2468/Who do we appreciate

Who do we appreciate
Date of Scene:	12 February 2017
Location:	Makoto's Apartment
Synopsis:	Ami and Makoto discuss boys and chocolates. There might be cake.
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Makoto Kino

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Ami Mizuno has posed:
It's a lazy Sunday afternoon, and even Ami is feeling the urge to be lazy. She's abandoned schoolwork and test studies and report writing and magical analysis, for a change, in favor of visiting a friend.

"I think I'm finally caught up on everything I missed while the maze had me trapped," Ami is busy explaining to Makoto, "but it was a lot of work. I can't believe they didn't just throw me out for missing two weeks without a doctor's note or something." She sighs and reaches up to rub the back of her neck, upsettedly. "I've missed so much school this past year, it's a wonder I'm going to manage to make it into high school at all."

Makoto Kino has posed:
It's not quite such a lazy Sunday over at Mako's - she's in the kitchen, as one might well expect. After pausing to set Ami up with some tea and a dish of cookies, she's done back to lining up ingredients and utensils along the counter next to the oven, sleeves rolled back and one of those capacious aprons tied on over her clothes.

"Look," she points out with a smile, "they haven't thrown me out yet, there's no way they'd tell you not to come back. You're the best student at the entire school, they've got to know that if you miss there's a good reason."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami has already made good work of the cookies. Now she's starting in on the tea, sipping smoothely. "Well," she mumbles, "I suppose you're not wrong, but it makes me unhappy missing so many days. I feel like I've missed all the important lectures. But, I'll figure it out," she admits with a sigh.

She doesn't dare enter the kitchen to get in Makoto's way, but she is all-too-pleased to watch her friend at work. "It'd be easier if the rumourmill didn't make mountains out of every little divet in the dirt. I spent almost all of yesterday trying to repair the damage done by one very sick magical girl. Luckily, Mamo-chan was able to figure out the right words to say to the right people. I think except that my reputation is now covered in mud, at least there will be no lasting negative effects of that foolish escapade. What're you making, anyhow?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Cake, probably," is Makoto's very atypically uncertain answer; "maybe." She eyes the state of her preparations dubiously for a moment before her attention turns back toward Ami. "You're going to have to help me test it, just in case. What happened?" Her brow furrows a little in concern. "I hadn't heard anything, do I need to go kick someone's ass?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami eyes the preparations with renewed interest, eyes glinting with excitement. Cake? That she's going to have to help test? In an attempt to hide her excitement, Ami pretends at being upset, and submits, "Well, if I must, I shall risk everything to see whether this is indeed cake.

A lick of her lips in anticipation of the taste, then she returns to the topic at hand, "A girl cursed with dark energy is well out of control. She was crying on me, and then out of the blue she uh ..." here the pink returns to Ami's cheek as she remembers the event all too well, "well, I have seen Usagi and Mamo-kun do that with their tongues, but I didn't think I would ever experience it and I'm not sure I wanted to experience it. It was rather uncomfortable, given I barely know the girl, and Motoki and perhaps some others saw it. And then of course my boyfriend found out, because he either has spies everywhere, or the rumourmill loves to try and upset him. He mistook it for a choice on my part, and it was very stressful," Ami summarizes unhappily.

Makoto Kino has posed:
The explanation of the recent goings-on is enough to make Makoto stop and stare at her friend, green eyes wide. "Wow," is all she can say at first, in a tone of quiet dismay. "...that must have been pretty freaky to deal with, huh? What the heck."

Her thoughts spin for a moment, searching for the most pertinent detail to hook onto. "He's not still pissed, is he? You said Mamoru-niisan helped you sort things out--"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami shakes her head just a little. "No, Mamo-kun fixed pretty much everything with just a few words. I don't know how he does it, but he figured out exactly the right way to explain it to Takashi so that he would at least let me explain everything, and then we talked a bit and ... well ..." she blushes a little and looks away.

"Anyways, I think," Ami says quietly, "that at the very least if I'm going to lose my boyfriend it won't be because of some stupid rumours blowing something out of proportion. I did want to talk to you about him, though," Ami notes, looking back to Makoto, now. "Or rather, about the fact that Valentine's Day is coming up, and I ... have never had a boyfriend on that occasion, before. At least, not while I was also healthy enough to do anything about it." Because last year, Kunzite.

