You've Got Mail
By Hidden Firecracker
Chapter Six: Of Mishaps and Merriment
DAY FOUR: THE DAY OF LOOOVE
The bulk of the day was set aside for everyone to do their own thing – which they took full advantage of. Jadeite had been forgiven for keeping that girl's card, due to his near death experience and severely bruised ego. Even Rei couldn't punish him more than that.
Most of them arrived to the rendezvous point for setting up the romantic evening late, but none of them really cared about that. They would probably need that extra relaxation for the night to come…
"…no…NO…NO…move those higher!..."
"…Ami…your bubbles are flying too high, they must float around their feet…"
"…It's not burnt, it's supposed to look like that! If you want to cook, be my guest…"
"…Is this table cloth too sparkly? Will it be distracting?..."
"…Mariachi Band? We were supposed to have the Beach Boys album and Michiru's violin!..."
The preparations continued in a flurry of chaos. Everyone had their own idea of what needed to happen and the only thing agreed upon was that the evening needed to be perfect for Serenity. Perhaps it was a mistake to all arrive late. Perhaps it was a mistake to not plan the details of the dinner beforehand.
Yet somehow, by the time Endymion escorted Serenity back to the house, everything appeared perfect and Serenity would have never guessed the pandemonium the house had been in just minutes earlier.
"Good evening, your Highnesses," greeted Nephrite, wearing a sharp tuxedo. Serenity giggled. "My name is Nephrite and I will be your host for the evening. If you follow me, I will escort you to your private table." Nephrite led the two outside to a table placed next to the waterfall over the pool.
"Allow me to pull out your chair, your Grace," he motioned for Serenity. "Your waiter, Zoisite, shall be along shortly." With a sweeping bow, he left Endymion and Serenity to themselves for a moment.
Endymion reached for Serenity's hands across the table and began murmuring romantic words that only Serenity could hear – which made the rest of the group happy that this part of the conversation remained private. When it appeared that he had finished and that Serenity could not turn any more shades of red, Zoisite approached the table, also wearing a tux.
"Welcome this evening. I am Zoisite, your humble servant. May I bring you anything to drink? Have you had time to look over your menu?" Serenity giggled again and Endymion asked for more time. Of course they hadn't had time to look over the menu. Zoisite bowed and stood aside.
Meanwhile, in the background, Minako stood giving directions to the remaining "staff". While the men wore tuxes, the ladies wore long black evening gowns. Ami was in position for bubbles, Michiru stood poised with her violin, Haruka sat at the piano bench and Minako, Rei and Hotaru warmed their voices up for their upcoming performances.
"Was planning this dinner part of the millions of SM-mails that Rei complained about?" asked Serenity.
"Actually, this was one thing not planned in the SM-mail," Endymion replied. "I have no idea what they have planned for tonight, but I do have plans of my own for tonight…" he said, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.
After placing their orders, the musicians entertained while Makoto prepared the meal. Serenity and Endymion were lost in the enchanting melodies…until some painted cardboard stars dropped on their heads.
"Eeek!" squealed Serenity as one of the points on a sliver star landed on her forehead. Endymion reached over and rubbed the spot tenderly. They could hear the muted curses from Kunzite, who had been in charge of hanging them. A laughing Nephrite came back to the table.
"My sincerest apologies, My Lord and My Lady," he said regally. Endymion indicated that all was forgiven and the musicians resumed their song. As the dinner was about to be served, the musicians switched from live music to playing D.J. They put on the eagerly anticipated Beach Boys album and Ami serenaded them with thousands of tiny bubbles. True to her word, they floated among their feet. Unfortunately, her bubbles were more dense than expected.
CRASH. CLATTER. CLANG. AHHHHHHHHH. The food on Zoisite's tray went flying on top of the happy couple.
