Marmalade Mercury: Ep10b

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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 10b: JUST THE TWO OF US. AN UNSETTLING DISCOVERY!

<commercial break; Minako, Urawa and Sewaya skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

Greg placed his hands gently on Ami's shoulders. "Okay; don't get so tense, it's just dinner! My turn now. You rest, I'll take care of it."

Ami blinked up at him. "But..."

Greg shook his head. "Go. Tend to that burn. I'll whip up something."

Feeling a little too overwhelmed at the moment, Ami did as he said. And Greg indeed manage to whip up something in her absence.

Ami had to admit that she was impressed: it was almost like Greg had been taking lessons from Makoto. "I didn't know you were so good at this," Ami observed as they ate. "Maybe you should do the cooking from now on!"

Greg just shook his head. "Don't rely on me - I only really know how to do three or four dishes well, otherwise I'm hopeless!" He winked, making no mention of the earlier mishap. Ami smiled, finally feeling calm. There was no reason to panic... she just had to stop thinking about the idea of romance!

Ami managed to keep her mind occupied on other things until after the dishes were put away and both teenagers had gone into the sitting room. It was as she started flipping channels on the television that Ami remembered; this was the place Greg had first kissed her.

She glanced over to where he sat next to her on the couch, but Greg was just looking at the various programs as she changed the channel. Ami shifted her attention back to the television, AGAIN trying to stop from thinking about the romance angle; hadn't it had gotten her in enough trouble for one day?

She changed the station again. And he was now moving closer to her, making her blush as he leaned in, their lips almost touching...

Ami hurriedly changed the station once more, she didn't want to watch a program with that sort of scene in it! "There doesn't seem to be anything on," she reflected at last, flipping through a few more channels.

"Hmmm. Well, here's something then..." Greg said, standing. He slowly walked over and dimmed the lights. He glanced back with a smile before coming back and sitting a little closer to Ami than he had before. "If you're game for this sort of thing at least," he murmured softly.

Ami felt her throat go dry. "W-What...?" she asked.

"A horror movie," Greg finished, holding up the TV Guide. "Starts in five minutes. Scare easily?"

"Oh!" Ami said, again relieved. "No, I don't scare much at all, actually..." Being a Sailor Senshi tended to make regular scares seem mundane. She looked at the listing. `Nightmare on the 13th'... it had fairly good reviews as she recalled. "It's certainly better than nothing," Ami concluded, changing the station once more. Time to occupy her mind once again.

Greg nodded back and both teenagers settled in to watch. Though oddly, as the movie progressed, Ami did find herself getting a little frightened. The guy with the chainsaw who appeared in people's dreams was almost more horrific than a youma, simply because youmas didn’t look as human. Who knew what sort of normal looking people were really psychotics anyway?

Ami subconsciously moved in closer to Greg. And when the show was finally over, she flushed as she realized just how close they'd become; Ami was practically clutching at his shirt. If someone from school could see her now, what would they think...! She scooted back, trying not to blush.

Greg glanced over and grinned. "Nervous? I guess that movie did scare you a bit then." Turning away, he rose to switch off the television.

Ami felt herself unable to keep from blushing deeper, now grateful for the subdued lighting. 'It wasn't the movie that made me nervous there...!' she thought to herself. Could Greg really be so dense?

He looked back at her. "So, Ami... I guess we should go to bed now," Greg declared.

Ami blinked and almost fell off the end of the couch before she realized that statement had no relation to romance either. "Oh! Yes, of course, it's getting late," she agreed.

Ami dashed up to her own room quickly, lest Greg notice her face was now the same colour as a tomato. Once upstairs she let out a breath, cursing herself again. Stop thinking about romance! Why did it keep coming up?

Her eyes fell upon her Mercury plush doll. "You don't have to worry about this sort of thing!" she accused. "You just fight for love, you don't have to deal with it on a day-to-day basis. Whatever happened to those days?"

Ami threw herself back on her bed. Okay, not that fighting evil was necessarily preferable, but it was more predictable!

Ami rolled to look out her window. Well, maybe part of the problem was that the more she denied it, the more love asserted itself. Perhaps it was best to resign herself to the current situation instead of trying to pretend all was normal.

"I'm in a house, alone with Greg," Ami stated. "Nothing has happened. Nothing is going to happen. There's nothing to worry about!" She sat up, nodding firmly. There, she felt a little better now; it could be better to meet such things head on.

