35 Millimeters
by Lady Aishiteru 
Chapter 6: Contact - What Develops in the Dark

Disclaimer: WE ARE THE KNIGHTS THAT SAY NI! NI! For your first mission,
 you must find us...a shrubbery! (cue dramatic music)

Real disclaimer: I don’t own Sailor Moon, nor do I own Monty Python 
and the Holy Grail. But my friend has the DVD. =P 

I flipped through the rapidly thickening file of Zoisite on my lap, 
pretending to pay attention to the photographs and information it 
contained. Pretending, because no photograph could do justice to the 
real, living Zoisite driving the car. Out of the corner of my eye, I 
took in his chiseled profile. ‘Even from the side, he looks 
magnificent,’ I thought, my pulse becoming a little bit faster. 

If I had been daring enough to stare at him openly, I would have 
become even more flustered. This man got sexier every time I saw him. 
Oh my gosh...did I just think that? But I couldn’t help it. He was...
unbelievable. As I absently flicked a wayward strand of hair behind 
my ear, his presence caused my mind to wander, back to last Sunday 
morning, when he had...

“You seemed pretty focused on something, Ami. Penny for your 
thoughts?” Zoisite asked, his eyes still on the road.

I blushed. “I was thinking about that great breakfast you made me on 
Sunday,” I said. Which wasn’t entirely false.

“Ah,” he said, grinning fiendishly, the kind of grin that told me that 
he knew I wasn’t telling him everything. “You know,” he said, and I 
had the feeling he was about to confirm my thoughts, “You don’t have 
to hide your emotions, Ami.”

“Nani? Who’s hiding?” I asked defensively.

He pulled over to park, and said, “Just be more open, Ami. That’s all 
I ask.”

As I gathered my equipment, my gaze traveled across a large expanse of 
greenery with intermittently spaced dirt trails, flowers in bloom, and
ducks feeding in a nearby pond.

“Well, unless Chiba Inc. suddenly relocated to Tokyo Park, I’m 
guessing this isn’t your office.”

He laughed nervously a bit and scratched his head. I couldn’t help but 
smile. He was so cute when he did that; I couldn’t possibly stay mad 
at him. “Now who’s hiding things?”

He fiddled with his sunglasses and watched me as I got out my 
equipment. “Where would you like to start?”

“Huh?”

I smiled. “The shoot, of course.”

“Oh. Sorry. How about over there, by the pond?”

“Sounds good to me. Let me get my camera adjusted first.”

He nodded as I adjusted the shutter speed and aperture for sunny day 
photography; the last pictures I had taken were under low lighting. I 
slung the strap over my shoulder and clicked the lens cap in place.

“Okay, tell me where you want to stand so I can set up my tripod.”

He nodded, then chose a spot near the lake. I grumbled a bit to 
myself; now I would have to do a light meter reading to adjust for 
sun glare. I took out the meter and walked over to Zoisite, then I 
held the device an inch from his face.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Adjusting for sun glare,” I said. “I need to know what kind of 
lighting I’m dealing with here.”

“Ah. You’re the expert,” he said.

“Not really. I only took a basic course in photography in college. I 
majored in something else.”

“Really? What?”

“You’re going to think this is really stupid,” I said, doing another 
reading.

“Nah. Try me.”

“I have a P.H.D. in pediatric medicine,” I said, walking back over to 
the tripod.

“That’s amazing, Ami. I’ve heard how tough med. school can be, 
especially the residency.” 

“I haven’t been a resident yet, though,” I said, adjusting the lens 
according to my reading.

“What’s stopping you?”

“I was going to enter the program last semester, but then I opened my 
photo shop. Smile for the camera,” I said.

“But you shouldn’t let the shop keep you from following your dreams. 
Seriously, Ami.”

I smiled behind the lens. “I haven’t forsaken my dream to be a 
pediatrician. I’m just following another dream right now.”

“Ah,” he said.

I continued to snap and click, guiding Zoisite through whatever poses 
I thought best, periodically doing a meter reading to adjust for 
changing light conditions. I was glad that I had three rolls of 
thirty six, which would give me ample time to look at him, and I had 
the excuse that I was taking his picture. I was even getting paid for 
it, and well, I might add. All too soon, I ran out of film and 
announced to Zoisite that the shoot was over.

He stretched and yawned, feigning tiredness. “So soon?”

I playfully smacked him on the shoulder. As I did, I noticed the time 
on my watch. “Oh no! It’s 5:00!” I moaned, burying my face in my 
hands.

“Is that a problem?”

I was tempted to scream out at him, “YES, YOU IDIOT! YOU COST ME HALF 
A DAY OF BUSINESS!” but instead I continued to silently fume.

He placed his hand on my shoulder, which caused me to jump up and 
yell “Eep!”

“Ami?”

“......”

“Can I make it up to you by dinner?”

I saw the guilt in his eyes and I softened a bit. ‘He does look 
sorry,’ I reflected. 

‘Still’ said chibi Demon-Ami, the apparition sitting on my left 
shoulder, ‘he probably cost you hundreds of dollars worth of 
business.’

‘But look at how pathetic he looks.’ said the chibi Angel-Ami that 
floated above my right shoulder.

‘And he should wallow in it!’ ranted Demon-Ami.

I was still a little upset, but not fully convinced that I should 
let Zoisite suffer. ‘I’m sure he didn’t do this on purpose.’ I 
conceded. “Okay. Dinner it is.”

“Great!” he beamed, all smiles again. “I know this really great 
place.”

* * * * *
And he did know a great place, one that serves country-style American 
food, Cracker Barrel. After we ate, we decided to tour the general 
store.

“See anything you like, Ami?”

I smiled. “Oh, you don’t have to get me anything.” 

“Well, then maybe for future reference.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why? It’s not like you’re-”

He frowned a bit. “In love? I would have hoped that would be 
blatantly obvious by now.”

“Whaaa? You...l-love me?” I stammered.

“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked softly, tracing along my 
jawline with his finger. I looked into his eyes, and saw a trace of 
what looked like....sadness?

“Nobody..has ever...said that before,” I whispered.

“I’ve only said that..once,” he admitted, holding a Beanie baby.

“To your fiancee?”

“Yeah.”

I was silent for a minute, absorbing the impact of the information. 
It seemed a bit soon...after all, we had only known each other for a 
few weeks. 

“Why me? I’m not that special...” I muttered, trailing off.

He didn’t answer, at least not out loud, but what he did when we went 
outside said more than enough. He took my hand, and with his free 
hand, he cupped my chin so I was looking into his eyes. Time seemed to 
come to a halt as he slowly, too slowly, closed the distance between 
our faces. The emotion he poured into the kiss left our previous one 
in the dust. So I did something I thought I would never do; I kissed 
him back. All too soon, he broke the kiss and whispered in my ear, 
“I think that sums it up.”


* * * * *