Mamoru and the Dance, a sailor moon fanfic

This was my first fan fiction that I ever wrote. It's about… 8 or nine years old. It needed some major work but I think it's all the better for it. It doesn't follow canon. No one is particularly out of character; it just doesn't follow the story line of the series.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of its characters. I simply use them to further the enjoyment of all.

Once again Usagi was late. That's the way it always seemed to be. Running here, dashing there, but always late. As she ran up the steps of Rei's temple, she contemplated investing in a watch, preferably one with a very loud alarm. She stopped outside the door of the temple to catch her breath and pulled out her cell phone to check the time. She was only five minutes late which is probably the earliest she'd been in her life, not that her friends would remember that when they teased her for her tardiness. She flipped the phone closed, put it back in her pocket, opened the door and braced herself for the verbal lashing.

"Usagi?!? What are you doing here so early?" Rei exclaimed. "We weren't expecting you for another 15 minutes." Before Usagi had a chance to recover from the unexpected response from Rei, Makoto walked in. Upon seeing Usagi she almost dropped the plate a food she was holding.

"Usagi-chan!?! You're here?! Already?!" she asked, juggling the plate of food to keep it from falling. Makoto looked at the clock to confirm the time and then back at Usagi, still confused. Ami came in carrying four or five books.

"I found the books, Rei. Where..." At that moment she looked up, saw Usagi, and promptly dropped all the books she was carrying. "Usagi? What are you doing here?" she stammered, bending down to pick up the stack of books she dropped on the floor. At this point Usagi was so confused she didn't really register Minako's yelp of surprise.

"What is wrong with all of you?" Usagi asked, dropping her bag of books on the floor. "I'm late like always, so why is everyone so shocked?"

Rei spoke up, the first to recover from her surprise. "Actually, Usagi, you're technically on time," she told her. Usagi gave her a confused look and Minako elaborated.

"You are allowed a five minute time span before you're considered early or late. If you are more then five minutes early, you're early. If you're more then five minutes late, you're late but that short five minutes before and after the designated time is considered on time." She said it quickly and all in one breath, her usual fashion.

"Really?" Usagi asked not believing she was on time. She flopped down on the floor, soaking in the feeling of punctuality. No one was yelling or mad or giving her crap. They were all just gathering their things and sitting down, ready to start the study session.

"Really," Minako assured her then added, "Why do you thing people say I'll wait five more minutes?" Seeing her logic Usagi laughed and pulled her books out of her bag.

"Who would've thought that I would ever actually be on time for something?"

"Or at least something that doesn't involve large quantities of food," Rei interjected. Usagi hit her.

"I think I'll have to try it more often," she commented, putting pen to paper and starting on her work.

Usagi looked at her watch that had clearly done her no good. She had set the alarm yet here she was, late again. 'So much for trying to be on time. Mom's going to kill me after grounding me for eternity,' Usagi thought. She ran faster as she turned the corner at the next street.

Where she promptly smacked into someone.

Usagi was dazed for a minute. She shook her head, trying to focus on everything around her again. It was like she ran into a brick wall. She looked up and saw a gorgeous pair of blue eyes. "I'm so sorry I guess I should watch where I'm going," she stammered. She averted her eyes when she realized that she was staring.

"No it's alright," he answered her, smiling. "I wasn't paying much attention either." He got up, brushed himself off and extended his hand to help Usagi up. She gratefully took it and rose to her feet. "You sure you're alright, miss?" he asked politely. Usagi looked up again and couldn't help but return his smile.

"Oh, yes thank you," she answered. She noticed that he still held her hand.

"Good," he responded as he began to shake her hand. "I'm Chiba Mamoru. It's very nice to meet you."

Usagi just continued to smile like an idiot before she realized she should say something. "It's nice to meet you, too." She took this moment to look at him, not just stare at his blue eyes. He was tall, 6'1", maybe 6'2", a height that towered over her own 5'5". He had midnight black hair that fell messily in his face despite his best efforts. She had seen him run his hands through it to keep it out of his eyes at least twice since they had run into each other. He had absolutely gorgeous blue eyes and his body, well wow. That was the only way to describe it. Running into a person was a great way to find out if they worked out or not. Usagi slowly removed her hand from his, blushing slightly. It didn't even occur to her that she was getting later by the second.