Seeking to relax a bit, Ami started to do a little light reading in her math textbook. But part of her still felt uncomfortable. It occurred to her that swimming often helped calm her when studies failed, and that she hadn't been to the pool in a while. Too late to go now of course, but maybe a relaxing bath? Water was almost always naturally soothing to her. Getting up again, Ami headed for the bathroom.

What happened next was completely unexpected. For as Ami opened up the bathroom door, she made an unsettling discovery. Greg had beaten her there. He was washing up at the sink. Dressed, thank the gods, but his shirt was undone... he turned to look at her.

'Close the door!' screamed Ami's mind. But she felt paralysed. What if she'd come a little later, what would he have been doing? Blushing for the umpteenth time, Ami tried to find her voice to stammer out an apology, something, anything, say anything, say...

"Did you want to join me?" Greg asked with a bemused look.

Ami felt her face growing just as red as it had earlier, if not more so. "Ecchi!" she blurted out. "Why didn't you lock the door??" she added, knowing she probably should have knocked herself.

Spinning away and racing back to her room in record time, Ami was unable to recall any time in her life when she'd felt so mortified. She leaned back against her closed bedroom door and slid to the ground.

How could her mother have left the two of them alone together? She was probably off having a great time at her medical conference, not realizing what her daughter was going through! And what had Greg meant by that comment?? Intruding on someone's privacy was not something to be joked about, not the way he did everything else! This living arrangement was just intolerable... she couldn't live like this... or maybe the problem was that she was getting accustomed to living like this when she shouldn't be?

Hadn't she been thinking that thought a couple of days ago? Well, the last few minutes showed her how bad things could get! Oh, whatever had her mother been THINKING when she'd agreed to that overseas arrangement? What had her father been thinking when he set it up, for that matter!

Slowly Ami's heart rate returned to normal again. She eyed her bedroom door with trepidation. Was it safe to go out? Would it ever be? Would anyone notice if she just stayed in her room for the rest of her life?

"Now you're being silly," she muttered quietly. She needed that relaxing bath even more now. Bracing herself, Ami poked her head out into the hallway. Greg was just entering his room.

"All clear," he observed, looking back as he heard her door open.

Ami flushed again. She hurried for the bathroom as fast as she could, while trying not to make it look like she was in a hurry. She made sure to lock the door behind her. "Why do these things keep happening to me?" she mumbled as she ran the bath water.

Ami undressed, and once the bath was near full she shut off the water and slipped in. The warm water was comforting and Ami closed her eyes, just letting herself soak for a while. Her mind wandered as she imagined herself floating in her own private pool.

Eventually her thoughts turned back to how the day had gone. She supposed it hadn't really been that bad. And she had actually had fun with Greg for the most part. Of course, she probably would have enjoyed it more if she hadn't been so nervous. And Greg's comment after her mistake in going to the bathroom, Ami still thought that hadn't been really appropriate.

Oh well... it would all be over after tomorrow. She could go back to just everyday romantic concerns. Ami couldn't hold back a giggle.

Suddenly there was a tap at the door. "Ami? It's been over half an hour - you drowning in there?" came Greg's voice.

Ami made a face. "I'm fine, I'll be out soon!" she shouted back. What was Greg's problem? She was glad she'd locked the door... though no, Greg wasn't the type to do anything like THAT.

She was pretty sure. Who understood guys anyway? "If only there were practical books about them," Ami mumbled as she slipped down deeper into the water, some of it pouring over the edge. She let her mind wander again.

*****

Back in his room, Greg flipped another page of his math textbook and scrawled another couple of equations down. Then he glanced over at the clock. Whatever could Ami be doing in the bathroom for so long?

Probably just a girl thing, he shouldn't worry. She said she'd be out soon. Maybe she was just avoiding him. He tapped his pencil on the desk. If only the house didn't seem so eerily quiet all of a sudden!

*****

Ami blinked up at the ceiling. Was it getting warm in here? She supposed she'd been soaking long enough. She certainly felt relaxed now.

Ami rose unsteadily, emerging from the bath and pulling the plug. She reached out for a towel - and completely missed it. Stumbling forwards, she supported herself with one hand on the wall, raising the other to her forehead.

It WAS warm... she'd let herself get a little overheated... how long HAD she been in here? Her fingertips were all pruned.

