2881/A Simple Life Made Complex

A Simple Life Made Complex
Date of Scene:	18 December 2025
Location:	Juuban Ward
Synopsis:	Within days of her almost-fight with Mamoru, Usagi and Ami take a moment to catch lunch and unburden their souls.
Cast of Characters:	Ami Mizuno, Usagi Tsukino

---

Ami Mizuno has posed:
It was a cool day in the city, though thankfully not particularly cold, and school had finished for the day. Ami had been on the search for Usagi and while she'd certainly seen the twin-tailed blonde on campus, there really hadn't been much chance to find her alone. Instead, she'd gone looking one last time as classes finished for the day, only to be sent from person to person until she'd departed the site of learning.

Perhaps a little dejected at first, Ami had been wandering along a little aimlessly with attention turned to pavement rather than her course. If she had been looking ahead she might have realised her goal wasn't quite so far away--a realisation to be made apparant by the time-honoured accident of walking straight into her.

"I'm sorry!" The blue-haired student was more than immediate in her apology before she'd even glanced up long enough to recognise who she was apologising to.

And, in that moment, a relieved smile broke across her features. "Usagi-chan!"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It had been a cool day, pleasant, with just the winter version of the school uniform enough to keep Usagi warm as she went about her day. There had been classes to attend, people to talk to in-between, invitations to clubs to dodge, plenty to... avoid thinking about her not-fight with Mamoru, like a coward. She's got enough experience to know that that's not the best way to handle having had an argument with her husband-boyfriend-fiancé... and enough stubbornness to do it anyway.

At least, for a little while. Until she feels better, or at least more ready to talk about it.

These thoughts are the sort that keep a girl distracted - that let someone as socially aware as Usagi usually is completely fail to notice that she's been the target of someone's pursuit all day.

At least, until that pursuit ends all too accidentally, with being bumped into and startling -

"What th- Ami-chan!"

Confused annoyance was transformed into cheer in an instant, Usagi's face lighting up with a smile. For the moment, at least, her worries are banished.

"I wasn't expecting you. How's it going?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
At the very least, the lack of expectation seemed to melt into a happy surprise. Not that there would have been any reason for it to not, but Ami remained steady in her relief all the same. Hands fidgeted in front of her for a moment as sapphirine gaze wandered her girlfriend. It had been a little while since she'd had a chance to catch Usagi away from everyone else and, of course, without homework looming over things. For at least a brief moment, it was nice to re-fix the image in her mind.

Not that it ever really faltered, either--but, just in case!

"I'm doing well." Ami replied, a little demure perhaps though she tended to be that way.

Socially, at least. She didn't have the same knack for people that some of her fellow senshi did, least of all Usagi.

"I was looking for you." She said after a short pause before realising that might sound a certain way. "Not--not for any specific reason. I just wanted to see you."

Of course, there were things that probably needed talking about. Preferrably before getting greetings out of the way. "Did you remember your lunch today?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
As Ami's gaze wanders over Usagi, Usagi's own eyes dance over Ami in turn, taking in the sight of her girlfriend there on the street, removed from the atmosphere of school and combat. It has been a while since they could catch each other alone, not part of a group or class, and she relaxes a little as she considers that fact, that it's just the two of them (and passersby who aren't paying them any attention).

No homework, no studying, no mysteries to solve or enemies to defeat... just two girls on the street.

"Good," Usagi says, earnest, and reaches out, casual and easy, to grab Ami's hand and lace their fingers together. "I'm glad you're well. And that you were looking for me. Especially just because! I remembered my lunch, but... do you want to go out for something, anyway?"

A cock of her head, a smile. It's an offer, but she'd happy to do something else.

"I'm down for anything but homework - I promise I'm caught up!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Good." The blue-haired senshi said of homework and rapidly followed it with something exceptionally uncharacteristic. "I don't really feel like homework just yet."

At least, on the surface. A little bit of a scratch would reveal that, for the moment, she was far more interested in time with Usagi. Homework wasn't going anywhere and, for Ami, it was a relatively simple beast to wrestle.

Ami nodded her reply with a broadening smile. It was one of a select few things that they had in common, though Ami tended to be far sneakier about her snacking. They both really liked food, provided it was conveniently shaped and easy to disappear in between tasks.

