Chapter 10 Christmas Eve night, Makoto headed off to Asanuma Itto’s apartment, trying to force herself to get into the spirit of the holidays before she arrived. Not even the light snow that had begun to fall soon after she left the penthouse, the first of the winter, however, could lift her from her blues. It really was kind of Asanuma to take pity on her and invite her to spend Christmas with him. With Ami away with her mystery boyfriend and everybody else busy with their own families and lovers -- even Rei had decided to go visit her estranged father, though more out of duty than anything else -- the holidays didn’t seem quite the same. Makoto was happy for Ami, of course, and she didn’t begrudge the others for choosing to spend Christmas with their family and loved ones, but she wished they could have all been together. “Alone again,” she sighed, her breath visible in the air, as she paused for a moment outside a bakery to watch a couple and their young daughter buy a Christmas cake through the large glass window. They looked so happy… Regretting that she hadn’t thought to wear gloves, Makoto stuffed her near-frozen hands in the pockets of her long overcoat and continued walking, berating herself for acting so silly. She had just turned twenty a couple of weeks ago. She was no longer the thirteen- year-old orphan living by herself, baking cookies for the sempai who didn’t even want her. It was ridiculous for her to feel sorry for herself, acting like a child. Her life was good. She had friends who loved her and a job she adored. So why did she feel so alone and empty? Makoto, arriving at Asanuma’s apartment building, pushed the thought aside and headed inside, grateful for the warm blast of air that greeted her. She brushed the flakes of snow off her coat and out of her hair, then went up to the third floor. Reaching the apartment, she knocked, only having to wait a moment before a harried Asanuma opened the door. “Mako-chan!” he exclaimed, sounding a tad out of breath as he popped his head out. “You’re early!” “Is that okay?” she asked, realizing she probably should have called first to tell him that she was coming before the time on which they had previously agreed. “I know you said seven, but I just had to get out of that apartment. It’s too big and quiet without Ami-chan around.” “Yeah, sure, it’s fine. Just one second.” Asanuma held up a finger before going back inside and closing the door behind him. Confusion crossed Makoto’s face, and, staring at the rather gaudy wreath hanging below his posted apartment number, she wondered why he was acting so strangely. All they were going to do was watch “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the American Christmas classic; he really didn’t need to worry about a messy apartment or anything like that. If anything, helping Asanuma clean would be a fun way to spend the evening, at least in her book. Makoto was about to walk in uninvited and see what was going on for herself when Asanuma finally came back. He opened the door and stepped aside, showing her in. “What is going --” The rest of her question died on her lips as she stepped inside the darkened apartment, lit only by the Christmas tree they had picked out together in the corner and two dozen green and red candles scattered randomly around the room. As Makoto’s eyes adjusted to the dimness, she noticed that he had set a small round table in the middle of the room, and that there was a bouquet of gorgeous camellias serving as the centerpiece. Her mouth wide-open in surprise, Makoto slipped off her shoes. “Asanuma-kun, what is this?” she asked, still trying to take in the whole thing as he helped her out of her coat. “I-I thought we were just going to watch movies and eat Christmas cake.” Even in the dimness of the room, Makoto noticed Asanuma blush as he bashfully rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Well…I thought this would be more fun,” he replied. “But I don’t understand --” “Have a seat. I need to check on the chicken.” Still in awe, Makoto sat down in the chair Asanuma pulled out for her before leaving for the kitchen and stared at the lovely arrangement of flowers. How did he remember that camellias were her favorite? Leaning over the table, she took a whiff of the flowers’ sweet fragrance and noticed for the first time a note hidden among the blossoms, labeled with her name. Makoto plucked the tiny envelope from its stand and pulled out the card inside. The card, decorated with an embossed gold poinsettia in the corner, read simply: To Makoto. Merry Christmas. With love, Itto. “With love?” she whispered, reading the last part aloud. Her hand began to shake as she stared at that seemingly innocent phrase. What kind of “love” did he mean? He couldn’t possibly mean *that* kind of love…could he? Oh, Makoto, stop being ridiculous, she told herself. Of course Asanuma had meant “with love for a friend." That’s what they were: very good friends who just happened to be different genders. Purely platonic, like she had told the tree lot owner who assumed they were newlyweds. She had certainly never given him any indication that she wanted more, and neither had he. So…why the surprise dinner? Makoto was so engrossed in trying to figure out Asanuma’s intentions that she failed to notice when he returned from the kitchen, carrying a plate in each hand. “Do you like them?” he asked, indicating the flowers with his head. Startled, Makoto involuntarily jumped in her seat, the piece of paper in her hand fluttering to the floor. “Oh, Asanuma-kun!” she exclaimed, hand over her pounding heart. “They’re lovely. Thank you. I love camellias.” Asanuma smiled, setting a plate in front of her before taking the seat across from her. “I’m glad you like them. They’re your favorites, right?” She nodded. “Hai. But I’m afraid I didn’t bring you anything.” She had planned to drop off his present tomorrow when she delivered everybody else’s “I don’t mind. Having you here is present enough.” Quickly, Asanuma lowered his gaze, as if embarrassed by what he said, and Makoto felt her cheeks start to burn, though she didn’t know why. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought he was flirting with her, but that was impossible. He was only being kind, that’s all. Right? “You made this yourself?” Makoto asked, breaking through the awkward silence that had fallen between them. “It looks wonderful.” “It’s nothing compared to your cooking,” Asanuma replied modestly. “I burnt the chicken when I went to answer the door.” “That’s okay. It’s my fault for coming earlier than you expected,” she assured him, reaching for a knife and fork. “I’m sure it’s delicious.” To prove it to him, Makoto took a bite of the slightly burnt fried chicken, pleasantly surprised at how tender and flavorful the meat was. It may have looked less than perfect on the outside, but inside was a different story. From experience, Makoto knew Asanuma must have spent all afternoon preparing such a mouth-watering meal. Across the table, the chef had yet to touch his own plate of food, anxiously waiting for Makoto’s reaction. It was only when she took another bite of chicken that Asanuma relaxed and finally reached for his eating utensils. “So, do you like it?” he asked. “Does it need more salt? Pepper? I can get some from the kitchen if you want.” “It’s delicious, Asanuma-kun,” she declared. “I didn’t know you were such a good cook. Why have you been hiding it?” “Oh, I’m not that great. I just wanted everything to be perfect tonight.” “Why?” Makoto asked, still unsure of what to make of the surprise dinner. “Why did you go through so much trouble for me? I’m nobody special.” “You’re special to me, Mako-chan.” Asanuma said the words so softly, at first, Makoto wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. He couldn’t possibly have said what she thought he had said… But when she set down her silverware and glanced up from her plate, Makoto found her long-time friend staring at her, an unmistakable look of tenderness on his face. “A-Asanuma-kun?” “Call me Itto, Mako-chan,” he said, giving her a shy smile. “I think we’ve known each other long enough.” “Okay…Itto-kun…Um…” At a loss for words, Makoto blushed and stared down at her plate, trying to comprehend what was happening. Though she had been unsure before, it was becoming quite obvious that Asanuma -- no, Itto, she corrected herself -- actually did have feelings toward her and had planned the romantic Christmas Eve dinner to tell her. She was almost certain of it, and Makoto felt herself start to panic when she realized the truth. What was she going to do? The whole thing was completely out of the blue. Makoto didn’t even know how she felt about him. True, she had carried a small torch for Itto when they first met, but as the years passed by and they became closer and closer friends, that crush had faded into nothing more than a fond memory, something the two of them laughed about when reminiscing about the “good old days.” It was hard to imagine him as being anything more than a friend after everything they had shared. Itto knew things she never even told the girls. Yet… A soft touch on her hand broke her from her thoughts. “Mako- chan, is something wrong?” Itto asked, concern evident in his voice. She could have lied and said everything was fine, ignoring what he had said, but she knew it would only be putting off the inevitable. It was best to get everything out in the open. “I don’t know,” Makoto admitted. “Asa-- I mean, Itto-kun, we’ve been friends for a really long time. I really cherish our friendship, but --” “I think I know what you’re going to say,” he interrupted before she could finish. “And I don’t really blame you. It’s a huge step, but I like you, Mako-chan. I have for a very long time.” Still refusing to believe what was happening, Makoto played innocent. “I know. I like you too, very much. Other than the other girls, you’re my best friend in the entire world.” “No, I’m not talking about that kind of like. I’m taking about a deeper like.” “A deeper like?” Sighing, Itto took his hand away, looking defeated. