[What "practically" Tadashi, you are in fact doing just that. It's crueler, in fact, because Ami had already accepted rejection once and now she was being asked to accept again.
She swallows again and closes her eyes, feeling the tears on her lashes.]
I never once asked you to lie about us. [She didn't even want it kept from Hiro. But now the conversation from the carnival rings in her ears.] I didn't want to be some secret.
[Because she was.
And she always had been. She wished she had never liked him. Things were easier when she didn't like anyone in a romantic sense, she'd simply go back to that if this stupid roller-coaster of heart-ache was her only reward. Like a boy, confess, reject, be confessed to, date, break up. All in a month at that. How ridiculously stupid of her to like someone so much who wasn't a senshi, who wasn't her princess. She'd stick to her fondness for scientists and inventors long dead and who were not here. But she couldn't get mad even as the words he kept saying cut deeper than she would have liked. Because then it would be making him choose between herself and Hiro. She finally looked up and locked gazes with Tadashi, wanting him to be as uncomfortable with this as she felt hurt by it.]
No one but you decided to keep us a secret, I made no secret of it. I didn't lie about this, about us, just so the girls might feel more comfortable about it.
[She turned her head and pressed her lips together, taking deep breaths and then turning to look back at him.
She isn't the sort to yell and scream. She isn't the sort to shout accusing words and harsh statements.
The words sit on her tongue but are swallowed.
Because she isn't the sort.
She wants to tell him, to please do her the kindness, that when his brother finally allows him to date someone, to not ask her if she was interested. She didn't think she could handle being rejected in some fashion a third time simply because Hiro, suddenly, no longer approved.
She wants to tell Tadashi he's a coward because he shouldn't have lied in the first place. That it isn't Hiro she's dating, now is it? It had been Tadashi.
She wants to slap him for ever treating her as a secret in the first place, as if she was something to keep hidden be it from being dirty or unworthy compared to his precious brother while she was upfront with all the girls immediately.
But she also wants to tell him she understands, because in truth, he'd never compare to Usagi, just like she didn't compare to Hiro.
But those are words of kindness, and it isn't in her to be that kind right now because Usagi would never be this cruel.
She could be. She could be merciless, ruthless, she could kill in seconds and have no regard for the person if it meant the safety of Earth and her princess.
But Tadashi was no such threat. He was human.
She was not. She took another deep breath and squared her shoulders. She was Princess Mercury, goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and water. This would be just another thing to learn. This would be just another thing to file away. Now that she knew romantic love, she could promptly make sure she never felt it again. Not like this. Not this love.
This sort of love only brought Ami tears. And tears were useless to a senshi. There was no room for tears.]
[Action]
She swallows again and closes her eyes, feeling the tears on her lashes.]
I never once asked you to lie about us. [She didn't even want it kept from Hiro. But now the conversation from the carnival rings in her ears.] I didn't want to be some secret.
[Because she was.
And she always had been. She wished she had never liked him. Things were easier when she didn't like anyone in a romantic sense, she'd simply go back to that if this stupid roller-coaster of heart-ache was her only reward. Like a boy, confess, reject, be confessed to, date, break up. All in a month at that. How ridiculously stupid of her to like someone so much who wasn't a senshi, who wasn't her princess. She'd stick to her fondness for scientists and inventors long dead and who were not here. But she couldn't get mad even as the words he kept saying cut deeper than she would have liked. Because then it would be making him choose between herself and Hiro. She finally looked up and locked gazes with Tadashi, wanting him to be as uncomfortable with this as she felt hurt by it.]
No one but you decided to keep us a secret, I made no secret of it. I didn't lie about this, about us, just so the girls might feel more comfortable about it.
[She turned her head and pressed her lips together, taking deep breaths and then turning to look back at him.
She isn't the sort to yell and scream. She isn't the sort to shout accusing words and harsh statements.
The words sit on her tongue but are swallowed.
Because she isn't the sort.
She wants to tell him, to please do her the kindness, that when his brother finally allows him to date someone, to not ask her if she was interested. She didn't think she could handle being rejected in some fashion a third time simply because Hiro, suddenly, no longer approved.
She wants to tell Tadashi he's a coward because he shouldn't have lied in the first place. That it isn't Hiro she's dating, now is it? It had been Tadashi.
She wants to slap him for ever treating her as a secret in the first place, as if she was something to keep hidden be it from being dirty or unworthy compared to his precious brother while she was upfront with all the girls immediately.
But she also wants to tell him she understands, because in truth, he'd never compare to Usagi, just like she didn't compare to Hiro.
But those are words of kindness, and it isn't in her to be that kind right now because Usagi would never be this cruel.
She could be. She could be merciless, ruthless, she could kill in seconds and have no regard for the person if it meant the safety of Earth and her princess.
But Tadashi was no such threat. He was human.
She was not. She took another deep breath and squared her shoulders. She was Princess Mercury, goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and water. This would be just another thing to learn. This would be just another thing to file away. Now that she knew romantic love, she could promptly make sure she never felt it again. Not like this. Not this love.
This sort of love only brought Ami tears. And tears were useless to a senshi. There was no room for tears.]
Is there anything else you need to say?