This was written for the live journal community albummix. This is NOT a song fic.
Theme: "I can feel you all around me, thickening the air I'm breathing…" Song lyric by Flyleaf.
All Around Me
Life was completely unfair, Usagi decided as she walked towards the arcade. It wasn't her fault that Rei hadn't seen the youma's long reptilian tail as it had crept behind her, and it really hadn't been Usagi's fault that the only way to keep her friend from getting impaled was to push her out of the way. Considering all of those facts, the biggest injustice of all was that she'd still gotten yelled at.
"Do something wrong, I get yelled at." The blonde muttered to herself. "Do something right, I get yelled at." She sighed. It wasn't as if she'd put herself in that much danger. The creature's tail had barely grazed her upper arm, leaving only a shallow cut. Sighing once more, she raised her left hand to gently probe the top of her right arm. She barely winced at all. 'See,' she thought to herself with satisfaction. 'It's no big deal.' Crossing her arms over her chest, the blonde continued to contemplate how unfair life was.
He studied her as she made her way up the sidewalk. The blonde vision before him was clad in a light blue sweater and a long white skirt that flowed airily around her legs. He couldn't quite make out what shoes she wore, but he had no doubt that they'd be something cute. Mamoru grinned as he recognized the look on her face: she was completely in her own world. He knew he shouldn't do what he was about to, but how else was he ever going to get that perfect form in his arms for even a moment? It was a thought he had almost everyday. After placing himself strategically in the middle of the sidewalk, he began to walk toward her.
Having moved on from the injustices of life in a very short amount of time, Usagi was now busy wondering how to appease her friends and convince them that she was fine. Unfortunately, she was too deep in thought to notice the raven-haired man standing in her way and plowed right into him. Since she'd been walking and not running as usual, she was able to keep herself on her feet, though the task did take quite a bit of skill. In fact, it would have been much easier if her right arm hadn't taken the brunt of the impact.
"Odango, why don't you-" he stopped as she inhaled sharply through her teeth and clamped her hand over the top of her arm.
"You shouldn't have been standing in the way!" she retorted quickly as she angled her bad arm away from him, not noticing he'd never finished the insult.
"You're hurt." He snapped, taking a step toward her. She shuffled backwards.
"It's nothing. I have to be going." Usagi said quickly as turned to flee back to her home. Before she could even get two steps, he was in front of her, prying her hand away from her arm.
"You're bleeding." He said dumbly, staring as the crimson liquid soaked through her power-blue sweater sleeve.
"It's nothing." She repeated, stepping away from him again. "I'll just go home and cl-"
"My apartment is closer." Mamoru interrupted, taking her uninjured arm by the wrist and leading her across the street. Confused by his concern, she decided to follow silently. After he was sure she was following, he let his grip slide down to her hand. He had to make sure she didn't take off, he assured himself as he gently wrapped his fingers around her own. At least, that's what he'd tell her if she asked.
True to his word, his apartment was only three blocks away. Usagi didn't notice the distance, all her attention focused on their linked hands. She couldn't figure out why he'd done it or why she hadn't pulled away. The blonde didn't even notice they were inside until they stepped on the elevator and he reluctantly released her hand. It gave him hope that she hadn't pulled away from him. Both remained silent for the elevator ride and the short walk to Mamoru's door.
Silently, Usagi studied his apartment as she slipped out of her shoes. It was small and sparse. 'It barely even looks like anyone lives here,' she mused to herself. The walls were industrial white and lacked any type of adornment, while the leather furniture and matching black tables looked sturdy and practical, but nothing else. Even the cream-colored carpet managed to look cold in this place. The kitchen, which was only separated from the living room by a granite counter, was all chrome and black gleaming surfaces.
"Do you live here by yourself?" she managed to ask as she followed him into the kitchen.
"Yeah." He answered absently. "Sit." He told her, pulling out a silver and black stool from under the counter. Obediently, she took a seat.
"Don't you ever get lonely?" Usagi asked, forgetting that wasn't supposed to feel bad for her biggest enemy.
"No." Mamoru lied as he retrieved his medical kit from his room. When he came back, she studied him for a long moment before dropping her eyes from his face. A bit desperately, he wondered what she'd been thinking about him just then.
"So…" she started, looking up at him expectantly.
"Right." He said quickly, laying the kit on the counter in front of her before turning to face her. "So, if you'll roll up your sleeve…"
Before she could say anything, he realized that the sweater fit her too snuggly to be able roll up the sleeve as far as he needed her to. He couldn't help the blush that crept up his neck and onto his face as he began to babble.
"I'm sorry, I should have thought- I could always lend you a-"
"It's fine." Usagi assured him, bewildered by the flustered, blushing man in front of her. She'd never seen Mamoru act so… normal. It made her nervous that she thought it was cute. 'Who am I kidding? He's always been cute.' She thought and automatically chastised herself for it.
She offered him a smile as she gingerly pulled off the sweater to reveal a matching baby-T underneath. He tried not to notice how the shirt fit her like a second skin, or how the color brought out her eyes, or how- stopping his mind right there, he opened the kit and pulled out all the supplies he would need.
Taking a small pair of scissors, he carefully cut away the bandage she'd haphazardly wrapped around her arm.
"How did this happen?" Mamoru demanded as he inspected the gash, anger washing over him. It was easily three inches long, running diagonally downwards.
"You'll just make fun of me." The blonde replied with a pout, looking away from him as he cleaned the blood from her skin and stopped the wound from bleeding.
"How did this happen?" the raven-haired man asked again, an edge to his voice that she didn't understand. 'Why would he be angry?' she wondered helplessly as she tried to throw together a story.
