Pop Tart Prediction


Author: vo1


Rated: PG13


Rating :


Pop-Tart Prediction

Hey just a few quick notes and such.

Uh, uno: this story is pure fluff...it predates "As We Were" by a few

months, (well, about 3, to be exact.) It ties along with AWW plot-wise.

If you haven't read AWW, some stuff may not make sense, but that's just

hint-wise. If you have, you know what's going on. I dont own Sailor Moon.

Bryce University is completely made up, any relation is purely coincidental.

Dos: I may have (i know i have) screwed up somewhere...i guess ill fix it

later. Without further ado:

Oh yeah it's kinda PG-13 just for sexual situations and language.

This is totally unlike anything else i have written. I was in a weird

mood.

*************************************************************************

“I wake up scared,

I wake up strange,

I wake up wondering if anything in my life

is ever going to change…” Barenaked Ladies

“I can’t help that I like to be kissed

And I wouldn’t mind if my name was changed to Mrs. …

Who will be the one to marry me?”

“Marry Me”

No Doubt

* * * * * * * * * * * *

“Oh my God, Mina, could you give me some help here?” Raye pulled her

blond, extremely drunk friend up the next few stairs, a difficult endeavor

in itself, but when coupled with the fact that she herself had thrown back

a few, and that Mina was a good head taller than her, all willowy limbs, it

compounded into a near impossibility.

Mina slurred her sentence into unintelligible rambling, and tried to

lift one of her feet. She missed the next stair and fell sideways, pulling

Raye down with her. Raye’s body cracked heavily against the aluminum railing.

“OW! Damn!” Raye swore, rubbing her sore hip. “Mina, you are going to

hear it so bad tomorrow! I’m going to kick your ass for all this shit you’re

putting me through!” It was three in the morning; they two girls were

returning from a party at TKE that was presently still going on, but Mina had

passed out and Raye felt it would be prudent to get her out of there before

any of the frat boys smelled drunk freshman DZ. They had snuck into a friend’s

first floor window to avoid the anally retentive RA planted at the front desk

with a late sign-in sheet, and the only obstacle left was the single flight of

stairs leading to the second floor.

Finally, Raye had had enough and, after looking around to see if anyone

was looking, picked Mina physically off of the floor and carried her the rest

of the way to their room.

“AAHH.” Mina spread her arms out on her bed. “My bed. Gonna sleep now.”

“Want some water?” Raye pulled a plastic bottle out of the mini-fridge.

“Sure.” She held it out. Mina didn’t take it, or make any other move to

try. Sighing, Raye unscrewed the cap and stuffed it in her friend’s hand.

“Don’t spill, that, OK? I’m not cleaning water up in the middle of the

night. She pulled out a pair of shorts and a worn tank, and slipped out of her

party clothes and into her nightwear.

“What did you think of that guy?” Mina muttered, doing her best to take

off her shirt without falling over.

Raye rolled her eyes. “Oh that guy, yeah, that narrows it down. Get

yourself together, Mina, the entire place was guys. Which one?” any longer to undo those buttons…GAH! I’ll just do it. >> She pulled Mina’s

clothes off and helped her redress. “You are a mess, girlfriend. You better

get on your knees and thank me for not leaving you with those TKEs.”

“The one you were talking to!” Mina’s mind ignored Raye’s reprimand and

was still stuck on the previous conversation. “The cute one.”

Raye tucked Mina in and busied herself with the sheets on her bed. “One,

they all were cute. And two, I was only talking to him because we were trying

to decide what to do with your drunken ass! He wanted to give us a ride home.”

“Did he?”

“No, Trish did, remember? Oh wait, you obviously don’t.”

Mina giggled. “Aw, Raye, you need a man.”

“No I don’t.” < I don’t. I’m all I need. I don’t mind. >>

“Yes you do! And we’re going to find one for you this year.”

Raye rearranged her pillows and flopped on her bed. “Get off it, Mina.

I’m never going to find a guy.”

“See, you keep saying that, but I don’t think you believe it. I’ve seen

you stare at that rugby player!”

“Who? Mike? Yeah, because he seems to never be wearing a shirt.” Her mind

flashed back to the previous day, when she was walking across campus. A few guys

had put together an impromptu football game, and were bashing the heck out of each

other in front of their audience of female gawkers. She watched them as she

passed by, almost hypnotized by their rippling muscles, too far away to discern

their faces. The Hot Rugby Mike was one of the players, she was sure of that.

There was no way she wouldn’t recognize an ass like that. The ball flew out of

bounds, and a blond guy with extremely tight abs ran to retrieve it. As he neared,

Raye squinted at his face. ass be attacking or something? Plus, everyone seems to recognize him. >> She stuck

her hand in her purse and clasped her fingers around her henshin pen, just in case,

but then the entire team jogged off towards a bespectacled, long-haired,

hippie-looking guy with a very large, expensive-looking camera.

She yawned and fluffed the covers around her. College was great; it was

full of new experiences, new friends, and it was at least an ocean away from

Yuuichiro.

What a dork. She never really knew why she got involved with him, but

suspected it had to do with the fact that it seemed everyone in her school had a

boyfriend, and what better way to best them than to have the OLDEST, the CUTEST,

the most FAMOUS boyfriend? He had money, that was for sure, and she loved showing

off the various gifts he had bestowed upon her. Even Serena would get a little

green sometimes.

Then came the day that she realized that she hated him. Not just dislike,

but total, absolutely hated him. look better to him if he was going out with me. >>

Sadly, it was the truth. To fall into the old man’s favors, Yuuichiro mistakenly

thought that dating Raye was the way to go. On the extremely long, boring plane

ride to America, Raye had spent a few hours staring out at the fluffy white clouds

and trying to reason why she had wasted so much time on him.

>

about what you wanted to do with your life? Did you ever tell him about your mom?

You must not have trusted him, and now that he’s gone, it’s just like dropping excess

baggage. C’mon, cheer up, we’re going to college and it’ll be FULL of guys!” >>

Raye shuffled her comforter around her, and something hard and scratchy brushed

against her leg. “Eww…who left a Pop-Tart on my bed? Was it you?”

“I think it was Serena.”

“Figures,” Raye muttered, swiping crumbs off of her sheets. The thought of

her short blond friend made her simultaneously smile and quake with internal

jealousy. just SUPREMELY sucking right now! >>

“I’m never going to have a boyfriend.”

“What are you talking about?” Mina’s voice was growing sleepier.

“Seventh floor Chris is totally digging you; you just never give him a chance.”

“That’s because he’s a pothead. He told me my eyes reminded him of

the colors he saw at the Further Fest when he was tripping.”

Mina giggled again. “Ok, so he’s not perfect.”

“He’s far from perfect. He’s not worthy of me.” She fiddled with the

scrap of Pop-Tart in her hands, started picking off the confetti-colored

sprinkles. “I just wish I knew who I was going to marry. Just so I know

that I won’t be alone and living with 400 cats for the rest of my life.”

“Put a piece of wedding cake under your pillow.”

“What?”

Mina rolled over. “It’s like an old wives’ tale: if you put a piece

of wedding cake under your pillow, you’ll dream of the person that you’re

going to marry. And there’s nothing wrong with living with cats, thank

you very much. Now would you please turn off the lights and shut up so I

can fall asleep before I start puking? Thank you.”

Raye sighed and clicked off her bedside lamp. supposed to get wedding cake? The dining hall? >> She was about to throw

the Pop-Tart scrap in the general direction of the garbage can when she

stopped and stared at it in the dark.

> She lifted her head and slid it under her pillow.

it on Mina. >>

She fell asleep with the smell of strawberry filling on her fingers.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Even without the rough night, Raye could not bring herself to

leave her bed. Unknowingly, she had awoke at the crack of dawn, a habit

she had developed from years of living at the temple, and had merely rolled

over and buried herself back into the heat pocket her body had created. She

thought she heard someone talking to her, the vocal articulation reduced to

a meaningless buzzing in her semi-conscious mind. Dismissing it as Mina or

the TV, she let herself slip back through the layers of comfortable oblivion.