"I could eat!" It had only been a few seconds, but her proximity to Usagi was already rapidly recharging her sense of self-confidence. "Did you have anywhere in particular you wanted to go? Anything you wanted to eat?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A lesser person might have gasped at Ami's uncharacteristic statement, made a whole deal of it, even teased. Usagi just grins, her smile turning mischievous even as it retains its warmth - she knows that there's far more to her girlfriend than studying and competitive test taking.

"Good! Let's get hamburgers, then, I heard there's a spot that's been doing like, cheese skirts and cheese sauces, and all kinds of cheese stuff with burgers, and that sounds fun, don't you think?"

Cheese is nice - she's never had a lot of it, especially not with those varieties that she sees on cooking shows sometimes, but it's always good, especially in a beef bowl, and burgers already have cheese a lot of the time, so clearly extra cheese will be even better!

Plus, her girlfriend likes burgers and sandwiches, and this is the best of both worlds. She swings their arms, laced fingers keeping them warm.

"I'll lead the way!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It sounds incredibly drippy." Ami observed cautiously.

All of the reasoning behind her preference for sandwiches of various kinds was their convenience. They could be set down, could leave a hand free, and were generally quite quick to finish. A lot of the logical appeal of a burger went right out the window with an excess of gooey cheese.

But also. Cheese was delicious.

In the end, there would be no resistance offered as Usagi took both her hand and the lead. All Ami could really do was maintain her smile. This was a much needed break from everything. It was comfortable and immensely nice.

And Usagi's hand was soft and warm.

"They do sound very good, too." Ami agreed. "So, we're pretty much obligated to try them, aren't we?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It does! But the skirts are supposed to be stiff, I guess? Like, they melt the cheese and it gets all stiff, like a crisp? The cheese sauce is super drippy though, like, the ooiest gooiest, so... maybe we'll get one of each, and share!"

Then she can try both, but also, if Ami-chan doesn't like the drippy, she can have something sans all the drip factor. It's a perfect plan.

"It's not a very far walk, but the restaurant is one of those littler ones, not teeny tiny but not tourist trap huge either, so we should be able to find a table!" She explains as she leads the way, and it's a short walk - just a couple of blocks over from where they started, before she's guiding Ami into that restaurant. "As soon as I saw it, I thought it'd be nice to go together!"

This isn't a date - but it's hanging out, together, close and warm, and she's happy about that.

"And if you don't like it, I won't be mad or upset, okay, so make sure you tell me. You can always tell me, you don't have to agree with me!"

...Maybe that's not just about the burger. But it's probably fine!

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami watched Usagi closely from the side for a moment as she tried to puzzle her way through that. On the one hand, she could take negative criticism quite badly at times but it mostly just amounted to arguments with Rei or that defeated kind of slump. Mad wasn't typically the first word that sprang to mind for Usagi-based descriptors.

"I didn't think that you would be." Ami reassured the blonde. "Not over hamburgers, at least."

There was a pause before she nodded. "But, if they're no good, I'll make sure to tell you."

Which, in itself, was quite a strange thing to say. It took her a second to recognise the awkwardness of wording ahead of a voluntary correction--"I mean, I'll make sure to give my honest opinion."

Probably in essay form.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It was a weird question - statement - request? - to make, and Usagi knows it. She should probably explain herself! And she will! Just... after she gets an answer. Her eyes show how much she wants that answer.

And Ami gives it without hesitation, if in bits and pieces of confusion. Which is fair!! "Okay... thanks. I know that was - I'm glad! That you'd tell me! And that you'd be honest, too, I, um - okay, to tell you the truth... and not to make our hangout about my husbandfriend... but I kind of... had an almost-but-not-really fight with Mamochan a bit ago, and we haven't really talked about it, and it was an almost fight because he kind of just said he'd go with what I wanted as soon as I was upset and I hated it and oh I just word vomited that all up."

At least that explanation got them through sitting at a table. Usagi lets Ami's hand go, if only so she can facepalm at her own self.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I had a feeling there was more to the question than you were letting on." Ami confessed with a little bit of a guilty grimace. "I was going to wait until you were too busy eating to run away before I asked after it."

Which was probably sneaky, though Ami preferred to think of it as strategic. Otherwise, she didn't seem terribly upset about the topic of conversation. It was part of Usagi's life--a pretty important part, in fact--and that was always going to hold both interest and concern for her.

