use…some…help…”

	The skis and bags were unceremoniously dumped in a heap on the 
floor once Ami finally caught Akira’s eye. Untying the belt, she let 
the robe slip down her shoulders and tossed it back in the bedroom, a 
small shiver of excitement traveling up her mostly-bare back. She felt 
his eyes slowly travel down her body, taking it all in, and for the 
first time in her life, Ami knew what it felt like to be desirable. 

	“Do you like it?” she asked needlessly, already knowing the 
answer.

	Akira nodded, and, almost hypnotically, stepped over the bags 
at his feet toward her. “A-Ami?” he stuttered. “Wow… You look… You 
look… Wow.”

	“Really?”

	Gathering her in his arms, Akira carried her to the bed and 
showed her exactly how much he liked it.

*****

	“I wish people could see us like this,” Ami declared, snuggling 
up next to Akira after a passionate session of love-making.

	Glancing over at his lover, who had never looked more beautiful 
with her blue hair wild and her sweat-drenched skin still glistening in 
the candlelight, Akira raised an eyebrow. 

	“Like this?” he asked, playfully lifting the blanket to peek at 
their naked bodies. “Why, Ami, I never knew you were such an 
exhibitionist!”

	“You know what I mean.” Covering herself back up, Ami rested 
her head on his shoulder and sighed. “Why does everybody think this is 
wrong when it feels so right between us?”

	Akira knew exactly what she meant. It was unfair that they had 
to keep hiding their relationship as if they were doing something 
immoral and wrong. 

	“Ami, let’s make a promise,” he suggested, rolling onto his 
side and brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Right here and 
now.”

	“What’s that?”

	“While we’re here, let’s not talk about school. For the next 
couple of days, we’re simply Mizuno Ami and Kitagawa Akira, not student 
and teacher.”  

	“Deal,” Ami agreed, and they sealed their promise with a kiss.

*****

	Back in Tokyo, Yui arrived at Hideki’s doorstep at exactly ten 
o‘clock, a backpack swung over one shoulder and a large suitcase in 
hand. After setting the suitcase down beside her, she knocked on the 
door and was faintly annoyed when Hideki didn’t answer right away. 

	“Where is he?” she muttered. “I *told* him I would be coming 
today. He better not have forgotten.”

	Yui knocked a second time, again not getting an answer. 
Huffing, she glared at the locked doorknob and made a mental note to 
herself to remind Hideki to give her a spare set of keys. After dating 
for so long, it was utterly ridiculous that he hadn’t thought to give 
them to her before.

	Where in the world was that horny boyfriend of hers? Yui 
thought for sure he would have been waiting at the door for her, ready 
to pounce on her the second she walked in the apartment. Because it was 
the holidays and Hideki was nice enough to let her stay with him 
instead of going home to her impossible-to-please parents, she figured 
she would let him have his way with her for the next couple of weeks, 
but if this was going to be how he treated her, Yui had half a mind not 
to give him any the entire winter break. That would certainly teach him 
how to treat a lady right.

	“Matsuno Hideki, you better open this door right now or I‘m 
leaving!” she shouted, banging loudly on the door. “This is no way to 
treat your girlfri--”   

	“Yui?”

	Pausing in mid-knock, Yui slowly turned her head toward the 
voice that had said her name and blushed when she saw Hideki himself 
standing behind her, leash in hand. At his feet, a Welsh Corgi sat, 
wagging his tail as he looked up at her with large brown eyes.  

	“Oh, you were out,” she said lamely as she stepped aside so 
Hideki could get to the door. “I didn’t realize.”

	Hideki chuckled, reaching into his jeans pocket and pulling out 
a set of keys to unlock the door. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I 
meant to be back up here before you arrived, but I’m afraid this little 
fellow had other plans.” 

	Yui, never one for animals of any kind, looked back down at the 
dog, who was now sniffing at her feet, with distain. She already didn’t 
like him, and, if that beady little glare he was wearing was any 
indication, the feeling was mutual. “Who does he belong to?” she asked. 
“He’s not yours, is he?”

	“No, no. Actually, he belongs to your teacher, Kitagawa-
sensei.” After opening the door, Hideki kneeled down to undo the leash 
and let the dog go inside, where he promptly headed to the kitchen to 
eat. “For some extra spending money, I walk Mercury whenever sensei is 
at work. I‘ve told you that before.”