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything,” he said, clenching his hand into a fist. “I knew this was going to be weird. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I thought… Oh, never mind what I thought.” “No, what were you thinking?” “I just thought that maybe you liked me too…in that way. I guess I was wrong. Just forget I said anything. We’ll go back to the way things were.” Itto immediately returned his attention back to the meal in front of him, acting as if nothing had happened, but, by that time, Makoto had lost her appetite. Back to the way things were? Was that even possible now that she knew of his feelings toward her? Did she even want to go back? Why did he have to go and make everything so confusing? Things were fine the way they were before. Now, she didn’t know what to think. A part of her wanted to tell him that she reciprocated his feelings, that she liked him as much as he liked her. Itto was a good man, and Makoto knew that unlike her other boyfriends, he would treat her the way she deserved to be treated. Yet, what if things didn’t work out between them? Was she really willing to risk losing his friendship if that happened? Quietly, Makoto excused herself from the table and headed to the bathroom, where she sat down on the lowered toilet seat and buried her face in her hands, trying to regain her composure. There she stayed until Itto, most likely concerned by how long she had been in there, lightly rapped on the door. “Mako-chan, are you okay in there?” he asked. “You aren’t sick, are you? Was it the food? Oh, I knew I should have ordered take-out…” Despite herself, Makoto cracked a small, sad smile. Itto really had worked hard to make it a special evening, hadn’t he? And what did she do? She had to be the Grinch and ruin the whole thing with her fears and insecurities. It made her feel even worse than she did before. “I’m fine, Itto-kun,” she called back, standing from her seat and going over to the sink to splash some water on her face. “I’ll be out in a second.” Realizing that she couldn’t stay in there forever, Makoto adjusted the seasonal red-and-green ponytail holder she wore in her hair and took a deep breath to calm her racing heartbeat. She then opened the door to find Itto waiting for her outside, a bottle filled with pink liquid in his hands. “Uh…I thought you might need this,” he said, answering her unasked question as he held out the Pepto-Bismol. “It’s supposed to help with upset stomachs.” At that moment, Makoto made her decision. She kissed him. ***** The fire burned brightly that Christmas Eve night, warming Ami’s skin as she sat on the hearth and waited for Akira’s return. He had left soon after they finished the delicious dinner prepared by the inn’s master chef, claiming he had forgotten her Christmas present in the car. The present she bought for him was already under the tree, wrapped in festive red metallic paper and tied with green ribbon. It wasn’t the Santa baby-doll she had bought while shopping with Makoto, which she was saving for later that night, but she hoped he liked it. She had gone through quite a bit of trouble to find it in time after being struck by inspiration. Looking up at their origami-decorated tree, Ami heard Akira come in, a gust of chilly wind blowing in through the door with him and disturbing the fire. “I’m back,” he said, dusting the snow off the rather large gift box in his hands. “Talk about your white Christmases. It’s like a blizzard out there!” Jumping up from the warm hearth, Ami went over to the door and helped her boyfriend out of his heavy winter coat, which was also covered with snow. “You must be freezing, Akira!” she said, noticing that Akira was shivering and his cheeks were streaked pink from the cold. Taking her present, Ami placed it on the couch and then began rubbing his hands together. Even through his gloves, she could tell they were cold as ice. “Why did you insist on going out there when the weather‘s so bad? You’re going to catch a cold, or worse! The present could have waited until tomorrow. I wouldn’t have minded.” “And ruin our first Christmas Eve together? I don’t think so.” Smiling, Akira pulled his hands away, placing them on her shoulders. “Ami, I’m fine. Really. You‘re all the heat I need in even the biggest snowstorm.” As if to prove it, Akira suddenly drew Ami toward him, his lips catching hers in a fiery kiss. It was unexpected, but not at all unwelcome. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Ami deepened the kiss, well aware of the heat gradually returning to his body. All she wanted to do was stay like that forever, but, eventually remembering the presents, she reluctantly pulled away and led him over to the fireplace. “This is for you,” she announced, reaching for her gift under the tree and setting it in his hands. “I wasn’t sure what to get you, but I think I found the perfect gift. I hope you like it.” “I’m sure I will.” After shaking the gift a few times and taking a few wild guesses as to what it could be, Akira ripped through the paper and opened the small box to reveal a baseball. It wasn’t just any old baseball, though. Signed on the ball was the signature of Kiyohara Kazuhiro, Akira’s all-time favorite player. “Wow, this is amazing, Ami!” he said, looking at the baseball as if it was some kind of holy relic. “Do you really like it?” “Like it? I love it,” Akira assured her. “Thank you.” Setting the ball aside, he then went over to the couch and brought over his present for Ami. “I’ll be honest; I actually bought this for you months ago,” Akira declared, somewhat sheepishly as he sat back down, cross-legged on the floor. “It kept calling out to me, saying ‘Buy me, buy me. Ami will love it.’” “Really?” Her curiosity aroused, Ami picked up the plainly wrapped box and lightly shook it as Akira had done before with his. Whatever it was, it seemed to make a lot of noise, almost as if some of the pieces were loose and moving around inside. That ruled out books or clothes, and the box was far too large and heavy for jewelry -- not that she had expected any. It was still too early in their relationship for something like that. Cautiously, Ami began unwrapping the present, careful not to make any unnecessary tears in the snowman-decorated wrapping paper. She always kept gift paper as a keepsake, a habit that drove her friends insane on her birthday and other gift-giving holidays, and Akira was no exception, practically salivating as he watched her peel off the tape from the sides. When she finally pulled the paper away, Ami gasped when she saw what it was. He had given her a chess set, but it was unlike any chess set Ami had ever seen in her life. The board, set inside a silver frame, consisted of blue-and-white squares instead of the more traditional black-and-white, and the pieces were all carved out of beautiful Swarovski crystal. Lifting the lid off the box, Ami picked up the blue queen and was amazed by the amount of detail on the small figurine. Everything from her silver-plated crown to the scepter she held in her right hand was perfect. “Oh, Akira, it’s beautiful,” she breathed, setting the piece back down in its place inside a velvet-lined silver box. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set so gorgeous. It‘s almost too pretty to play.” “Don’t tell me I spent all that money on this thing and you’re not even going to use it,” Akira teased. “Chess sets are meant to be played.” “Well, maybe on special occasions…” “Does this count as a special occasion?” he asked, pulling out the board and setting it on the floor. “You want to play now?” “Sure, although you might have to refresh my memory a little on the rules. It‘s been a while since I‘ve played. What color do you want?” Ami didn’t have to think twice, reaching for the silver box with the blue crystal figurines. “I’ll be blue.” “Somehow, I thought so,” he said, chuckling. By default, Akira took the other box of clear crystal pieces, and they began setting up the board for play, Ami reminding him of what moves each of the pieces could make as she placed her figurines on the board. She couldn’t be positive, but Ami suspected Akira actually knew the rules of the game quite well and was only pretending to be ignorant. Her suspicion was further evidenced by his use of a daring opening move, reminiscent of one of the most well-known Chess Masters of all time. “Are you sure you haven’t played in a while?” Ami asked about a quarter into the game, a game he was playing remarkably well for someone who claimed to be out of practice. “Well, I admit I was president of Toudai’s chess club back during my undergraduate days…” Ami rolled her eyes as Akira reached for one of his pawns and set it in position to take hers. Ignorant? Hardly. Tokyo University’s chess club was known for producing some of Japan’s finest champions, but Ami was fully up to the challenge. Studying the board in front of her for a full minute before making her next move, she analyzed all of her possible strategies and finally chose to move the knight. “Ah-ha!” As she had hoped, Akira moved to take the pawn -- a minor sacrifice on her part -- but his satisfied smirk disappeared a couple moves later when she managed to steal one of his rooks. “The tide has changed,” Ami declared, snatching his piece off the board and setting it aside. “What are you going to do now, Akira?” “Oh, is this how it’s going to go?