View source for 1268/Waders, Walls, Roses, and Honey

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2016/03/20
|Location=Tsukino Residence
|Synopsis=Makoto comes to find Mamoru where he's working on taking down measurements for the house-rebuild they've got in store for the Tsukino home. In the process, they sort out what to do about the unsalvageable house and Usagi's need for continuity of place, and Makoto tells Mamoru about the AWESOME MAGIC CHOCOLATE IDEA she had!
|Cast of Characters=38,42,132
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Texting Mamoru-- or calling him, or in fact calling him on his brand new communicator-- will reveal that he is, in fact, at Usagi's house. All he's actually doing is photographing and taking measurements, and then oversketching what he remembers from his incomplete tour of the house and brief stay there as Minori. <br /><br />Since the boys have this strange aversion to leaving him completely alone at the moment, Zoisite's around somewhere; Mamoru's pretty sure he's sunning himself on the roof because cat, but hasn't bothered checking on his location for a while. He's near, and that's enough. <br /><br />Of all the things, he's wearing waders and canvas coveralls; there's plaster in his hair and schmutz on his hands and face, and his tablet's in a ziploc bag-- and he looks at least two sigmas better than he did a week ago. Busy and cheerful, even when he doesn't think anyone's looking.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>When Mako heard where Mamoru was, it seemed like a good idea to stop and change clothes before she headed over. So when she arrives at the Tsukino house, she's dressed in a pair of beat-up jeans and an old t-shirt sporting the slightly faded image of a potted plant with a smiley face on it. <br /><br />She picks her way through the house, wincing a little once or twice; she's seen the wreckage before, but not so up-close, and it's a bit disquieting to see the house where she was so regularly welcomed as Usagi's friend in this state. When she finds the area where Mamoru's working, it gives her something else to focus on, and she takes a moment to lean absently against a corner and study him for a moment. <br /><br />"You're looking pretty good," she comments a moment later - not flirtatious, just gently teasing over an underlying sincerity. Plaster and grime and waders notwithstanding, he's looking a lot better than she's seen him look quite recently.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>When Makoto speaks up, Mamoru doesn't startle, but he ''does'' finally look back over his shoulder and grin at her. He lets the measuring tape slink up and snap back into its case, then puts it down on what's left of a counter next to his tablet; a half-second later and the tall boy spins on his heel with his arms spread. "I'm sure I look amazing! Tell me," he says confidentially then, leaning in a little, "how ''much'' plaster is in my hair?" <br /><br />Immediately thereafter, he's got his hands up. "No actually I don't want to know!" Then he laughs and dusts his hands off on his coverall, shaking his head. "But yeah-- thanks. I feel like my feet are finally on solid ground for the first time in... this life, I guess. There's a government grant going to cover the costs of rebuilding, I dug through a hell of a lot of paperwork to find it-- but I'm gonna get the guys to actually do the work on it. Maybe the rest of you can help, too-- I know for sure I'm going to want Ami checking their work against what the building inspectors will be looking for, for one."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"You really don't want to know," Makoto agrees, laughing as she pushes away from where she was leaning and comes the rest of the way to meet him. "Careful who sees you, it could start a whole new fashion nobody needs." <br /><br />Thumbs hooked absently into the pockets of her jeans, she listens to Mamoru explain what he's got planned, and brows lifting a little she makes a quiet upward humming sound - a little impressed, more than a little amused. "That's great," she says, and means it even if she's visibly contemplating how entertaining it's going to be to have the guys all together working on repairs. "You know I'm good for heavy lifting; I'll help out however I can. I'm sure it'll be a weight off of Usagi-chan when things are finally fixed back up and she can have her family close again."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I'm a trendsetter, huh?" Mamoru asks, lifting an eyebrow and glancing down at himself dubiously. He just slowly shakes his head, eyes closed for a second. "Doesn't bear thinking about. How could I be hip and unique if everyone stole my individual fashion choices?" <br /><br />He leans against a load-bearing wall that didn't even get buckled in the collapse, and glances up at the ceiling, then back down at Mako. "Yeah-- getting her family back around her and finding out what Venus is moping about ''now'' and getting her to stop-- both big on my list for 'rebalance Usako'." <br /><br />The sly look that grows on his face is slow and inevitable. "Well. Heavy lifting is one thing. Another is working with Tsukino-san to redesign her kitchen to specs-- aaaand another would be feeding the work crew. If that's not an imposition. You can even borrow Kunzite to help, if you need~!"