	“Then what is he doing *here*? It’s winter break. Can’t 
Kitagawa-sensei walk his own stupid dog?”

	“Now, Yui, is that any way to speak about our guest?” Hideki 
asked, picking up her suitcase.

	As she followed Hideki inside, Yui stopped in the middle of the 
doorway, hoping he did not just say what she thought he had said. 
“Guest?” 

	“Yeah, Mercury will be staying with us. Kitagawa-sensei went to 
Nagano for vacation, so I offered to dog-sit for him while he was 
gone.” Hideki set the suitcase down on the floor and started changing 
into his usual pair of slippers. “It‘s not a problem, is it? You never 
told me you were allergic or anything like that, so I just assumed…” 

	“No, not allergic,” Yui said with a forced smile. 

	She just happened to have a hate-hate relationship with the 
animals, that‘s all.

	“Great!”

	Completely oblivious to her feelings about the matter, Hideki 
headed to the kitchen to feed the stupid dog as Yui flung her backpack 
on the couch and took a seat. She couldn’t believe that for the next 
couple of weeks she was going to be forced to share living space with a 
smelly, ugly dog. If she had wanted that, she would have gone home to 
Kobe and her mother’s matched pair of “adorable” pit bulls that she 
considered more her children than her own flesh-and-blood daughter.

	Well, maybe she could convince Hideki to lock the mutt up in a 
closet or something. It shouldn’t be too hard. A couple of tumbles in 
the sheets and she would own him.

	Men were so easy.

	“Yui, you want something to drink?” Hideki called from the 
kitchen over the sound of the electric can opener. “Coffee? Tea? Sake?”

	Yui shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

	“Eat?”

	“Do you have any pineapple?”

	“New diet?” he guessed correctly. The noise stopped. 

	“It is the holidays. Dieters have to be extra careful this time 
of year,” she reminded him, knowing without a doubt that Hideki was 
rolling his eyes in the other room.

	“Well, I’m out of pineapple, but what about a grapefruit?”

	“I guess that’ll do.”

	A couple of minutes later, Hideki returned to the living room, 
a can of tea in one hand and half a ripe grapefruit in the other. He 
handed the plate to Yui, then picked up her backpack so he could sit 
down beside her.

	“Geez, Yui, what do you have in here?” he groaned, pretending 
to topple over. “The entire encyclopedia set?”

	Yui giggled. “You exaggerate. It‘s just a couple of essential 
texts.”

	“You brought schoolwork?” 

	“Of course I did. Just because we don’t have class for a couple 
of weeks doesn’t mean we should completely fall behind in our studies.”

	“Well, I, for one, intend to enjoy the break,” Hideki declared, 
sitting down on the couch with her. He pulled back the tab on his can 
and took a sip, grinning as he looked over at her. “It is our first 
Christmas and New Year’s together, after all.”

	“So it is.”

	“What do you want to do for Christmas Eve? It might be a little 
late to get dinner reservations at this late a date, but with this new 
pineapple diet you‘re doing, you probably wouldn’t want to go out 
anyway.” 

	“No, no food,” Yui insisted. She rested her head on Hideki’s 
shoulder, trying to come up with an idea of what they could do. She’d 
never had a boyfriend for Christmas Eve before, but she was looking 
forward to doing something special. “We could go see a play or 
something. Isn‘t the Drama Club at Toudai performing ‘A Christmas 
Carol‘?”

	Hideki vetoed that idea. “Too boring. Besides, tickets are 
probably sold out already,” he said. “What about a movie? The one you 
wanted to see is coming out soon.”

	Yui shook her head. “Too ordinary. We can go out to the movies 
any time.”

	“Well, we could see if we can still get a hotel reservation,” 
he suggested, trying his hardest not to seem too eager about the idea 
even though Yui knew her boyfriend well enough to know exactly what was 
on his mind.

	She rolled her eyes. “That’s such a waste, Hideki. Why spend 
money on getting a room when we’re already alone here together?”

	“I don’t know. Sometimes it’s nice to have a change of scenery. 
You know, to make it special.”

	“Or maybe you just want access to pay-for-view porn,” Yui 
guessed, smirking. She didn’t fail to see the tell-tell blush crawling 
across the bridge of his nose. Hideki tried to hide it, but she knew 
all about the stack of men’s magazines he kept underneath his mattress. 
Though she personally thought the whole thing was disgusting, anything 
that kept him from wanting to take out his sexual urges on her all the 
time was fine by Yui. 