Mamoru couldn't believe the beauty of this girl in front of him, or his luck for colliding with her. She was about 5'5" with long golden blonde hair, pulled back into two "odangos". She had beautiful blue eyes that sparkled to no end and had barely stopped looking at him since they met. Not that he cared, in fact, he was quite flattered. She had one of those smiles that just made you want to do nothing but smile back at her. She was absolutely stunning. Mamoru had never seen a girl so beautiful in his life. He cleared his throat softly. "So does the lovely lady have a name?" Mamoru asked with a smile. He watched her blush and thought it was just about the cutest thing ever.

"Tsukino Usagi."

"Ah, well, would Tsukino-san like to go get some ice cream?" he asked her hopefully. "It's the least that I can do for so rudely running into you." Usagi was about to say yes until she caught a glimpse of her watch. She just managed to keep from cursing. It probably wasn't the best thing to do in front of a cute guy you just met.

"I would like to but I'm really late," Usagi explained hurriedly. She had to get home otherwise her mother would never let her date Chiba-san. She grabbed a pen out of her purse and quickly jotted her number on his hand. "I'm free tomorrow after school. Hope to hear from you." Then with a quick wave over her shoulder, she took off.

"You can count on it, Usagi-chan."

Usagi ran all the way home from school. She couldn't remember ever wanting to be home this soon, so much so that she had told the girls this morning that she wouldn't be joining them this afternoon. Today was different. Today Mamoru-kun was going to call, or at lest she fervorantly hoped he was. If he was, she certainly wasn't going to miss it. She had barely stepped in the door when the phone rang. "I'll get it!" Usagi yelled as she dashed toward the phone. "Hello, Tsukino residence," she said as she answered the phone.

"Hello. This is Chiba Mamoru. Is Usagi-chan home?"

Mamoru looked at the number on the dry erase board on his fridge for the third time. He had transferred the number from his hand to the board immediately after getting home and then recorded it in three other places so that he wouldn't lose it.

'If she didn't want me to call her, she wouldn't of given me her number right?' he asked himself for about the third time. 'Then again maybe she was just being nice.' He had been arguing with himself for an hour. Usually he just called a girl but there was something about Usagi that was making him the most nervous he had ever been in his life. He had never been timid with women before, why now? His mouth set in a hard line, determined. He was going to call her. He picked up the phone and slowly dialed each of her digits. He heard it ring on the other end.

"Hello, Tsukino residence," he heard cheerfully on the other line.

"Hello. This is Chiba Mamoru is Usagi-chan home?" He was so nervous, his hands were clammy and the phone was coated with a layer of sweat. He took a deep, but silent, breath trying to calm himself.

"Speaking," was the answer. It was her. He should've known.

"Hey, how are you?" Mamoru asked, cringing at his attempt to be casual.

"Fine, thanks, I've had a good day. It's been going slow though. How about you? How was your day?" she asked him.

"Oh, fine, thanks," he told her politely. Small talk, he was making small talk. He hated small talk because he was previously so awful at it. His conversation now told him he hadn't improved that skill set much. He decided to just come out and talk to her about what he wanted. It was going to be the easiest, most painless way. "Listen, I was wondering if you weren't doing anything tonight if you would maybe like to go to dinner and a movie, if you want." Mamoru babbled almost hitting himself in the face. What happened to his calm and collected persona? What was it about this girl that made him feel like this?

"I'd love to!" she answered energetically.

"Great! How does six sound?" he asked, gaining back some of his confidence. It would have helped if she hadn't sounded so calm the entire time. It was as if she was asked out on a daily basis. Then Mamoru realized that she might be, he didn't really know.

"Sounds great," she said. "I have to go Mamoru-kun, but I'll see you tomorrow." They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Mamoru was walking Usagi home from the movie, leisurely. He wanted to spend as much time as possible with her. They had dinner before hand and Mamoru had learned of her exuberance for food, just endearing her to him more. They went to see a romantic comedy: just romantic enough for her and just humorous enough for him. If you had asked Mamoru what the movie was about, though, he wouldn't have been able to tell you, that's how fascinated by Usagi he was. They had been talking the whole walk home and had somehow wandered into the park. By this point he knew about her family, what she liked to do, who her friends were, and ever her favorite color. That one so small could talk so much astounded him, but he didn't mind. He liked hearing about her life and she talked about everything with such excitement that you couldn't help but be excited with her. "So Usagi-chan, you never told me how old you are," Mamoru said casually, hoping to get her on another tangent.