"Is there a reason why you haven't talked to him about it?" Ami lifted a brow. "Or are you both just avoiding the uncomfortable bits?"

It wasn't judgement, per se. But, to Ami, it certainly felt as though there were an obvious solution to the problem and, unfortunately, very predictable behaviours for her friends.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Oooh, sneaky," Usagi says, unintentionally confirming Ami's thoughts. "That would have totally worked, huh? Maybe I'm a little predictable..."

She probably will not change. Maybe. Who knows, though? On second thought, she's changed so much.

"Good question! And um... mostly me, he wanted to talk about it, but he wanted to talk about it so much that he offered to give up before we even started, and that's... that's kind of how he gets when Riventon would get mad at him, before, and he would just want to fix it. And I just - I mean! I didn't... like him acting like that, at me. It felt like... he thought I'd hurt him."

She slumps back into her chair.

"When I told him I wasn't going to turn on him, he looked... shocked. He said he didn't think I would. But he didn't look like he thought that..."

She hasn't even told Ami what they almost fought about. She's embarrassed to do so - she knows it's not the best look for her, knows it's far from the most mature, but - it has to be said, and she brought it up.

"...He wants to join that organization. With magic, behind the museum. They told him he probably could, and he was really excited, and I - I really don't want him to. And then he saw I was upset and he started talking about how he didn't have to join them, it was okay not to, he could just... achieve all his dreams without them, but it'd help to have them, but he didn't have to if I didn't want to."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"As far as they intimated when I visited, they're also the organisation behind our school. It's in their name." Ami spoke a little bit carefully at least.

It was going to be a fairly fine line to walk, after all. Ami, even without hearing the specifics of their particular argument, could already see good reasons behind both sides of it.

"That, of course, assumes that they're being honest. Which they might not be and, given Mamoru-kun's track record with organisations, is probably not the wisest decision to just jump into right away." The blue-haired senshi bit at her lip. "At the same time, they do seem to have an interest in the Fade. Some of Mamoru-kun's closest friends are a little older than us, and I'm sure finding a solution to that growing problem is something very important to him."

There was, however, one very critical point for Ami in all of this. "Do you have a bad feeling about them?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"That sounds about right," Usagi grimaces - less because she distrusts the idea or organization and more because she feels petty. She feels so very petty over the whole thing, and it's not her favorite way to be. "I could believe it, even if I'd want evidence - but the headmistress vouched for all this, and I think she's trustworthy... I mean, she knows a lot, and she never turned anyone in. I met her, during the whole... Crystal Heart project, when they first brought it to us, to finally make the school safe, so I... I figured there was something behind the school..."

Ami brings up a point that Usagi's heart feels is true, even if she hadn't consciously thought of it - that Mamoru's history with organizations, with joining things... isn't good. Endymion's wasn't either, if she dares to think back that far, even if she doesn't want the ancient past to be the center of this problem. And it's fair, too, that the Fade is - the Fade is scarier for him than it is her, because he's...

"He's eighteen," she murmurs, "And Kazuo-kun is nineteen, and I think Masato-kun is eighteen or about to turn it too, and it's... they're right there, so... you're not... wrong. And he..."

This is where her words falter, and so she takes a long breath and looks up, meeting Ami's eyes. "I have a bad feeling about them, but I don't think it's because they're bad. I think it's... I think it's because they're magic, and Mamochan joining means that he wants to be involved with magic for all the rest of our lives, and he basically said so, and that - I don't like that."

...And then she huffs, "And it doesn't help that the lady inviting him is supposedly like, really nice and pretty and knows a lot of things about stuff Mamochan likes that I don't know about, and she's pretty. Allegedly."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Leaning forward, Ami set hands to Usagi's again. A gentle touch, punctuated by a firm and grounding squeeze. Blue eyes stared into blue and a small, reassuring smile touched at her lips.

"She's nowhere near as pretty as you are." Ami stated deadpan, as though this were an incontrovertible fact of the universe. "Like a puddle of mud beside a vibrant field of flowers."

There was no way that Ami was going to let Usagi think that Curator Siddig were in any way _prettier_ than her. Not a single one.

She patted the back of a claimed hand.

"You're also worried that you and Mamoru-kun might have different ideas about what the future looks like." It was stated mostly as a confirmation that she was getting the read correct."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
It is petty and foolish and Mamoru would probably be at least a little annoyed at her for being jealous and insinuating that there was something to be jealous about, or fi not annoyed, defensive.