She snuggled in deeper, burying her face in the cloud-like softness

of the pillow against her cheek. Her entire body was cushioned; it

felt like she was sleeping on a bed of feathers. She let her mind

blank out again, only minimally aware of the warm sunlight shining

down on her bed and heating her skin and the breeze wafting in from

the open window.

When she rose through the stages of sleep and back into the

waking world, the breeze became a little irritating. window open? I’m going to kill her. >> She stirred in her cocoon of warmth,

the soft cotton brushing against her naked body…

>

She opened her eyes and saw nothing but white at first. For a

split second, she entertained the notion that she was dead, until she

realized that she was laying in a very big, very soft bed full of white

sheets and pillows and a goose-down comforter. The ceiling above her

was also white, and about twenty feet up. the rooms in Goshin Hall are not equipped with cathedral ceilings. >>

She sat up, startled, near panic, and realized that she was

naked. Very naked. She pulled the covers over her chest and frantically

searched the room for any sign of familiarity.

bed in my cinderblock room of Goshin Hall. It’s all that Keystone light

I drank, that’s what’s giving me these weird dreams. >>

She was lying in the center of a huge white canopy bed, with

transparent white draped covering the canopy and winding down the bedposts,

which, upon closer inspection, were made of a very dark, very polished wood.

The bed itself was a good four feet off the ground; Raye noticed when she

threw her feet over the side and almost fell off when her feet didn’t touch

the ground.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed, jumping off. Her feet sank in at least two

inches of cream-colored carpet. She wiggled her toes, unaccustomed to the

feeling of plushness under her feet instead of the thin, scratchy,

industrial floor covering of her dorm. She looked around.

“Whoa,” she breathed. The room was huge, far bigger than anything

she was accustomed to. This bedroom alone was bigger than Darien’s entire

apartment. It even had a few stairs leading down to what she supposed

was a lounging area, with several tan couches and glass coffee tables.

A flat screen television the size of a pool table was hung on one wall

across from the sitting area, taking up most of the available wall. Raye

resisted the urge to flip it on, lest she break it and then be forced to

sell her body to replace it.

“Oh.” Every one of the numerous tables had a glass vase full of

Casablancas; some in huge bunches, others only having an artsy single

flower per vase.

favorite flower all over their bedroom? Their…big, expensive,

friggin’ BEAUTIFUL bedroom? >> She rubbed her naked arms, a

little-girl response to the overwhelming anxiety. never this real. I can think clearly, I can feel the carpet under

my feet; I can hear my own voice. If this is not a dream, then where

the hell am I? Did I black out last night and end up going somewhere?

>> Even as she entertained the possibility, she knew it to be false.

She could distinctly remember falling asleep in her own room, in her

own bed, and besides, she hadn’t drank that much. She accidentally

scratched her right arm as she was rubbing it. “Ouch!” She glanced

down at the scratch, and almost fainted.

She was wearing two rings on her left hand, the kind you see

advertised on bus stops and billboards and such for Tiffany’s. She

brought her hand up to her face, studying them more carefully, afraid

if she moved too quickly, they would explode with a “poof!” and

evaporate in a cloud of dust. The first was a simple, silver-colored

band, etched in a crisscross pattern, devoid of any other decoration.

She examined it for a total of two seconds before her eyes locked on

the second. Her mind searched for an expression that could embody a

fraction of the overwhelming awe that rushed through her body and

poured out of her strained voice like a river rushing though a hole

in a dam.

“Holy shit.” Her eyes skipped from the enormous diamond

sparkling in the center like an eye of Osiris, its glittering

brilliance almost eclipsing the two equally enormous rubies set on

either side. She was enchanted by the way the stones caught the

streaming sunlight and refracted it into a thousand points of luminous

radiance. She tilted her hand up, and then down, playing with the

glinting light like a small child. Her mouth, which had been hanging

open in awe, turned upwards at the corners as an enormous grin

stretched across her face. She laughed out loud, not knowing if she

was more pleased at owning the friggin’ Hope Diamond and its twin

sisters or by the fact that it was confirmed that she was married.

> She thought giddily, clasping her hands

together. to live alone with 400 cats! This must be my house! I have a

gigantic, beautiful house and my husband loves me enough to buy

me a diamond the size of Usagi’s old odangos, and leave me flowers.

>> She hopped up and down in an ecstatic circle before collecting

herself. comes home and sees you hopping around like a bunny on crack? He’ll

leave you faster than you can say, “Goodbye gigantic diamond.” >>

“So who is he?” she said out loud. Her mind raced with the

possibilities. For all she knew, he could be a jerk, or a quadruple

amputee, or a sadist. All she knew of him was that he was wealthy.

“Oh God, what if I married Yuuichiro?” Out loud, the possibility

seemed that much more dire.

She caught a glance of herself in a mirror, at first not

recognizing her own scared, pale face and round eyes staring back.

She rushed to the silver plate, needing the familiarity of

studying her own face. It hadn’t changed in the least; not a

wrinkle or a crease had appeared. She touched her cheek, amazed,

wondering how far it was into the future that her eighteen-year

old face remained before realization hit her. She wasn’t going to

age, ever, and her face was evidence. It would stay the same until

she died. Her body, however…

Raye had always had a good build: flat stomach, illegally

long legs, perfect B-cups. Except now they were more like C-cups,

she noticed, cupping her fingers underneath them and pushing them

upward. > Her stomach was still flat,

but not the tight, washboard flat she was used to. It felt squishy,

like a waterbed, she noted with disgust as she pushed her fingers

into it. Turning sideways, she traced the faded pink stretch

marks that scribbled each side of her abdomen like rills of rushing

water. She rubbed them for a good five minutes before she understood.

< I had a baby. >> She thought as she examined her newer,

more mature body. It made sense; her body had evolved into a

mother’s body, with larger breasts and stretch marks. Her mind

switched back to the cause of it all. >

Raye broke out of her stupor and headed for the door,

determined to find both her baby and the identity of her husband,

not realizing that both tasks would be a little easier if she

wearing more than two rings and a dogged expression. A note

taped to the door stopped her.

> She pulled it off, annoyed, and started reading.

Hey Zippo

Didn’t want to wake you up, you looked too tired and too

beautiful for me to disturb you. You look so cute when you

sleep, you know that? Anyway, I’ll probably be home late unless

I can convince End and Kee to cut the shit short, which they

probably won’t. Remember that Patra and Ripken are @ Serenity’s.

Enjoy your day off, and DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING RELATED TO WORK.

You haven’t had a day off in four years. See you tonight. I love

you, Rei.

--me

If the note was any more cryptic, Raye decided, it could

have been used to pass messages to the Germans instead of the

Enigma machine. If her name hadn’t been scrawled into the last

sentence, she wouldn’t have even known it related to her life,

or her life as it was going to be. And Patra and Ripken had better

be her pet Chihuahuas or something, because if she had named her

children something as asinine as that, SOMEONE, it didn’t matter

who, was going to pay for her egregious error.

Patra and Ripken. Two names. “I have two children,” she

said aloud, letting the fact echo in the enormous room. Two of

them. How old were they? Were they boys or girls? Or one of each?

What did they look like?

> Raye decided.

She tossed the note aside and through the door open with renewed

determination, and promptly lost her breath.

The hallway stretched down another thirty feet or so, and the

window at the end showed a hint of green foliage. Raye streaked down the

hall, oblivious to the fact that she was completely naked, and when she

reached the landing, she could do nothing but gasp and stare.

It wasn’t a window, it was a wall, and she was looking at it from

a balcony across a room. Her eyes traveled downward to the spiral

staircase in front of her, landing in the middle of an enormous living

room, complete with fireplace, artsy looking glass and wood end tables,

cream-colored couches so plush she longed to run over and throw her body

onto them, and another colossal television. The ceiling rose forty feet

over her head, and the entire wall facing her, from floor to ceiling,

was glass. She stared out of the transparent wall at the forest below,

so green and lush it could have been a movie set. The sky opened

overhead into a vivid blue panorama, touching the horizon of blue water

of the ocean. The greens and blues washed into her eyes and down her

body into her throat, stealing her breathe and voice away. I live in friggin’ Xanadu. >>

Her feet stayed hammered to the spot for a full five minutes, taking

in the spectacular scene laid out before her, before a rudimentary idea

formed in her head. And I’m naked! >> She darted back into her bedroom with a speed rivaling

a gazelle being chased by a cheetah, slamming the door behind her.