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The face that Makoto makes at him is a wry one, but good-humored - even when he mentions Venus. For all that remains unresolved in that quarter, it seems that a good bit of the pent-up frustration that Mako was wrestling with the last time the two of them discussed Minako has dissipated, at least enough that she can stay relaxed when he brings the subject up again now. <br /><br />Especially since there are very shortly more interesting subjects to discuss. Mako's brows lift, a spark of genuine interest coming into her eyes, and then she grins. "Does Kunzite know what you're volunteering him for?" she wonders cheerfully, then shakes her head. "It's not an imposition! If you're willing to cover the groceries, keeping everybody fed won't be any problem at all. It'll be fun." Heaven help her, she really sounds like she's looking forward to the challenge. <br /><br />"Actually," Makoto adds after another moment, "I was thinking it might be good to drop in now and then and make sure your new roommates aren't all living entirely on take-out, anyway. If it wouldn't be an imposition." There is a definite note of amusement in her voice as she echoes Mamoru's own words back at him.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mamoru snorts indelicately. "Like bringing glorious culinary masterpieces over as a bonus to your company could ever be an imposition." He picks up a pebble-sized piece of sheetrock and chucks it gently at Makoto, grinning lopsidedly. "Dink. That would be wonderful. And of course I'll cover the groceries." <br /><br />Then he can't actually delay the question about Kunzite's volunteer status effectively anymore, and he coughs lightly, fist in front of his mouth. "I'm mad at him. He should be glad I'm volunteering him for something fun."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Mako ducks out of the way of the flying bit of sheetrock, laughing. "Well," she teases, eyes sparkling, "I was probably going to even if it was. I'm not exactly sure you guys can really be trusted to take care of yourselves yet." <br /><br />As she straightens back up again, she lifts her eyebrows at Mamoru coughing behind his hand. He's mad at Kunzite? The eldest Shitennou hasn't even been properly corporeal for a week yet. "That was fast," Makoto comments. "What'd he do? Or not do, I guess?"