But Ami is not Mamoru, and her response is exactly what Usagi did not know she needed to hear, and pettiness is secondary to relief. She grips her hands, and she laughs a little in sheepish embarrassment, and she sucks in a quick breath of relief after that, and says,

"Thank you, Ami-chan. I - really needed that."

It's not the important thing, but it's not unimportant, either.

"...Yeah, that's a lot of it. I... I mean, I've thought about the future... I used to just want to be a housewife, and oh, I wish, but - well, now I'm thinking about school, after school, if only because Chibiusa-chan's Mama probably wasn't ready, and I don't know if anyone can be ready, but... I can try to be a little readier, if something goes that wrong?"

She sighs, and she's going to continue, but then there's a staff member coming over to take their order, asking if they've had time to review the menu, and Usagi is embarrassed that they haven't. "Ah, sorry! We were talking so much, but, we wanted to try the special cheese burgers? With the skirt, and the dip? Ami-chan, do you know what you want to drink?"

When orders are done, she laughs a little at herself, shaking her head.

"I got all distracted, I forgot we're in a restaurant... but... um, yes, it's about that. Even with all that... I don't want it, the way he does. But.. he wants a future that's in magic. And that... scares me."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Her first instinct was to ask for sweetened cappuccino. It was the fuel that drove her into long nights filled with study. In their lives, it wasn't just study for school either. Ami had scans of devicer magitech, the new artwork that from the museum, and the strange little blip that Rashmi had suggested pointed toward Mercury. Which, in hindsight, made a lot of sense for obvious reasons but Ami liked to be certain and empirical where she could. Perhaps most importantly, though, she had a drink to order.

"Just a chocolate shake, thank you." Ami smiled pleasantly before the even more important things came back into focus and her attention returned to Usagi.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that you're thinking about school for once." Ami certainly wasn't going to let that one slide on by without comment. "And we've all seen a future that had people who were a little bit like us in it. But they weren't us, Usagi-chan."

She paused for a moment, if only to let that linger in the air a little longer.

"I think that making the choice to stay in magic is a very good one." Again, slowly and carefully around this particular topic.

Because it was a very complicated one. It was the sort of thing that the Pretty Guardian of Love and Intelligence had definitely been overthinking since the museum.

"It scares me, too." She admitted, a little quieter.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
A melon soda isn't always Usagi's go to drink order, but the burgers are going to be heavy and rich, and she thinks she'll like the crisp sweet of melon and the sharp of soda to cut through it, even if she oohs appreciatively at the choice of a chocolate milkshake. A milkshake did sound good, and it's not like her stomach wouldn't have room, she always had room, but - no, she would trust her instincts on this one.

"I thought you'd like that," Usagi says, bashful, because - she's not a good student. She knows she's not, she never has been, but... Ami-chan and Mamochan have never given up on pushing her and helping her and trying to get her to be better as a student. And she can't forget Rei telling her that the distance between an F and a C is the same as a C and an A. "And I know. I do! They're not us - they weren't us, even if they were a variant, of us. It doesn't mean it will happen here, just because some things happened."

She breathes the words in Ami's pause, in that lingering.

And she doesn't quite flinch, when Ami says those fateful words. It's what she expected, too. It's one reason she wanted to talk to Ami, the second they were talking to each other.

"...I don't want it to be," she admits, quiet. "It's... hasn't it taken so much? Hasn't it been so scary? But aren't I being selfish? He wants to be a social worker. A counselor. That's a good thing!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I wanted to be a doctor for the longest time." It was easy to start off smaller and work your way up to things. "Ever since I started tutoring people, though, I thought it'd be really nice to be a teacher. There's something really fulfilling in helping people to learn things, especially when you get to see them succeed even where they didn't think they could."

That sentiment could have settled upon a whole host of people, but the two that loomed sharpest in her most recent memories were Roman--the grin he wore when he'd sported his passing grade--and, of course, Usagi. She always loomed very large within Ami's thoughts, that much scarcely needed to be said. Then again, sometimes things did need to be said.

"And I'm proud of how hard you try, even if its not the thing that you're the best at." Ami smiled, faint and maybe even a little bit sad. "And I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want a life like that. Simple. With you and all of our friends. Because, yeah, it is hard and it is scary to be who we are."