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “In that case…” Akira’s next move, a surprise attack she failed to anticipate, captured her knight with a bishop, and Ami let out a very un-ladylike curse. As Akira laughed, Ami slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment, not believing she had actually said that word aloud. She always prided herself on being able to keep her cool in battle, whether it was fighting the random monster-of-the-day or participating in a chess match. “I wasn’t aware you had such a colorful vocabulary, Ami,” Akira teased. “It’s kind of sexy.” “It’s your fault,” she shot back once she had recovered. “You’ re a bad influence on me.” “Hey, don’t blame me. Even I only use that word rarely.” “Yes, well…” Unable to come up with a suitable retort, Ami turned her attention back on the game and made her next move. Akira, who was still laughing, failed to defend a weakness, so Ami was able to easily capture one of his pawns on her next turn. He retaliated a few moves later by taking one of her bishops. “You know, you’re pretty good at this,” Ami said, moving a knight out of harm’s way. Other than her father, who had taught her the game when she was a little girl, Akira might have been the toughest competitor she ever played against. She was thoroughly enjoying the challenge. “Only ‘pretty good’?” Akira teased as he pondered his next move. “I think I’m doing damn good for someone who hasn’t played since his college days.” “His *championship* college days.” “Well, you’re not so bad yourself.” Smirking, Akira moved his pawn to last rank of the board and turned it upside down, thereby making it a queen and putting the piece in the position a capture her king. “Although perhaps not good enough. Check.” “Not so fast.” Using her rook, Ami was able to move two spaces over to capture the newly crowned queen and get herself out of check. “Impressive.” “You haven’t seen nothing yet.” The match escalated from there on out, with both of them putting each other into check every sixth turn or so, give or take a few. They were both equally matched when it came to their skills, and it was becoming obvious that neither one would be able to take a decisive victory, at least not unless one of them slipped up and made a mistake. Looking over at Akira, who was staring at the board as if his very life depended on which move he chose to make next, Ami realized that wasn’t bound to happen. Both of them wanted to win entirely too much. The logical thing to do was ask for a draw, lest they spend the rest of the most romantic night of the year locked in a match neither could hope to win, but Ami couldn’t bring herself to do it. If she were the one to ask for the draw, it would seem as if she thought Akira was better than her, which she most certainly did not. His skills were arguably equal to hers, but definitely not superior. Still, it is getting late, she thought, glancing up at the clock sitting on the mantle above the fireplace. It was already nearing eleven. “Ami, your move,” Akira said, bringing her mind back to the game. She hadn’t even realized he had finished his turn. “Oh, sorry.” Leaning on one hand, her legs laying to the side, Ami unconsciously began unbuttoning the first few buttons of her red cardigan sweater as she pondered her next move. She had done so because she was starting to get hot sitting in front of the fireplace, but the unbuttoning seemed to have another added benefit she didn’t think about until she caught Akira staring at the bit of modest cleavage it revealed. Instead of blushing as she normally would have done, Ami decided to use her sex appeal to her advantage. “It’s getting warm in here,” she commented casually, slowly unbuttoning the rest of the buttons, then slipping the sweater off to show the matching red camisole she wore beneath. Ami tossed the cardigan aside and made her next move on the board, leaning over so Akira got a good look. “Aren’t you getting hot, Akira?” “Uh…y-yeah, a little,” he stuttered. Akira tugged at the collar of his sweater, looking decidedly hot under the collar. “Do you want me to put out the fire?” “No, I’m fine now,” she replied, a bit ashamed to admit she was actually starting to enjoy her subtle seduction. Still leaning forward, Ami raised an eyebrow. “Well, aren’t you going to make a move?” she challenged, being deliberately vague. “A move?” “The game?” “Oh, yeah, right.” When he finally managed to take his eyes off of her, Akira reached for his rook, making the unfortunate fatal error that would lead to his downfall. Smiling in triumph, Ami moved her queen next to Akira’s king. “Checkmate.” “Hey, that’s not fair!” Akira protested when he realized she had won. “You were distracting me.” “Oh, was I? I‘m sorry.” Chuckling, Akira shook his head and began putting the pieces back into their respective boxes. “You don’t fool me one bit, Ami,” he said. “You knew perfectly well what you were doing. I’m just surprised you would stoop so low as to use your sexuality in order to win a chess game.” “What can I say? I take chess very seriously.” “So I see.” “Thank you for the set, by the way,” Ami said, placing the lid back on the box once they had put the game away. “I love it.” “I’m glad. Thanks for the baseball. I know you must have gone through a lot of trouble to get it for me.” Ami laughed, suddenly realizing what truly unromantic gifts they had given each other. While Usagi would probably be showing off some beautiful piece of jewelry Mamoru had given her for Christmas, her boyfriend had given her a chess set, of all things -- albeit a very pretty chess set, but a chess set all the same -- hardly the type of present meant to inspire jealousy in her friends, which she supposed was a good thing. If Akira had bought her a bracelet or something else along those lines, there would be questions for sure, but, honestly, even if they had enjoyed a more public relationship, Ami would have taken the chess set over a shiny bauble any day. “What’s so funny?” Akira asked, giving her a strange look as he set the game on an armchair, out of the way. Still chuckling, Ami shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she replied, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “I was just thinking what geeks we were.” “We are not.” “Yes, we are,” she insisted, motioning toward their presents with her head. “A chess set? An autographed baseball? We have got to be the geekiest couple in the world.” “Well, if that is the case,” he said, crawling over to where she sat and giving her a short peck on the nose, “then I love you, my beautiful geek.” Smiling, she was just about to lean in for a longer kiss when the full impact of his words hit home. “What?” Ami’s eyes widened as she pulled back and stared at her lover. He didn‘t just say…? “What did you just say?” “I said, ’I love you,’” Akira repeated, a hand reaching up to cradle her cheek. Shaking his head, he sighed. “It’s crazy, I know. I probably shouldn’t even say it, considering our…circumstances, but I‘m tired of denying it. I‘m crazy about you, Ami, and I suspect you feel the same way about me, don‘t you?” “I-I…” To say his confession was unexpected was an understatement. Ami had been secretly hoping to hear those words for a long time, but a part of her never truly believed it would really happen. No matter what promise they had made the first night at the cabin, she was still his student and he was still her teacher. They shouldn’t even be there, much less confessing love for each other. Still… “I love you, too,” Ami whispered, never more sure of anything in her entire life. Maybe it was wrong to love him, but she couldn’t help the way she felt. At that moment, she finally understood the true depth of Usagi’s love for Mamoru, the kind of love that would cause a person to sacrifice anything to be with the one they loved. Even if she had to give up her life, Ami knew she would do anything in order to be with Akira. “You do?” he asked. Ami nodded, getting on her knees and throwing her arms around Akira’s neck. She felt tears welling in her eyes, but they were tears of happiness, and she made no attempt to wipe them away as Akira wrapped his arms around her waist and lightly kissed the top of her hair. They stayed like that for a long moment until Akira pulled away, only to lift up her chin and brush his lips against her. “Aishiteru, Ami,” he repeated once more. “Aishiteru, Akira.” ***** Back in Tokyo, another couple was spending the most romantic night of the year studying, of all things. When Yui first suggested they stay in for the night and do homework, Hideki, of course, assumed she had been joking. It was Christmas Eve, after all, and even the hardest-working students were bound to be taking a well-deserved break from their studies. As it turned out, however, Yui had been dead serious about their Christmas Eve study date and took great offense when Hideki subtly suggested that perhaps it would be more fun to go to an amusement park by leaving out the pair of tickets he had bought as a Christmas surprise. “Amusement parks are for kids, Hideki,” she had told him when she found the two tickets sticking out of her chemistry textbook where he knew she was sure to find them. “Not to mention I always get motion -sickness. Why would I want the spend the day on roller coasters and merry-go-rounds?” Disappointed that she didn‘t like his surprise, Hideki sighed. “I just thought it would be fun, Yui. We didn’t have any other plans, so--” “What do you mean we didn’t have plans? I thought we agreed we would stay in and study.” “*You* decided that,” he had reminded her. “*We* didn’t agree on anything.” “You didn’t exactly say no.” “That’s because I didn’t think you were actually serious.” “Hey, it’s not like you came up with any better ideas!” Yui had shot back defensively. “I wasn’t really serious at the time, but when we didn’t come up with anything better, I figured that’s what we would do.” “I *did* come up with a better idea.” Hideki reached over and snatched the tickets from her hand, waving them in front of her face. “I bought us tickets to the amusement park! Expensive tickets at that!” “I’m sorry you wasted your money, Hideki, but you shouldn’t have made plans for us without consulting me first.” Angered, Hideki slapped the tickets back down on the counter. “Well, I’m sorry I thought it would be nice to surprise you for once!” he had snapped before leaving to take Mercury out for his morning walk. Hideki couldn’t believe how ungrateful Yui had been about the tickets. He had genuinely thought she would enjoy going to the amusement park. Ever if she did get motion-sickness -- a fact he had only just learned that morning when Yui told him -- there were other things they could have done at the park, like playing games or catching the magic show that was currently showing. To be honest, though, his holiday vacation with Yui was not going how Hideki had envisioned. Part of the reason, he knew, was because of Mercury. The first day, Yui had tolerated Professor Kitagawa’s Corgi fairly well, but, by Christmas Eve, she was openly hostile toward the poor dog, who now growled whenever they were in the same room together. It had become so bad between them, Hideki briefly considered taking Mercury back to the professor’s apartment and checking in on him every couple of hours. However, he didn’t want to break his promise to watch Mercury while Professor Kitagawa was gone, so Hideki resigned himself to being referee, making sure his girlfriend and the dog had as little contact as possible -- a difficult feat considering how small his apartment was. Then there was the fact that after the first night, Yui wouldn’t let him touch her. She claimed she was on her period, which certainly would have explained her moodiness, if it had been true, but she had used that same excuse only two weeks earlier. So, unless she had lied to him the first time or had some kind of medical problem she hadn‘t told him about, Hideki doubted the validity of her claim, especially since he saw no proof of it in his bathroom, not even an opened box of tampons. Rejecting his gift had been the last straw. Figuring that the tickets shouldn’t go to waste, Hideki had gone back to the apartment after Mercury’s walk to get them, then called one of his friends in the Computer Club to join him. They’d had to take Mercury along with them, since Hideki knew leaving Yui alone with him for the whole day was just asking for trouble, but they had all had fun, and, when Hideki returned home, he came back in a much better mood, even stopping at a bakery to buy the two of them a Christmas cake. No matter how rude Yui had been about the gift, Hideki was determined that it wouldn’t ruin the rest of their first Christmas Eve together. Unfortunately, spending the day apart had not improved Yui’s mood in the least. In fact, she seemed even crankier than usual after spending the afternoon doing homework while he was gone, refusing to welcome him back when he announced he was home, so Hideki decided the best course of action was just to leave her alone. Sighing, he pulled out his laptop, and, taking a seat on the couch with a tired Mercury laying at his feet, he began to work on own studies, giving Yui what she had wanted after all. It was well over an hour before Yui finally acknowledged his presence. “I thought you said you didn’t want to study tonight,” she said quietly, her eyes never leaving the page she was reading. Hideki momentarily looked up from his screen, surprised to hear her speak. He assumed by her behavior when he returned that Yui would give him the silent treatment the entire night. “Might as well,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “It’s not like there’s much else to do around here.” “Oh.” There was a brief pause as Yui highlighted a passage in her textbook. “Did you have fun at the amusement park?” “Yes, Yuki-kun and I had a great time. You should have come.” “Maybe I should have,” she sighed, finally putting down her bright yellow highlighter. “What do you mean?” Hideki asked, wondering what brought around such a change. “I thought you didn’t like amusement parks.” “What do you think I mean?” After shutting her book close, Yui turned around on the floor so that she was facing him. “I’m trying to apologize here, Hideki.” “Apologize? You?” Though he tried to stop it, Hideki snorted in disbelief. In all the time he and Yui had been dating, he couldn’t remember a single time when she had volunteered to apologize first for one of their fights. Normally, it was he who ended up breaking the ice, even if he privately thought she was the one more at fault. Yui slapped Hideki on the knee, glaring at him. “Hey, if you’re going to act like that, you can forget about it. I’m trying to be nice despite the fact that you gave my Christmas present away to one of those geeks in that club of yours and left me here all day with nothing to do but study.” “I thought you wanted to study,” Hideki pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest after saving his work and setting his laptop aside. If that was Yui’s version of an apology, it was obvious she hadn’t had much practice. “And what did you expect me to do with the tickets? Throw them away after I spent most of my dog-walking money for the last few weeks buying them for us?” “No…” Yui at least had the decency to look embarrassed, probably only then realizing how expensive the tickets really were. “But couldn’t you have returned them and gotten your money back?” “They were non-refundable.” “Oh. Well, you should have told me that this morning.” “Why?” Hideki asked, raising an eyebrow. “Would you have gone with me if I had.” “Maybe.” Hideki sighed and leaned back on the couch, rubbing his forehead. As smart as she was when it came to academics, Yui didn’t seem to get it at all. “Yui, if you really didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t have wanted you to go with me out of some sense of obligation,” he said with a slight frown. “That wouldn’t have been fun for either of us.” “Then why did you storm out of here in such a huff?” Yui asked. “If you didn’t mind me not go--” “It was the way you said it,” he interrupted her, his temper momentarily flaring up again as he remembered their exchange that morning. “You know what? You made me feel like an idiot for not knowing about your motion-sickness when you never told me about it in the first place, then you couldn’t even thank me for the tickets. Even if you didn’t like them, you should have at least acknowledged the fact that I tried to do something nice for you. I probably could have sold the tickets to somebody else, gotten my money back, and bought you another present, but why should I have when you probably would have hated that one too?” “I would not.” Hideki rolled his eyes. “Come on, Yui. When have you ever liked any of the presents I gave you?” “I liked the book on medical practices in the Middle Ages you gave me for my birthday.” “Because you told me what to get you. You never even wear the other gift I bought you.” “You mean that scrap of fabric you call a teddy?” It was Yui’s turn to roll her eyes, folding her arms over her chest. “Honestly, I have no idea what possessed you to buy that thing for me, Hideki. I don’t have the body for it.” “I bet you look fantastic in it,” Hideki insisted. “Did you even try it on?” “No,” she admitted. “See? This is what I’m talking about. Whenever I try to surprise you with something, you never appreciate it.” “Fine. Would it make you feel better if I went to the bedroom and tried it on?” she asked, abruptly getting to her feet. Hideki looked up, surprised. “You brought it with you?” “I never actually took it home with me. I left it here in my drawer,” Yui confessed, heading toward the bedroom. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” His brows furrowed in confusion, Hideki wondered what had just happened. Had they made up without him realizing it? Despite saying that she wanted to apologize, the words “I’m sorry” never actually escaped Yui’s lips. Yet Hideki found himself not really caring when Yui returned to the living room a few moments later, dressed in a red lace teddy that made her titian hair -- which she had let down from the ponytail she wore before -- seem even more fiery than usual. “See? I told you,” she said, hands on her hips as she stood before him. “I look like a giant apple.” “What are you talking about, Yui? You look gorgeous!” “I do not. You’re only saying that because you think I’m going to sleep with you.” Hideki arched his left eyebrow, though the slightest twinge of a smile tugged at his lips. “Really? And here I thought that since you said you were on your period, sex was off limits.” “Oh, you know as well as I do that was a lie.” “Ah-ha!” Jumping up from the couch in triumph, Hideki wagged his finger in her face. “I knew it! I knew you were faking.” Yui glared at him, but she couldn’t stay mad at him for long. Giggling, she pushed Hideki back on the couch, then getting down on her knees, she reached for the zipper on his jeans and pulled it down. “Shut up and let me give you *my* Christmas present.” ***** Christmas morning found Akira and Ami asleep on the living room floor, having never made it to bed the previous night. A crocheted throw from the couch was wrapped around their naked bodies, and around them, their clothes were strewn haphazardly about the room. The fire, once blazing, had dimmed only to a few embers, leaving a slight chill in the air. Akira, awakened by the cold, looked over at his sleeping lover beside him and smiled, thinking about the previous night. He didn’t know what had possessed him to finally confess his feelings, but he didn’t regret it in the least, knowing in his heart that what he felt for the blue-haired angel in his arms was the real thing. It was far deeper and richer than anything he had ever experienced with Maeko or any of his other previous girlfriends -- love in true form, not the superficial passion he had once confused as love. Not that he didn’t hold any passion toward Ami… Last night was more than proof of that. Akira grinned in remembrance of the consummation of their love, neither of them able to get enough of each other as