	“That’s not it!” he protested, a little too forcefully. “I just 
thought it would be nice, that’s all. For you.”

	“Well, I’m perfectly happy staying here. Maybe we should just 
stay in for Christmas Eve and study,” she said, trying her best not to 
laugh when she saw the disappointed look on his face.

	“Study?” Hideki sounded as if he had just been told he needed a 
root canal.

	“Yes, study,” Yui repeated, running a hand up his thigh. “You 
know, I could use a little help with my anatomy…”

	“Well, when you put it that way… Maybe studying won‘t be so 
bad.”

*****

	“Something’s missing,” Ami announced the next morning, already 
dressed and sitting in front of the fireplace with a cup of steaming 
hot cocoa in her hands.

	Yawning as he came out of the bedroom, Akira stretched his arms 
high above his head. “Good morning to you, too, Ami,” he said with a 
slight roll of his eyes as he headed to the kitchen for his usual cup 
of coffee.

	Apparently not catching his subtle sarcasm, Ami jumped up from 
the couch and followed him to the other room. “Don’t you even want to 
know what it is?” she asked, dropping a couple more marshmallows into 
her drink.

	To be honest, Akira wasn‘t particularly interested in anything 
at the moment but a nice, big cup of Colombian-brewed java, but he 
decided to take the bait anyway. “What is it? Did you leave something 
in the car? You know can always get it whenever we head down to the 
lodge.”

	“No, nothing like that.”

	“Then what?”

	“A Christmas tree!” she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with 
glee. “It doesn’t feel like the holidays without a tree.”

	“There’s a tree in the main lodge, Ami,” he reminded her. “A 
big one, with all the trimmings.”

	“I know, but wouldn’t it be nice if we had a tree of our own to 
enjoy whenever we wanted?”

	Sighing, Akira stirred some sugar into the coffee Ami had been 
thoughtful enough to brew while he took a shower. Personally, he didn‘t 
care one way or the other if they had a tree, but, looking over at his 
girlfriend, he could tell it meant a lot to Ami. If she wanted a 
Christmas tree, then why shouldn’t she have one?

	“That can be arranged,” Akira declared.

	“Really?”

	“Why not? We are in the middle of a forest. Let me call the 
manager and see if we’re allowed to cut one down.”

	“And I’ll see what I can find around here to use for 
ornaments,” Ami said, her face breaking into a radiant smile as she 
kissed his cheek, then ran off to look for decorations, humming “Deck 
the Halls” to herself.

	Akira chuckled as he reached for the phone, glad to see her so 
happy, and dialed the number to the front desk. Getting permission to 
cut down a tree turned out to be even easier than he thought. 
Apparently, some of the other couples had already had the same idea, 
and the woman who answered the phone told him that if he stopped by the 
lodge, he could borrow a saw and a tree stand from the inn.

	Calling goodbye to Ami, who was in the kitchen, popping popcorn 
for what he assumed would be garland for the tree, Akira headed to the 
lodge to pick up the supplies. It would be his first time cutting down 
a tree, but he figured it couldn’t be too hard. Simple physics, really. 
Cut and fall.

	Well, it hadn’t been quite as easy as he had thought it would 
be, but Akira managed to cut down a fine specimen of a tree near their 
cabin. Full and impossibly green, he knew Ami would be pleased. Akira 
dragged the tree inside, and, together, they placed it in the tree 
stand beside the fireplace.

	Next came the decorations. Without the usual lights and 
ornaments at their disposal, Ami had needed to think outside of the 
box, and some of her ideas were rather ingenious, if rather 
untraditional. Only she would think of using aluminum foil to fold 
origami ornaments instead of paper, or bending red and white pipe-
cleaners into the shape of candy canes, as well as other various 
Christmas shapes. For the topper, Ami fashioned a makeshift star out of 
cardboard, decorated with markers and extra popcorn from her garland.

	For all her hard work, however, it was still a really ugly tree. 
Stepping back as Ami tied her “star” to the top, it took all of 
Akira’s self-control not to drop to the floor, laughing at the poor 
mockery of a Christmas tree.

	“Ta-ta-da!” Ami said proudly once she finished. “How does it 
look?”

	Try as he might, he couldn’t hold it in any longer. Akira 
snickered loudly, slapping a hand over his mouth in a pathetic attempt 
to conceal his laughter. 