"Sixteen," she answered him and Mamoru's face dropped. Usagi didn't notice, for which Mamoru was grateful. He closed his eyes for a minute and then looked back to the small blonde at his side. Sixteen to his twenty. She had to know that he was around that age which meant she probably wasn't looking for a relationship with him, just a friendship. His heart sank but he put a smile on his face.

"What about you? How old are you Mamoru?" Usagi asked him, expecting him to only be a few years older than herself.

"Twenty," he answered her casually, or at least what he hoped was casually.

Usagi didn't know what to say and her mind panicked. 'Twenty!' she thought to herself. 'He must think of me as a kid. He couldn't have possibly known I was so young.' Usagi felt terrible, realizing that now that he knew her age would probably show little interest in her in the future. Her emotions were displayed all over her face and Mamoru noticed almost immediately.

"Is everything alright?" he asked her when he saw the sudden sadness come over her face. He wracked his brain, hoping that it wasn't something he had said. He usually managed to keep his foot out of his mouth but things never happened as he expected with Usagi. She nodded and smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just...thinking," she told him, hoping that he bought her excuse. He gave her one of his smiles that seemed to make her melt. It was amazing that one night was all it took to make her swoon at his smile. It made her want to melt into his arms and never be released. They had been walking for some time and Usagi realized that they had finally made it back to her house. She turned to Mamoru. "I had a wonderful time tonight," she told him honestly. It was one of the best dates she'd ever had.

He looked into her gorgeous blue eyes, wondering how he could be just friends with a girl like her. "Me too, Usagi-chan. How would you like to go out again...as friends, I mean," he stammered. He wasn't sure why he said the last part but he knew that she could never be more than just friends with him. He didn't want to scare her off by indicating they would be more than that.

Usagi's heart sank at the words. Only as friends and nothing more. "That would be great. I'd love to go out again...as friends." She smiled at him, hoping that it looked genuine.

"Great! I'll pick you up at seven. Dress casually," he told her.

"What are we doing?"

"It's a surprise," he said laughing.

"I hate surprises," she pouted and Mamoru had to almost physically stop himself from kissing the pout from her lips.

"Well you'll just have to learn to like them," he told her. With that he gave her a wave and was off.

"Hey, Mamoru-kun!" Usagi called from across the street. "I'm going to the arcade. You want to come?"

"Sure, hold on!" he yelled back. He finished what he was doing, then ran across the street to greet her. "Hey," Mamoru said, capturing her in a friendly hug and lifting her off the ground. This close he took in her intoxicating smell.

"Hey!" she said as he placed her back on her feet. They had known each other going on three months now. Three months of these wonderful hugs and his casual touches. That's all they were though, friendly and casual. There was a brotherly love behind it, not a lover's love and it tore at Usagi's heart every time. She didn't think she would ever get him to see her as she wanted him to. "How are you?"

"Great thanks, you?" he asked in return.

"Fine," she said, starting to walk. Mamoru followed her immediately.

"Hey I have a question," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. He smiled down at her.

"What is it?" she asked, curious, knowing that glint in his eye meant he had thought of something great. Mamoru always thought of the best things to do.

"Are you busy next Saturday? At all?" he asked her, praying that her answer would be no. He had been waiting for weeks for the weather to be warm enough to do this and now that it was, he couldn't bear it if she were busy.

"Absolutely free," she told him flippantly. "Why, what do you have in mind?" Her curiosity was killing her and she wished that he would just tell her.

"How does an amusement park sound?" he asked her, relieved she wasn't busy.

"Oh, Mamoru, I would LOVE to!!" She jumped at him, nearly knocking him over in the process. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, enjoying the hug. She kissed him firmly on the cheek before slipping out of his grasp. "You're the greatest!"

"So glad you think so. I'll pick you up about nine am so we can get there about ten. Do you think you can get up that early?" he asked her, teasing. If he didn't tease her he do something stupid like kiss her.

"For an amusement park? Of course!!" she exclaimed. She didn't tell him that she would get up at any time for him. 'Mamo-chan…' she thought, wistfully before walking with him the rest of the way to the arcade.

Usagi looked at her surroundings. There were a ton of people there, but that was pretty normal. It was the first warm Saturday of the year. She saw roller coasters that already held screaming passengers, game masters trying to get people to come to their booth and spend their money and stand after stand of food. It was great. "C'mon!" she said, pulling Mamoru by his arm to the nearest ride. She wanted to go on as many as she could in the one short day they had together.

