1112/Dating Lives of Teenage Superheroines

Dating Lives of Teenage Superheroines
Date of Scene:	26 February 2016
Location:	Makoto's Apartment
Synopsis:	Makoto finds a list that Ami didn't mean to leave out, leading them to - somewhat literally - compare notes on boys, dating, and the respective conditions of their love lives. Such as they are.
Cast of Characters:	Makoto Kino, Ami Mizuno

---

Makoto Kino has posed:
Things are getting back to normal.

Okay, with the Dark Kingdom still a looming and increasingly immediate threat and Kunzite still in Beryl's thrall and various other upsets that still haven't entirely settled out, it can't be said that anything is entirely back to normal - and "normal" for the senshi is not very normal to begin with.

But ever since Makoto dragged herself back from Nephrite's palace and pretty much immediately sprawled out facedown on her own couch, she's been feeling better, and it's shown in little ways around her apartment and at school, in the occasional humming under her breath and the decreased frequency of bouts of stressbaking.

Things may not be okay yet, but to Mako it feels like progress toward the goal.

So it's with good spirits that she putters around her apartment, doing a little cleaning up while Ami's still at her cram school. Putting things away, dusting, the comfortable and familiar routine. She doesn't particularly take note of the paper on her coffee table except as something else to put away or dispose of, until she picks it up and her eyes skim over the lines of purple ink.

As soon as she does, though, her attention is caught.

By the time Ami gets back from cram school, Mako is stretched out on her back on the couch, holding the page in the air at arm's length in front of her face. The sound of the door opening draws her attention away from studying the list again; she looks up, then halfway props herself up on her elbow and waves to Ami with the hand still holding the paper.

"Welcome back," she says, brows already lifting in a question. "So. Agera-san again? Still?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami doesn't even have time to take her shoes off before Makoto is waving that paper at her. Legitimately confused, the girl toes out of her loafers, then shrugs. "He was texting me in class again, today," she says with a little grumble. "I don't know why he can't wait until after. It's really annoying."

Dropping her bag to the ground, Ami wanders towards the kitchen to fetch herself a coke from the refridgerator. "What's the paper?" she asks, completely oblivious to the trap Makoto has set for her. "Did he text you, too?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"No, it's not mine," Mako says, and sits up the rest of the way, turning to put both feet on the floor. "He was seriously texting you in class?" It takes a second before the implications catch up, and Mako's brows lift a little more. "Wait, you didn't text him back during class, did you?"

Dismay flickers over her face as realization dawns and she looks down at the page in her hand again. "...I guess that means I saw something I wasn't supposed to." Very sheepishly, she offers the paper to Ami. "Sorry."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami gives Makoto a very nervous look. "W-well! I mean! I had to tell him to stop texting me! And then he wouldn't shut up! So I just ... kept replying. Look it's not like I wanted to text him in class!"

The little hints of purple ink visible are giving Ami a very sinking feeling as she reaches for the paper in Makoto's hand. She takes it and skims it over, and then sinks down onto a cushion, face turning bright red. "I can explain," Ami chokes out quietly.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto is staring at Ami now, faintly incredulous. "Wow," she says. Ami Mizuno, texting in class. It's entirely possible that hell has frozen over.

But Ami looks like she might be on the verge of trying to find a hiding place between the couch cushions, so Makoto doesn't make the comment. Instead she scoots over and lays a companionable arm over Ami's shoulders. "It's okay," she says. "I mean, I already knew he was on your mind. You're still trying to figure out how you feel about him?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami's face remains the approximate colour of Mamoru's roses, but she manages to explain, "He doesn't like cats, either. That goes on the cons." She leans into Makoto just a little, then admits, "He wants to go to the Crown for burgers or pizza this weekend. I told him maybe. I didn't know what else to say."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako gives Ami's shoulders a little squeeze. "I know I really don't know him or anything," she observes, "but it kinda sounds like he's being pushy again."

Sitting back, she finds her transformation pen in her skirt pocket, uncaps it, and takes the paper out of Ami's hand to add a bullet point to the 'Cons' column reading 'does not like cats' in green ink. "Do you want to go to the Crown with him this weekend?" she asks, handing the page back again.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami looks over the paper after Makoto adds the cats to the cons list, then sighs. "I don't know," she admits. "There are a lot of pros on the list," Ami explains to Makoto quietly. "And ... I'm a little curious what it would be like to have a b..boyfriend, but." Ami glances at Makoto, then shrugs. "But I dunno," she says. "I'd probably just mess it up. Or get hurt. Or hurt him. It feels like such a big risk."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Hmm..." Looking thoughtful, Makoto caps her pen and tucks it back into her pocket before her full attention once more orients toward Ami. "Is that the only thing that's holding you back from going?" she asks, and it's a sincere question rather than a dismissive one. "If you weren't worried about messing it up or one of you getting hurt, do you think you'd want to go?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The question actually gives Ami plenty of reason to calm down and analyze her own behaviour. She considers it thoughtfully, glancing at Makoto without giving away her answer. After a few moments, she shrugs just a little. "I'm curious," she says, almost defensively. "I wonder what it might be like. So ... so yes, I think so." Or else what was the point of making the list?

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto nods slowly, accepting this answer. "In that case," she says. "I think you should go."