	“I’m sorry, Ami, but that is the sorriest-looking tree I’ve 
ever seen!”

	“It’s not that bad, is it?” Hopping off the chair on which she 
was standing, Ami joined him by the couch. “Aw, I think it’s 
beautiful,” she insisted, without the slightest bit of irony.

	Smiling, Akira wrapped an arm around his lover’s shoulders, 
pulling her close. It might not have been the most stunning Christmas 
tree in the world, but he had to admit it did hold its own special 
beauty.

	“Yes, beautiful,” he agreed, kissing the top of her head. “Very 
beautiful.” 

*****

	After they had finished decorating the tree and ate a late 
breakfast at the lodge, Ami and Akira headed out to the slopes. It had 
snowed the night before, leaving behind a thick layer of fresh powder 
on the ground, and it seemed as if every couple at the resort was 
taking advantage of it.

	“Primo conditions,” Akira announced with glee as they stood in 
line at the ski lift. “We couldn’t ask for a more perfect day for 
skiing.”

	Ami nodded, practicing her positions while they waited for the 
next lift to arrive. It had been a few years since she last had the 
chance to ski, so she was a bit nervous about returning to the slopes. 
“Where should we start first? The bunny slopes to warm up?” she asked.

	“The bunny slopes?” Akira laughed as if she had suggested he go 
back to kindergarten. “That course is for beginners, Ami. The double 
black diamond is the only trail I ever ski.”

	“But that’s professional-level!”

	Akira shrugged. “What can I say? I like the challenge. Besides, 
I’ve been skiing all my life. It’s as natural to me as swimming is to 
you,” he said, grinning. “If you’re scared, though, we can try an 
easier trail…”

	Ami shook her head. Akira wasn’t the only one who enjoyed a 
challenge. Besides, she wasn’t without a certain skill in the sport 
herself. Just a little out of practice, that’s all. “The double black 
diamond it is,” she declared confidently, hopping onto the lift that 
had just arrived. “Coming?”

	“You’re on!”

	When they arrived at the top of the mountain, they discovered 
they were the only couple daring enough to attempt the resort’s most 
treacherous course. Everybody else seemed content to stay on the easier 
trails, leaving Ami and Akira the double black diamond to themselves. 
Skiing over to the sign denoting the trail’s difficulty, Ami studied 
the course and felt her heart skip a beat when she realized how steep 
it was. It was certainly the hardest trail she ever attempted. 

	“You know, there’s still time to back out if you think it is 
too difficult for you,” Akira said, his skis kicking up a shower of 
snow as he skidded up beside her. “I don’t mind going down to the black 
diamond with you.”

	To cover up her nervousness, Ami chuckled as she put on her 
goggles and made sure her skis were properly secured. “Why, Akira, if I 
didn’t know better, I’d think you actually want me to decline your 
challenge.”

	“I’m only concerned for your safety, Ami. Have you ever tried a 
double black diamond before?”

	“Once,” she replied, deciding not to mention that she had also 
sprained her ankle while doing so.

	“Well, this will be my seventh time, so I have a bit more 
experience than you. The first time we go down, let‘s take it slow, 
okay? That way we can see the lay of the land before we start racing 
for real.”

	“Sounds fine to me.” 

	As it turned out, learning to ski again was just like getting 
back on a bicycle. After a slow start to regain her bearings, Ami 
managed to hold her own against Akira as they made their way down the 
mountain. He still finished first, but she could tell he was impressed 
by her performance.

	“Not bad, not bad at all,” he said, clapping as she skidded to 
a stop beside him. “Shall we have one more practice run, or do you 
think you’re ready for the big-time?”
	The adrenaline still pumping through her veins, Ami nodded. 
“Let’s go.”  

	They headed back to the ski lifts and made their way up to the 
top of the trail. Akira once again asked if she felt brave enough to 
race him, but Ami told him not to worry about her, determined not to 
let him intimidate her. Besides, part of the reason why she had come in 
second on their first run-through was because she had been studying his 
technique, and she had a fairly good idea how to beat him. 

	“Now, don’t hold back just because I’m your girlfriend,” Ami 
said as they lined up at the beginning of the trail. “I want this to be 
a fair race.”

	“Don’t worry; I don’t intend to,” he assured her with a cocky 
smirk, pulling down his goggles. “You may be the better swimmer between 
us, but, on the slopes, I reign king.” 

	“We’ll just see about that. Ready…set…go!”

