Marmalade Mercury: Ep 11b

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	*_* MARMALADE MERCURY *_* EP 11b: CELEBRATION! THE SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS PRESENCE.

<commercial break; Usagi, Mamoru and Kaijin skating, they trip over Ami's computer>

At last, the moment was right, the time was now. Ami's eyes closed and her lips parted slightly in anticipation. They grew ever closer... the only thing in Ami's world right now was Greg, and...

[*ring!*]

Ami's eyes snapped back open, lips still half an inch away from Greg's. The doorbell sounded again and the spell was broken.

Stumbling back a step, Ami felt more blood rushing to her cheeks. What? Who? "W-were you expecting anyone?" Ami stammered. Greg simply shook his head.

He appeared to be as put out by this as her, though it was still hard to read his face. Pausing only to flip the lights back to a more normal setting, Ami hurried to the front door. If it was just some salesperson maybe she could get rid of them. She yanked it open partway... and almost collapsed right back onto the floor.

"Hi!" Minako said brightly. "We just happened to be in the area and thought we'd drop by!"

The door swung open the rest of the way to reveal Urawa standing uncertainly next to the blonde. Greg came into the hallway behind Ami with a raised eyebrow. Ami tried not to gape.

'Urawa!' Ami gasped to herself. 'What now? He was out on a date with Minako?'

'That wasn't a complete lie,' Minako rationalized internally. 'We WERE in the area...'

'And Urawa complains about my timing?' Greg reflected.

'What am I doing here?' Urawa wondered.

Minako had called him up earlier, and they'd gone out to a coffee place nearby to discuss how the romance situation was shaping up. He couldn't even remember which of them had suggested dropping by here. Something about making sure Ami remembered him this weekend? Urawa glanced from Ami to Greg and back.

"Well, since you're here, you might as well come in," Greg finally observed, breaking the silence.

Ami felt her heart sink. She'd wanted it to be just the two of them... but on the other hand, what about Urawa? Her stomach felt queasy now and she wished her insides would settle down.

Minako and Urawa entered and removed their shoes. "Uh, so where's your mother at?" Urawa attempted conversationally, gaze finally settling on Ami.

"Oh, she's away at a medical conference all this weekend..." Ami regretted the words it as soon as they had tumbled from her mouth, but she couldn't pull them back. She shouldn't have put it like that...

Urawa's eyes bulged. "She's... away??" he choked, eyes flashing back and forth between Ami and Greg again.

Minako mentally snapped her fingers. Oops, she knew she'd forgotten to tell Urawa something.

"But we've done nothing!" Ami quickly stated. "I mean, we would never --" (...Ami's eyes closed and her lips parted slightly in anticipation...) "-- would... we... we haven't done a-anything!" she reiterated, the memory of mere minutes ago making her stumble over her words.

Without speaking, Urawa moved over to Greg, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the adjacent room.

Minako rubbed her chin. Yes, she probably should have mentioned the situation to Urawa to ensure he kept calm; she made a mental note not to forget about these important details in future conversations.

*****

In the adjacent room, Urawa shoved Greg against the wall. Greg just met Urawa's serious look with a calm one.

"What have you done to Ami?" Urawa demanded in quiet fury.

"I've done nothing," Greg answered simply.

"Oh come on, it was obvious she was flustered out there. If you've done anything strange with Ami the last couple days... you're in big trouble!" Urawa warned.

Greg paused to reflect. Where would rescuing Ami after she passed out in the bathroom rank on a scale of strangeness? "What do you mean 'done anything strange'?" he finally mused.

Urawa blinked, anger subsiding as he realized he’d been carried away by the moment. It's not like he was Ami's guardian, she could take care of herself. It was just the thought of her living with another...! "Well, just... you know, strange..." he concluded vaguely, waving his hand.

"How can I know if you don't explain?" Greg continued simply. He leaned quietly back against the wall, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me what I can't do."

"Ahh, all I mean is..." Urawa paused, now getting flustered himself. Surely Greg didn't expect him to go into any details about... strange things?

"That is what? Go ahead." Greg smiled slightly as Urawa opened and closed his mouth, unable to speak. Oddly enough, on some level, Greg found this was almost as fun as teasing Ami.

"Just... just tell me that you'll leave her alone!" Urawa finally summarized, somewhat lamely. Greg didn't get a chance to respond to that one; the doorbell interrupted them.

*****

In the meantime, Ami and Minako had been looking at each other uncertainly. It occurred to Minako that she and Urawa had probably arrived at the least opportune time. And she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

'I'm ONLY trying to help Urawa. I'm not trying to make Greg available,' she told herself. But for the first time since this had all started, she realized she wasn't sure...

"So you and Urawa just happened to meet each other?" Ami ventured.

"Hm? Oh, no, we've been out together for a couple hours at least," Minako answered absently as she tried to pinpoint exactly what her feelings were about the whole situation now. Lost in thought, she didn't catch Ami's look of shock.