Again, a pause, before Ami sighed very heavily.

"But, this is a decision we'll make for everyone. For people like Amy-chan--she's made no secret about how much the Fade terrifies her. Also, people we don't even know. The ones that would come along after us." Ami squeezed firmly at Usagi's hand again. "And also for people like Mamoru-kun because Riventon won't just give up on him or the things he feels took Mamoru-kun away from him just because the Fade happened to them. The only difference is, we won't be able to do anything about it."

The blue-haired senshi's lip curled behind teeth. "The only thing that scares me more are things like that. We won't stop being who we are, we'll just forget it, and other people who mean us all harm won't."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She listens, quiet. Patient, in the way she didn't always seem like she could be, and listening. When her friends are speaking, it's time to listen.

Even when the things they're saying are hard. Even when they're scary.

"I think you'd be a good teacher," Usagi confirms very quietly. Even as she recognizes that it's not just about being a teacher - it's about considering a different dream, a different course of action, a different future. Changing what she thought she might be. It's not egotistical for Usagi to recognize part of the place she herself must have played in that realization, when Ami has spent so much time tutoring her.

And so she listens.

And though she's never - no, that's not true. There had been a time where she wanted the Fade, so bad. A part of her still wants it, even as she knows it's not the solution she had hoped for, two years ago. Two years and two days ago, she woke as the Princess. Darien woke as the Prince. He almost died. She saved him, with magic she hadn't known she had. She saved him, from magic a part of her wishes no one had.

Magic, for all it's benefits, has just as many dangers. More, even, because even the helpful things, even the beautiful things, are dangerous, most of the time.

"I wanted to Fade, when Kyouka-sensei first told us about it," she admits, "When she first told me it would happen, that magic was temporary, I wanted it so bad. To - serve my time, and then be done, and have my life back. I still want my life back. I still... I don't want the Fade, anymore. You're right, about that. It's a decision, for everyone, and it's not one we made, and it's not one they made, and it's not - it's not fair, that so many people are scared of it, and what could happen, and what they'd lose."

She lowers her head, bangs shading her eyes, throat tight, voice thick.

"I don't want to forget what you all really mean to me, ever. Especially because Mamochan's baka-onii-san would still be a Director, still be a jerk, and still be in our lives, just without us knowing. We have to stop it."

A part of her doesn't want to. She wants that life, that loss, the freedom.

"But I don't... I don't want to be in it forever, either. Just because I don't forget, just because I don't lose my power... what if it means we're stuck in it? Mamochan doesn't just want to be a social worker, he wants to be a social worker for kids like us. He wants to be Kyouka-sensei, and she's always in it. He already throws himself over us, to protect us, what will he be like when we're grown and the people he's protecting really are little kids, to us? What will I be like, trying to get married for real, where my mama and papa can see, and worrying about youmas attacking? Trying to have a baby, and stumbling on a Witch's Labyrinth?"

These aren't questions Ami can answer, probably, that anyone can answer, less questions and more posed anxieties, but it's what's haunted her ever since Mamoru brought that future crashing in on her world that hadn't yet managed to grow that far beyond high school - ever since he introduced that idea, I can join them and made it clear he wanted his future to be one full of magic.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Even if we were to forget the details of things, I don't think we'd ever forget each other." Ami offered in reassurance. "I mean, our alternate future selves were still together after all that time, too."

Which, of course, they still remembered everything just fine, but recollection was far less the point than tenure and reassurance. The reminder that, even in a world that had been falling apart, they had remained together. Of course, the hint from that time also hadn't escaped her--the Fade didn't seem to exist there or, at the very least, not by rules they were familiar with.

And prior to their troubles, Usagi, Mamoru... everyone had managed to achieve some kind of peace. That wasn't for nothing even if it wasn't quite the outcome they really wanted to have for themselves now. They'd seen the mistakes their alters had made and could avoid them, so perhaps they had an even better chance at making peace last in the long run.

Still, she squeezed once more at the blonde's hand.

"I'm not entirely certain that a Mamoru-kun who didn't want to protect the people around him would even really be a Mamoru-kun." Which probably wasn't all that comforting given the context, but it really wasn't intended to be.

Ami intended honesty.

