1035/Plotting Over Cookie Dough

Plotting Over Cookie Dough
Date of Scene:	14 February 2016
Location:	Plot Room #2
Synopsis:	Usagi tells Makoto WHY she's been a ball of cranky the past week. And then plots regarding a certain boy in reading glasses ensues.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Usagi Tsukino

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Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Ahh, Valentine's day. The sky is beautiful, the people around her happy, the entire atmosphere is one of romance.

How Usagi knows she's in a bad mood? She wants to punch people.

But she hid it well from her parents! A nice lunch and much needed MamaHugs. (Ikuko could, of course, tell her daughter was in more a dour mood than usual. MamaSense.)

And now she's back at Makoto's. She'd snuck out early after having fallen asleep on the couch. This was after downing an entire pint of ice cream on the roof.

She knows Makoto is Not Happy with her. Or for her. And so when she enters the door, if she had a tail it would be between her legs.

And she practically scuttles to the couch where the taller girl is sitting and curls against her side.

"I wasn't hiding it from you. I mean, I was hiding it from myself. So it wasn't on purpose."

Then she pulls out the envelope of money Papa had given her, minus the whole Food and Allowance bit. "Also, here. It's from Papa."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto has her legs tucked up underneath her and her head tipped back against the back of the couch, her phone in her lap. She's turned on the TV and Howl's Moving Castle is on the screen, but the volume's turned down and she's not really watching it, just kind of gazing blankly up at the ceiling. She's still pretty tired.

When Usagi comes in, she lifts her head to look, but doesn't say anything right away. Her arm curls around the smaller girl when Usagi snuggles in against her side, too warm and gentle for her to really be mad.

The envelope comes out and Mako looks at it in bemusement. "What? You guys don't need to give me anything..."
She eyes the envelope for a moment longer before she brings her gaze to Usagi's face again, studying her carefully. "How are you feeling now?" she asks in a quiet voice.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi snuggles even closer. Mmm, MakoCuddles. "Papa's very prideful." Her voice goes deep. "'Tsukinos aren't freeloaders and they don't accept charity.' But he also gave me spending money. Guess he figures I'm moody because of the house." Which, actually, is part of why she's moody.

She hums in thought a bit. "Very cranky and annoyed that its Valentine's Day, though I suspect that's to keep me from crying."

She sighs and lowers her eyes a bit. "And not...whatever I was yesterday. Just resigned, I guess? Is 'meh' a feeling?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
The explanation seems to persuade Mako, because she takes the envelope and sets both it and her phone aside next to her. "It's totally a feeling," she assures Usagi, giving her a little squeeze.

Then she's quiet for a bit, eyes settling on the TV screen without really seeing it.

"Usagi-chan..." she says at last, speaking slowly like she's not quite sure what to say. "Are you really going to give up on Mamoru-san?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Good. Because I'm feeling very meh right now."

She really likes Howl's Moving Castle.

She looks up when Makoto starts to speak again, then pulls back so she could look at her better. Her mouth opens and closes a few times. "What? NO!" At first she wonders where Makoto got this crazy idea! But then she remembers. And she slumps and sighs. "It's just...when I heard he and Kunzite weren't...themselves anymore, I started thinking things I didn't want And then yesterday, seeing him, I realized..." She trails off for a moment, trying hard not to cry.

She fails, and her voice is rushed. "If there's no way to bring him back one day I may have to kill him so he wouldn't be used like that anymore, and I really don't want to, but if its the only way to save him--"

She sniffles a bit and her face crumbles. "And I really don't want to."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I'm sorry," Makoto murmurs, looking back to Usagi. "I really didn't think you were, it's just - it kind of scared me yesterday, seeing you like that." She reaches up, fingertips wiping tear-tracks from Usagi's cheek. "Probably even scarier for you, huh?"

She tries a smile, but it doesn't work at all and she soon abandons it as a lost cause. Her brow furrows as she thinks for a little while.

"You said before that you could feel him again, right? Can you still feel him?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi sniffles and cries a bit, and she's only able to nod at Makoto's first question.

This time her snuggle is for comfort cuddles.

She has to wipe her face and sniff a few times before she can answer the second. "Yeah. But it's like when he was asleep. Only this time, he doesn't wake up when I tug." But hey, silver lining! Makoto would like one of those, right? "It's easier to sleep now, though! I kinda cuddle it like a teddy bear."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"That's good." This time Makoto finds she can smile, a fond little flicker of it across her face. Without pulling away from Usagi she shifts around a bit on the couch so she can angle herself a little more towards her, looking down directly into her eyes.

"If you can still feel him, then he's still there. And as long as he's still there and we're still alive, there's a chance somehow to get him back. We just have to figure out what to do." She says it quietly, but with conviction. "Nothing is over yet, as long as we don't give up."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi offers her own small smile in return.

"I wish there was a way to lure him out, though. You know? Because if I could figure out a way, I totally would try tomorrow. Everything else, I sort of have an idea on."

She looks at Makoto, large eyes. "If I figure out an idea, would you help me?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
There's no hesitation whatsoever. "Of course," Makoto answers immediately. "I don't really have any ideas either, but if we can figure something out? I'll do anything you need me to." Both arms loop around Usagi now. "I've told you before, right? I'll always have your back."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A bright Usagi smile for Makoto! And a tight hug! "Yay!"

She hums in thought. "I wonder if I should text Ami to see if she has any ideas."

Wait.

Text.

Really? Would it work? But what would she lure him out with!

Not Jadeite, obviously.

"Okay, so. Remember Paris? I still have his Evil Phonenumber. Not the burner. I could always text him. Lure him out with...something shiny."

She hops off the couch and paces! "But with what?"

Pace, pace, pace!

"I need brain food...Mako-chan! Do you have any cookie dough?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Cookie dough? Makoto has to stop and think for a moment. "I think we baked it all into cookies already," she finally says, straightening her legs out from under her and putting her feet back on the floor. "There should still be some left if you want some... or do you want me to make some more dough?"

Some situations just call for cookie dough. This kind of feels like one of those times to skip the oven and just break out the spoons.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Her eyes are bright and her mind is moving a billion miles per second. "Dough, please? I'll help by not helping!"

Wheels and brain turns!

"So you, me, Venus, I think. Homura and Kyouko will want in. Oooo, maybe Miss White."

Ponder ponder ponder!

"Jadeite, too. I mean, discounting his illusions, I'm pretty sure he'd want to be there, anyway. Do we have any chocolate chips? Who else!"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako gets up off the couch and starts toward the kitchen, smiling with the renewed confidence that comes from doing something, even if there are still a good few blank spaces. "There's still chocolate chips," she reports after a look into a cabinet; pulling the bag out, she sets it on the counter and begins assembling ingredients.

"Hmm..." She thinks as she moves. "What about Asceplius? He'd probably want to help...

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Yay!" Cookie dough is the best with chocolate chips! (Unless you're allergic to chocolate which she isn't!!)

"Ohhh yes! Snake Staff!"

She dashes to the living room and grabs a small notebook and her Very Serious Notetaking Pen from her purse (yes the one of the floppy bunny on the top) and comes back into the kitchen, scribbling.

"Probably...not Takashi. He and Mamo-chan don't get along."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Yeah, I heard about that from Ami-chan. I wonder what happened?" Flour and brown sugar and a bottle of vanilla extract come out of the cabinates to line up next to the bag of chocolate chips, and then Makoto goes to the fridge for butter and milk. "I'm sure that Tadase-kun would help, too, if we asked him."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi shrugs. "All I know is they think the other one is a huge jerk. Which, admittedly, they both kind of are. Though Takashi seems to be doubley jerky."

Her eyes widen and she waves her hand! "That's not me saying Mamo-chan's a huge jerk and ug and complain! He's my jerk."

She taps the bunny against her chin. "Ohhh, yes! Tadase! And hmmm. He has friends! I like Ami-chan. Her floating doll person likes cherries."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto clatters about in her cabinets, getting out bowls, measuring cups and spoons, her stand mixer. She measures out butter and sets it to soften, then begins scooping flour. "I know, I know," she assures Usagi with a little laugh. "I know what you meant. He is kind of a jerk. I didn't like him at all for a while, until I got to know him."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi gives a mischevious laugh. It sounds almost like 'Mweeheehee!' "But you gotta admit. He was very fun to annoy back then. All those faces." Another Mweeheehee!

She hops up and sits on the counter, watching Makoto work. "Serenity and I have something in common. Both of us like watching artisans work." The way she watches Makoto makes it pretty clear she thinks the taller girl is a baking artist.

She sighs and kicks her feet. "It may not be him for a bit. It may be Endymion. So if it's not, it's okay if I'm sad. I'm at least prepared for it."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I don't know, he was a lot better at annoying me than the other way around." Laughing a little, Makoto finishes measuring out the flour and puts the canister away in the cabinet again.

She smiles with visible pleasure when Usagi calls her an artisan, moves on to packing brown sugar into a measuring cup with the back of a spoon. As she listens to what Usagi says next, her expression turns pensive.

"When you think about it," she says slowly, "although it'd be sad not to have him back right away... if that does happen, it might be for the best? It could give the part of him that's Mamoru-san a chance to recover a bit. Until he's ready to come all the way back."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi's getting warm fuzzies at the memories! "Yeah. I probably went out of my way to annoy him just because he annoyed me." She taps her chin in thought. "I think I even put sugar and cream in his coffee once."

Her shoulders droop a bit. "Yeah. That makes sense." A bit more of a droop. "What if it is him? Do I leave him alone?" A horrifying thought! "All of me screams 'no!' but I haven't really been handling anything right when it came to him during this whole...thing."

Makoto Kino has posed:
A grin flickers across Makoto's face for a moment as she listens to Usagi reminiscing. The brown sugar is measured out, and she seals the bag again with a twist-tie. Putting it away gives her a chance to mull over the subject at hand.

"I think..." she says slowly, "...we probably won't have a way to know about that until we get there. We'll just have to see how he is and do the best we can."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She sighs and hops down from the counter to lean against Makoto. "Yeah." She stares at the bowl, knowing it's not quite ready for her to sneak bites with her fingers just yet.

"Either way, we're gonna need a lot of coffee."

In a bit, there's cookie dough and more plotting. And...well, enough sleep, at least. Maybe.