They did everything they could think of for hours. She made him ride so many roller coasters that they both thought they were going to be sick. In between they played a ton of games and Mamoru had won her more stuffed animals then would conceivably fit in his car, and they had eaten so much that even she was full. It was a great day and it was only one o'clock. She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly as they walked.

"I'm having so much fun, Mamoru-kun. Thanks for bringing me," she said. "It was really a great idea to come.

"I'm glad, Usagi-chan," he answered, trying to ignore the warmth he felt from where she was leaning against him. All too soon she stood up straight. "This was a day for you to have fun. My money has been well spent." He laughed, her enthusiasm spilling over into him.

"About that, you know you didn't have to pay for everything. I had money," she told him.

"Nonsense. When I take a lady out I pay for her. No questions asked," he answered, waving his hand dismissively. Usagi laughed at him as a few of the packages around his wrist hit someone they were walking by.

"It's getting hot," she commented, looking up at the sun. It was probably already in the high nineties, hotter than either had anticipated. "How about we go to the water park?" She gestured in the general direction of the water park that was attached to the main park.

"Sounds great," Mamoru said, slipping his arm around her waist and heading toward the gate.

"C'mon out, Mamoru! I won't laugh, I promise!" Usagi called into the locker room, taunting him. He had been in there forever and she was tired of waiting. She was ready to ride rides again only this time she would get soaked while doing it.

"Alright, here I come!" he called out. When he emerged, she did anything but laugh. In fact her mouth was probably even hanging open a bit. She had thought he looked good in her clothes but she had never seen him in his black bathing trunks. She stared long and hard at his naked, well defined chest. She blinked, and looked up, realizing that it was rude to stare at him like that. It was going to take all of her energy not to tell him how she felt when he looked like that.

Mamoru was feeling much the same way. Usagi was wearing a light blue, two piece bathing suit. It showed her stomach, but just slightly and had a scoop neck and a picture of a bunny on the front. It showed off all her curves and hid none of her shapely legs.

'She's gorgeous,' he thought to himself. 'My Usako is absolutely perfect. God, I love her.' The realization surprised him but only slightly. He loved being with her, loved her personality, loved how everything in life was exciting to her. His heart ached when he remembered that as much as he cared for her, it wasn't reciprocated. Usagi had only ever seen him as a friend and he wasn't going to jeopardize that.

As they started to walk toward the wave pool, Usagi drank him in. He was stunning, as she always knew he had been, but now it was impossible to ignore. She loved that he looked so good, loved the way he walked and the way he laughed with her. She loved his casual touches and warm hugs. She loved… him, she realized. She was desperately in love with him. She already realized she was alone in her feelings. She smiled when he looked back at her, hoping that, just this once her emotions weren't written all over her face.

They reached Usagi's house around ten and Mamoru helped her carry all her stuff inside. Her parents were uncharacteristically away for the weekend and her brother was at a friend's house for the night. She opened the door to an empty house.

"I think this is it," Mamoru said, handing her the last bag. They walked up her steps and stopped in front of her door, Usagi dropping the bag with all the others in her foyer.

"I had a great time today, Mamoru-kun. Thank you so much for taking me," she told him, silently wishing that he would stay.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Mamoru responded, wishing she would ask him in. They stood there for a minute and looked into each others eyes, not wanting to leave but being afraid to tell the other. Then, before either knew what they were doing, they moved closer together. Mamoru leaned down, Usagi rose up on her toes, and they their lips met. Mamoru deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close, slipping his tongue easily into her mouth. Just as suddenly, it ended, leaving them both a little breathless. "I better go," Mamoru said quickly.

"Yeah," Usagi responded, already missing his warmth. He nodded slightly at her before turning and leaving her stunned and confused on her doorstep.

Usgai was sitting at the counter of the arcade working on some of her homework when she heard a ding of the doors. Usagi looked up and saw Mamoru walk through the door, looking like his usual spectacular self in black dress slacks and a black shirt. As he walked in he shrugged out of his leather jacket and placed it on the back of the seat next to her before sitting down. It took everything she had not to jump in his lap and declare her love for him. Instead she returned her attention to her homework as if he had never walked in the door.

"Hey," he said to her awkwardly. How did you approach someone after kissing them and leaving with no explanation? Mamoru certainly didn't know.