“Clothes,” she muttered. “I need clothes.” She stopped, and grabbed a

tuft of raven hair that fell in her face. “Eww! Scratch that. Bath, I

need bath.” For the first time, Raye noticed that she was exuding a smell,

her own smell mixed with perspiration and the smell of heat. It wasn’t bad,

per se, it reminded her of airtight dorm rooms, when the windows and doors

were shut tight, and one or more occupants had been asleep in the room.

When someone left that room, the first thing that hit them was the smell

of fresh air, and upon returning one could smell the odor that had clogged

up the room unbeknownst to the slumbering occupants. Amy’s friend Erin,

in Bedford Hall, had dubbed the stifling aroma “moofus,” for want of a

better word.

Raye took stock of her situation. From what she gathered, her children

(or Chihuahuas) were staying with Serena, Serenity now, and were most

likely safe and well taken care of for the time being. Her faceless

husband was at work, wherever that was, and no one else was home. I guess I have time for a shower. I can’t go outside with dirty hair,

smelling like dead moofus. Now, where’s my bathroom? >>

After opening up several linen closets, Raye found the door to her

bathroom. And what a bathroom. She was sick of gasping already, so she

let out a muffled squeal instead upon seeing her enormous bathtub.

It was the size of a twelve-person Jacuzzi, at least, so high

that stairs had been carved into the white porcelain to enter it.

Glass bottles, candles and Casablancas lined the sides, and the spigot

was an enormous brass fish, standing on its tail with its mouth open.

She decided on the spot to scrap her original intentions of showering,

even though the shower was indeed impressive, with its waterfall showerhead

and soft surround lighting, and bathe instead.

Like an eager child she ran up to the faucet and cranked both handles

up, and water began pouring from the brass fish’s mouth, filling up the

gigantic bathtub. She picked up several glass bottles, noting with disdain

and extreme exasperation that they were all unlabeled, until she found

one filled with amber liquid that seemed to have the consistency of bubble

bath, although it also could be shampoo. Taking her chances, she dumped

a liberal amount under the stream, and internally gave a little victory

cheer when foam started erupting in the water. A box of matches lay

nearby; she struck one and lit the cream and red candles and was

rewarded with the aroma of vanilla and cranberries.

She lowered herself into the foam-capped water, her entire body

sighing in relaxation. Only then did she realize just how stiff she

was, and sore. > Slowly,

ever so slowly, the evidence built up in her mind. all sweaty, sore as hell… >> Her face turned scarlet and she submerged

her head under the water to cool off.

She scrubbed her hair with shampoo that smelled curiously like

watermelon, and was in the process of rinsing it under the fish’s spout

when she noticed a black remote control lying incongruously among

the flowers and candles. A yellow Post-it was stuck to it. “PRESS PLAY.”

She picked up the remote and pressed the play button, unsure as

to where to aim it, so she aimed at the ceiling, figuring that the

signal would ricochet off and hit the desired target.

Acoustic guitar seemed to come from all directions. She swiveled

around, swirling the water around her before she noticed the small

white speakers fastened in every corner, and a CD player tucked

away in a cabinet. At least, she guessed it was a CD player. It

could have very well been something else, something that hadn’t been

invented in year that she feel asleep in her dorm room in Goshin Hall

that she shared with Mina.

She lay back in the water, her head resting on a foam pillow

stuck to the side of the tub with suction cups, and completely and

utterly relaxed. An hour passed before she dragged her pruney body

out of the now-tepid water, and toweled off, her eyes locked on the

array of products lining the counter of the double sinks. The brand

names were at least familiar: Rembrandt, Gillette, H2O, MAC. There

were others that she didn’t recognize. She picked up a razor, still

wet and flecked with shaving cream, twirled it between her fingers,

and wondered about the hand that picked it up in the morning. She

tried to imagine the face it dragged across, the eyes that watched

the whole process in the mirror.

She toweled off, blew dry her hair, which fell just a few inches

below her shoulders, and opened the glass door to what she figured was

another room, but which turned out to be her closet.

“Holy crap,” she muttered, eyeing the rows of clothes lining the

walls: the overflowing shelves and drawers, the rows and rows of shoes,

belts hanging from a hanger, coats and formal dresses sealed behind clear

plastic bags, handbags gathered together in clusters, lingerie laid out

in neat rows. She picked up a pair of tan mid-heels, and caught her

breath when she noticed the designer. “Louis Vuitton. Dear lord.”

She wasted another hour rustling through her clothes, picking

through drawers and shelves, and couldn’t resist trying on dozens of

outfits, some from designers she knew, some she only knew because Mina

had modeled for them, and some completely unfamiliar. She put ever

article of clothing exactly the way she had found it, not wanting to

damage any of it. She finally dressed for the day, resisting the urge

to throw on her best designer duds, and slipped on white pants and a

sheer white top.

As she passed the doors in the hallway, she was overcome with

curiosity about what was behind, but shook it off with the reasoning

that she wanted to see her children first, and she would have plenty

of time to poke around once she saw them, and took them home.

She descended the spiral staircase and noticed that the walls of

her majestic living room were completely stripped, and the furniture

pulled away from the walls. Sealed cardboard boxes were haphazardly

thrown around, like overgrown land mines. She let her mind dwell on

it for a split second before she headed to the foyer.

Twice! >> A pile of shoes sat in front of the French doors, a two

pairs of brown sandals, one much larger than the other, and two pairs

of pink and yellow, flowered flip flops that fit into Raye’s hand.

She bent over and picked up one of the miniscule shoes. them’s a girl. >> She deduced, turning the rubber sandal over and over

again in her hand. A smile teased her face; her spirit was renewed

with the urge to see her daughter.

As soon as the glass door shut behind her, Raye realized that

she had ventured outside into unfamiliar territory without so much as

a dollar, much lest ID. And to top it off, she had probably locked

herself out.

myself out? I’m making Serena look like Stephen Hawking here! >> She

jiggled the handle ineffectively several times. “Shit!” she shouted,

not caring if children or nuns were around.

The door immediately clicked open after her outburst. “What

the-“ she said, opening the door just to make sure she wasn’t imagining

things. Suddenly, it dawned. She shut the door again.

“Open,” she said. It obeyed. If only Amy were here to see this! >>

“There you are.” She was still giddy with her newest discovery,

and the voice that suddenly spoke up from behind her almost sent her

into cardiac arrest. She jumped and swiveled around, almost ready to

attack, when she realized she wasn’t face to face with the newcomer.

She was face to chest.

“Mako?” she said, forgetting her friend’s American name.

“Yeah?” It was Lita, all right, not aged a bit, her same Lita.

Still a head taller than Raye, her hair fell around her exquisite face

in shiny brown ringlets. Her eyes were the same marvelous shade of

green, framed by long, feathery lashes that brushed the tan skin of

her cheeks when she blinked. She wore a simple blue sundress with a

halter top, showing off her tanned legs. Mako was still the same,

after God knows many years, except for one minor detail. She held a

small girl, about two or three years old, against her hip with the

practiced ease of a mother. The girl was adorable, her soft curls and

illegally long eyelashes the same as Makoto’s, but her eyes were

different, a deep, chocolate brown.

Makoto noticed Raye’s white face and leaned in closer. “What’s

the matter? You OK?”

“Aunty Way!” the toddler chirped, holding out her arms. Makoto

held her out, and Raye accepted the child with trembling arms. “Hi,”

she breathed against Raye’s cheek.

“Hi,” Raye responded, staring into the little girl’s brown

eyes, trying to hold back the tears in her own. Oh, I can’t believe it! >> She kissed her on the nose. “You are

so beautiful, darling.”

“What do you say, Astraea?” >

“Tank you.”