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Here, the scruffy prince just sort of waves a hand around vaguely, then pushes off the load-bearing wall and reaches to pick up the measuring tape and the tablet again. He wakes the screen up and scrawls down the last measurement he took with his finger, not looking at Makoto. "He was being dumb. It's okay, though, I'm guilty of the same kind of dumb sometimes. Not as much anymore, since you guys pretty effectively broke me of a lot of the social disorders I'd been suffering from before I met you. He's just better at hiding it than I was. It'll get fixed. In the meantime, I can be mad at him and he can think about it." <br /><br />He glances up, squinting one eye. "I gotta go into the basement. It's gross. You wanna hang out at the top of the stairs? I don't have spare waders and that's not water you want getting on you."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Oh," says Makoto, as though Mamoru has explained everything. Given the comparison he draws to himself, he more or less has. He doesn't need to go into specific details; she has enough personal familiarity with that particular brand of frustration that while she can't necessarily fill in the blanks, for the most part she doesn't feel as though she has to. "So it's that kind of mad at him. I see." <br /><br />Letting that topic go for now, she tilts her head a little to the side and smiles amiably. "I'd say that I can survive some disgusting basement slime," Mako says, "but my shoes probably can't. Hanging out on the stairs sounds good. I'll keep watch, make sure you don't get swallowed by the creeping ick."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>There's gratitude there; odds are good Mamoru'd pretty much instantly felt bad about bringing it up. Odds are also good he'll bring it up again if it continues to be an issue. Either way, Mamoru gives Makoto a smile that's both fond and lopsided, then gestures grandly in the direction of the cellar. <br /><br />It soon becomes clear what a previously easily-forgettable distant hum is: there's a draft in the smashed kitchen and the hum is louder and accompanied by the sound of a large fan. Beyond it, the chugging grind of a sump pump. The stairs themselves are sound, and with the draft, the smell of swamp and mildew and mold isn't nearly as overpowering. Sunshine streams in from the outside doors, flung open, and it flickers in the choppy motion of the fanblades. <br /><br />There's still a few inches of water on the floor, and Mamoru hands Mako the tablet before clomping down and splashing in. He makes his way across the floor and reaches to flip a switch, and the chugging grind stills and a hanging light turns on. Buckets! As he bends to take the hoses out of them and pick them up, he explains, "Got a generator running the pump-- almost done getting the water out. Don't tell Usa, but with the water having sat for so long, I'm honestly thinking we should probably rip everything out and pour a new foundation. Otherwise they might never completely get rid of the smell. I--" <br /><br />He hesitates. "I don't think she wants to think it would be better to raze and reproduce, rather than repair. She's pretty hard into buildings and objects being allegorical right now, representing people. She didn't want new windows at Crown when she broke them, she wanted the old ones back. She wants the scars. It's just that structural damage, and severe water damage, are likely to cause long term issues in a building... I'm not sure what to do to make it okay."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Finding a spot on the stairs where the crud isn't too bad, Makoto settles herself down to sit on a step, resting the tablet against her knees. "I kind of get how she feels," she says with a sigh. "There might not be much you can do, except give it time. Even if we have to replace things, the people are still here, scars and all. Maybe when she feels a little more secure about that, it won't matter so much that the house isn't built of the same stuff." <br /><br />Optimistic words, though Mako doesn't sound as certain as she'd like. Tactile and kinesthetic a person as she is, she understands very well how a place or an object can become a touchstone, something tangible to hold onto. She can't help remembering the move out of her childhood home, how desperately she'd pleaded and fought with the grown-ups over what she'd be allowed to keep and what would have to be disposed of somehow - her parents' clothes and books, dishes and little knicknacks, so many things she'd never have use or space for but still every box packed up and taken away had felt like another piece of her world crumbling. But this situation isn't the same, and on some level perhaps Makoto doesn't entirely understand how Usagi feels. <br /><br />"...Even if it's harder for her to deal with right now," she says, watching the grimy water sloshing around Mamoru's feet, "I don't think it's a good idea to leave problems behind that could get worse down the road."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...I know," comes Mamoru's voice louder but more distant; he's moved just out of sight, bringing the buckets up the outside cellar stairs to dump them out past the fan. Then he's back and bends to reattach the hoses to the buckets and start the pump again. <br /><br />At least most of the sodden and completely ruined things are off the floor, and it's just an empty space with dirty water. <br /><br />Mamoru looks up at Makoto, face full of muted regret. "I know. I'm really glad you guys kept my apartment for me. Places are really important. The walls have memories of their own. New windows haven't seen the same things as the glass that was there before. But we can keep a continuity of place for her if we preserve the parts that are still unbroken, and put them in the new structure. The old things can teach the new things how to behave." <br /><br />There's a pause and he starts to laugh, looking sheepish and reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, which gets him smudgy there, too. But as he looks away, his eyes light on part of the crumbling lower section of the concrete walls, and he stops laughing and stares. "Oh. Well. Maybe..." <br /><br />The prince sloshes through the mucky stagnant floor-water toward the wall, and prods at the disintegrating concrete with the toe of his hip-wader. It crumbles. Then he takes off a work glove and places his bare hand on the upper wall, then raps it with his knuckles, frowning. "No but, you know what we ''can'' do, especially since we're doing it ourselves? We can take material from the undamaged pieces of all the walls and either mix it in with the new or just put it inside the new."

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>She thinks that over for a short space, and Makoto's expression slowly brightens as though in realization. "You're right," she says, nodding, gripping the edges of the tablet where it's laid across her knees. "We can do that. It won't be the same, but it would help, at least a little. I'm sure it would help." Continuity of place, he said. A way to ease the transition. Last year's fallen leaves becoming the soil for this year's new growth. <br /><br />"Nice idea, niisan," Mako says, smiling warmly at Mamoru across the slowly-draining muck. 