they made love by the fire. But sex was really only one aspect of their relationship, and hardly the most important. Thinking back on his relationship with Maeko, he wondered how long they would have lasted if sex had been taken out of the equation. Probably not as long as they had. He had cared for her, yes, but not enough to truly sustain a long-term relationship. They had fun and had enjoyed each other’s company, but they never had achieved real intimacy despite the physical nature of their relationship. Careful not to wake Ami up from her peaceful slumber, Akira rolled over on his side and sighed as he ran a hand through his messy hair. Was he crazy to be feeling the way he did? Ami was, after all, still his student, and that wasn’t about to change any time soon. Even after she finished the course, it wasn’t likely that their relationship would be any more accepted than it was now as long as she still attended Tokyo University. Was it realistic to believe they could really keep their love a secret for a couple more years? As it was, Akira felt like climbing on the rooftop of the small cabin and shouting at the top of his lungs that he was in love with Mizuno Ami, ice and snow be damned. He wanted the whole world to know how he felt, yet he knew it was a risk they could not take. Once they returned to Tokyo, the freedom allowed to them by the holiday vacation would once again disappear, and the lies would begin anew. Shaking his head, Akira forced the thoughts away. They would worry about that when it was time to go home. Instead, he vowed to enjoy the rest of the time they did have together away from judging eyes and bent his head down to gently brush his lips against those of his sleeping girlfriend. Awakened by the kiss, navy blue eyes fluttered open. “Good morning,” Ami said, stifling a small yawn as she stretched out her body, her leg brushing against his. “Merry Christmas.” “Right. Merry Christmas,” she corrected herself, a smile on her face. “Did last night really happen, or was it only a dream?” “If it is, I don’t want to wake up from it,” he said truthfully. “Last night was the best night of my life.” “Me, neither.” Propping herself up on her elbow, Ami began tracing circles on his chest with the pointer finger of her free hand. “Say it again, Akira.” “Say what again?” he teased, knowing exactly what she wanted. Ami couldn’t seem to get enough of hearing him say the words aloud, almost as if she needed reassurance that they were real and not some figment of her imagination. “You know what.” Pretending to have to think it over, Akira playfully tapped his chin in feign thought. “Merry Christmas?” “Akira…” “Okay, okay.” Taking her hand, Akira entwined his fingers with her own and smiled as he said the words he knew she really wanted to hear. “I love you, Ami.” “I love you, too, Akira.” Ami started to bring herself down for a kiss, but stopped mid- way. A loud sigh escaped from her lips instead, and she fell back on the pillow she had stolen from the armchair the night before, her hand resting on her forehead. “Something wrong?” Akira asked, alarmed. She wasn’t having second thoughts about last night, was she? Ami shook her head. “No, I just remembered that I forgot to give you the second part of your present last night. I can‘t believe I forgot!” Akira laughed, half in relief and half in amusement. “There’s a second part? Ami, the baseball was more than enough. You didn’t have to get me anything else.” “It’s not really for you, per se,” she explained, blushing. “It’s more like something I got for myself that I thought you would like.” Something for her that she thought he would like? Several possibilities immediately came to mind, all of them right up Akira’s alley, especially if it was yet another sexy piece of lingerie. He had quite enjoyed the little fashion show his usually modest Ami had been giving him since they arrived at the cabin. “I’m intrigued. Why don’t you show it to me now? It’s still Christmas.” “No, it was kind of silly, anyway,” she said, sitting back up and holding the blanket modestly against her bare chest. “Besides, shouldn’t we start packing soon? Check-out time is at noon, right?” Akira glanced up at the clock sitting on the mantle. It was only eight-thirty. “We have plenty of time,” he assured her. “Come on. Show it to me. Please?” “Really?” “Yes, I want to see it. Now go do whatever it is you need to do.” He made a little “shooing” motion, and Ami laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll be back in a minute.” Standing, she wrapped the blanket around herself and headed to the bedroom. While he waited for Ami to return, Akira slipped on his boxers and went over to the fireplace to start up the fire again, bringing some much needed warmth to the room. Once that was done, he walked over to one of the cabin’s windows for a peek outside. “Man, I hope we don’t have much trouble getting to my folks’ place,” he sighed, looking out at the winter wonderland of snow and ice left behind by last night‘s storm. As beautiful as it was, as a native of the region, Akira was very well acquainted with the problems snow could cause, especially when out on the roads. A fifteen minute drive to the store could end up being doubled, sometimes even tripled, depending on how bad the conditions were. Akira figured he should probably call his parents and tell them they might be a little later than expected, just to be on the safe side, but before he made it over to the phone, Ami’s voiced called for him from the bedroom. “Akira, I’m ready.” “Then come on out and show me already,” he said, laughing. “Um…why don’t you come in here instead?” she suggested. Akira shrugged, already heading in that direction anyway. “Okay, if you say so.” Opening the door to the bedroom, Akira found his girlfriend sprawled out seductively, if a bit awkwardly, on the bedspread. She laid on her side, one leg raised and bended at the knee, while her head rested on one of her hands. The other hand played with the fuzzy white ball attached to the end of a red hat she wore over her dark blue hair. The hat went perfectly with the rest of her ensemble, which consisted of a sheer baby-doll trimmed with faux white fur and a matching red thong. Unable to hide his amusement, Akira chuckled. “What are you wearing, Ami?” “Ho, ho, ho,” was her only response as Ami sat up and tossed the hat in his direction. Placing the hat on his head, Akira smiled and jumped on the bed. “Merry Christmas to me!” ***** On the short drive to Nagano, Ami was even quieter than usual, barely saying a word unless spoken to first. Akira could tell she was nervous about meeting his family for the first time, and, quite frankly, so was he. Not that he was afraid they wouldn’t like Ami. Akira was almost certain his family would embrace her as they had done Maeko, claiming her as one of their own within minutes of meeting. However, he worried what Ami would think of them, especially his mother, who had a tendency to be overbearing at times. From what he had learned of Ami’s past, she hadn’t been raised in the kind of strong family environment he had. Her parents divorced when she was seven, and, as an only child, she lived with her busy doctor mother and rarely saw her father, a talented artist who often traveled for his work. He, on the other hand, had two wonderful parents who were still as much in love with each other as the day they were married, and, despite the large differences in their ages, Akira counted his brother Satoshi and sister Junko among his closest friends. To someone who had not come from such a close-knit family, Akira knew it would be a shock. “We’re almost there, Ami,” Akira said as he turned down the familiar road leading to his parents’ house and waved to a couple of schoolchildren who were building a snowman in one of the neighbor’s yards. Last night’s snow had left a good four to six inches on the ground, giving them plenty to work with. “Are you ready?” Ami nodded, her eyes staring blankly out the car window. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said softly, “but what if they hate me, Akira?” “Won’t happen. Don’t worry about it. They’re going to love you.” “You keep saying that, but what if they think I’m too young for you? Or what if they think you should still be with Maeko-san? Or what if --” “First of all, the age factor is not going to be a problem,” he declared, cutting her off before she could voice any more doubts. “Mama is twelve years younger than my father, and she was even younger than you when they got married. Second, nobody thinks I should still be engaged to Maeko. That was a long time ago, and they know we’ve both moved on with our lives.” “But --” Reaching over, Akira gave Ami’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Relax, Ami. Everything will be fine. I promise.” She forced a small smile and nodded as Akira brought his hand back to the steering wheel and pulled into a freshly shoveled driveway in front of his childhood home. After killing the engine, Akira got out of the car and began getting their things out of the trunk. Ami took a little more time, still hesitant when she finally joined him and took a few of the lighter bags. “Well, what do you think?” he asked, closing the trunk once they had retrieved their luggage and leading her to the front door, which was decorated with a small, tasteful wreath of holly. “It’s lovely, Akira,” Ami replied, somewhat wistfully, as she stared at the modest two-story house. “I remember when I was a little girl, I always wanted to live in a house just like this. Okaa-san preferred living in apartments, though, and my father was content with his tiny cabin in the woods.” “I’m glad you like it.” Walking up to the threshold, Akira set down the heavy suitcase he carried in his left hand and prepared to ring the doorbell. His finger only made it halfway to the button, though, when abruptly he paused and let his hand drop back to