	The two of them shot off like bullets from a gun, Akira 
managing a short lead. Copying his stance, Ami crouched down lower on 
her skis, which gave her an extra burst of speed. It didn’t take long 
for her to pass him, and she couldn’t resist laughing at the shocked 
look on his face as she zoomed by.

	Her lead didn’t last for long, unfortunately. Ami might have 
had better speed than him, but it was obvious that Akira was more adept 
at maneuvering the treacherous bumps and troughs that made the course 
so difficult. His skills really were almost professional-level, and Ami 
had to push herself to keep up with him.

	Perhaps she pushed herself a little too hard. One minute, she 
had managed to regain her lead, and the next, Ami suddenly felt herself 
losing control of her skis and veering straight toward a large pine 
tree on the side of the trail. 

	“Ami!” Akira shouted, though she could barely hear him over the 
sound of the wind in her ears. 

	Out of the corner of her eye, Ami saw him make a sharp turn in 
her direction, abandoning their race, but she knew there was no way he 
would be able to make it to her in time. Trying not to panic, she 
shifted her weight to the far right and hoped it would be enough to 
wipe out before she reached the tree.

	It was. She landed painfully on her side in the snow, but that 
was nothing compared to the pain she would have felt had she crashed 
into the pine tree’s massive trunk. Within seconds, Akira was by her 
side, helping her sit back up.

	“Ami, are you alright?” he asked, the concern evident in his 
dark green eyes. “Are you hurt? Did you break anything?” 

	Ami shook her head. She hadn’t felt anything break on her way 
down, though she was a bit sore on the side she had fallen on -- 
nothing a soak in the resort’s hot springs wouldn’t cure. “I’m okay,” 
she assured him, standing back up with his assistance. “Really.”

	Her words did little to console him. “I never should have 
talked you into running this course,” Akira said bitterly. “What was I 
thinking? You told me you had only skied the double black diamond once 
before, and I knew you were out of practice. I was an idiot. I should 
have insisted we stick to the easier trails like you wanted, at least 
for today.”

	“Akira, it was my decision to try the course. You gave me every 
opportunity to change my mind.”

	“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again.

	“Yes, I’m fine, just a little sore.”

	Akira didn’t look quite convinced, but nevertheless, he 
insisted they head back to the lodge. They took off their skis, and 
Akira offered to carry both pairs as they slowly made their way back 
down the rest of the mountain.

*****

	When Makoto arrived home from the restaurant that night, she 
called out “Tadaima!” as she usually did, forgetting that Ami had left 
for Nagano the day before with her secret boyfriend. Sighing when she 
remembered her roommate was gone for the holidays, she took off her 
coat and gloves and changed into her favorite pair of slippers before 
heading to the kitchen to start dinner for one.

	Makoto supposed she should have been used to coming home to an 
empty apartment by now, considering that Ami spent nearly every night 
over at her lover’s place, but the loneliness seemed more pronounced 
that night for some reason. Perhaps it was because Christmas was a 
couple of days away, and Makoto knew she would be spending it by 
herself. She hadn’t even bothered to put up a tree, finding the thought 
of decking the halls by herself just too depressing.

	She remembered the fun she and Ami had the year before, going 
to the tree lot on the street corner and picking out the biggest, most 
beautiful Christmas tree they could afford. They had spent the whole 
night decorating and singing Christmas carols at the top of their 
lungs, more than a little tipsy after drinking the entire bowl of 
homemade eggnog Makoto had made. Ami had made a fun drunk, and Makoto 
giggled at the memory of her normally reserved friend cracking dirty 
jokes she never would have told had she been sober.

	Shaking her head, Makoto forced herself to push the happy 
thought to the back of her mind as she started on dinner. She could 
have a perfectly fine holiday all on her own. After all, she had had 
enough experience over the years since her parents died.

	Makoto was just about the sit down to eat when she heard a 
knock on the door. Wondering who that could be, she set her plate down 
on the island in the center of the kitchen and went to answer the door.

	“Asanuma-kun!”

	Her long-time friend stood outside the apartment, grinning when 
she opened the door. “Hey, Mako-chan,” he said. “I was hoping you’d be 
here. I went to the restaurant first, but they said you had already 
left.”

	“I had an early shift tonight,” she explained, confused as she 
silently invited him in. “What are you doing here, Asanuma-kun? Did we 
have plans I forgot about?” 