“Now get down, Aunty Rei can’t carry you the entire way! You’re

a big girl, you can walk!” Mako smiled down at her daughter, who, once

on the ground, reached up to take her mother’s hand. Raye caught a

glance of Mako’s hand, and a diamond as big as Raye’s, flanked with

two emeralds, winked back at her. to whom? >>

“Enjoying your day off? I sure am!” Makoto pronounced in her

usual energetic manner. She began walking, and Raye followed. For

the first time she looked around, and found that they were walking

along a cliff’s side, on a stone patio that crept to the edge and

was blocked off by a marble railing. Benches were set up periodically

along the rail, and also an occasional table. Raye stared down at

the forest below, dotted here and there with waterfalls cutting down

into pools at the base of the mountain. “What did you do this morning,

go insane? This is probably the first time you’ve been separated from

the girls for a period of time.”

> “I took a bath.”

Makoto tossed her marvelous curls back. “Must be nice! I had

Rosey watch Astraea while I soaked, but she kept crying for me to come

out. I don’t even think I got wet.” She looked down at the diamond-

encrusted watch around her left wrist. “We’re not late, that’s Minako’s

job. Although I don’t blame her; her ankles are so swollen she can

barely stand.”

> “Is she OK?” Mako rolled

her eyes in response.

“She’s just being Minako; you know how she exaggerates things!”

They headed further inland, through a magnificent grove that stretched

out into a simply breathtaking garden, complete with marble fountains

and ponds, gazebos and probably billions of flowers, trees, and bushes.

Astraea let go of her mother’s hand and ran ahead.

“Aunty Mi! Aunty Mi!” They rounded a corner to see Mako’s daughter

fling herself into the arms of a petite, blue-haired girl that wouldn’t

blend into any crowd on earth.

“Hello, Astraea,” Ami hugged the little girl, mini-computer still

clasped in one hand. Her blue hair was still cropped short, her skin

still luminescently pale. But there was a huge difference; Ami was

smiling, not the same sad smile of her youth, but a grin of contentment

and happiness, and total fulfillment with her life. Raye figured it had

something to do with the rings around her fourth finger, too. She

pulled Astraea up onto the stone bench next to her.

“Ami,” Raye said a little too seriously. In reality, she was

choking back more tears. You’re so happy; you’re married-- >> someone rustled behind her and

then flew past towards the bench. >

“Mommy!” The little boy couldn’t have been more than three, his

blonde hair sticking up in an Alfalfa-like cowlick in the back. To

Raye’s horror, she saw that he was clasping a very big, very large,

very black and antennaed click beetle in his hand. “Mommy I found that

bug!”

Ami held out her cupped hand to receive the bug. Raye choked

back a wave of revulsion. She held it up to her face. “Hmm, same

exoskeletal pattern, antennae, mandibles…” She smiled and kissed her

son’s forehead. “Very good, Evander. Why don’t you show Aunty Rei?”

> Raye thought as Evander ran up

to her with the scary beetle in tow. He held up his hand, and his

green eyes glittered with triumph. “See?”

“Yes, I see, that’s nice please get it away from me, thank you,”

Raye said all in one breath. Evander cupped the beetle in his hand

and ran up to Makoto.

“See?”

“Dear lord get that thing away from me!”

“Evander.” He turned at the sound of his mother’s voice. “Why

don’t you let the bug go? You’re scaring your aunts.”

Evander held the beetle to his chest. “But I want to show Daddy.”

“We can catch another one later, OK, sweetie?” He nodded reluctantly

and placed the beetle gently in the grass.

The tears that had been threatening to overflow in Raye’s eyes

broke free and splashed down her face. Her throat constricted; she

remembered how she and the others felt in the past. Usagi was destined

to be with the man of her dreams, and the four of them, well, they were

just kind of there. Alone. Destined, she thought, for a life of

guarding their princess, establishing peace throughout the earth,

defending against outside threats…forever solitary. Raye had lain

awake at night; just as she knew the other inners did, wondering if

happiness, if LOVE, would ever drift her way, or instead forever

dangle just out of reach. Who would want to be with someone whose

main concern was not their partner or themselves, but for Serenity,

always Serenity. How could a normal person understand the position

that she was in, and who would want to share in that kind of life?

Who did she know that even had an idea of what undying devotion was?

These questions intensified Raye’s need for the identity of her life

partner. >

And yet, here they were, with rings on their hands and children

at their feet. Ami had lost the squelched, defeated look that she

carried, and Makoto had slid effortlessly into the role of wife and

mother. Raye could tell just by the way she wiped down the children’s

hands with a Wet-Nap.

Makoto was the first to notice her tears. “Oh God!” She jumped

off the bench and swept Raye into a mammoth hug.

“Oh,” Ami breathed, also rising. “Raye are you OK?” Astraea and

Evander ran over and wrapped their arms around each of Raye’s legs,

chirping, “Aunty Way. Shh-shh,” in an imitation of their own mothers.

“Yes,” she croaked before Makoto interrupted.

“It’s because of the girls, isn’t it?” She rambled on without

receiving a solid response. “Oh, Rei hon, I know it’s hard to be

separated from them, and it’s natural to feel this way. But you

haven’t spent a night alone with your man in lord knows how long,

and you need some down time. Come on, admit it. You had the time of

your life in the bathtub this morning!”

“Not to mention last night,” a third voice said from behind

Raye. There was only one person who would blurt something out like

that, like the rules of etiquette didn’t exist in the subject of love

and sex.

Minako was as breathtaking as ever, the classic blue-eyes blond

with enough je nois ques so to elevate her to goddess. She even

managed to look good while being dragged, halfway unconscious and

completely polluted, up the stairs of Goshin Hall, Raye remembered

bitterly. Her hair was curled into soft waves at the ends, and they

bounced whenever she took a step. Minako still managed to bounce when

she walked, which was quite remarkable now, being that she had to be

at least eight months pregnant.

Raye was struck speechless by the sight of her best friend in

the family way, and was about to say something when Makoto released

her and turned on Minako.

“That’s what got you into your condition!”

“Darn right,” Minako giggled, running a hand through her blond

mass. The yellow diamond on her ring finger caught the light and

twinkled. “Hope you guys don’t mind I dressed down; my back is killing

me!” A gray, hooded sweatshirt stretched over her round Buddha belly,

emblazoned with two Greek letters. sweatshirt. >> Her shorts were light blue, mesh, incredibly old, and

emblazoned with an UCLA logo in the corner. my shorts! Dan from down the hall lent, uh, I mean, GAVE them to me

after I spilled coffee on mine during Comp Lit! >>

Astraea and Evander released their death grips around Raye’s

legs and sprinted over to Minako. “Aunty Na-na!”

She lowered herself with obvious effort. “Hi guys!” She hugged

and kissed both of them. Evander ran over to retrieve the click

beetle, which had moved and entire inch from where it was placed

five minutes ago.

“Aunty Na-na! I want to show you something!”

“If it’s another dead bird, I going to have to politely decline.”

She straightened up and elbowed Raye. “So, how was your twenty-four

hours of un-interruption?”

Makoto smiled. “Next time I’m having Serenity watch my kid,

too. I really envy you.”

Ami smoothed her long flowered skirt down. She wore a white tank

top that showed quite a lot of cleavage, uncharacteristic of the old

Ami Mizuno. Versace pants and a booty-ho top. I guess everyone gets a little crazy

when they find out they suddenly have breasts after years of water-

bras. >> “I think Raye deserves it; she doesn’t have a moment’s peace

between the two of them.”

“Yeah, it’s weird, Raye. They both look exactly like you, but

they sure don’t act like you!” Makoto scampered behind Ami. “Drop

the bug, Evander.”

“They act like their father!” Minako giggled, and everyone

except the toddlers and Raye burst out laughing. Heat ignited

under her skin. I scream? Everyone else seems to know! >>

“There they are!” a female voice called. Raye turned to see

who it was, and immediately froze.