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>That-- ''that'' is the warmest, most radiant smile Makoto's seen from Mamoru, casually, probably ''ever''. "Thanks," he says, the smile turning into a grin; he has to look away, still grinning, suddenly a little embarrassed about how affected he is by that approval-- or maybe just by how much it shows. <br /><br />"Well," he says, looking down and lightly stamping his foot into the muck with a laugh. "Let's go start moving large appliances. It'll probably also make Usagi's dad happy if they don't have to replace stuff like the refrigerator, right? Decent compromise with her mom. Usa already salvaged everything she could move herself that wasn't wrecked, so it's just big stuff left." <br /><br />He starts coming up the stairs, ears still a little pink.

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Right!" As he starts up the stairs, Mako bounces up onto her feet, beaming. She holds out the tablet to him when he's close enough to take it, and then starts upwards ahead of him, with far more enthusiasm than anybody really ought to have for the prospect of moving large heavy appliances. <br /><br />"--oh," she comments as she goes, glancing back over her shoulder, "off the subject, I had an idea recently that I wanted to run by you and see what you thought about it." Maybe the sparkle in her eyes isn't just for the appliances - from the tone of her voice, whatever it is she's just remembered is something she's kind of excited about.

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>The tablet's taken back as soon as Mamoru's got his work gloves in his coverall pockets. <br /><br />His eyebrows lift right up over his smudged glasses as he ascends behind Makoto, and maybe he exaggerates his skepticism at her sparkle a bit. You know, after all, that he's fundamentally okay if he's teasing at least a little. "...oho?" he prods, tilting his head. <br /><br />But he can't keep it up: her excitement's infectious. "Tell me!"

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"I've been thinking lately that I want to try and come up with a couple of good recipes for emergency snacks that we could keep in our subspace pockets or something - you know, just in case," Makoto explains, rattling up the stairs ahead of him. "I really don't know why I didn't think of it sooner, except that up until recently the fights usually ended fast enough it didn't matter..." <br /><br />A pace beyond the top of the steps she pauses to look back at Mamoru, grateful and a little rueful at the same time. "I know you've kept some stuff handy, and I'm really glad you did. I just feel like if we tried we could probably do a little better than powerbars--" <br /><br />She's rushing through her words a bit, conscious that he might not want to be reminded of the trip to the North Pole, not really wanting to remember it herself. "--anyway," Mako says, "that's not the part I wanted to run by you. It might be a terrible idea, but if you're up for it I feel like it'd be worth testing out - oh." She catches herself, belatedly remembering something; he can see the mental backspace on her face as it happens. "Did Usagi-chan manage to save any of the Valentine's chocolates for you? I know she wanted to, but there was a lot going on around then and I don't know if there were any left by the time she had a chance to give them to you."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Valentines' chocolates...?" Mamoru repeats blankly as he gets up out of the stairwell after Makoto, trailing off and stopping. "I have no idea, she might just not have remembered. Or she might have eaten them all. I mean-- it's okay if she did, it's not like I was around," he adds ruefully, failing to resist the urge to rub the back of his neck. He thunks against the doorpost, leaning. <br /><br />"But that sounds like a really good idea. I mean, hopefully we won't ''be in'' any more fights that take days; I just figured if we were going to the North Pole, it wouldn't be a half-hour thing, and the way Usa eats-- I don't know, she might be hypoglycemic or something. Be bad if she fell over." He rubs his nose. More smudge. "But yeah that's a really good idea. I don't know how your subspace pockets are at preservation-- mine is pretty good, there's beer from Homura's birthday party in there that's still cold." <br /><br />A beat, and Mamoru looks a little sheepish. "Uh, what part did you want to run by me? Test what out?"

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>He's looking sheepish, and Makoto starts laughing and holding up get hands because of course he has no earthly idea what she's talking about. "Sorry," says, "It's related, I promise--" But even knowing that she's making no sense isn't enough to keep her from jumping ahead of herself again, bright-eyed, so excited about this. So excited about telling him about this. <br /><br />"''Rose honey,''" Mako tells him as though it's meant to explain, well, anything. "The rose you left with me kept blooming all through the winter, and I couldn't figure out why, so I made rose honey - it's stupidly easy, it just takes time to infuse. And then I made chocolate with it for Valentine's, 'cause I was trying to figure out a way to get through to Nephrite, and I didn't even know if it would do anything but he ''felt'' it." <br /><br />Breathe, Mako. She reins herself in a little, her smile turning self-conscious but nonetheless irrepressible. "Maybe it'd just be too weird, I don't know, but I can't help wondering - if that little rose bush could pick up enough of your power to do something like that, what do you think the real thing could do?"