his side. “Something wrong?” Ami asked. She came up behind him, putting the other large suitcase down next to his and dusting off the few flakes of snow that had fallen onto her dark blue hair. “Are they not home?” “No, as far as I know, they should be here,” Akira replied, turning around to face his girlfriend. “It’s just that I feel I should…warn you of something before we go inside. About Mama.” “Your mother?” Ami shot him a confused look, her head tilted slightly to the side, and Akira sighed, running his hand through his hair. How did one prepare anybody for the experience of meeting Kitagawa Izumi for the first time? A couple of shots of sake would have been nice at the moment, but, unfortunately, he had not thought to pack any in his suitcase, so the best Akira could do was try to warn Ami what to expect and hope that she could handle it. “Don’t get me wrong, Ami -- I love my mother very much,” he began, picking his words carefully. “She’s a wonderful, loving woman with an incredible zest for life. It’s just that she sometimes tends to come on a little…strong.” To put it nicely, Akira mentally added to himself. “What do you mean?” Ami asked. “You’ll understand when you meet her.” Satisfied that he had performed his boyfriendly duty, Akira inhaled deeply and finally rang the doorbell. Soft chimes pealed, announcing their arrival, and, before the bells had even finished clanging, the front door was swung open, revealing an attractive forty -ish blonde woman, her green eyes sparking as soon as she saw her son. “AKIRA!” The short, slightly pudgy woman immediately launched herself at him, pulling Akira into a tight hug and leaving a trail of faint red lipstick marks on his cheeks as she barraged him with kisses. “My baby, it’s so wonderful to see you!” Knowing better than to fight her affections, Akira surrendered to the attack and let out a long-suffering sigh. Apparently, some things never changed, no matter how old he got. “Merry Christmas, Mama.” The kisses abruptly stopped, and his mother released him. "'Merry Christmas, Mama’? Is that all you have to say?” she asked, wagging a finger in his face. “How about an apology, young man? Do you realize it has been almost four months since you last visited your poor family who loves you?” “Mama, you know I’ve been busy with school and my research, and don’t I always remember to call you on Sunday?” “Phone calls are no replacement for seeing your handsome face.” Pinching his cheek, Mama frowned. “Have you lost weight, Akira? I hope you aren’t spending all your time in that lab and forgetting to eat.” “I eat fine, really.” Akira resisted the urge to roll his eyes in exasperation and reached up to detach her lobster claw fingers from his face before introducing her to Ami, who, by some miracle, had yet to run away in fright. “Mama, there’s somebody I want you to meet,” he announced. “This is Mizu--” A squeal of delight cut off his introduction, and before Akira realized what was happening, his mother had pushed him off to the side for a better view of the blue-haired girl standing shyly behind him. “Don’t tell me -- this must be Ami-chan!” she gasped, her clasped hands pressed against her chest. “Oh, isn’t she pretty, Akira! Younger than I expected, but your father is quite a few years older than me, so there’s nothing wrong with that.” While Akira rubbed his sore arm, which, during his mother’s outburst of enthusiasm, he had banged against the side of the house, Ami blushed and bowed politely. “I-It’s very nice to meet you, Kitagawa-san,” she stuttered. “Thank you for inviting me to spend the holidays with you and your family.” “No, no, no, you must call me Izumi-mama!” Mama insisted with a none-too-subtle wink in Akira’s direction. “After all, it won’t be long before you’re a part of the family, right?” “Mama!” As usual, his mother ignored his protest, grabbing Ami’s wrist and nearly yanking her inside. “Oh, how rude of me, keeping you two outside in that bitter cold! You must be freezing! Come in, come in!” As they headed inside, Ami looking as if she was about to be thrown into a den of wild lions, Akira couldn’t help but hide a small smile while he changed into the special holiday slippers provided for them. She couldn’t say he hadn’t warned her… “Where is everybody else?” he asked, looking around. Akira had half-expected his mother to have the entire family downstairs, waiting for their arrival. “Oh!” Walking over the staircase, his mother yelled, “Nibori! Satoshi! Junko! The prodigal son returns! Get down here and say hello!” That time, Akira didn’t bother to hide his embarrassment, covering his face in mortification as, beside him, Ami stifled a giggle. Seconds later, they heard the sound of footsteps as a pretty blonde teen in a ponytail made her way down the stairs. “Onii-chan!” Spotting him, the seventeen-year-old ran down the rest of the stairs and embraced him in a giant hug. “You’re here!” “Junko!” Akira didn’t realize how much he had missed his little sister until that moment. Boy, had she changed since the last time he had seen her. “Have you grown since the last time I came home?” he asked when they pulled apart, noticing that the top of Junko’s head now almost reached his nose. “You ask that every time you come home,” she giggled, rolling her cerulean eyes. “That’s because you keep sprouting like a weed. One of these days, you might even outgrow Satoshi.” “Speaking of your other brother, Junko,” their mother cut it, still staring up the stairs, “where are Satoshi and your father? Aren’t they coming down to welcome Akira home?” “Mama, don’t you remember? Papa and onii-chan went out for some last minute gift shopping this morning.” “They did? Oh, that’s right.” Mama shook her head, placing her hands on her ample hips. “Men! Why do they always have to wait until the last minute to buy presents? Akira, I hope you at least managed to get most of your shopping beforehand.” Akira held up a large shopping bag filled with gifts. “They’re right here.” “Good boy.” Taking the bag, Mama started toward the living room. “I’ll go put these under the tree. Junko, why don’t you help your brother and Ami-chan take their bags upstairs? I’ve already fixed up your old room, Akira, and Ami-chan, you’ll be staying in Junko’s room,” she announced, pausing in the entryway leading to the other room. “Unless, of course, you would rather stay in Akira’s room…” If he had been embarrassed before, Akira was positively horrified upon hearing those words coming out of his mother’s mouth. The subject had never come up when he had dated Maeko, since whenever they visited Nagano, she had always stayed with her family who also lived in the city. To hear his mother acknowledge his sex life so frankly was a bit of a shock, especially in front of Junko, whose eyes had widened slightly when she comprehended the hidden assumption behind the offer. “MAMA!” “Please, Akira, your mother is not so old-fashioned to believe you are a twenty-eight-year-old virgin,” Mama said without a hint of embarrassment. “You two are adults, and if you would like to share a room together, that is perfectly fine with me.” A blushing Ami shook her head. “Junko-san’s room will be fine, Kita-- I mean, Izumi-mama.” “Suit yourself. Junko?” Recovering from her shock, his sister took a couple of Ami’s bags and headed up the stairs. ***** Ami was still red as a tomato when she and Junko entered the younger girl’s room a couple of minutes later. A futon, which Ami assumed was for her, had already been set on the floor, and, without asking, she sat down her suitcase, surprised when she glanced up and found the blonde teen shaking her head. “No, that’s for me,” she announced, placing the bags she had carried beside a neatly made bed. “The bed is yours, Ami-san.” “A-Are you sure?” Ami stuttered. “I’ll be fine on the futon.” Junko smiled brightly, putting Ami somewhat more at ease. She seemed to have completely put the embarrassment of a few moments earlier out of her mind. “I don’t mind at all. Please, take it. I also cleared out one of my drawers and made some room in my closet for your clothes.” “Arigatou, Junko-chan.” After bowing in gratitude, Ami brought her suitcase to the bed and started unpacking while Junko plopped down stomach first on what was left of the mattress and rolled onto her side. Ami was acutely aware that the Akira’s little sister was staring at her and felt herself become self-conscious as she pulled a couple of dresses from the suitcase and hung them in the closet. The girl seemed polite enough, but Ami wondered what the teen really thought of her. Did Junko think she was a slut for sleeping with her brother? She had seemed pretty shocked when Mrs. Kitagawa had brought up the subject. Or maybe she disapproved of the age difference. After all, Ami was much closer to Junko’s age -- only a three year difference -- than Akira, who was eight years her senior. Or maybe… “You know, you really are beautiful, Ami-san,” Junko unexpectedly declared, interrupting Ami’s thoughts and causing her to jump in surprise. “Huh?” The blonde giggled and pulled herself into a sitting position, knees pressed up to her chest and her back against a poster of Utada Hikaru which hung on the wall behind her. From what Ami could see, Junko’s collection of idol posters would give even Minako a run for her money, practically making the floral-print wallpaper unnecessary. They were everywhere, some even taped to the ceiling. “Don’t tell me my brother never told you that,” Junko said with a roll of her eyes, a dark blue color instead of the green of her mother and brother. “Baka onii-chan! He certainly didn’t have a problem telling us that you were pretty, though now that I’ve met you in person, it seems like such an understatement.” “He said that?” Ami’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Ponytail bobbing, Junko nodded. “Of course. He also said you were the smartest person he had ever met, which