Two little girls were running directly towards her, each

chirping, “Mommy! Mommy!” in their high baby voices. The hair

trailing behind them was as black as the night sky; their eyes a

paler shade of violet than Raye’s own. They were both the same

height, the same age (about four) and most remarkable, they shared

one face.

> More tears leaked out of Raye’s

eyes, the eyes she shared with her daughters. She knelt down and

let the girls run into her open arms while she sobbed against their

small heads. She inhaled the scent of baby shampoo and milk, the

smell of infancy and youth. They nestled against her neck like baby

birds.

“Mommy! We missed you!” one proclaimed, reaching up fingering

a long black lock of her mother’s hair.

“Aunty Ree made us waffles!” the other announced, completely

unaware that her mother was having what equivocated to an emotional

breakdown from meeting her progeny for the first time. “And Callie

used up all the whipped cream!”

“I did not!” The one named Callie lifted her head up and

scowled at her twin.

“Mommy she didn’t save me any!” Thus commenced a four-year-old’s

argument, filled with “did nots” and “do toos,” until Raye was

suddenly thankful that Serenity kept them overnight.

“Clio! Calliope! Cut it out!” Serenity appeared overhead.

“I went and got more, remember?” She smiled, her expression more

mature than any other that she wore in the past. She exuded peace

and authority, and the twins fell silent in Raye’s arms. She looked

up at her princess, now queen, down on her knees in front of her

sovereign. Usagi had grown up, now she was a queen in every sense

of the word, authority in every graceful step, every fluid gesture.

Raye didn’t know how long she spent kneeling in the grass in front

of her Queen, awestruck by the transformation of the whiny, air-headed

girl she knew in her youth to the regal, elegant woman standing

before her. It felt like an eternity, until Serenity opened her

mouth, and instead of a proper statement, Raye was rewarded with:

“For the record, I was the one who used the last of the whipped

cream.”

A small, pink haired head popped up from behind Serenity,

and Raye’s heart leapt into her throat. long time! >> Chibi-Usa was younger than Raye remembered her, maybe

six at the most. She bounced her Luna ball idly. “When can we eat,

Mommy?”

“Yeah, let’s head over,” Minako said. “I’m starving.”

“That’s a surprise,” Makoto deadpanned, voicing what Raye had

been thinking. Calliope (Callie) and Clio raced over to the blond girl.

“Aunty Na-na! Can I feel the baby?” They pressed their small

hands against Minako’s bulging middle.

“I think she’s sleeping,” Minako said. “She hasn’t kicked me

in a while-OK never mind. Field goal.” She rubbed her stomach.

They began walking down the stone path, each of Raye’s hands

occupied with one of her daughter’s. “You know it’s a girl?” Raye’s

question came out more like a statement. Ami spoke before Minako had a

chance to answer.

“No, she THINKS it’s a girl. She wouldn’t let me check and she

swore my to confidentiality if I knew.”

“Do you know?” Serenity asked teasingly.

“I plead the fifth,” Ami said, scooping up Evander, who had been

begging to be carried.

“But you WOULD tell us, right?” Makoto said.

“Guys stop!” Minako burst out. “I’m her mother, and I know

certain things, and I’m completely positive that she’s a girl. I

can feel it. Call it motherly instinct or whatever.”

Curious, Raye let her body relax, her mind open up, and tried

to catch some psychic signals from Minako’s body. She felt the presence

of everyone around her in turn, and when she focused on Minako, she

almost burst out laughing. She was giving off a veritable A-bomb of

masculine energy; the baby she carried was definitely male. I tell her? >> She snuck a peek at Minako’s face, and then remembered

how she had to drag her sorry, drunken ass up the stairs of their dorm.

decorate the nursery yet. >>

Meanwhile, Raye was completely fascinated with the feel of her

daughters’ tiny hands in her own. She squeezed each of them in turn;

her eyes still prickling from unshed emotion. She had just met them,

yet she loved them so purely and so deeply that she half-wished she

could stay in this fantasy world that she woke up in, real or not.

> She rationalized. to be real. >> Their hands were small and hot in her own. to. >>

They reached their destination shortly after, a sort of double-

porch swing with a table in between, covered with a white canvas canopy.

Nearby, a clothed table was covered in food, every morsel more decadent

than the starchy dorm food Raye was used to. A young girl was just

finishing laying everything out as a toddler at her feet pulled at

her skirts. Callie and Clio let go of Raye’s hands and ran towards

the swing/table, followed by Chibi-Usa, who was tall enough to climb

on the padded seat herself. “Mommy! Help me!” Clio called.

Raye smiled as she correctly identified her daughter, like she

had really been doing it for four years instead of ten minutes. Clio

had slightly rounder eyes and a higher mouth than her twin, and her

hair was cut about an inch shorter. them in matching outfits, because I could never be that cruel. >>

Just as she suspected, the next words out of Serenity’s mouth

were: “Don’t they look cute dressed alike, Raye? You should do it

more often.” Rolling her eyes, Raye lifted Clio up and placed her

on the swing, which Chibi-Usa was already starting to rock back and

forth. Raye had a feeling it was going to be a nauseous lunch with

the perpetual boat-like movement.

“’More often’ would be once, Serenity, because she never does

it,” Makoto said, sliding in after Ami. “Why don’t you sit down

and join us, Rosey? You hungry?”

The girl smiled and picked up the baby. “Love to, but Tyreke

needs his nap. He’s been fussing for an hour now.” She waved one

of Tyreke’s arms at the group. “Ja ne, minna! See you tonight, Mako.”

“Later, Rose,” Makoto said, over Astraea’s thunderous “BYE!”

“Let’s eat,” Serenity announced, making a beeline for the table

heaped with food. Her ravenous expression was reminiscent of her

younger self. “Oh, Mako, it could be one year or a thousand, but

I’ll never get sick of your chicken salad!”

Minako picked up a piece of cantaloupe and dipped it in the

chicken salad. “Mmm, you’re right. This is steller, Mako.”

Makoto wrinkled her face up. “That was nauseating, Minako.

Please don’t abuse my chicken salad that way.”

They settled down to eat, Raye finding that it was a particularly

difficult endeavor feeding two four-year-olds who absolutely could

not sit still for more than four seconds at a time. She had wisely

separated them so that she was in the middle, and Minako was on

Callie’s left, and Serenity was on Clio’s right. Ami and Makoto

sat on opposite sides of the other swing, their children and

Chibi-Usa in the middle.

Raye watched her friends giggle and gossip, stopping

occasionally to wipe faces or cut up fruit. She thought of how

she could ask about the man she was married to without making it

completely obvious that she had no idea who he was. find out without sounding like a lunatic? “Oh, hey, guys, whose

children am I the mother of, because I woke up this morning and

just plumb forgot! Silly me!” >> There would be a two second pause

before Ami had her committed. the place apart and finding out! I don’t care how many of those

stupid boxes I have to open! >>

An idea dawned. “I wonder what Daddy is doing right now?”

She posed the question to Callie, wondering how she would handle it.

Callie merely swallowed her mouthful of juice and declared,

“Sleeping.”

The table erupted in laughter, first at Callie’s response

and then towards the fact that Serenity choked on her iced tea from

laughing so hard. Minako gasped, “Oh my gosh, she knows him so well!”

Raye forced a smile as to not look completely lost. Ami tried

to calm down. “He still falls asleep during those meetings just

like he used to during class! We all had that speech class together,

well, except you, Raye, and whenever I looked up at you guys, his

head was down and he was out!”

Raye flipped through her mental catalogue. speech this semester. But this means I meet him during college!

See, now I’m getting somewhere! >>

“Can I go play, Mommy?” Evander tugged on Ami’s arm and pleaded

with her with his impossibly big, impossibly green eyes. Ami’s married to, he obviously is a green-eyed blond. Who do I know

with green eyes and blond hair? And how does Ami keep from hugging

him all the time? He’s so adorable! >>

Obviously, Ami couldn’t help but hug him all the time, because

she enveloped him in her arms and planted a kiss on his head. “OK,

sweetie, but stay within the hedges. I’ll be watching you.”

“OK,” he agreed, wiggling to the end of the bench. Clio and

Callie instantly started in on Raye.