"Mmmm, this sauce is excellent! My complements to the chef, Mako," said an amused Princess, her white dress drenched in sauce. Serenity didn't mind the mishap one bit as she licked the sauce off of her face. Endymion gently wiped his saucy beauty with his napkin, while picking noodles out of his own hair.
"I'm so sorry!" stammered an embarrassed Zoisite who had tripped over something hidden beneath the dense bubbles left by his very own Ami. Endymion laughed.
"No harm done, as long as there is more in the kitchen," he said. Nephrite brought more napkins out and a mortified Ami stopped the flow of bubbles. Makoto personally brought out some fresh plates of food and placed them on the table.
"Straight from the kitchen, it's the chef's specialty," she said cordially. "I hope you enjoy." Serenity turned around to thank her.
"This food must have just come off the stove. It's even radiating heat," she said thoughtfully to Makoto.
FIRE
For when Serenity had turned around, she accidentally knocked over a candle and the flame had danced to life right there upon the silver sparkly table cloth. Rei rushed over to deal with her little friend, yet Ami ended up dousing the flame with some ice. A flustered Nephrite rushed over to offer more apologies and the couple somehow finished their meal.
When they had finished eating, Nephrite stood before the couple, ready to make an announcement.
"Your attention please!" his voice boomed. "For your entertainment, our very own Setsuna, time keeper extraordinaire, will dazzle us with a dance that may or may not be native to Pluto!"
Setsuna came blushing downstairs clad in a coconut bra and grass skirt. Endymion and Serenity applauded the flushed Setsuna. After the laughter and jokes died down, Michiru put on a new Beach Boys track and a fairly mortified Setsuna began to prance around and sway her hips to Wouldn't It Be Nice. The boys sent her loud wolf whistles while Haruka watched on appreciatively.
"Now, this is what I call a bet well won!" she said to Michiru as she applauded and sent some wolf whistles of her own. When the song ended, a very embarrassed Setsuna scampered away from the scene, ignoring the playful shouts of "encore!" and "shake it, baby!". Setsuna knew that time itself would not help her escape this ordeal. She would never live this down – or ever make a bet with Haruka again.
After Setsuna's show, Michiru put on God Only Knows by the Beach Boys and Ami sent out some more bubbles so that Endymion and Serenity could enjoy a pool side dance. This time, it wasn't the bubbles that were the problem, but the fact that Endymion and Serenity were lost to everything except each other.
While gazing into Endymion's eyes, Serenity lost her footing and teetered backwards towards the pool. In a valiant effort to save her, Endymion tried to pull her back toward him, but ended up tangling his hand in the sash on her dress.
SPLASH
They both took an unplanned swim that evening. They came up sputtering and laughing at their own clumsiness.
"Endy, it's so cold out here," she said demurely as she cuddled herself into Endymion's chest and adjusted his arms around her. She couldn't be happier at this particular mishap.
The "staff" stood guiltily and defeated after the night's turn of events. However no amount of disaster could put a damper on Endymion and Serenity's contented mood. They loved the evening and loved the thoughtfulness put into the evening. It was perfect – and they would always have something to tease their good friends about whenever their good friends tried to tease them.
DAY FIVE: DAY OF EXERTION
Nephrite wondered downstairs for a quick pre-breakfast snack. On a usual day, he would now be waking up for 5:00am training. It was 4:30am and his body was running on auto pilot.
"Come to join the walking zombies?" asked Jadeite. He already had a bowl of rapidly disappearing fruit set in front of him. Nephrite chuckled.
"This is a little bit ridiculous," he responded. "Kunzite has us up too early for training. I was restless sitting in bed. I don't know how to sleep in anymore."
"Notice how HE is the only one not awake," commented Zoisite, whose own bowl of fruit had already been consumed. Nephrite sighed and piled some fruit onto his own plate. He hoped that Makoto wouldn't wake up to find his side of the bed empty.
"We could go back to bed," said Jadeite listlessly.
"Or we could watch the sunrise," said Zoisite monotonously.