	He shook his head. “No, no. I just thought you might want to go 
to the tree lot with me. I haven’t had a chance to pick out a tree yet, 
and by the looks of things, you haven’t, either.” With a nod, he 
indicated the empty space along one of the living room walls where she 
and Ami had set up their Christmas tree the year before.

	“I, uh, actually wasn’t planning to put one up this year,” she 
confessed. “Ami-chan’s out of town for the holidays, so I didn’t see 
much of a point.”

	“Come on, you gotta have a Christmas tree. Look at me. I live 
alone in a tiny apartment, and I’m still planning to put one up.”

	“I’m just not in the holiday spirit this year, I guess.”

	“Well, even if you don’t want a tree, why don’t you still come 
down with me to the lot?” Asanuma suggested. “After all, who better to 
help me pick out the best tree than Ms. Green Thumb herself? Please? I 
really have no idea what I‘m doing, so I could use some professional 
advice.”

	“Well…” Makoto looked back toward the kitchen where dinner was 
waiting and sighed. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. At least she 
wouldn’t have to spend the evening alone. “Okay, I’ll come along,” she 
decided. “Just let me put dinner away. I’ll be back in a minute.”

	“Great.”

	After wrapping up her plate and putting it in the refrigerator 
to be reheated when she got back, she and Asanuma headed down to the 
small Christmas tree lot at the end of the street. Despite the fact 
that Christmas was only days away, they still had quite a lot of trees 
to select from.

	“It’s a shame more people here don’t buy real trees like they 
do in the West,” Asanuma remarked, looking over one large tree that 
Makoto knew he would never be able to fit in his apartment without 
chopping at least a foot off the top. “The real ones are so much 
better, aren’t they? Just take in that smell. You can‘t get that kind 
of authenticity out of a can.”

	Absent-mindedly, Makoto nodded her agreement while looking over 
another nearby tree that was a more appropriate size for his place. 
“Asanuma-kun, this one looks good.”

	“Let me see.” Joining her at the nicely-shaped 5-footer, he 
looked it over and reached for the price tag attached to the end of one 
of the tree’s branches. His eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. 
“5,000 yen? No wonder everybody sticks to the plastic kind. Do 
Westerners really spend this much money on a tree they’re just going to 
throw away after Christmas?” 

	“Indeed, they do, young man,” a heavily-accented voice said 
from behind them. “Actually, the prices are even more ridiculous in 
America. That‘s a bargain right there, believe me.”

	Makoto and Asanuma turned around to face a man wearing a Santa 
Claus sweatshirt and fake reindeer antlers on his head. Makoto 
recognized him from last year as the foreigner who owned the lot and 
was glad to hear that his Japanese had greatly improved from the last 
time they had met. Ami, the better English-speaker between them, had 
had to do most of the haggling when they came the year before.

	“Is there any way you could go lower on this tree?” Asanuma 
asked. “Like maybe 3,500 yen?”

	The foreigner rubbed his chin in thought. “Well, you kids do 
make a cute couple. Newlyweds, I presume? I can remember how tough it 
was when me and the wife first got married, so for you, I’ll knock it 
down to 3,000.”

	“Wait, we’re not--”

	“No, he’s not--”

	Makoto felt her cheeks burn in the crisp coolness of early 
winter, and beside her, she could see Asanuma’s face was as red as 
Rudolph’s nose. He thought they were married? What in the world gave 
him that idea?

	“I’m afraid you have the wrong impression, sir. We’re not 
married,” Makoto informed the lot owner once she got over her shock at 
his assumption. “We’re just friends. Platonic friends.”

	“Oh, I apologize,” the lot owner said. “Forgive me. I just 
assumed -- Well, if you still want the tree, I’ll honor the lower 
price. It is the holidays, after all.”

	“We’ll take it, then,” Asanuma decided, pulling out his wallet.

	After he finished paying the man, the foreigner tied the tree 
up for the trip to Asanuma’s apartment. Asanuma then took the trunk of 
the tree while Makoto grabbed onto the rope near the top of the tree, 
taking the lead as they headed back to his building. 

	They didn’t say much along the way, only speaking to call out 
instructions as they navigated the three blocks to his apartment 
building or to say they needed to rest for a few moments. Finally, they 
made it up to his apartment, and, setting the tree down beside the 
door, Asanuma dug in his jeans pocket for his keys.

	“So, can you believe that guy actually thought we were 
married?” Makoto asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between 
them. “How crazy is that?”