“MOMMY CAN WE GO TOO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE…”

“Yes, sure, go on,” she said hurriedly, for the sake of her

ears. She let her hand drift down Callie’s hair as the small girl

leapt off the bench and joined the other children.

“Watch them, Chibi-Usa,” Serenity instructed. The pink-haired

girl turned and solemnly nodded.

“I will Mommy.” She held out her hand for Astraea to hold.

“Why don’t I do that for you?” The speaker had been standing

on the opposite side of the bench, and nearly scared Raye half to

death. She swiveled around to face a young girl with a neat fringe

of black hair, deep violet eyes, and toting a large book in one hand.

“Hotaru?” she whispered.

“Hotaru!” Chibi-Usa threw her arms around the older girl.

“Can we play jump-rope?”

Hotaru smiled, the smile a shade reminiscent of the haunted,

hollow look she wore when Raye had first met her, years ago in Japan.

Except this time, it wasn’t so much haunted as…guilty.

Sure enough, Serenity spoke up. “Last time I checked, it was

Monday, and traditionally, isn’t Monday a school day, hmm?”

Hotaru flushed the color of beets. “Oh, yes, I know.”

“Who said you could skip?”

“Well, actually, it was King Endy-“

“I knew it!” Serenity puffed up. “He would be the one to

declare some kind of holiday just to get you out of class! Let me

guess, he had some support from his ‘advisors,’ didn’t he?”

Hotaru scratched the toe of her shoe in the grass. “Well,

yes, except for-“

“My ‘advisor,’” Minako finished. Hotaru nodded. “Yeah, he’s

no fun, isn’t he?”

“Do your parents know?” Ami asked, sweeping crumbs off of

the table with a red cloth napkin.

“I think so.”

“Are they enjoying their day off?”

“Yeah. I think they wanted to spent it alone, though, so I

grabbed a book and took off.”

“Oh, when you go home tonight, could you tell Michiru that

I have her stone baking circle?” Makoto said. “She left it at my

place; I’ll give it to her tomorrow when I see her.”

“I don’t even think that Mama knows that it’s missing,” Hotaru

said. Now Callie and Clio were tugging on her arms. “Should I watch

them? I really don’t mind.”

Serenity waved one of her slender arms. “Sure, go ahead, you

are absolved. Just make sure the little ones don’t get anywhere

near the pond.”

Raye watched the back of Hotaru’s head retreat down to a

grassy clearing, a thousand unanswered questions cluttering up her

head. Minako and Makoto started giggling about some private joke,

and Ami swept crumbs off of the table and onto a napkin. Serenity’s

voice broke into her thoughts.

“You need some help with the painting, Raye? How’s it coming

along?”

Raye’s head snapped up. “The painting?”

“Is the girls’ room done yet? I could always keep them another

night if the fumes are too much.”

“Why don’t you just HIRE someone? It would be so much easier

that way.” Minako, always concerned about comfort and convenience,

settled into a corner of the swing and ran a hand through her spectacular

hair.

Raye had no answer. What could she say when she didn’t know

herself? Her mind reeled for an excuse that wouldn’t sound too shoddy.

Makoto was her unexpected savior. “She DID hire someone for

the girls’ room, but I mean, come on? How hard is it to paint two

rooms white? There’s not too much room for error. Besides…” She

plucked a grape off of a bunch and crunched it. “It gets the kids

out for a night, so she and Big J could have a night of uninterrupted

sex. You don’t have kids yet, Minako, you don’t know what it’s like.”

>

Minako giggled again. “Why, did Astraea ever burst in on you?”

Makoto popped another grape into her mouth and grinned. “She’s

a good kid. She didn’t even ask why we were naked.”

It came as a shock to Raye that Ami, quiet, shy Ami, was

grinning from ear to ear. “What did you do?”

“I gave her a hug, told her it was just a dream, sent her back

to bed, and then we picked up where we left off.”

The swing exploded into laughter, except for Raye, who was

fitting clues together like an old man with a jigsaw puzzle. J? Is this guy four hundred pounds or something? I need some answers

and I need them now! >>

“Evander caught us in the bathroom once,” Ami admitted, the

red blush creeping up to her hairline.

“You’re kidding!” Serenity squealed, a sound reminiscent of

her junior high persona.

“No. Unfortunately, he knows how the whole process works, so

now he thinks he’s going to have a little brother or sister.”

“Is he?” Mako’s green eyes were serious. Ami leaned her head

back against the cushioned backrest and stared idly at the children

and Hotaru throwing a beach ball back and forth.

“No.” Everyone’s eyes followed Ami’s, and they stared out

at the scene on the lawn.

Once again, as it had done many times before, Raye’s mouth

opened and words came out that she had no control of. “You want to

have more, Ami? Are you crazy?” She silently cringed; it was

obviously a touchy issue for her, and her stupid comment had probably

made things worse.

Luckily, everyone simply laughed, including Ami. “You’re just

speaking from your experiences,” Serenity gasped. “Those girls

run you ragged.”

“Twins alone are a handful,” Minako stated, like she was an

experienced mother of twelve. “But both of them are so much like

him; they barely have any attention span.”

and has ADD. I’m doing really well here. >>

“OK, that’s enough about our marriage and kids! That’s all

we talk about anyway, and this is our day off!” Serenity settled

back, a satisfied smile upon her face. Raye internally screamed.

about MY husband. Like, for example, who the hell is he? >>

“So…what do you want to talk about?” Makoto asked.

Serenity squealed. “Other people!” They launched into an

all-out gossip-fest, Raye slouching silently and doing nothing more

than listening. Some names she recognized; most she didn’t.

The time with her friends seemed to fly by; the next thing

she knew, Astraea was crying and Makoto proclaimed, “It’s time for

someone’s nap.”

They gathered their respective children, Clio and Callie

throwing themselves at Raye and fastening their hands to her wrists.

“Are we going home now, Mommy?”

“Yes. Mommy has things to do.” >

Minako waddled over. “Want me to walk you home?” Raye nodded.

“See you later!” Makoto held a hiccupping Astreae against her

chest and carried her away. Ami waved with her one available hand,

the other holding Evander’s.

“Bye, Aunty Way! Aunty Na-na!” Raye noted that a new click

beetle was wriggling between his fingers.

“Goodbye guys! Call me later!” Serenity gave Raye a quick

hug.

“Thank you for watching them,” Raye said humbly. “I hope it

wasn’t too much trouble…”

Serenity waved dismissively. “Never, Rei! They listen to me,

for some reason!” She rounded up Chibi-Usa and Hotaru. “Have a good

night!”

Raye and Minako set off, Raye flanked on either side by her twins.

Minako walked stiffly, her foresaid swollen ankles hindering her

progress. “You OK, Minako?”

“Yeah,” she gave a soft laugh. “Just sick of being pregnant.”

“How much longer?” Clio grabbed one of Raye’s hands and began

swinging it.

Minako lifted her face and closed her eyes, letting her hair spill

down her back like a golden waterfall. “About a month now.” She opened

them, still staring at a point far ahead. “I’m scared to death.”

Normally, Raye would offer some words of support and appease her

best friend’s worries, but being that she had woken up in a strange

place and time, and motherhood had been thrust upon her, she really

didn’t know what to say. Instead, she looked down at her little girls,

who were skipping happily and singing a nonsense song together. “Minako,

I don’t know what the hell I’m doing either, and these two turned out

pretty well.”

Minako smiled. “You’ve had them for a while, you basically know all

the ropes. I’m the last one of us to have children; you would have

thought I’ve had some practice at it. But I mean, after it’s all over

you guys pack up the kids and go home, and this one doesn’t go with

someone else. This one’s mine, it’s coming home with me, and I don’t know

what I’m doing.”

Unexpectedly, Raye reached over and enveloped Minako in her arms.

“Just by saying all that, I know you care. And you’re going to know what

to do, believe me, you’re not going to screw this kid up.”

“I hope not,” Minako said into Raye’s hair. “I really want

this kid out of me, though. I don’t think my ankles can take much

more before they break.”