"Looks like we don't have a choice," said Nephrite. "I couldn't sleep even if I tried." The men talked about this and that until they heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs. They looked at the clock and noticed that it was now 5:45am. Makoto made her appearance, shuffling toward the dining room table with her blanket draped around her like a cape. She yawned and snuggled into Nephrite's lap, while taking some of the fruit from his plate.
"Too bad Haruka isn't awake yet," she said drowsily. "This would drive her up the wall. But seriously, Minako has us up too early for training. We have to be up at 6:00am and I just don't know how to sleep in anymore." The boys laughed sarcastically.
"By this time, we already have an hour of training under our belt," Nephrite said sardonically while giving Makoto a gentle squeeze. "Kunzite has us training at 5:00am." The group looked up again to see Ami and Rei trudging downstairs. They both plopped down and joined the group of restless warriors.
"Funny how Minako is the only one of us not down here," commented Makoto wryly.
"Funny how we made it this far through vacation without waking up so early," added Nephrite.
Later that afternoon, the group departed for the jungle. The 8 mile hike up the hill was just the exercise they had been waiting for since the wee hours of the morning. Hotaru and General Kingsley took off on their own path up the hill causing many in the group to give each other knowing looks. Seeing this, Endymion offered his arm to Serenity, who also took their own path up the hill.
"Do those two always disappear together?" asked Lord Sahlih.
"Well spotted," replied Haruka. "Those two march to the beat of their own drum."
The group snickered at their retreating backs and continued hiking up the hill. They had only passed the 1 mile marker thus far. 3 miles later, Jadeite decided to take an opportunity to prove his recovered health and try to earn back some ego points. He began wrestling playfully with Nephrite, trying to take him down. Rei rolled her eyes and Makoto shouted pointers to Nephrite from the side line. On a 8 mile group hike, they have to entertain themselves somehow – and show off, mused Makoto.
By the beginning of the 5th mile marker, a triumphant Nephrite jogged back over to Makoto to steal a kiss for his spectacular win. A dejected Jadeite returned to Rei and tried to earn some sympathy points by giving her the puppy dog look. Whether she gave in or not would never be known. The rest of the hikers were focused on Nephrite and Makoto who had begun a lively wrestling match of their own. Makoto was bouncing around on her toes and ready to pounce. Nephrite looked straight into her eyes, ready to read her for any advances – or weaknesses.
Unfortunately for Jadeite, just as he was about to earn his sympathy kiss, a cocky Makoto missed her footing and her left foot slipped in between two long rocks. She went down unceremoniously causing her to curse. Rei joined the others in a circle around her, leaving a disappointed Jadeite on the sidelines.
"Damn it!" Makoto muttered under her breath. "I never lose my focus like that," she said, teasingly giving Nephrite an accusatory look.
"Don't look at me!" he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "It's not my fault that you find me so utterly irresistible that you forget how to fight. Come here," he said soothingly as he reached down to help her up.
"I'm fine…aaarrggg" Makoto cried as she tried to put weight on her foot. She gritted her teeth and surrendered to her situation; she leaned against Nephrite's inviting body as a crutch. Things could be worse, she thought.
"It appears to be a mild sprain," commented Ami who had bent down to take a closer look. "Nothing serious, but it will annoy you on the remaining 3 miles."
"I can carry her," Nephrite said as he swung her up and hoisted her on his back. "She never says no to a piggy back ride," he said good-naturedly.
"Too bad Hotaru and Serenity ran off or they could have healed you," said Minako. "At least Mako gets to enjoy the rest of this hike…feeling every muscle in his back…" she trailed off as Makoto gave her a playful kick with her good leg. Minako flashed her a devilish smile and skipped over to Kunzite.
At the top of the hill, Hotaru did indeed help Makoto out. Makoto hopped around a bit to test out her newly healed ankle and prove that she was no longer helpless.