Originally, Minako had wanted to help Ami break the deadlock while giving Urawa a decent shot. But if Greg hadn't managed to get his early advantage, if Ami hadn't seemed to prefer Greg, would Minako have wanted to help him instead? Rooting for the underdog in the love triangle?

Not as much, she was forced to admit. So, her help could merely be a pretext for making Greg available. In fact, by now both Urawa and Greg were her friends, so why should she be favouring helping Urawa? Perhaps her old feelings for Greg really were influencing her judgement.

The doorbell rang, breaking Minako's train of thought. Ami blinked at her, but Minako just shrugged; she wasn't expecting anyone else. Greg and Urawa poked their heads out of the adjacent room in surprise. Frowning, Ami opened the door.

Sewaya's head peered around the door frame. Everyone crashed to the floor.

"Where did YOU come from?" Minako demanded.

Sewaya frowned. "I was in that coffee shop when you and Urawa came in," he explained. "I was at a different booth and couldn't hear what you were saying - but you looked like you were on another date! So I played it cool. When you left, I followed. I wouldn't normally have done it, but I wanted to get proof!" He paused to scan the hallway. "And you can't deny the conspiracy now," he concluded, gesturing triumphantly at Urawa and Greg.

Urawa made a face. "I wouldn't suggest a challenge, you're almost out of hair," he observed.

Minako sighed. "It's not a conspiracy, you dolt. Me and Urawa just wanted to drop in and see a friend."

Sewaya paused, looking shifty. "I glanced in the windows before I came to the door," he admitted. "There's a cake in one of the rooms. Something is going on here, and if it's not a conspiracy, why wasn't I invited to the party?"

"It's not a party either!" Ami contested, feeling exasperated. When had things gotten so out of control? "It's just dinner!" 'A dinner that's gone horribly, horribly wrong!' she mentally finished.

Sewaya frowned. "A dinner for ten? Don't con me now, there were several full trays of sandwiches too."

Ami flushed slightly. She supposed she had gone a little overboard in food preparation, but she had figured that it would be good to have a wide selection, and better too much than too little. So much for that idea... she didn't know what to say now. There was an uneasy silence.

"Maybe we should all just leave?" Minako proposed.

Ami's first instinct was to agree, but she realized that their departure now really wouldn't solve anything. Besides being a bit rude, it could just confirm Sewaya's ludicrous claims while possibly making Urawa more distressed; her moment with Greg had long been broken anyway. Ami glanced towards Greg, but again could not judge his opinion on this matter.

Stifling a sigh, Ami simply smiled. "No... now that you're here you might as well stay," she offered. "After all, there is plenty of food."

There were some mild protests, but after a quick reassurance - and even a grudging apology by Sewaya - the five of them proceeded back into the dining room. Ami went to the cupboards to get more cutlery and glasses as the others took their seats.

Sewaya peered over at the cake on the counter. "Must be homemade," he realized. "From outside it didn't look so lopsided." Sewaya then flinched at the gazes Urawa and Minako turned on him. The phrase 'if looks could kill' flashed through his mind.

"You can always leave," Minako observed dryly.

"Let's all just try to get along?" Ami implored as she returned with drinks for everyone. They drank a toast to Greg then proceeded with the rest of the dinner. It passed without event, but Urawa found himself growing worried.

'Did Ami do all this just for Greg?' he wondered. 'What if I hadn't come by?' He wished again that he could see the outcome of all this in some sort of vision. But his visions were still annoyingly random; he hadn't even had a vision of Greg since the initial one upon arriving in Japan. 'So what do I do?'

"That was excellent, Ami," Minako concluded as she set her napkin aside. "I didn't realize you were so good at preparing food."

"Well most of the first part was sandwiches, that's hardly a challenge," Sewaya pointed out. He slid down slightly in his chair as what felt like invisible flames shot from Minako and Urawa's eyes. "Euh, so," Sewaya continued on hurriedly, seeking to change the subject, "if this is Ami's house, whereabouts are you staying Greg? I'll make it a point to avoid the area."

The other four people at the table exchanged glances. Ami shrugged. "Actually, I'm currently staying here as well," Greg admitted.

Sewaya blinked, glancing over at Ami then back at Greg. "Whoa, does this mean that you two are shacking up?!" he gaped.

Urawa cracked his knuckles and Minako dusted off her hands.

"It was just a question," Sewaya mumbled from where he now lay sprawled on the floor. He rubbed his head. "You two could've just *explained* it..."

"It's none of your business anyway," Minako stated angrily.

"Now look," Sewaya retorted, struggling to regain a sitting position. "While I may not be the most popular person here, I do have an interest in this stuff. I mean hey -- (he paused to gesture at Greg) -- it's probably his fault I'm in Japan anyway."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Urawa demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh..." Sewaya paused and shrugged. "It was just his stupid speech."