She sits back against the couch, lacing her fingers together behind the back of her neck. "I understand about it feeling like a risk, but... I don't think that's a reason not to go, if you want to otherwise. It's always going to be a risk, trying to get closer to someone. But if you don't try, you'll never know." Her brows draw together a little as she looks toward Ami, looking to see how she'll respond.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami sighs and nods her head. "Intellectually I think you're correct," she says. "However, I'm still scared of the idea. But I guess there's nothing for it. And we already did have a very nice dinner once at Verde 42. It's not like he's a complete slob. I just don't know what I'm doing with a date." She pauses, then looks to Makoto. "What would you do on a date?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako kind of looks at Ami for a moment before breaking out in a laugh. "What," she says, "like I've been on a date to know? I have no idea either." She tips her head back, hands still behind her neck, and looks musingly up at the ceiling. "Wear pretty clothes," she suggests. "Enjoy the guy's company. Try to find things to talk about that we're both interested in, or something to do that we could both enjoy. You already know where you'll be going, so..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami offers Makoto a highly dubious face. Then she sighs, and her shoulders slump in defeat. "Okay, I'll go," she says. "But I want you to text me like thirty minutes in so I can use it as an excuse to leave early if I have to or something, okay?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Sure," Mako replies without hesitation. In a swift movement she's sitting upright again, hands planted to either side of her legs on the couch cushions, grinning over at Ami. "No problem. It'll be fine, Ami-chan. And if it's not, you can use me as an escape route, so either way there's no reason to worry."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami smiles a little at Makoto, then blushes and buries her face in her hands. "Oh god, I'm going to go on a date with a boy. Why is this happening to me?" she asks, then hugs herself and takes a deep breath. "Aaaah. Okay. Okay I'm okay. Can we please talk about something other than Takashi Agera?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"You don't have to go," Makoto points out, laying a supportive hand gently on Ami's shoulder and firmly suppressing the urge to laugh. "But okay, we can talk about something else."

And then she stops, considering. thinking. "...What should we talk about instead?" Mako wonders aloud after a moment of failing to lay her hands on any immediate new line of conversation.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami reaches for her coke and pops the top, then takes a long drink before returning to the conversation at hand. "Well," she says, then grins slyly, "I heard you got Nephrite cleansed, and got to visit his palace. You could tell me about that."

Makoto Kino has posed:
They way that Makoto's thoughts stumble at the mention of Nephrite's name is practically audible. It takes only a moment for her face to start turning pink. "Wh-- well--"

She flounders a little over words, which doesn't at all help her be any lest flustered. "I had your little device thing with me," Mako manages at last. "Didn't you already see what happened?"

Then she remembers what else that feed would've caught and blushes even more brightly.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I haven't watched them, yet," Ami admits, tilting her head at Makoto's reaction. "I've been busy trying to catch up with missed schoolwork and ..." she trails off, blinking a little. "Mako-chan, what happened? Why are you so embarassed by this?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto has by this point covered her eyes with one of her hands. "Oh," she says, slightly strangled. "Okay. I... guess I should catch you up, then."

Drawing in a deep breath, she scrubs both hands determinedly over her face like she can rub away her blushes. "If you do end up watching the recording," she says, turning plaintive eyes toward Ami, "do me a favor and just - stop watching when we leave the others, okay? Anything after that isn't important." Not to anyone but herself.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami blinks at Makoto, then leans over to hug the larger teen gently. "Hey, whatever it is, I won't tell anyone," she promises. She doesn't, however, promise not to watch. "But I would like to know what happened. You asked me to keep an eye on you, remember? I know I've sorta been unable to do that because of what Kunzite did to me, but I have been trying anyways."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"I know." Mako's arms curl around Ami to hug her back. "And I'm really grateful. It's helped a lot just knowing you knew what was going on. It's okay now, though. Nephrite's been completely purified of the Dark Kingdom's power, so there's no reason to keep being suspicious of him any more."

She breathes out quietly, becoming more composed the more she talks. "It almost went totally wrong. There was a little while where I thought I'd lost us everything - there wasn't a puzzle like at the other palaces, the piece just kind of showed up and we weren't ready - but it worked out somehow. We got through to him in the end, just barely."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I'm glad to hear that," Ami says, gently hugging her friend. She pets Makoto's hair and asks, "And what happened after you got through to him? Everyone left but you two? Did you walk away with the piece? Did he do something to you?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto makes a face at these questions, an expression that asks, without words, 'are we talking about this?' Yes, it appears that they are. She sighs again, a longer breath that seems to deflate her a little. Her face has started to flush again.

"Minako-chan was coming to talk strategy with Usagi-chan and Mamoru-san and Kunzite. They didn't really need us there for that, and it didn't seem like Nephrite needed to be there for it right after he'd just been escalated, so we went off to let them do their thing. He didn't do anything," Mako insists, lifting her head to look at Ami directly, earnestly, if still kind of pink-cheeked. "I told you, he's not a danger to any of us any more."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami meets Makoto's gaze thoughtfully, then squeezes the brunette gently. "Okay, I won't pressure," she says with a grin. "Though maybe it's you who should be going on a date, not me," she suggests as she disentangles and rises to pick up her drink. "I'm going to go get changed into something more comfortable. Is there anything I can do to help with dinner tonight?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
The laugh that escapes Makoto at Ami's teasing suggestion is a quiet, embarrassed thing. "Oh, come on," she says, flapping a hand vaguely. "He's not actually - it really was all just trying to manipulate me, you know."

There's a small regretful sting of pain in it, for all that Mako tries to keep her tone matter-of-fact. No great crushing heartbreak, just a little ache. "Or, well, not all of it, but - it's complicated. I really like him, but I don't really know him. Right now he probably doesn't even know himself, after having all that dark energy flushed out of his head. It doesn't seem fair to expect anything, you know?"

Drawing in a breath, she hops up off of the couch, looks to the kitchen. "I don't know," she says, a sudden change of tone as she shifts subjects. "What do you feel like eating tonight?"