The 6 mile zip line down the hill was nothing more than the most exciting and daring roller coaster ever invented. Each person put on a harness around their legs and waist. In the middle of their waist, a hook was rigged to attach to the zip line. At first glance, the zip line didn't look strong enough to hold Ami, let along someone as massive as Kunzite or Nephrite. Yet, the line did hold; and true to its name, once they were hooked up, they zipped and flew down.
They were given a glove so that they did not get rope burn on their hands as they held on to the top of the line with one hand and used the other arm to balance. Every once in a while, there was a platform to stop on so that they would not go too fast. Going down, they could spot all species of birds, tree dwelling animals, and some snakes.
"This is the stuff!" cried a satisfied Haruka, as she rode with the wind down the line.
At the end of the zip line was the promised 1 mile water slide. The resort workers had black inner-tubes waiting for them. Ami and Michiru eagerly took the first two tubes and went ecstatically down the water slide. The rest followed down one of the fastest slides they have ever had the pleasure of riding.
Once they made it to the bottom of the hill, they mounted their barely tamed horses to ride to the spa. Makoto gave Nephrite a mischievous look and challenged him to a race. He gallantly accepted and the two sped off toward the spa.
"Let's see how well you handle that steed," taunted Makoto as she coaxed her mount to jump over fallen trees and other obstacles. Nephrite met her eyes and sped up.
"We're probably not going down the right path," he began. "But I'll always follow you anywhere. Nothing you can come up with will get the best of me," he said playfully.
"I know, but I'll always keep trying," she bantered back.
They made it to the spa 20 minutes before the rest of the group and immediately found the outdoor mud bath.
"Are you sure we are not in just some mud hole," grumbled Nephrite. Makoto giggled.
"They don't mix mud holes with minerals that are supposed to be good for our skin – or park them next to rocky waterfalls," she retorted. The group found them relaxing in the mud hole and jumped in to join them. When the leaders of Earth and protectors of Endymion, the Generals, started throwing mud at each other, the girls knew that it was time to get everyone cleaned up.
They rinsed off in the waterfall and then hopped into the hot tub. They spent the rest of the day at the spa and ended the Day of Exertion very contentedly.
DAY SIX: DAY OF ANIMALS
The plan for their last day was to wake up and look at monkeys in the front yard trees. Then, if they felt up to it, they would go walk around and look for more exotic animals. That part of the plan was quickly forgotten.
Zoisite and Endymion both woke up with flowers and notes on their beds - one from Ami and one from Serenity, respectively.
Dearest Bet Losers,
Please meet us girls at Noon in the town by that beach we went to a couple of days ago. Others in the house might have different instructions. Ignore them and follow these instructions or our revenge will be swift. I look forward to dancing with my naked honey!
It was a good thing that Serenity and Ami were not there to witness their disparaging reactions.
Meanwhile, Kunzite, Nephrite and Jadeite awoke to find flowers and notes of their own from their respective honeys.
Dearest Bet Winners,
Congratulations, you have gotten the best of Prince Endymion and General Zoisite. However, remember that this is only because we allowed it. Your presence is now requested at 9:00am in the town by that beach we went to a couple of days ago. Follow these instructions or face the consequences.
These men had more cautiously optimistic reactions. Whatever the girls had in store for them would not be good. But anything had to be more survivable than dancing naked…
The Outers and their guests awoke to find a note, as well.
Dearest Friends,
We have quite an amusing spectacle prepared for you in the town by the beach that we went to a couple of days ago. If you come for lunch, say at 12:30, then you will be the first to witness it all! We are asking for you a bit later so that Kunzite, Jadeite, and Nephrite will be ready to go. We might have to prepare Endymion and Zoisite as well, if they do not cooperate.
See ya soon!
Haruka and Michiru hoped that whatever the girls had in store, that it would do justice to those harebrained Generals that dared think a Senshi predictable.