"Hey," she responded continuing to scribble notes on her page. After that they sat in silence, not having the words or courage to say when they really wanted to. Neither knew what the other night had meant or what was going to happen because of it. They hadn't talked for two days much past "hello," something that hadn't happened since they met. The doors opened again and Usagi shivered. It was unseasonably cold, especially considering how warm it had been a few days ago. A second later she felt something warm draped over her shoulder and immediately recognized Mamoru's jacket. It smelled wonderful, just like roses. Usagi looked up surprised and then smiled softly. He was always taking care of her. Usagi was fairly certain he didn't even realize it half the time. Protecting her was just something that seemed to come second nature to him.

"We're acting like children you know," Usagi whispered, breaking the silence. Mamoru looked at her, urging her to continue. "I mean, it was just a kiss between friends. We were caught up in the moment. It didn't mean anything." She shrugged her shoulders and slipped her arms into the sleeves of his jacket. Mamoru gave her one of those smiles, the kind that made her heart speed up.

"You're right. Are we still friends?" he asked, holding out his hand. He desperately wanted to be more with her but he was glad that he hadn't screwed up what they had. He had been scared that the kiss was too much. He actually hadn't planned on kissing her; it was just something that had happened. He was glad that it had because it was the best kiss he had ever experienced.

"We'd better be," she replied, brushing his hand aside and giving him a hug. Mamoru easily wrapped his arms around her. She smelled like a mixture of vanilla and roses. He placed a friendly kiss on her head before letting her go. As casually as they acted, both were aching inside. The kiss had meant so much to both of them and now they were agreeing to pretend it hadn't happened. Usagi slid back onto her own stool, closing up her books so she could give Mamoru her full attention.

"So, anything interesting going on, Usagi-chan?" he asked her. "I haven't talked to you in a couple of days." It had seemed a lot longer that that to him but he decided it wasn't best to share that information with Usagi.

"Nothing much," she answered. She ordered a chocolate milkshake from Motoki and when he put it down in front of her, sipped from it enthusiastically. "There's this big dance in two weeks. Everyone with a date goes. You can't go without a date. Well, I guess you could but no one does," she said quickly, picking up Minako's bad habit of giving a lot of information in a short span of time. She took another big sip from her milkshake and Mamoru laughed.

"So who is the lovely Usagi-chan going with?" Mamoru asked, though not really wanting an answer. He didn't want to know who she was going with. Frankly, he didn't want her to go unless he could take her but somehow he didn't think that would happen.

Usagi refrained from answering "you" and said, "Well, no one has asked me...yet. I get asked every year, though, so I'm no to worried." She ate a big spoonful of whipped cream and slowly licked the remnants off her lips. She still had a small drop in the corner of her mouth and Mamoru almost leaned down and licked it off. Instead, he handed her a napkin and pointed.

Mamoru wanted desperately to take her to this dance but the usual things interfered. She wasn't interested in him, he wasn't her boyfriend and he was sure she'd be more than embarrassed taking a 20 year old to her high school formal. "Well looks like you're one popular girl," he teased her. Usagi laughed and they continued talking.

Mamoru heard a knock at his door as he was cleaning up after his dinner. He looked up surprised, not expecting anyone. "Coming!" he yelled from the kitchen. He finished putting the dishes in the dish washer, dried his hands and went to answer the door. "Usagi-chan?!" he exclaimed at the blonde that stood in his doorway. Of all the people he expected to be there, Usagi was the very last. He had almost forgotten she knew where he lived, having only been here once when he had to pick up his jacket. The girl was always cold and never brought a coat so if one of them didn't, she would freeze. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"I haven't seen you in awhile so I thought I'd come by. You haven't been to the arcade in about a week and you're always busy when I call," she told him. She thought he was avoiding her but she didn't say anything.

Mamoru cringed inwardly. It had been finals week the previous week at the university and he'd had little time to spend with her. "Great! Come on in," he said, standing aside to let her enter. Mamoru couldn't hold back how glad he was to see her as he watched her slip her shoes off. "So what's up?"

"Oh nothing exciting," she answered, casually walking over to his couch and sitting down, her legs curled up under her. Mamoru followed, relaxing into his seat. He turned his attention towards her, knowing that in seconds she would be talking ceaselessly. "Someone asked me to the dance," she told him. She fiddled with the hem of her dress and didn't see his face drop.