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Wh--" starts the upperclassman, then blinks as Makoto just blurts out the key phrase. His brows furrow for a second, and then he just looks helplessly amusedly lost until she starts actually explaining. And then-- ''then''-- his eyes get wide indeed. "It-- it did that? But it's just a rose..." <br /><br />He's still reeling a bit from 'picked up enough of your power'-- still convinced it's more like Mako's chocolate was just that good-- when the brunette delivers the coup de grace. Mamoru just stares. "I... have no idea. We ''gotta'' try this." Eyes, so wide. He shoves off the doorpost and reaches up to put his hands on Makoto's shoulders. "You're a genius. And I literally have no idea what it would do. But it can't be bad, right?"

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"Right!" She nods vigorously, ponytail bobbing, all of her few faint reservations about this whole idea vanishing from the moment Mamoru says they have to try it. "Normal roses are fine to eat as long as they're not full of pesticides. Yours are super-roses, but they're still roses, there's no reason they should be any different. And let's be real, who around here ''hasn't'' had a shot or two of your energy by now?" <br /><br />Only Mamoru's hands on her shoulders are keeping Makoto from bouncing on her heels in sheer gleeful enthusiasm. "I have no idea what it'd do either, but I really want to find out. It'll be great, I'm sure of it."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Laughing helplessly, Mamoru lets go of Makoto's shoulders so she can bounce at will. His hand goes up to his head and he still looks-- a little bewildered, but in a good way. "Jeez," he just says, and laughs again. "You know I really, really, really love chocolate anyway, right? I should, with all those chocolate chips of yours I ate..." <br /><br />It's obvious he's still processing this. His gaze unfocuses and for a moment he looks at nothing, wheels spinning, and then he bursts out laughing ''again''. "Oh man. You're gonna get Jadeite addicted! Okay-- you know what, let's leave moving functional appliances out alone for now. I'm gonna grab Zoisite off the roof and go home and get cleaned up; if you haven't got anything going on, I'll come by?"

:'''{{#var:42|Makoto Kino| (42)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>Laughing now herself, Makoto nods again. "I know," she says to his comment about the chocolate, amused and fond. "Straight out of the bag, believe me, I know." <br /><br />The abrupt change of plans has her blinking for a moment, but Mako catches up quickly, and soon she shakes her head. "I don't have any plans, but there's really no hurry. I'd need to get some more honey anyway--" <br /><br />She stops there suddenly, eyes widening. "--wait, it's Sunday. What time is it?" A hasty check of her watch, and then Mako is all but vibrating with excitement again. "The UN University's having their farmer's market until four. They'll be selling raw honey there, I could get some. Maybe a couple other things, too. Geez, it's been so crazy I haven't even been yet this year and the month's almost over."

:'''{{#var:38|Mamoru Chiba| (38)}} has posed:'''<br><span></span>"...!" <br /><br />Once again, Makoto's moving too fast for Mamoru, but she's gradually bringing him up to her current speed-- and then he waves his hands in the air, caught up in the excitement all over again. "SOME? ''Some'' honey? No way, I'll go with you--" <br /><br />Then he's scrambling out the door. "Zoi! ZOI!" <br /><br />There's an indistinct voice, and then a yelp of alarm. <br /><br />"We have to go home NOW so I can get changed and we can go to the farmer's market with Mako-chan and buy ALL THE HONEY!" <br /><br />There's indistinct incredulousness. <br /><br />"YES it's an emergency!" <br /><br />The sound of indelicate dubiousness and incredibly delicate snark. <br /><br />"Fine I'll go by myself and probably land in traffic, you can tell Kazuo--" <br /><br />A crash. <br /><br />Mamoru sticks his head back in the door. "Meet you at your place in like forty-five minutes!" he calls in cheerfully, then lifts a hand-- before getting yanked by the back of the coveralls and vanishing.
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