The Inner Princesses and Serenity waited in town for 9:00 to arrive. They had rounded up 3 expert hair braiders to do their worse upon the esteemed Generals Jadeite, Nephrite and Kunzite. With Nephrite and Kunzite's long, thick hair, they allowed the hair braiders 3 hours to torture them.
"Ok girls, so you remember the plan?" asked Makoto. They all nodded.
"First, we politely demand them to sit in these chairs. We will be on standby to sit on them if need be," recited Rei.
"If they give more of a struggle than that, then I will tie them down with my love chain," said a gleeful Minako.
"If worse comes to worse, then we all transform and hold them hostage under threat of our best attacks," said Makoto.
"They will be outnumbered since I will transform too, and Serenity won't hesitate to use the Crystal," Ami said.
"Right, but that means you can't disappear in the ocean!" Rei kidded.
"Scouts honor!" promised Ami. "And speak of the devils, here they come!"
Nephrite, Kunzite and Jadeite were coming around the corner, looking for the girls. Makoto, Minako and Rei rushed up to greet them and escort them to the three chairs underneath some palm trees where their sentence would be carried out. Jadeite noticed the three chairs first and hesitated.
"Electrocution? That is so medieval." He commented apprehensively.
"No, silly, why would we go through the trouble when we have Makoto right here?" replied Rei flippantly. Makoto looked extremely smug.
"Well boys, if you three would kindly sit right here," Makoto said. "It doesn't matter what order you sit in. Once you sit, we will explain everything." The three Generals sat tensely in their chairs.
"Now, remember how you all decided that you could predict us?" asked Minako cryptically.
"Yes," replied Kunzite slowly. "But shouldn't you all take that as a compliment that your boyfriends take the time to know their girlfriends?" he added hopefully.
"Yes and no," said Makoto. "You should never bet on a lady. That is an understood rule of being a gentleman. Besides, we like to keep you on your toes."
"But that is beside the point," said Rei smugly. "We promised that you would still lose out in this situation and now it is time to deliver on that promise."
"You boys know you will not win this one," tormented Minako. "So, your next instructions are simple: sit and be good, or else we are prepared with the consequences," she finished dramatically. "Bring on the 'executioners!" she proclaimed, as the three hair braiders set up. Princess Serenity and Sailor Mercury stepped up while Rei, Minako and Makoto disappeared around the corner. The boys looked uneasy.
"Don't be concerned," said Princess Serenity calmly. "We are just here to baby-sit and make sure that you three don't squirm." With that, the hair braiders moved in and began to work. All three men jumped at their touch, not expecting anyone to be handling their precious hair.
"What the deuce?" yelped a flabbergasted Jadeite. Mercury and Princess Serenity snickered.
"Didn't we tell you that you are now going to get your hair braided?" asked Ami innocently. "Oh! I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but you also will have your braids in when that next Terran Ball rolls around." She said, enjoying the stunned and disgruntled looks on their faces.
"Oh hell no," said a distraught Jadeite as he tried to stand up.
"VENUS LOVE ME CHAIN," was the reply to that action. He was yanked back and secured to his chair.
"Hope you don't mind, Mars," said Venus nonchalantly.
"Not at all, Venus," replied Mars evenly. "Boys, take note of the consequences. We are prepared to do our worse if you try to get up. Don't look so miserable, Jadeite! You have the shortest hair, so you won't be sitting there as long."
"You wouldn't dare," said Kunzite defiantly as he tempted the fates and tried to escape.
"MARS FLAME SNIPER!" she called, landing a flaming arrow right by Kunzite's feet. The flames dancing in his face forced him to retreat back to his chair.
"Hope you don't mind, Venus," Mars said calmly.
"Not at all, Mars. You were just returning the favor."
Meanwhile, Mercury and Princess Serenity snapped several photos to commemorate the whole affair. Thinking ahead, these would make excellent blackmail, should the situation ever arise. The boys sat there irritated and annoyed as the hair braiders continued to wrap their hair up, strand by strand.