	Asanuma, having located the keys, let out a weak laugh as he 
unlocked the door. “Yeah, crazy,” he agreed, pushing open the door.

	“I mean, we aren’t even wearing rings,” she rambled on, unable 
to give up the subject. Makoto didn‘t know why she was so affected by 
the man’s innocent mistake, but she was. “I have no idea how he could 
have gotten the idea that we were together like that when we aren‘t 
even dating. Do you? It’s insane! To think that he actually thought we 
were --”

	“Mako-chan, mind helping me get this tree in here?”

	Makoto, who had momentarily forgotten what they were doing, 
blushed and grabbed the tree by its trunk. “Oh, right. Where do you 
want it?”

	“Over there in the corner is fine.”

	Together, they carried the tree over the empty corner of the 
main room, set it up in the tree strand Asanuma had put out before he 
left, and cut the ropes binding the branches together. Luckily, the 
tree was the perfect size for the area, not too tall and not too wide, 
so they didn’t have to do any pruning.

	“Thanks for helping me pick this thing out,” he said after 
Makoto filled the bowl of the tree stand with fresh water and swept up 
a handful of pine needles that had fallen on the floor. “Knowing me, I 
might have Charlie Brown-ed the whole thing if I had gone alone.”

	“You wouldn‘t have, but I was glad to help anyway,” she 
insisted. “Just make sure you keep the tree properly watered, and it 
should easily last until after Christmas.”

	“I will.”

	Another awkward silence fell between them, but, this time, 
Asanuma was the one to break the ice. “Uh, Mako-chan, you don’t have 
any plans for Christmas Eve, do you? No big date or anything like 
that?”

	Makoto sighed and shook her head. Why did he have to remind her 
that she was alone for the holidays? “No, no plans. I’ll probably just 
stay in and watch one of those American Christmas movie classics. You 
know, like ’It’s a Wonderful Life’ or ’White Christmas’. Why do you 
ask?”

	“I was thinking… Well, I don’t have any plans either, so why 
don’t we hang out together?” he suggested, bashfully rubbing the back 
of his neck. “We can watch the movie over here and pig out on Christmas 
cake.”

	The idea was tempting, she had to admit, but Makoto knew the 
only reason why he had decided to invite her was because he pitied her. 
If there was one thing she hated more than being alone on the holidays, 
it was other people feeling sorry for her because she didn’t have a 
family or lover to enjoy them with. “Asanuma-kun, thank you, but I 
don’t need a sympathy invite. I’ll be fine on my own.”

	“It’s not!” he said. “I want to spend Christmas Eve with you, 
Mako-chan. Really. I‘m not just inviting you because I feel sorry for 
you.”

	“Don’t you have some other girl you would rather spend it 
with?” Makoto asked. “Christmas Eve is a night for lovers, after all.”

	“Says who? If I want to spend the night before Christmas with 
my best friend in the entire world, what’s wrong with that?” he argued. 
“Please, just come over.”

	“I, uh, I don’t -- Well, okay,” she finally relented, unable to 
say no to the pleading look on Asanuma’s face. Besides, it wasn’t as if 
she had any real plans.

	“Great. I’ll see you at seven on Christmas Eve, then?”

	“I’ll be here.”

*****

	Ami was in heaven.

	Laying face down on the bed and wrapped only in a large 
terrycloth towel after taking a hot bath to soothe her aching body, she 
let out a low moan as Akira kneaded her back. Somehow, his hands knew 
exactly where to go, his magic touch melting away the pain of her fall 
earlier that day, and Ami closed her eyes, resting her chin on her 
folded arms.

	“You know, I once had a dream like this,” she confessed 
dreamily as he moved up to her shoulders. “Well, it wasn’t exactly like 
this, but close enough.”

	“Really? What was it about?” Akira asked.

	Feeling her cheeks warm at the memory of that night in the 
bathtub, Ami shook her head. Even though they were now dating, she was 
still a bit embarrassed by what had happened that night. “Oh, you 
wouldn’t want to hear about it.”

	“Try me. If you tell me yours, I’ll tell you mine.”

	“Well…” After a moment’s hesitation, Ami began telling him 
about her dream. “I was sunbathing on this beautiful beach on the coast 
of the Sea of Japan. I went there once when a little girl with my 
parents, right before they announced they were getting a divorce, but 
in the dream, I was the age I am now, and I was wearing this really 
revealing bikini.”