"Speech?" Greg asked. He furrowed his brows in thought. "What, you mean the one I gave back at school in Canada about Japanese culture?"

"Yeah, that," Sewaya admitted. He rose to his feet. "It convinced my parents to move here. And I suppose I should have realized you were coming here too, having spoken about the topic, but to be honest I didn't pay that much attention."

"I thought you said your parents won a trip here," Minako challenged.

Sewaya sighed. "Yeah, well, all right, that wasn't the complete truth. See, my dad happened to be present when Greg gave his talk about Japanese relations or whatever during a school-related public speaking forum. It got my dad all wistful for the old days back home, and so he started making inquiries. It just so happened that his company was looking for someone to help out in a branch office out here. So my dad requests the transfer, gets a new job, and the all-expense paid trip to come here with the rest of the family."

Sewaya paused to brush off his pants.

"So Greg was the inspiration behind my family coming here. If you want to blame anyone for my presence - blame him!" he concluded, pointing his finger at Greg.

"I hardly control your actions," Greg observed.

"It all sounds made up anyway," Minako refuted, crossing her arms.

"Well, actually..." Urawa paused with a funny look on his face. "I do recall my uncle talking about some sort of speech on the plane ride over... he mentioned how fate had presented him with this opportunity... I wasn't thinking about it too much at the time."

Sewaya nodded. "Fate, destiny, whatever. I wasn't going to bring it up myself, seeing as I'm not having a bad time here - but the way you all just keep pounding on me when it wasn't even my idea to come to town..."

Greg sighed and shook his head. "Fine, so I'm indirectly responsible for your trip, and if I hadn't wanted to come to Japan, half of you in the room would be talking to yourselves now. But since we ARE here, can't we do something besides argue?"

"I... I can find some cards," Ami said quickly. "I think I have a deck in my room..." She backed off, away from the others, and hurried upstairs, mind spinning.

Once upstairs, she paused to press a hand to her forehead and take a few deep breaths. That conversation had been... well, weird to say the least. And it sounded true, at least in as much as Ami now remembered Greg's parents talking about a speech in their letter. But could it really be that all her troubles were the result of one person wanting to further his studies abroad?

Because if Greg hadn't wanted to go, then maybe Sewaya's family wouldn't have come... which meant Urawa would also still be in Canada... and none of this would be happening.

"Why I don't I just find my cards," Ami concluded, hurrying to her desk. She searched through her drawers, burrowing under her texts and some loose sheets covered in equations and chemical compositions until she came across the unopened box. 'Aha!' Ami thought triumphantly as she stood up again.

"Nice room," came a quiet murmur from the doorway. Ami spun to see Urawa. Her cheeks quickly flushed a deep red and she hurried over, trying to block his view.

"You shouldn't look!" Ami said, aghast. "It's not proper without permission... I haven't tidied up in here today!"

Urawa blinked in surprise before turning away. "I see. And has Greg ever been in your room?"

Ami opened her mouth to respond but suddenly couldn't find words. There had been that time from the balcony, and not 24 hours ago, Greg had brought her in here after she had collapsed... "Well, he lives here; sometimes he has," Ami admitted.

"And are you wearing perfume for him?" Urawa continued.

Ami bit her lip. "It's... I think it's just cologne. My mother gave it to me, I just felt like trying it out."

Urawa sighed before turning back. "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter either way. But you know Ami, even if Greg is indirectly responsible for both me and Sewaya being here... if I hadn't taken the trip with my uncle, know that I would have tried to find another way back. Ami, you have to know that I just couldn't have pictured myself with anyone but you..."

"Not even with Minako?" Ami tried not to wince, biting her tongue even as the words tumbled from her mouth before her brain had time to register what she was saying. She swallowed nervously as Urawa stared at her for a long minute, the question simply hanging in the air.

"There's nothing between us."

Ami blinked in surprise, not having expected that particular response. "Impossible," she murmured at last. "I always see you two together these days."

Urawa took in a deep breath. "Ami, if you say not to see her any more, I won't. If you choose me, then I won't even speak to Minako if you like. But... but if you can't decide... Ami, I may have no choice but to give up on you."

Ami took a step back reflexively. Her hand went for her medallion before she remembered that she had changed into a dress with no pockets. She had no idea how fast her heart was beating. Could it be that she had stalled too long? Was Urawa falling in love with someone else? Would the same thing happen to Greg? Should she even choose one of them at all?

Urawa exhaled shakily. For his part, he wasn't sure what he was doing now, only that he was still losing ground despite everything. Somehow, he'd been doing everything wrong ever since he had said that he wasn't going to lose Ami without a fight. Despite supposedly having precognitive powers.

So there had to be a decision while he still had a chance! What else could he do?

"It's up to you," Urawa finished quietly, still looking into Ami's eyes.