Jupiter had to sit in Nephrite's lap with her tiara's rod extended. When he realized that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, he surrendered to it all and sat still like a good General.
"Why are we doing this?" Kunzite grumbled.
"Because you love us," replied Venus. The hair braiders were adept at their trade and finished braiding their long, thick hair relatively quickly. The Senshi stood by their side pleased at their handiwork.
Endymion and Zoisite arrived to find the Sailor Senshi gathered around. A look passed between the two and they rushed over to see what the trouble was. What they found was priceless. They both doubled over laughing uncontrollably.
"Shut up," mumbled Nephrite. "It's not as if you two won't look just as ridiculous at the Terran Ball coming up."
"Granted, but we won't have those ridiculous braids!" gasped Endymion, still laughing.
"For the love of Selene, why did you let them do it?" wheezed Zoisite, trying to catch his breath.
"For the same reason you let Ami freeze your ass whenever you are naughty – and then you kiss her ten minutes later," responded Jadeite exasperatedly.
"We are men of honor, and we submitted to whatever torture awaited us when we went down that road of The Bet," said a frustrated Kunzite. He was not going to be the one who let Endymion and Zoisite have the pleasure of knowing that the three of them had to be forcefully restrained.
"We would have fried, burnt and otherwise choked them with miles of chains if they resisted," said Venus lightly.
"So that explains the Senshi garb," said Endymion. "Good for you, men. I'm glad you put up enough of a fight that the girls had to come out in full force to hold you back. I couldn't be prouder of any three men standing there in braids!"
The Outer Senshi and their guests walked up and found the whole situation just as entertaining as promised.
"I should have brought popcorn!" Haruka hooted.
"Well done, ladies, well done," said Michiru. Even Hotaru and Setsuna were rolling around the ground in hysterics.
"I didn't even have to use the Crystal on them," Serenity chortled. "All we had to use was a Love Chain, some flames and the threat of some thunder. They were very good boys."
"Yes, you were good," snickered Makoto. "We brought you some lollipops for being so good." She taunted, handing the three boys lollipops.
"Heaven help us for loving these poisonous women," sighed a defeated Jadeite. Kunzite and Nephrite nodded in agreement.
"Why couldn't we get our hair braided, instead of the naked?" asked Endymion, slightly envious.
"Don't give them ideas," replied Zoisite. "I like my hair the way it is. Besides, the little general won't mind some fresh air…" he said, making Ami roll her eyes.
"Little general is about accurate," his water minx said, wiping the smile off of his face.
"Ok, Ami is making me blush AGAIN!" interrupted Makoto. "Since when do you joke about such matters in public! What happened to our shy little girl?" The group just laughed as they watched Ami turn bright red. Some things never change.
The group was still teasing the boys about their new hairdos by the time it came to leave Costa Rica. The vacation had ended and it was time to say their goodbyes. There were hugs and handshakes all around as the group prepared to leave. They would see each other again in two weeks for the eagerly anticipated Terran Ball.
In a flash of bright light, the group teleported back to their respective planets, with the familiar forceful pull and the wind whirling in their ears. When the Inner Princesses and Serenity landed on the Moon, they shared a look and dashed straight to the photo lab. They had some photo developing to do!
To: Rei, Ami, Minako, Makoto
CC: Jadeite, Kunzite, Nephrite, Zoisite
Re: A Surprise Party for Endymion!
THANK YOU soooo much for my wonderful surprise! You don't know how much that meant to me. You planned such an amazing week, that I wanted to know if you would all help me plan a surprise party for Endymion. We could have a fantastic time planning this, I know!
Yours,
Serenity
Reply to All
Re: re: A Surprise Party for Endymion
I think I speak on behalf of us all, and I mean no disrespect to Serenity. I have nothing but love for Endymion, but HELL NO!
With loooove,
Minako
THE END
A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it. Now tell me honestly…how did I do? Feel free to leave those comments/constructive advice!
Now, I'm off to deal with my own E-mail…