Shaking her head to try and clear it, Ami grabbed for the towel again. Successful this time, she wrapped it around her body and tucked it into place. Better just to get back to her room. Maybe a bit of fresh air... then she wouldn't feel so dizzy...

Shaking her head again, Ami reached out for the door handle. She missed it by a mile, stumbled, pitched to the side, knocked over the towel hamper, and then hit the floor.

Of course, she could always sleep right here...

*****

Greg continued to tap his pencil on the desk. He was paying almost exclusive attention to the clock now. It was just too damn quiet! Wait, had that been a thump?

"Well, worst she can do is yell at me again," Greg muttered, getting up and going back to the bathroom door. He tapped softly. "So what's the Japanese definition of 'soon' anyway?" he inquired.

No response.

A little uneasy now, Greg knocked louder. "Hey, don't I even rate a reply now?"

Nothing.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry for what I said before, all right?"

Silence. This wasn't funny. Ami didn't strike him as the sort of person to pull pranks either.

Greg banged on the door. "Ami? You feeling okay?"

Maybe he'd just missed seeing her come out. Greg carefully tried the door; it was locked.

"Ami, what's going on?" Greg was almost yelling now. He slammed his palm against the door. "Ami? If you don't say anything I'm coming in there!"

Damn it! What had happened? Greg tried to quell the fear and panic rising in his heart.

"Ami! Can you hear me? Are you okay?? AMI???"

Biting his lip, Greg tried the door again. Still locked. Enough was enough.

Greg threw all his weight down on the door handle, yanking at the door. He grimaced. Come ON...! The lock snapped, the door popped open.

"AMI-CHAN!" Greg gasped, thoroughly unsettled by the discovery of her prone form on the floor.

*****

The wind blew gently through Ami's hair. "Ami-chan..." She glanced around in confusion. "Ami-chan..." Who was calling her? She turned. And Greg was there with her.

"Ami-chan... I heard you're the greatest student in the school," he commented conversationally. He smiled.

"What?" Ami blinked, finding herself blushing.

"But Ami, our breakup was a mistake..." As Ami blinked, it wasn't Greg anymore, it was Urawa. Ami gasped. "I won't give you up to him without a fight!" Urawa said.

"Urawa certainly has some endearing qualities - wouldn't you agree, Ami?" The blue-haired girl stared as Minako appeared, linking arms with Urawa. The blonde smiled. "But if you don't want Greg, I can go out with him instead..."

Then the blue Medallion dropped down in front of Ami's eyes. "It will bond the two of you together as long as you have it," came Rei's voice.

Ami spun away, only to come face to face with Makoto. "If you just want to be friends with either of them... be friends," the brunette stated.

"I don't know..." Ami murmured. "I can't..."

And she was standing in the middle of a bridge. Ami whirled around, seeing Greg on one side and Urawa on the other. "No," she choked, holding her head in her hands. "I can't decide..."

Beside her, Usagi sighed. "Ami... stay calm. If both Greg and Urawa really like you, they'll respect your wishes and your decisions. I'm sure the last thing they want you to do is make you feel pressured or uncomfortable, right?"

Ami blinked, and Usagi was no longer there. In fact Ami seemed to be floating in a void.

"Ami-chan..." The voice was calling to her again. It was time to decide... and for a split second, Ami KNEW...

"Ami, wake up!"

Ami snapped her eyes open. She sat up with a start. What had she just been thinking? Something fell her lap.

She blinked at the cold cloth in confusion. It had been on her forehead. She was on her bed. When...? Her eyes finally focused and her memory came back.

She'd passed out in the bathroom. But now she was back in her room? And Greg was bending down next to her, peering at her intently. And she was only wearing a towel.

"No!" Ami shouted in horror. Her arm came up in a wide arc, hand connecting solidly with Greg's cheek. It had been completely instinctive, the look of genuine concern on Greg's face not even registering until moments later.

Greg reeled, falling back a step or two. His look of concern flashed briefly into astonishment, then relief, and then his expressionless face was back.

"Well," he murmured quietly. "If you can do that, you must be okay now." And he turned and slipped out of the room.

Ami remained motionless, arm still in the position of her backswing, as the full impact of what had just occurred dawned on her. Greg had only been helping her. None of this was his fault. Her eyes looked at the cold cloth then slowly turned until they were staring down at the palm of her hand.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "What have I done..."