	“A sexy bikini? I’m liking this fantasy so far,” Akira said, 
causing Ami to reach back and attempt to swat him, though she couldn’t 
quite reach him in her current position.   

	“Anyway,” she continued, “this guy suddenly came up to me and 
started rubbing sunscreen all over my body, using it as sort of a 
massage oil, I guess. Mmm, was he good… His hands were so strong and 
gentle, and he knew exactly what I liked. And then…well…” Ami’s voice 
trailed off, her face red-hot as she remembered what had happened next.

	“I can imagine the rest,” Akira said almost bitterly, taking 
his hands off her shoulders and climbing off her back, which he had 
been straddling as he massaged her.

	Ami, confused by his abrupt change in moods, flipped over on 
her side to look at her lover, who sat at the edge of the bed with his 
back turned to her. “Akira, what’s wrong?”

	“Who was the guy, Ami?”

	“What?”

	“The massage guy -- who was he? Was it somebody you knew in 
real life?”

	Ami, despite her best attempt not to, burst out laughing. She 
couldn’t believe it! Akira was actually jealous of himself. Granted, he 
didn’t know he was the “massage guy” in her fantasy, but still… 
“Believe me, you have *nothing* to worry about from him, Akira,” she 
assured him between giggles.

	Akira was not amused. “Ami, if you’ve been fantasizing about 
some other man, don’t you think I deserve to know who he is?”

	“Have you fantasized about other women besides me?” she asked, 
turning the tables on him.

	“Well…uh…” It was his turn to blush as Akira rubbed the back of 
his neck in embarrassment. “I guess you have a point,” he mumbled. 
“Fine, if you don’t want to tell me, then you don’t have to.”

	“Oh, I’ll tell you,” Ami said, grinning. “The so-called 
‘massage guy’ was actually you, but now I want to know who you’ve been 
fantasizing about.”

	“You. Now, why don’t you lay back down and we’ll pick up where 
we left off?” 

	Ami shook her head and sat back up, holding her towel closed 
with her hand. She wasn’t about to let him off that easily. “Come on, 
I’m not going to be mad at you. According to my psych professor, it’s 
completely normal for people to dream about people other than their 
significant others, even in healthy relationships. Besides, you‘re the 
one who wanted to talk about fantasies.”

	“That may be true, but it’s kind of embarrassing,” he admitted, 
finally turning back around on the bed so that they were sitting face-
to-face.

	“I won’t laugh,” she promised.

	“Okay, if you must know… I sometimes fantasize about Misumaru 
Yurika.”

	Ami didn’t laugh, but she wasn’t able to hide the amused smile 
playing on her lips. “From ’Nadesico’?” 

	Akira shrugged. “What can I say? I have a thing for cute women 
with blue hair,” he quipped, laying down and rolling onto his side. 
“What about you? If it’s normal for people in a relationship to 
fantasize about other people, who do you dream about?”

	“Albert Einstein,” she said without hesitation.

	“Ami, be serious.”

	“I am.”

	“Crazy hair and all?”

	“Well, I imagine he was a bit more handsome in his younger 
years, but what can I say? I have a thing for incredibly intelligent, 
brilliant men.”

	They laughed, and Ami laid down beside him, allowing Akira to 
run his hand up and down the terrycloth fabric covering her stomach. 
She couldn’t believe how relaxed she felt here in the mountains, far 
away from the tensions in Tokyo. It was almost as if they were just a 
normal couple on vacation, instead of a student and her professor 
involved in a forbidden affair.

	No, I’m not supposed to think about that, Ami reminded herself 
as Akira began landing light kisses on her bared shoulder. Until they 
returned to Tokyo, they were Mizuno Ami and Kitagawa Akira, no titles 
between them. Pushing the thought away, she turned her attention back 
to her lover.

	“You know, you never told me about your fantasy,” she murmured, 
lifting her chin as his lips traveled up to her neck. “You promised 
that if I told you mine, you would tell me yours.”

	“I’ll tell you some other time,” he said, tugging at her towel. 
“For now, why don’t we make yours come true? We‘re not at a beach, but 
I‘m sure we can improvise.”

	Ami had no objections.


DISCLAIMER: "Sailor Moon" is the property of Takeuchi Naoko.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Comments and criticisms can be sent to me at 
ElysionDream@aol.com. Special thanks to my editors, Starsea and
I Abibde/Samuraiter.