is a pretty big compliment coming from Mr. Know-it-all. When we were growing up, onii- chan used to say the only person smarter than him was some physicist genius named Stephen Hawking-san, and that was only temporary.” Ami laughed, imagining Akira as an overconfident young boy with an ego the size of China. Age had made him far more modest, but she supposed that any fifteen-year-old kid who had tested straight out of high school and enrolled in college deserved at least some bragging rights. “What else did he say?” she asked, curious in spite of herself. Pondering the question, Junko frowned. “That was pretty much it,” she admitted. “Onii-chan’s been really vague about your relationship so far. We weren’t even aware he had a new girlfriend until he asked if he could bring you home to meet us.” “Oh.” It made sense that Akira wouldn‘t talk about her, considering the circumstances. The less Akira’s family knew about their relationship, the better, though Ami hated the idea of lying to them. “So, how long have you and my brother been dating?” Junko asked. “Um…only a few months, really.” “How did you meet? Was it really romantic?” “I wouldn’t say that…” Ami answered, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ear as she tried to remember the cover story she and Akira had concocted beforehand. “We just happened to run into each other at the library when we were searching for the same book, got to talking, and discovered we had a few things in common.” “That sounds pretty romantic to me,” the blonde sighed. Junko reached for the pillow beside her and crushed it to her chest, a wistful look on her face. “It’s like you two were fated to meet.” Ami blushed, and, uncomfortable with the line of questioning, immediately decided to change the subject. If only Junko knew the true story of how they had met, would she think it so romantic then? “Akira mentioned you had a boyfriend?” The younger girl snapped out of her dreamy state and nodded, her entire face lighting up at the mention of her boyfriend. “Hai, Ikeda-kun. He’s really sweet, and I like him a lot,” Junko said, smiling. “Hey, does onii-chan still make that awful face whenever he mentions my boyfriend?” “You mean this one?” Ami paused in her unpacking and proceeded to do a perfect imitation of Akira, causing both of them to burst into giggles. “Yes, that’s the one! That’s exactly what he does. You’ve got it down perfect.” “Well, I see it often enough…” “Silly onii-chan! It’s like he still thinks I’m a little girl, and my other brother isn’t much better, though he’s gradually warming up to the idea. Brothers!” Junko let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head, but Ami could tell that she didn‘t really mind. “Do you have any siblings, Ami-san?” Resuming her unpacking, Ami shook her head. At least that was one question she could answer honestly. “No, I’m an only child, though I always wished I had a little brother or sister.” “Growing up, I always wanted a sister,” Junko admitted with another sigh, before once again brightening. “Hey, Ami-san, will you be my big sister?” Ami blinked, surprised by the request. “What?” “Well, you are dating my brother, and if you two get married…” “I think we have a long way to go before taking that step, Junko-chan,” Ami said, smiling softly. “But it will happen someday. I know it will,” a confident Junko declared. “How can you be so certain?” “Because I know my brother, and onii-chan is head-over-heels in love with you. I could sense it from the moment I came downstairs.” “Akira and I do care greatly for each other,” Ami admitted, her cheeks painted pink as she remembered what had happened the night before. Almost as if Junko could somehow read her mind, the blonde nodded in understanding. “He’s told you he loves you, hasn’t he?” “Y-Yes, last night, actually,” she stuttered. “How did you know?” “You have the glow of a woman in love, Ami-onee-chan!” Just then, there was a knock on the door. Junko told whoever it was to come in as Ami went over to the dresser and put away a stack of sweaters. “You girls aren’t talking about me behind my back, are you?” Akira asked, standing in the doorway. “Of course we are!” Junko answered, promptly sticking out her tongue at her brother. Akira rolled his eyes and turned to Ami. “Are you finished here yet, Ami?” “For the most part,” Ami replied, placing a couple of sweaters into a drawer. “Why?” “Because he wants to take you in his arms and hug you and kiss you…” “Honestly, Junko, you get more like Mama every time I visit,” Akira said with a shake of his head. “There are worse things.” Hopping off the bed, the teenager gave them a knowing wink. “Well, I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Ja ne!” Once Junko had managed to squeeze by her brother, who playfully blocked the doorway, Akira stepped inside the room, chuckling. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “The women in my family can be…less than subtle sometimes. Junko used to not be so bad, but I’m afraid becoming the only child in the house year-round since Satoshi left for Kyoto has made her vulnerable to Mama’s influence.” “Actually, I like them very much. Junko-chan is so sweet, and your mother -- Well, she’s very energetic.” “That’s one way to put it,” Akira said, coming up behind Ami and wrapping his arms around her waist. “Did you want something, Akira?” she asked. “Hmm?” “Why did you want to see me?” “Oh!” Akira laughed. “It was nothing important. I just finished unpacking my things and thought I would see if you needed any help.” “No, I’m fine. All I have left to put away are toiletries and… um…” Ami glanced down at her suitcase, blushing when she noticed something she didn’t remember packing. Mixed in with her collection of undergarments was a lacy black G-string, looking starkly out of place among her modest briefs and pastel-colored bras. Ami tried to hide it before Akira saw, but it was too late. Reaching into the suitcase, he pulled out the thong and held it up for inspection. “New?” he asked. “I-It was Mako-chan’s idea to buy it,” she explained, grabbing it from his hands and tossing it back in the suitcase. “I wasn’t even going to bring it on the trip, but she must have snuck it in my suitcase when I wasn’t looking…” “Well, as long as it’s here,” Akira whispered suggestively in her ear, “want to try it on?” “Akira! This is your parents’ house. We couldn’t possibly --” Plucking the thong back out of the suitcase, Akira balled the G-string in one hand and grabbed hers with the other. “Come on, I’ll show you my room.” ***** Ami finally met the rest of Akira’s family later that afternoon, after the men had returned from their last-minute Christmas shopping. Unlike the females of the family, Mr. Kitagawa and Satoshi were decidedly more reserved. As Akira had mentioned on the drive up to the house, his father Nibori was quite a few years older than his mother, though Ami thought he still looked relatively youthful for a sixty-year-old man. His face was mildly wrinkled, and his black hair was only starting to turn gray at the roots, giving him the look of a distinguished gentleman, an image further backed up by his mannerisms. He spoke formally, but with great affection toward his wife and three children, and Ami found herself instantly taking a liking to him, Mr. Kitagawa reminding her in some ways of her mother. Satoshi, practically his older brother’s twin in looks, was very much like his father in personality, speaking in the same soft, overly-polite fashion. That is, when he actually did talk. The law student kept mostly to himself, a quiet type who, while he didn’t seem exactly uncomfortable around Ami, didn’t go out of his way to talk to her either, unlike the rest of the family, who wanted to know everything and anything about her. At first, Ami worried it was because Satoshi disliked her, but while the rest of the family listened to one of Mrs. Kitagawa’s long-winded stories over dinner, Akira leaned over and assured her that his brother’s shyness was nothing personal. It simply took Satoshi a while to warm up to new acquaintances, a feeling Ami knew well from her own experiences. Of course, what Satoshi lacked in social skills, Junko certainly made up for in spades. Since adopting Ami as an honorary “big sister,” the teen had barely left the side of her “Ami-onee-chan,” insisting on sitting next to her at the delicious Christmas feast Mrs. Kitagawa had prepared, then squeezing next to Ami and Akira on the loveseat when they went to the living room to open gifts. Quite frankly, between Junko and Mrs. Kitagawa, it was hard to tell who was the more obsessed with her. As for Mrs. Kitagawa -- or Izumi-mama, as she was constantly reminding Ami to call her -- the matriarch of the family didn’t seem to let an opportunity pass by to fawn over Ami or to subtly (or in some cases, not-so-subtly) remind Akira that she thought it was high time he got married, which embarrassed him to no end. Even her Christmas gifts to the two of them had a decidedly marriage theme. To Ami, she had gifted a cookbook, “since Akira couldn’t boil an egg even if his life depended on it,” and to Akira, she gave a pair of books, “The Secrets of a Successful Relationship” and its sequel, “The Secrets of a Successful Marriage.” Not wanting to seem ungrateful, they were both forced to smile and thank Mrs. Kitagawa for the thoughtful gifts, but Ami had no doubt that as soon as they got home to Tokyo, Akira would go straight to the bookstore to exchange the self-help guides for something more to his tastes. Likewise, her new cookbook would more than likely end up in Makoto’s already extensive collection. Once all the gifts had been opened and thanks given, Mrs. Kitagawa went to the kitchen and brought out tea and slices of Christmas cake for everyone. Even Junko took a small piece, much to Ami’s surprise, considering her diabetes. “It’s sugar-free,” Junko explained in answer to Ami’s unasked