"And that's probably still scary for a number of reasons. But, I don't plan on letting either of you face these things all alone and I know that I'm not the only one of us who feels that way." She smiled faintly. "That's what I think makes this all manageable--none of us are alone in it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"I don't think we'd forget each other all the way," Usagi agrees, because that she can't imagine. "And I think you'd still be important to me. Incredibly so! Because Naru-chan is so important to me that I jumped into all this, and I didn't need her to be from a past life, or anything - but..."

But.

"There's so much of who we are that's all wrapped up in magic, now," she murmurs, and sinks back into her chair, dropping her head so her chin rests in the hollow of her throat. "So if we forgot, who's the say we wouldn't lose some of that? I know that's at least a little of what Mamochan's afraid of."

She knows there's more to it. She knows he felt what it was like to lose his magic, trapped in a hospital after Sunset of Sora, and she knows he was losing himself.

But she'd never followed that thought to it's logical conclusion. Not before it became all too obvious. Usagi squeezes Ami's hand, and maybe it's a little too tight, but that's love, for you. Clinging, too tight, because of the fear.

"I know. I know, he's a protector, he's always been one, even as Hematite - even his last act as Hematite, was being a protector," she clenches her eyes shut, mulish and frustrated, "But when does it get to stop?"

It's not comforting. It is true.

"We're not alone, and - and I'll always have you, and him, and everyone, I won't let go, but when do we get to be done? When have we given up enough? But that's how I think. He just wants to keep diving back in for more."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
All that Ami could really manage was that same faint smile. It was a little sad and not necessarily for her own sake. There was a desperate desire to tell Usagi all the things that she wanted to hear that would make her fears go away, but it wasn't in her to say things that she thought untrue. That would make a liar of her. Ami wasn't prepared to be that for Usagi.

Usagi was too important for that.

"I don't know if there really is a done in all of this." The words escaped her with a grimace, knowing full and well that this wasn't the perspective that Usagi wanted to hear. "Especially not for someone like Mamoru-kun. There'll always be someone else, drunk on Dark Energy, ready to hurt countless people and he'll always be there with the will and compulsion to stop them. After all, King Endymion or not, this is his world and these are his people."

She, of course, did mean that in the much broader sense. The one from which Masato would likely speak--of duties and responsibilities. But, also, Mamoru's own connections. The ones he'd forged with the various mahou he'd met.

"Things would be much easier if we just couldn't know. Which is probably what the Fade offers, even if the not knowing comes at the cost of a lot of other important things." Ami sighed lightly. "The problem is that we do know right now and I can see it. I don't think I could rest very well either, knowing that these things happen and I can do something about it but choose not to. That doesn't feel very much like a choice at all."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Ami is right about many things. The most prominent of them is that what she has to say is truly, really, not what Usagi wants to hear.

It would have been nicer to hear a lie. It wouldn't have paid any kindness, but it would have been nice. To be lied to. To be consoled, and reassured, and comforted.

But it wouldn't have been honest, and Ami is so often that above all else. It's something Usagi loves about her. Even now.

"But there should be. There should be an end, we should get to be done -" Her voice rises in pitch, for a moment, not yelling but breaking in a manner that less warned of tears and more screamed of it, but before that tipping point can be reached, their server returns. Their food - two burgers, each in their own serving plates. One is on a hot cast iron, having been cut in half and laid cut side down in a sizzling cheese sauce. The other has a knife for the cutting stuck through it, anchoring it in place, a skirt of cheese twice the circumference of the burger hiding much of the place it's been served on. They each receive a smaller plate, for portioning out their food, and their drinks are handed over.

Usagi is silent during this moment, taking a few deep breaths as burgers, silverware, plates, napkins, and drinks are all set in place, and only continues when the server is gone, looking over the food and feeling reluctantly better for the fact that it really does look just like it had on ClockApp.

"...I know life isn't fair. I'm not dumb enough to think it is, not with everything we've seen. But... still. I wish - I almost wish we could leave it, because - because I'd feel terrible too, not doing anything about it when I can. I can do so much about it, because I'm good at this, stupidly good at this, and it sucks, I'm not even one of the people who likes this!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Even with the server's approach and deposit of various foodstuffs, Ami refused to relinquish Usagi's hand. The squeeze, a tangible reminder of proximity and affection, comes and goes repeatedly as the blonde speaks. Then, as soon as she can, Ami nods.

"You're not wrong for the things that you want." Ami speaks softly. "And I'm not going to add a but in there. You're just not wrong."