Makoto Kino has posed:
Distractedly, Makoto turns back to what she's doing over on the counter, looking a bit like she knows what's coming next in this line of conversation and would rather talk about pretty much anything else. "...and you want to make him something," she finishes Ami's chain of thought for her, the words coming out in a sigh of resignation.

Oven preheating, ingredients set out, bowls and spoons and pans waiting. With a measuring cup in her hand, Makoto eyes Ami sidelong. "I hate to ssay it, Ami-chan, but my help with that kind of thing didn't end super well last year."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Last year you made chocolates for others, and I got a few," Ami points out to Makoto, "and he didn't actually really get any. Except he did decide for some reason that he needs to compete with you for my affection." Ami rolls her eyes at this, then points out, "Dark energy makes people see ghosts in the corner where there are none, and he was worried you were going to take me away from him. I think he's grown in the past year, Mako-chan. And even if he does try to make me his special dark chocolates again, I won't accept them. Promise."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Makoto doesn't entirely look convinced, but at the least, it seems she can't find any arguments to make against what Ami has said. After a moment, she capitulates and shakes her head. "Well, all right," she says, and begins measuring out flour into a bowl on her kitchen scale. "If you think so... what were you wanting to try?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami opens her mouth at that question, then closes it again as she looks down to watch Makoto working on the cake. She doesn't actually answer the question; in fact, the awkwardness of her non-answer stretches out for a full minute before she admits, "I have no idea."

Makoto Kino has posed:
There's a beat, and then Makoto just can't help herself - despite her best efforts to smother it, she starts to giggle.

"Well," she says when she can trust herself to speak, "okay. Let's see... chocolate cookies would be pretty easy, if you wanted something you could mostly make yourself. Or brownies."

She thinks about it as she finishes measuring out flour and closes up the container. "Actual chocolates would be a little trickier, but I have candy molds for it if you wanted to go that route..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami looks torn between defensiveness and confusion as Makoto starts giggling at her. "What?" she asks, utterly missing the joke.

"W--wait, I have to cook!?" she asks once she realizes what Makoto is describing. And okay, technically cooking is just chemistry, and Ami can do it, but that sounds like entirely more than Ami is sure she's ready to commit to.

"Uh." Nope, this is all well over Ami's head. "What are you doing for Nephrite?"

Makoto Kino has posed:
Hastily Makoto swallows her giggles, as much as she can - the corners of her mouth are still tugging up despite her efforts. "Cake," she replies, pointing at the bowl of flour. "Probably. That's the plan, anyway, if it works out."

'If,' she says, as though the result is seriously in doubt. More immediately-- "I mean, you don't have to make something yourself, you could buy him a nice box of chocolates or something. If that's what you're going to do you should probably go soon, though, there's not a lot of time and the good stuff will sell out."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Makoto's joke suddenly makes sense to Ami, and with all the dignity and confidence she can muster, Ami sticks her tongue out at her best friend, "Nyehhh!" She smiles, then, and leans forward to inspect Makoto's preparation.

"Well, brownies, then, I think," she says with a faint frown. "If I made cookies I'd be too tempted to eat them all. Ah ... I don't think I have most of the things I need to make brownies at home. Mom and I don't cook much." For obvious reasons. "I suppose I should ask Mamo-kun if I can make them at his place."

Makoto Kino has posed:
Mako flaps a hand dismissively at that idea on her way to open up the sugar canister. "I'm pretty sure I have everything for brownies here," she says. "Although using the guys' kitchen might be better just because there's more room, it'd be hard for me to help you do it here without both of us stepping all over each other."

She's in the act of digging the measuring cup into the sugar when she stops and eyes her preparations. "Really," she says, "this could wait a while, if you wanted to get started on yours first."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"What, and miss out on cake?!" Ami asks, sounding almost offended at the idea. "I think not. Takashi's brownies can wait. I assure you they're not nearly as important as any cake you are making--whether it's for Nephrite, or just a trial of something you might give to Nephrite if it works out. Just promise you'll go with me tomorrow after school to help me make those brownies."

Makoto Kino has posed:
"Okay, okay," Makoto laughs, and resumes what she's doing. "It's a promise. Brownies won't take us all that long to do, it'll be fun." Once she's closed up the canister of white sugar, brown sugar comes next. "The hard part will be keeping the guys out of our hair. We might have to make something extra to distract them with..."