“Try being pregnant with twins,” Raye laughed. don’t know what it’s like, either, but it has to be worse. I mean,

come on, check out my stretch marks! >>

“Thanks Rei,” Minako said when they got to her front door.

“I’m going to call you later and lament more of my pregnancy woes,

so be prepared.”

“Gee, thanks,” Raye said dryly, her voice unlatching the door,

which swung open. Minako waved and set off, her blond hair blowing

around her, and Raye’s mind suddenly cross-referenced Minako now with

Mina lying in her bed back in Goshin Hall. She dwelt on the dual

image for a few minutes, checking the hair, the smile, the walk,

everything, until she realized what hadn’t changed.

“She didn’t gain any weight,” Raye grumbled as she followed

her girls inside.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Raye’s ultimate intention upon arriving back home was to rip open

every cardboard box she could lay her hand on and find out just what in

God’s green earth was going on, but she hadn’t added two squabbly four

year old twins into the grand equation, and her plan was almost immediately

put on hold.

“Can we go into our room now, Mommy?” Clio asked, climbing onto one

of the couches and jumping, her black hair whipping up and down every time

she flew into the air.

“Get down from there!” Raye said, images of Clio falling off and

cracking her head against the floor running through her mind. “You know

you’re not supposed to jump on the furniture.”

“Mommy can I have some peanut butter?” Callie had wandered into

the pantry and was opening cabinet doors.

“What? No Callie, you just ate.”

“But I want some!”

> “OK, fine, what do you want it

on?” She joined Callie in the pantry and pulled a box down. “Crackers?”

“Animal crackers!” Raye began searching for animal crackers, and

a familiar springing sound emanated from the living room.

“Clio! I told you not to jump on the couch!”

“I’m not,” came the contrite answer.

“Yes you are, I can hear you.” She arranged the animal crackers

on a plate and spread a layer of tan paste across them.

“Play with us, Mommy!” Callie grabbed Raye’s pant leg and began

tugging it up and down.

“All right, I will. Settle down.” Obviously the phrase “settle

down” was thrown around quite a bit in Raye’s household, because Callie

began chanting it over and over, with Clio joining her, keeping beat

by jumping on the couch.

“Enough!” Raye shouted over the din. As an afterthought, she

reached into the fridge and produced two juice boxes. “Who wants juice?”

“ME ME ME ME ME…”

The girls led Raye back upstairs and into their room, which

still smelled faintly of paint fumes. Her breath was almost knocked

away by the sight of it; it was her little-girl fantasy bedroom.

Enormous canopy beds stood on either side, both festooned with enough

billowy white material to make wedding dresses for an army. A mural

stretched across the walls, aqua and violet and green; a meadow at

midnight, complete with pond and turreted castle in the distance, with

pixie-ish fairies dancing on the grass and lily pads. Two of them wore

pink tutus and silver crowns, and were seated in the middle of creamy

flowers so white they looked edible. Raye noted with amusement that

they bore the likenesses of Clio and Callie.

Someone had criss-crossed the ceiling with white Christmas

lights, and Raye was reminded of almost every dorm room in Bryce

University. A moon was painted directly overhead, and a light globe

was stuck in the middle.

“WOW! MOMMY LOOK!” Clio had spotted the fairy that looked like

her, and she pressed her hand against it, fascinated. “This one’s me!”

“There’s you, Mommy!” Callie announced from the other side of

the room. Raye made her way over, and sure enough, away in the

background was a cluster of adult fairies. Raye picked herself out

immediately.

“I told the lady to put you in, Mommy!” Clio said triumphantly.

“And Aunty Na-na and Aunty Mi and Aunty Ree and Aunty Ko!”

Raye laughed; she could just imagine the twins describing their

idea to a hapless artist. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Callie looked confused. “But if you weren’t there, Mommy,

who would take us home?”

Whoever had painted and arranged the room had left several

boxes tightly packed up, and while the girls were running around,

examining every inch of their new room, Raye took the opportunity to

rip open the packing tape and dig in.

The first box was filled with outgrown clothes, and she ignored

it after a minute. She skipped over the second box altogether, since

it was labeled, “Baby toys,” and moved onto the third.

It was contained mostly baby-ish wall decorations: framed

pictures of Winnie-the-Pooh, poetry written in calligraphy so overdone

it was practically illegible, pastel paintings that had no place among

the new mural. Raye found only two pictures that contained any significance.

The first picture sent little shock waves down her spine. Raye

was standing in the middle, in a flowing white dress that hugged her

body in the desired places. She clasped a thick bouquet of Casablancas,

tied together with a red ribbon that looked like it could have come

off of Minako’s head. Her friends flanked her on either side, dressed

identically in dark purple gowns and clutching deep red roses.

Serenity’s hair was down and her stomach bulged under her dress.

> Raye herself was flashing a

mega-watt smile, her expression completely radiant, and her dark

midnight hair swirling in loose curls around her head. do I look good! >> She stared, transfixed by her own ethereal

appearance before she turned her attention to the other picture.

And lost her breath.

Her grandfather was sitting in a white rocking chair, his

ancient face crossed with a million lines of glee. His eyes sparkled

lovingly in the way they always had whenever he looked at Raye.

Tucked in each of his arms were two infants, probably only a day

or two old, their tiny faces pink under a dusting of dark black fuzz.

“Oh,” she breathed. Why didn’t I think to look for him earlier? God, sometimes I even

disgust myself. >>

Clio ran over to Raye and peeked over her mother’s shoulder.

“Look, that’s me.” She pressed one tiny finger on the glass, leaving

behind a steamy fingerprint on the infant in Grandpa’s left arm.

“And that’s Callie.”

Callie joined the gathering. “Grandpa!” she shrieked when she

saw the picture. “Can we put Grandpa back up, Mommy? I need him to

watch me when I go to bed.”

Raye swallowed thickly. “Where is Grandpa now, girls?”

Callie leapt on her bed with the picture clasped in her hands

and started bouncing. furniture? >> “In his room.”

“Let’s go see him!” Clio jumped up and took off, Raye and

Callie on her heels.

Raye followed her tiny daughter through the halls of her home.

Clio stopped at a set of double wooden doors, taller than a normal

household doorway, and tried futilely to push them open. Raye helped

her, her stomach churning with guilt. How could I have been so thoughtless? >>

Only a small fire in the back illuminated the room; its

flickering flame surrounded by straw mats. The smell of incense

hung in the air along with a thousand whispered prayers, the words

and smells melding together into an entirely separate being.

>

Raye’s question was soon answered when Clio darted over to

a shrine in a far corner. “Hi Grandpa!” she said, trying to disguise

her jubilant shout as a solemn whisper, and failing. “You have to

come and see our room!”

Callie sidled up to her twin, and took her hand. “It’s the

same room, it’s just painted different, so we didn’t move. I don’t

want you to get lost tonight.”

Raye hung back for a second, and then slowly, so slowly she

advanced on the shrine. > Her throat constricted,

and she tried to concentrate on her daughters instead of the shrine.

> She stopped about five

feet away, reading the names inside of the shrine. Her mother’s was

still there; it had been there as long as she could remember. Several

other names existed there; relatives that Raye had never met. Oh God. >>

And there it was: her grandfather’s name, painted in black

ink on the wooden tablet. “Grandpa,” she said simply, falling heavily

to her knees and causing her daughters to turn around. “No.” She

broke down then, sobbing into her hands, her hair falling around

her face like a curtain. Her twins were on her immediately, grabbing

onto her and squeezing their comforting baby hugs. She wrapped an arm

around each of them and pulled them to her, still sobbing onto their

heads.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Raye rustled through another box in the living room,

occasionally wiping away a stray tear that managed to slip out,

and almost aborted the entire plan after she found it filled with

still-life paintings. Her entire being was numb after her half-hour

long cry, her mind still not accepting the fact that the person

who had raised her since childhood was gone. A million “whys”

plagued at her: didn’t I go to college in Japan instead of taking off to the

States? Why didn’t I tell him I loved him more often? >>

The twins were jumping on the couch again as they watched

some television program starring a multitude of furry puppets,

one who lived in a garbage can and another with a penchant for

baked goods. Raye let them trampoline to their heart’s content;

she was too tired to tell them for the five hundredth time to

stop jumping. > She

reached for another box and tore it open.

“AHHH! THE COUNT!” The twins screamed, scurrying off the

couch and throwing themselves behind it. On the flat, digital

screen, a puppet that strongly resembled a vampire was singing

a numerical song about bats in his Transylvanian accent.

The box she opened did contain pictures; however, all but

one was of the twins. She and her Grandfather were standing on

the steps of the Hikawa Shrine, both smiling in the direct sunlight.

Phobos and Deimos were standing on different stairs, Phobos with

her wings outstretched. The large, framed picture was a blow-up;

the original snapshot was tucked into the frame. The photographer

was obviously inept; his finger was covering the lower left

corner of the lens. It had been erased when the picture had been

blown up. Raye stared at the happy scene in front of her, and

flipped the small picture over. “Rei and her grandfather at the

temple,” it was labeled, along with a date. Raye did some quick

math. She was twenty years old when the picture was taken. I’m only eighteen when I fell asleep in my dorm. This is taken

two years into the future. >>

Raye went over to the couch and sat down, the pictures

still in her hands. “Mommy is the Count gone yet?” Clio whispered

from behind her. Raye quickly checked the TV.

“Yes.” The twins emerged, plopping on the couch on either

side of their mother. Callie balanced her chin on Raye’s arm.

“Why did you cry Mommy?” Raye smiled and stroked her

daughter’s soft hair.

“I just miss Grandpa, sweetheart.”

Clio leaned her entire body weight against Raye’s side.

“Why? He still lives here.”

“He stays in our room when we go to bed,” Callie explained.

“So nothing can hurt us.”

Raye’s eyes teared up again. She could just picture her

grandfather importantly patrolling around their room, like a

soldier, guarding his great-granddaughters from nightmares and

monsters. “He used to do that when I was a little girl. He

would sit in my room until I fell asleep, so I wouldn’t be

scared.” She had been so scared then, a young girl all alone

with a grandfather she barely remembered, her mother gone forever,

and her father too, as far as she cared. She was terrified of the

unfamiliar darkness of her new room in the temple. In her mind,

she thought that when people came to pray to their deceased

relatives, the ghosts would stay around the temple, in particular,

her room, waiting for her to let her guard down. Grandpa had come

when he heard her sobbing.

nothing hurts you.” >>

>

shaking in their boots. They’ll never hurt you as long as I’m here.” >>

“Who’s going to keep them away now?” Raye asked out loud,

wondering if her grandfather could hear her. She swung her legs

up and lay down on the couch, and her twins adjusted themselves

so that they lay on top of her. She closed her eyes.

> She heard her grandfather’s gentle

voice in her head. away.” >>

She opened her eyes and smiled through her tears. She had

a family now, one she had to protect the way her grandfather

had protected her. She looked at the faces of her twins, tiny

versions of her own, and loved them so much that it almost hurt.

> Something

primal stirred within her at the feel of her daughter’s small bodies

pressed against her own, something that made the rest of the world

seem unimportant as she cradled them against her. to keep the ghosts away. I love you both so much. You’re my

babies. >> The three of them drifted off to sleep basking in the

simplest, purest form of love that existed, the love between a

mother and her children.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Raye heard the bang in the background, a door slam somewhere,

and suddenly the comforting warmth of her twins disappeared as

they leapt off of her. “DADDY!” they shrieked, their voices seeming

to come from very far away. She barely stirred, her mind and body

too exhausted to lift herself up from the subterranean caverns of

sleep.

“Clio-patra!” a male voice said. There was a shriek of glee

as Clio was lifted up into the air.

“Pick me up too, Daddy!” Callie’s request sounded a bit like

an order; she had inadvertently picked up the practice from her mother.

“Sure thing, Cal Ripken, Jr. Step right up.”

Raye’s mind swam as she made the inferences. Cleopatra. Patra. Calliope. Callie. Cal. Cal Ripken, Jr. Ripken. >>

“How are my girls?” Raye’s eyes remained slammed shut; she

couldn’t place the voice. Get up now. >>

The twins launched into chatter about their picnic, their

new room, their night spent with Serenity, punctuated with hysterical

giggles as their father tickled them. “Where’s your Mom?”

“Mommy’s sad,” Clio whispered. Raye heard the “thunk” as she

slipped out of her father’s arms and landed on the floor.

“Oh? Why is she sad?”

“She misses Grandpa,” Callie announced. The patter of tiny

footsteps drew nearer to the couch. “Mommy! Wake up Daddy’s home.”

As much as she willed it, Raye could not bring herself to

open her eyes. Her body felt like a ton of lead, and even her brain

seemed to slow down with exhaustion. >

She felt the tremors of someone approaching, then kneeling

down besides her. “Rei?” he said, stroking her face with one of

his rough hands.

“Mmm,” she mumbled, slipping in and out of the physical world,

her mind screaming for her to wake up, her body retiring right

where she lay. His hand traced down her cheek and to her neck, the

light pressure and heat oddly familiar.

“Mommy’s tired,” Clio said, grabbing a handful of Raye’s

hair and flipping it upwards.

“Ooh! Daddy! Wake her up like Sleeping Beauty!”

“OK, Cal,” he agreed. Raye felt his face grow closer, and

then his lips on hers, gentle, warm, loving. Raye didn’t want it

to end.

Finally, her eyelids obeyed, and as her husband, the father

of her children, pulled his face back, her eyes opened. Their faces

were inches apart, her eyes locked on twinkling pools of blue. She

was transfixed with his eyes, filled with so much love, for her.

Out of her peripheral vision she could make out blond hair, but

she focused on his eyes, his eyes so blue and friendly, containing

a fire so much like her own, like their children’s. So blue, blue

like water and sky…

* * * * * * * * * *

blue like a Crayola crayon, framed with darker blond lashes,

smiling and dancing, the smell of tangerine body spray, and freshly

washed hair.

>

“Mina?” Raye croaked at the face hovering above hers.

>

Mina’s face creased into a smile as she flipped her blond

hair backwards. “There you are! I thought you were going to sleep

away the entire day!”

Raye sat up, her mind still disoriented. “What-happened?”

Mina flopped back on her bed, littered with textbooks and

paper, and picked up the remote control. “What happened? You’ve

slept half the day away, that’s what happened. It’s already one

o’ clock, and I’m trying to figure out all of this stupid chemistry

before the exam, and I’m getting absolutely nowhere.”

Raye’s eyes searched the room frantically, looking for

something she couldn’t quite place. The sound of laughter stuck

in her mind, little girls laughing at some shared secret. The

feel of someone’s lips on hers.

“What were you dreaming about?” Mina asked innocently while

she idly flipped through the channels. Raye’s head shot up. “The hot

TKE?”

“I-“ Raye started. Whatever her dream had been about, it

was leaking rapidly out of her mind like water out of a broken pipe.

“I don’t remember.” Something tugged at her again, not an image so

much as a sensation.

Mina shrugged. “Want to go get something to eat? I could

use something hot.” She held out a box. “Pop-Tart? I’ve been

munching on them all morning.”

Raye reached out and took the box. She tore the foil off

of the double package, and turned the sugary pastry over in her

hand, watching the colorful sprinkles float off and land on her

bedspread. She broke it in half, and brought a piece up to her

face and inhaled, the sticky scent of fake strawberry.

“Thanks Mina.”

I wake up scared,

I wake up strange,

and everything around me stays the same.

-Barenaked Ladies

***************************************************************

Hey so that's it!! Um, if you're reading this at Generals Love:

hey. what's up? if you're reading this at fanfiction.net: sorry

if the formatting is crappy, i usually wrap it to send into GL

if you're reading this at ASMR: i would send AWW in, but i don't

know how and the tutorial was...confusing, at best...so maybe

one day when I'm more computer-savvy (aka never) i will submit it,

until then, try read at http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/GeneralsLove/index.html

if you don't understand this story, tell me and i'll try to clarify

(hopefully)