Andrew diligently wiped down the stray smudge on his otherwise immaculate counter top, then turned when he heard the bell ring, indicating that someone had opened the door and was entering. At the sight he grinned openly.
First inside was the tall, smirking Darien Shields, the slender Serena hugging one of his arms and complaining loudly about the lack of good food in a movie theater.
Next in was the tall and bubbly Mina, who replied somewhat flippantly to Serena's comment, then turned and pulled her reluctant companion, who'd been stalling, inside. The huge male looked highly out of place dressed in his three-thousand dollar Armenia suit and his expression stated quite clearly that he did NOT want to be there, yet he allowed Mina to practically shove him toward one of the largest booths without any sort of actual complaint.
They were soon followed by Raye, ranting and raving about something to the muscular man at her side, who didn't seem to be paying the least bit of attention to her temper-tantrum. He instead turned to quip something back at the man that came in behind him, and won a painful smack upside the head by his temperamental counterpart.
The slender man to whom he'd been trying to speak to laughed openly at that. Then he turned with a tender smile to hold the door open for Ami, who came in next. She smirked and leaned up to kiss his cheek, then they followed the others to the booth in the back.
They were succeeded by the tall Lita, laughing uproariously at something the grinning man at her side, who had a companionable arm thrown around her shoulders, had said. Both chuckling now, they quickly joined the others to share their joke.
Next in the door was a trio of females, one exceptionally tall and slightly masculine, with a short-cropped mane of tawny blonde hair and navy blue eyes. Amara called out something incriminatingly lewd to the slightly cowering male at Raye's side, causing the blonde to blush scarlet and cower further, and then get hit again by his now completely furious girlfriend. The aqua-haired Michelle just shook her head and gave Amara a slightly chastising look, then motioned for the slight Hotaru to follow them as they came forward and joined the others as well.
Trista came in next, followed by the two cats that frequently accompanied the girls, wordlessly sitting down with the rest of the group.
Andrew quickly approached to take their orders, silently marveling at how much happier they all seemed to be. It was as if a dark shadow had been lifted from their shoulders, and they were now at peace.
When Andrew left again Amara sighed. She, Michelle and Hotaru had just recently returned to Tokyo, and were still trying to adjust to everything that had changed in their absence.
"I tell you, we leave for a couple of months and the whole damn operation falls apart."
"Oh, I think we managed just fine," was Serena's smirking reply, causing some of the others to chuckle.
Mina suddenly grumbled out loud, gaining everyone else's attention as she turned slightly to glare at the man she sat in the lap of.
"I still can't believe you fired me."
Malcolm shrugged, hiding the slight grin that twitched his lips by taking a sip from his drink.
"I can't very well date my own employee. Besides, a dyslexic monkey could sort papers better than you can."
The others burst out laughing at that while Mina's jaw dropped in abject shock and dismay. She scowled and pouted then, arms crossing.
"Now how am I supposed to pay for those drama classes?"
"Don't worry about it. It's taken care of." Mina however shook her head.
"No Mal, I'm not gonna take your hand-outs like that. I'll work for my way." That made him grin full out, wide and shameless.
"Trust me little one, you're gonna work for every penny."
At first she didn't get it, or understand why everyone was laughing so hard. But when Malcolm quirked his eyebrows just right her cheeks sprouted into two bright spots of color.
"MAL!" she gasped, causing him to chuckle.
There was a moment of companionable silence, then Jadrian suddenly leaned in to Zack.
"You do realize that you still owe me thirty bucks, right?"
The whole congregation erupted into groans and loud exclamations as Z and Jade erupted into a full blown shouting contest, arguing incessantly as to who REALLY did win that bet, all those years ago.
Despite the current upset, it was quite apparent to anyone who would take the time to look, that the large and close-knit group of friends and loved ones gathered together today shared bonds too strong to break. They would remain together now, happy and content, for the rest of their lives and then on into eternity.
The spirit of Queen Serenity smiled as she looked down upon her children, her soul finally at peace.
"Forever."
AN: Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this little piece of fiction as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'd like to take a moment to shout out a big thank you very much to all those who have kindly taken the time to read and e-mail, to tell me their thoughts and feelings on this piece. And if I may beg . . . PLEASE E-MAIL AGAIN!!!! Heh. Anyways, thanks again, and please . . . C-me-later.
Lynnwood