"Oh....that's...great," he stammered. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about the dance during the week, forgotten that it was coming up so soon and forgotten how much he was dreading someone other than himself taking her. His sadness was evident in his voice and Usagi had never seen such a drastic change in him.

"Are you alright?" she asked concerned, moving closer and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I'm, um, fine. So, who asked you? And what did you say? What is he like?" he asked her, not wanting to know any of the answers but knowing he had to ask anyway.

"His name's Yoko and I haven't told him anything yet other than I'd think about it. You know...incase something better comes along," she answered. Her eyes were once again very intent on the hem of her dress.

"He a geek?" Mamoru inquired, elbowing her playfully in the ribs. He didn't think that he was lucky enough that she wouldn't be interested in him.

"No," she replied hesitantly, not sure how to break it to Mamoru, "he's the most popular kid in school. He's really sweet and good looking," she told him honestly. Mamoru might as well think that he had some competition. Of course, in her mind there was no competition to Mamoru but that this point she was desperate for him to ask her, to show her some sign that he liked her beyond friendship.

"Then why did you say no!?" he asked, astonished. When he was his age he would have never turned down a girl like that. Then again, he was never popular like Usagi was and probably would have said yes to any girl that asked him out in high school.

"Well, I had someone specific in mind and was hoping that he would ask," she said now looking straight into Mamoru's eyes.

"Oh…ok," he said, dropping his eyes. For a second he thought she might have wanted him to… Mamoru didn't even bother finishing the thought. She had made it clear to him often that they would only be friends. Why would she want him to take her to her dance? They sat for a minute in awkward silence.

Finally, Mamoru spoke up. "Have you eaten yet? I could order some food and we could watch some movies. I've got a huge library."

She smiled at the idea of spending a few hours just hanging out on the couch with Mamoru, watching some movies. "I'd love to! There's this great place I know that delivers, what do you say?"

"Whatever you want, Usagi-chan."

Usagi looked at her watch for about the tenth time in two minutes. The three-thirty that stared back was mocking her, she was sure. She was getting worried about Mamoru who, unlike herself, was almost always on time. She drummed her manicured nails on the countertop. He usually arrived at three, a half hour ago and she didn't know what to do now that he was the one late and she on time. She thought about heading over to his apartment, somewhere she had frequented as often as possible in the past days, but didn't want to miss him if he was on his way here but just running late. She sighed as she checked her watch again. Three-thirty-one.

"Hey, Usagi-chan," Motoki greeted her. Usagi looked up, train of thought broken but rewarded Motoki with a smile anyways.

"Oh hey, Motoki-kun," she answered then returned to her vigil of watching the door and drumming her fingers.

"Are you… waiting for someone, Usagi-chan?" he asked her. He had been watching her fidget in her seat for the past half hour.

"Mamoru-kun is usually always here by three." She turned her head to look at Motoki. "You haven't seen him have you."

"Oh, I forgot! He told me to tell you he wasn't going to be here. Apparently, he's not feeling well," Motoki relayed for her. Usagi visibly relaxed. Nothing was wrong and he wasn't avoiding her. He was just sick. She jumped off her stool and grabbed her things.

"Thanks, Motoki-kun!" she said as she ran out the door.

Mamoru lay on his bed, hands under his head. He stared blankly at his ceiling, thinking. 'I'm going to lose her,' he thought dismally. 'She'll go to the dance with him, he'll ask her out, and in due time, marry him.' Perhaps he was being a bit extreme but that didn't make the danger any less real. Eventually, she would find someone and get married and Mamoru would have to fade into the background. He felt tears burn the corners of his eyes but he fought them off. His heart ached with the need to love her, to be loved by her and express it every day of their lives. He knew he needed her in his life and thought it unfair that he was a victim of unrequited love. This time he couldn't hold back the tears. He had to tell her. Unfortunately, he also knew what the response would be. He cursed his luck for falling for the one girl that he couldn't seem to have. He laid there a minute more before hearing a knock at his apartment door. He wiped away the few tears that had fallen, took a quick look in the mirror before walking out of his room to answer it. He opened the door and came face to face with Usagi.

Usagi ran the whole way to Mamoru's. She couldn't go to the dance with Yoko, despite his charm and popularity. It didn't really matter to her who he was; he wasn't her Mamo-chan. She only wanted Mamoru to take her, to dance with her. It was him that she loved desperately only he didn't know it because she never had the courage to tell him. She ran faster and remembered the first time they had met. She had to tell him, today. She just had the overwhelming feeling that if she didn't tell him immediately, she would miss out on her chance. She reached his building, slipped in the door behind another tenant, and pressed the button for the elevator. When the doors opened, she pressed twelve. She always liked his penthouse apartment. She reached the top then knocked on his door. A few minutes later Mamoru answered.