"Well," she sighed after a moment. "My annoying little brother stole something of mine, and I was chasing him through the kitchen when I ran into my mom, who was putting away knives, and when I fell on top of her, one of the knives she was holding cut my arm." She said all in a rush, trying to put as much emotion into her voice as she could. When she was finished, he looked up at her in a hard stare.
"Really?" he asked slowly, eyes never leaving her face.
"You know me," she replied, laughing nervously. "I'm the biggest klutz in the world."
After studying her for a moment more, he finally turned his attention back to her wound. Usagi slowly released the breath she'd been unaware that she'd been holding.
"You're lucky you don't need stitches." Mamoru finally said. "Any deeper, and you would have."
"No more running in the kitchen. Got it." She responded with a sassy little smile. With his eyes all but glued to her lips, he noticed that she smelled like roses. The realization made him wonder what she'd taste like. He would have put money on strawberries. Embarrassed by his own thought, he quickly dumped an unnecessary amount of rubbing alcohol on a clean white washcloth. Pleased that the smell drowned out her sent, he looked up at her again.
"This is going to sting." He told her. Nibbling on her bottom lip, she nodded and he forced himself to look away. Quickly, he pressed the cloth to the gash. Usagi made a little whimpering sound that made his heart ache, but sat perfectly still. As fast as he could, he sterilized the wound and pulled the cloth away.
"That wasn't so bad." She told him cheerfully. "You're good at this."
"I should hope so. I'm going to college to be a doctor." He replied, her compliment warming his heart.
"Really? That's so cool!" the blonde squealed, grinning at him. Unsure how to respond to her enthusiasm, he merely nodded and went back to work. "I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life. Sometimes it feels like I don't even have a choice." She told him as he was smearing antibiotic ointment on the cut.
"Why?" he asked quietly.
"Oh, I don't know." Usagi said quickly. "Just a feeling. Um, family expectations and all that. Anyway, I have a while before I'm done with school, so it's ok for now."
He nodded again, wondering what she was hiding. Knowing that she wouldn't tell him even if he could work up the courage to ask her something so personal, he let it drop.
"Alright, I'm using butterfly bandages to hold together the cut. It'll help it heal easier." He told her, putting one of the small bandages on each side and one in the middle. "Hold your arm up like this." Mamoru told her a moment later, gently lifting her arm until it was parallel to her shoulder, his fingers lingering over her skin only a moment longer then necessary. Nodding, she made sure to stay still as he wrapped a gauze bandage around her upper arm. "You're all done." He said as he lowered her arm to her lap, fingertips brushing down the length of her arm. She gave him a brilliant smile, pretending not to notice his lingering touches. The blonde tried hard not to notice the way his touch sent shivers down her spine.
"Thank you." Usagi replied, still beaming at him.
"And for being such a good patient," he began, opening the freezer and pulling something out. "Here."
"These are my favorite kind of Popsicles!" she exclaimed, snatching the treat out of his hand.
"Really?" the raven-haired man asked, knowing he'd never tell her that he'd overheard her talking to her friends about it. It was embarrassing to admit to himself that he'd gone out and bought a box that night, let alone her. She'd probably think he was crazy.
"Mm-hm." She murmured happily, all ready munching on the Popsicle.
"So, um, do you have all of this stuff at home?" Mamoru asked quickly, gesturing to the medical supplies still on the counter.
"Well, not really, but-" she began.
"Here." He interrupted, pulling a small paper bag from under the sink and filling it with the supplies from the counter.
"It's really ok, I can-" she started again.
"It's not a big deal. Just take it, ok?"
After thinking it over for a moment, she popped the rest of the Popsicle in her mouth and took the bag. She tossed the stick in the trash before turning to him.
"Thanks for everything, but I should really be going."
"Of course." He nodded as she started for the door. Then, before he could help himself, he added. "Just make sure not to trip and fall on your way out. I'd hate to have to go through all that again."
"I knew it! I knew you were faking it!" she yelled at him, stomping to the door. "I knew there was no way you could really be a nice guy."
"Sure I am." He told her as he watched her slip into her sandals, loving the way her face moved when she was mad. "I didn't even mention how stupid it was that you couldn't even cross the kitchen without falling on your face."
"You are such a jerk!" she screeched, throwing the bag directly at his face and storming into the hallway. Once again, before she made it very far, he was in front of her, thrusting the bag back into her hands. She glared up at him.
"You really should be more careful. If you'd thrown it any harder, you could have opened the wound again." He told her sternly, as if he hadn't been making fun of her only moments before.
"Oh, like you care." Usagi snapped, starting to push past him. So quickly that she didn't realize what was happening, he grabbed her chin, pulled her face upward and kissed her full on the lips. She stood there stunned as his gentle mouth lingered over hers. When she didn't pull away, he lifted one hand to cradle the back of her head before parting her lips with his own and taking the kiss just a bit deeper before pulling away.
"I do care." He said quietly before retreating into his apartment and quickly closing the door, leaving the stupefied blonde staring after him. Leaning against the door, he smiled. It had been strawberries after all.
"You really are a jerk!" she shouted after him before stomping down the hall and to the elevator. Mamoru closed his eyes, allowing himself hope for the first time since he'd met her. He clung to the fact that she hadn't pulled away. Standing there a moment longer, he breathed deeply, the scent of roses: her scent, lingering on the air all around him.
End.
Alright, so this was my first real Sailor Moon fanfic. I wrote a couple when I was like 11, but I don't really count those, lol. So, please tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading.