Guys and Dolls and Imaginary Friends
Continued from: How it Really Happened
“Poor Luna,” Usagi said consolingly. Luna sat perched on Usagi’s lap, her cheeks flushed with anger. “Sometimes Artemis just can’t help himself,” she offered.
A strangled harrumph could be heard from Luna as she returned to cleaning her paws. Usagi flinched a little as Luna flashed her claws.
“I am sitting here you know,” Artemis sputtered.
Mamoru patted the other male on the back consolingly, suddenly realizing that he needed to find some other form of male companionship. “Don’t interrupt them,” Mamoru advised, “you’ll only make it worse in the long run.”
“But I didn’t do anything,” he protested.
Mamoru shook his head consolingly. Was Artemis really this stubborn, or was it a lost cause trying to convince a cat? Maybe he should get a dog….
“I saw him,” Luna hissed, answering Artemis by talking to Usagi. “He stood there like the tomcat that he is and looked right up her skirt.”
It was hard to tell at that point whether Artemis’s cheeks were pink from blushing or still tinged from where Luna scratched him earlier.
“Maybe they have a relationship like that?”
“Usagi!” all the girls, sans Minako, yelled in unison. They were all gathered together outside of the shrine. Rei had asked everyone to come over and help her to gather up the leaves, and now they sat around the fire of the burning leaves in the cool autumn air.
“There was a fly on her shoulder!” Artemis cried out futilely. “I couldn’t help myself, not the way that it was buzzing around as if taunting me to make a move….” He shook his head. “I didn’t even realize where I was standing!”
“Where is Mina anyway?” Ami asked, trying to casually change the subject.
“On a date,” Makoto answered cheerfully. “He’s hot too!” she whispered (albeit loudly) to Ami.
“He is not!” Artemis yelled, quickly shrinking back as all eyes turned to him. “He’s another good for nothing free loader trying to sponge off of Minako’s good nature.”
“Or,” Makoto said, “he’s a nice lawyer that she met through her mother.” Artemis glared daggers at her. “Although I suppose I can see how that translates to a….good for nothing….free loader…..” She said uncertainly as she shrugged her shoulders and looked over sideways to Usagi.
Luna gave her paw one last lick before squaring her shoulders and jumping off Usagi’s lap. Artemis quickly jumped off of Mamoru’s lap and followed after the midnight colored feline all the while trying to keep a safe distance from her.
The girls immediately started asking Makoto about Minako’s latest date leaving Mamoru to sit there, wondering where and how exactly he was going to find these new male friends of his. He cast his eyes to the ground, noticing the rocky ground beneath his feet. ‘I will call you John,’ he thought to himself, looking at the large gray stone near his left foot. ‘And you,’ he looked to smaller chipped stone next to the other one, ‘I will call you….’ He paused trying to think of a manly name, realizing sadly that the only names coming to mind were those of the girls’ exes. ‘Alright, John,’ Mamoru turned his eyes to the large stone again, ‘it’s just you and me then.’