"Usagi-chan, what are you doing here?" Mamoru asked, completely surprised. He had told Motoki to tell her that he was sick so he wouldn't have to face her today. Seeing her daily but not being able to tell her what he felt was taxing on him. It had been a particularly rough day, one that he wished he had someone to come home to and hug him and kiss him and comfort him and he wanted Usagi to be that person.

"Motoki told me you weren't feeling well so I thought I'd come check on you," she told him. He did look like hell. His clothes were all rumpled, his hair askew and his face looked like it he was carrying all of the world's burdens. "Oh, Mamo-chan, you look awful," she said, hugging him fiercely.

"I'm actually feeling better than I was and I- wait, what did you call me?" he asked her. He was so worn out, so emotionally and mentally drained lately that he could have sworn she had called him 'Mamo-chan' but he wasn't sure. Why would he call her something so intimate?

Usagi on the other hand, was mortified. She couldn't believe she had just let that slip but he had looked so worn down her first instinct was to comfort him. She gave him a questioning look and decided to try and pretend she didn't say it. "Mamoru-kun, what I always call you."

"I could have sworn…" Mamoru shook his head. He needed more sleep if he was starting to hear things. "Why don't you come in?" he said, guiding her in. She hadn't released him from her earlier hug and Mamoru didn't ask her to. She was exactly what he needed right now and he took what comforts he could get.

"Hey, can we talk?" she asked, stopping just inside his door. If this went poorly, if he told her he could never love her, she wanted to be able to escape easily.

"Of course, Usagi-chan, you can talk to me about anything." It was true, despite the fact there were probably a lot of things that he didn't want to know. Like how she had finally accepted Yoko's offer. He didn't know what else she would want to talk to him about and he prepared himself for the bad news.

"I turned Yoko down," she admitted, finally released Mamoru from the embrace. "I mean he's nice and a good guy but I don't really like him like that," she elaborated. "Plus, there's another guy that I've been interested in."

Mamoru felt both elation and dread. He was thrilled that she had turned him down but the fact that she did it because she liked someone else hurt. He could tell she cared for this person and he knew that he had waited too long to tell her and now lost his chance with her. He heard her voice again.

"Truth is Mamoru, I, um, well, Mamoru, I, I...." She had such a hard time spitting it out. It was impossible to tell him everything she felt. She took a deep breath and tried again.

"I love you, Usako."

Usagi's head shot up in shock. She had to have misheard what he said. She knew it was just wishful thinking but it didn't stop her from asking him to repeat himself. "You what?" she managed to spit out.

"I said.... I said, I love you, Usako," he answered. He didn't look at her face but he heard everything he needed in her voice: disgust, hurt and anger. He couldn't believe he had told her but he just couldn't hold it in any longer and now not only had he ruined his chances with her, he had ruined their friendship as well. He felt as if he was going to fall apart until, suddenly, two petite arms were holding him together. He saw Usagi hugging him intensely.

"Oh, Mamo-chan, do you have any idea how much I love you, you stupid, thick headed man?"

Had she declared herself an alien she could not have surprised Mamoru anymore. "You do?"

"God, yes, Mamo-chan!" she told him, calling him by her nickname for him only this time it was no accident. Mamoru smiled, happy to know that he had heard her correctly the first time, that he had told her he loved her and that he had been so damn lucky.

"Oh, Usako," he breathed out in relief. He picked her up and spun her around and around, saying her name over and over again. Usagi laughed, placing butterfly kisses all over his face. Mamoru put her down and looked into her eyes, those same eyes that had enchanted him since day one. "I love you, my Usako." He leaned over and kissed her firmly, his hands cupping her face. As his tongue slipped past her lips and coaxed her mouth open, Usagi wrapped her arms around his neck, getting as close to him as possible. As their tongues danced, Mamoru held her close and thought about how much fun they were going to have at the dance.

Wow, that was a lot longer than I remembered. I still like it though, even better now that it doesn't have a bunch of grammar mistakes and Usagi and Mamoru didn't say "gonna" and "ya know" every other sentence. Hope that you enjoyed it!