Ami pulled on her shirt and smoothed out her hair, trying to calm her
beating heart.  "Mamo-chan...I...I don't want to get between you and
Usagi..."

Mamoru smiled, carefully wrapping his condom in a paper towel before
tossing it in the garbage.  "Don't worry, Ami.  No one but us needs to
know about this.  I love her, but...there's more to life than sweets and
idle pleasure.  I need you, too, Ami, to be complete."

Ami blushed in acknowledgement, then stood and left without saying a
word.

---

Her heart was still racing when she reached the dressing rooms.  She
disliked keeping a secret from Usagi, but the way Mamoru acted, she was
certain he would take a mistress eventually.  Better that it be someone
Usagi knew and trusted, than to let his heart be ensnared by some woman
who might take Mamoru from them all.  Besides, he did know how to please
a woman.

But that was not what had Ami's heart beating so fast just then.  Not
even knocking, she opened the door, hoping to surprise the occupants.

"Oh, hey, Ami."  Makoto smiled, and her tone was friendly, but she did
not even look at the newcomer.  Her eyes were instead drinking in
Minako's form from close range, as she carefully dusted the senshi of
love's skin with metallic flakes.

Minako smirked.  "If I didn't know better, I'd say you're taking your
time."

Makoto's eyes met Minako's bemused gaze, then looked away in
embarassment.  "Just...umm, err...trying to do a thorough job."

"Yeah, well, I think that's enough.  Charge 'em up, and let's see how
they look."  Minako took Makoto's hands in her own, to the latter's mild
surprise.

Makoto concentrated, and Ami could see Minako's hair fluff up a bit as
her skin became charged with static electricity.  When Makoto let go a
few seconds later, Minako glanced at the mirrors, primping and pouting
and posing to shift the flakes around her.  Various bits of metal
sparked a bit as she moved, almost making her seem cloaked in a weak
field of raw dazzle.  Makoto stared, jaw slack.  "You're...so...cool!"

"Yeah, and it doesn't even sting that much.  Nice job."  Minako's ear
perked as an announcer sounded in the distance.  "Show's starting.
Gotta run.  See you after the concert."

Ami stepped out of Minako's way as Makoto watched the performer leave.
When Makoto made no move to leave the room, Ami stepped up to her, wiped
some drool from her chin, and guided her to their front row seats.  Only
later would she chastise herself for not taking advantage of Makoto's
open lips to steal a kiss.

---

The concert was a raging success, as predicted.  While Rei and Minako
did not win the most applause, their songs of unrequited love left few
dry eyes in the house.  At the end of each act, Minako had arranged the
choreography so that Minako would be facing Rei; each time, she looked
for some sign of recognition from Rei that this was more than just an
act, that she was actually singing about Rei.  The closest she got was
seeing that Rei seemed to be directing her attention to someone in the
audience; unfortunately, the same choreography prevented Minako from
getting a good look at who it was.

When the concert was over, Rei seemed too nervous to stick around.  She
fled the venue before Minako could speak to her, leaving Minako with an
open, questing heart and lots of fanboys.  As it turned out, one of them
would consider himself very lucky that night, but to Minako, the
experience was utterly hollow.

---

Rei hyperventilated as she knelt in front of her sacred fire, trying to
drive the impure thoughts from her mind.  Had Minako inserted those
lyrics, and *that* vocalization, intentionally?  They had not sounded
too bad in practice, but on stage, when her gaze passed over her friends
in the audience as she mouthed those words...

No!  Her mostly resolved feelings for Mamoru were bad enough, but to
feel the same fires, only more intense, for Usagi?

---

His life was the pits.  Rejected from university, disowned by his family
and ordered to take a new name to dissociate himself from them,
dishonored in every way imaginable - even the yakuza would not have him.
He had intended to blow up all of Tokyo, killing himself and those who
made him miserable - then those lovers walked by.  What were their
names?  Usagi?  Mamoru?  He could *feel* the love radiating from them
just by the way they held hands.  And he knew, immediately, what a shame
it would be to destroy such a perfect love - so, the nameless one merely
committed suicide instead.


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