question, taking a bite of the cake before returning to her favorite topic of the day: Ami. “So, Ami-onee-chan, what college do you go to? You haven‘t told us.” “I’ve been wondering that myself,” Mrs. Kitagawa admitted, serving her husband a cup of tea. “Akira works at Toudai, but certainly you’re not a student there. I doubt the school would take kindly to a professor dating a student.” Ami shifted uncomfortably in her seat. So far, other than Junko wanting to know how they met, they had managed to avoid the more troublesome questions about their relationship, but luckily, she and Akira had already devised a cover story, anticipating the subject might come up. “I attend Keiou University,” she lied, using the name of Chiba Mamoru’s college. Ami felt she was familiar enough with the school and the teachers from Mamoru’s stories to pull off pretending to be a student there. “I’m a second-year pre-med major there.” “Ah, yes, Keiou is an excellent school,” Mr. Kitagawa remarked, appearing impressed. “I hear they have a wonderful pre-med program, and the medical school is among the finest in the country.” “Not to mention they have an awesome baseball team,” Akira butted in, causing his entire family, including the normally reserved Satoshi, to roll their eyes. Evidently, his obsessive love of the game was a well-known fact to everybody in the room, but Ami was thankful for the quick change in subject and reached over to squeeze his hand in gratitude. “He doesn’t make you go to all the games, does he?” Junko asked, giving Ami a look of sympathy before glaring over at Akira. “Oh, onii-chan, baseball isn’t romantic!” “For your information, Junko, I haven’t taken Ami to a single game,” Akira replied quite honestly. The only time they had been to a game together was that one Tokyo/Meiji game before they started dating, which didn’t really count since they hadn’t come together. “Really?” The teen raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “I find that rather hard to believe.” “Why is that? Ami’s not really a fan, so I don’t take her.” “It’s true. He only makes me watch the games on TV,” Ami said, smiling over at her boyfriend and resting a hand on his arm, “though I admit I usually fall asleep somewhere around the seventh inning. Personally, I think he‘s too embarrassed to take me with him to the stadium. Besides, we cheer for different teams.” It was yet another lie somewhat rooted in the truth, but Akira’s family seemed to accept it as a reasonable explanation as to why he had never taken her to a baseball game, especially when their “schools” were such big rivals. “Well, I certainly hope you don’t let your schools’ rivalry get in the way of your relationship,” Mrs. Kitagawa said, sitting back on the couch once she had finished serving everyone. “My son tends to get a little…crazy when it comes to his favorite teams.” “Mama, I do n--” Akira started to protest when his mother cut him off. “Oh, don’t deny it, Akira. You do too.” Turning to Ami, she said, “Ami-chan, would you believe the reason why your boyfriend decided to attend Tokyo University instead of following family tradition and going to Kyoto University like we wanted him to was because Toudai had the better baseball team?” “Really?” Ami looked over at her lover with wide eyes. “Is this true, Akira? “It wasn’t the *only* reason,” he said, though unable to hide the faint blush that crossed the bridge of his nose. In a softer voice, he mumbled, “But, yeah, the baseball team might have played a small part in my decision…” Ami giggled, amused that Akira, of all people, would choose a school based on the strength of an athletic team. He’d never told her that before, but, somehow, she could see him doing so. Akira might have been a brilliant scientist, but, in many ways, he was just a regular guy. “You never played for them, though, did you?” she asked. “You’ re always sprouting statistics and watching the games, but I don’t think you ever told me about any time you actually played.” “Akira used to be in Little League,” Mrs. Kitagawa volunteered before her son could even answer. “Oh, Ami-chan, you should have seen him in his uniform! He was the cutest little slugger on the team.” Akira‘s blush deepened. “Mama…” “You were!” Clapping her hands together, the pleasantly plump woman stood up and started toward a small bookcase in the corner of the room. “In fact, I believe we have a picture somewhere around here…” “Oh, Mama, don’t pull out the pictures. Ami’s not inter--” “Actually, I’d love to see them,” Ami said, walking over to join Mrs. Kitagawa as she flipped through one of the many photo albums and scrapbooks on the shelf. Akira covered his face in embarrassment, but Ami couldn’t resist the chance to see pictures of her boyfriend from his childhood. It didn’t take long for Mrs. Kitagawa to find the picture she was looking for. With the ease of someone who must have gone through the album numerous times over the years, she flipped to a page somewhere near the middle of the book and pointed to the 8x10 photograph of a young boy dressed in the blue-and-white uniform of the Dragons. Underneath, Mrs. Kitagawa -- or so Ami assumed, since she didn’t recognize the handwriting -- had written, “My Little MVP - Akira, Age 10.” “Here it is,” she said, a nostalgic look on her face. “Wasn’t he just the cutest thing?” “He really was,” Ami agreed, nodding over the woman’s shoulder. Akira looked positively adorable in the photograph, cockily leaning on his bat and winking for the camera. “You look pretty confident in this picture, Akira. You must have been a star player.” “Well, *I* always thought he was the best on the team, but, for some reason, his coach kept him on the bench most of the time,” Mrs. Kitagawa said, a slight frown on her lips. “I never understood why.” Over on the couch, Satoshi, who had remained mostly silent ever since they finished opening presents, took off his glasses and started wiping them with a piece of cloth. “That was because nii-san spent more time calculating where the ball was going to go than actually paying attention to the game, kaa-san.” “Hey, you weren’t much better, Satoshi,” Akira reminded his younger brother. “What was your batting average? .136?” “True, but at least I got to play in every game.” “Were you two on the same team, Satoshi-san?” Ami asked, sensing an opportunity to learn more about Akira’s quieter brother, as well as possibly stop an impending argument between the siblings. Despite their closeness, Ami remembered Akira telling her on the way to Nagano that they could be very competitive with each other at times. Unfortunately, her question seemed to clam Satoshi right back up. “Uh…oh, no, we played for separate teams since we were in different age brackets,” he sputtered out before placing his glasses back on his nose and turning his attention back to his half-eaten slice of Christmas cake as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. Ami sighed, disappointed, although she knew she should be patient. Just because the rest of Akira’s family had accepted her almost immediately didn’t mean Satoshi necessarily had to, as well. She just had to give him a couple of days to get used to her. Mrs. Kitagawa, sensing the awkwardness in the silence that followed, put the album she was looking at back on the shelf and pulled out another. “You know, Ami-chan, if you liked that picture, I’m sure you’ll love these,” she said, smiling as she flipped through what appeared to be a bunch of Akira’s baby pictures and stopped on a page of seaside photographs. “We took these on our first family vacation to the beach, when Akira was about two years old. Wasn’t he just the cutest? Just look at his cute little tush--” “MAMA!” Before Ami could even get more than brief glance at the photographs of an adorable toddler Akira, running naked on the beach while being chased by a younger and thinner Mrs. Kitagawa, Akira jumped up from the loveseat and nearly lunged for his mother, grabbing the album from her hands. “No more pictures. I’m sure Ami’s not interested,” he declared, his face beet red as he put the album back in its proper place, much to Ami’s disappointment. In an effort to put the spotlight on somebody else, he turned to his little sister. “Hey, Junko, why don’t you play us some Christmas music on the piano?” Akira suggested. For the first time since Ami arrived at the Kitagawa house, Junko appeared shy and uncertain, wringing her Santa-printed napkin nervously around her long pianist’s fingers. “Oh, I-I don’t know…” “I’d really like that, Junko-chan,” Ami encouraged, smiling at the suddenly bashful teenager. “Akira tells me you play beautifully.” “I’m really not that good,” she insisted. “Don’t listen to her, Ami-chan,” Mrs. Kitagawa said, wagging her finger. “Junko has been playing the piano since she was four years old and even plans to attend a conservatory after high school. She’s very talented, and that‘s not just a mother‘s pride talking. All her instructors say so.” “Mama…” “It‘s true!” her mother gushed, going over to the loveseat and taking Junko’s hand to pull her up. “Oh, come on, play a couple of songs for us, sweetie. Ami-chan wants to hear you play. Besides, it’s tradition. We always have a sing-along after presents.” After a few mild protests, Junko finally relented, taking a seat at the upright piano pushed up against one of the living room walls and pulling out a book of Christmas carols. The lyrics were all printed in English, but that didn’t stop anybody from singing along when Junko began to play, the teen’s pretty soprano soaring over the voices of her mostly tone-deaf family members. Her fingers practically flew over the keys, bringing the music to life, and Ami was reminded of Haruka, playing accompaniment to Michiru’s virtuoso violin. As Ami sung along with the others, she couldn’t remember having a more perfect Christmas. 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. Merry Christmas!