While she wouldn't say things she thought to be untrue, Ami also wouldn't invalidate the things Usagi felt. Honesty and love were so inherently bound together that they were very nearly the same thing, as far as she could tell.

"None of this is fair. We didn't ask for any of it. It would be the most amazing thing to be able to do our time and then go our way--together, of course." Eyebrows lifted, because of course. "For me, though, knowing that its you who does these things... That's how I know it's all going to work out eventually. If it was anybody else, I'd have my doubts, but not with you."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Squeezed hand. A head lifted, slowly, posture shifting from sullen and sad to something more open (but still sad). "...Thanks. It feels... selfish, and Mamochan got - he got all small, like he was just... handling the situation, fixing it, making the upset go away and offering to not do something just because I don't like it, and I didn't even say any of this to him, after that, because..."

She wants him to agree with her. But not like that.

Not like he's trying to calm her down and placate her.

"So if nothing else, I'm really glad we can just... talk. Because it would be amazing, to just - get to be done. Get to put it down. Together, of course, all of us together, you and me, and me and Mamochan, and Mamochan and Kazuo, and Makochan and Wakochan and Chiyo-chan and Minako-chan and Rei-chan and all of us getting to be done, with all the scary stuff..."

She flushes, under Ami's confidence, a pink blush settling in her cheeks even as doubt settles in her stomach. How can make things work out, when Chibiusa's Mama was queen for like a thousand years and still had Death Phantom and the Black Moon Clan popping up, weeds in her garden.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Mamoru-kun is always very interested in doing the things that will make you the most happy." Ami agreed with a sigh. "Even if that, in itself, isn't going to be making you happy. You're allowed to disagree with one another on things, that's normal. He's allowed to want to try to do things that you don't necessarily approve of, too. That's also normal. None of that means anything about your care and love for one another."

Alas, there was the flush and the set of Usagi's face. Ami's smile grew in spite of herself.

"I'm always glad when we get to talk, too." The blue-haired senshi assured with a nod. "Especially when there's good, cheesy food to be had."

Her attention drifted toward the burgers.

"And that is a lot of cheese." Ami's tone was briefly awed, but she shook her head and returned pristine blue gaze to Usagi.

With a pause and a catch of lower lip between teeth before she spoke again.

"We can be aware of what struggles we might face in the future without worrying after them, Usagi-chan." Ami said softly. "Whatever happens, we'll all still be together and we'll all still face it together. That's why I'm certain we'll be okay."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"It is normal. It is! And I thought... well, I didn't think we'd fight about it, because we almost never fight, and I didn't expect him to come saying he was going to join a secret magic society, but... I guess you're right. He really would do anything to try and make me happy."

And she doesn't hate that. She doesn't even dislike it. She'd just - the second he dismissed his own feelings, for hers, the way he'd almost seemed to flinch and grown anxious at her upset - she'd just felt like she couldn't possibly press the issue. Not without being a bully, or worse.

And so they hadn't talked about it. She hadn't talked about it.

She's struggling to put words together, to find something profound and encompassing to express how it feels that Ami's helped her put this together, when the awe of cheese is expressed instead, and she starts to laugh, a bright, loud sound that has people looking their way. Usagi raises a hand to her mouth to stifle the sound, but keeps laughing.

"It - haha - it really heheh- is! I th,th,thought they were making it up on ClockApp but it's so-ha-oo-haha-oo much!"

They might actually explode from cheese before they finish. She's game to find out.

"...I'll try, Ami-chan. To not worry so much. Usually it's pretty easy, to put it all away, but there's something about this..."

She shakes her head.

"Future Usagi problems, in more ways than one. We've got each other... and these burgers. So I guess there's nothing that can stop us, huh?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Before bothering to settle into the cheesy-apocalypse that is her burger, Ami spares a further moment for Usagi. Not just in the listening, because of course she pays clear attention while the blonde speaks to her, but in the response. Because both sides of this matter.

Fortunately, it seems as though Usagi has come around. Anybody accusing Usagi of being dumb was generally in for a shock when they realised that she wasn't, so Ami never really did. She didn't even think it.

"Good." She nods with a smile. "And specifically we will tackle this together, so that you're not trying to pick through it on your own."

So I guess there's nothing that can stop us, huh?

Ami offers one more squeeze of hand. "Not for as long as we love one another, and that's not ever going to stop."