AN: Most of the previous chapters were written anywhere from six to three or so years ago. So near the middle of this chapter is where my current writing style begins. Just letting you know.

"It's nice to know that Usagi likes to PERSONALLY get to know her patients, isn't it, Tsukino-san?" Rei asked Ikuko, smirking at the beet red blonde sitting on the other side of the room from her.

The blue-haired woman paused for a moment, finished setting down the cup of tea she had in her hand and folded her tray next to her body before smiling and saying, "Why yes, I suppose it is. When someone knows that people care for them, they heal quickly. Usagi-chan's trying her hardest to make Arisuguwa-san feel at home, I'm sure." She smiled affectionately at her daughter, who blushed even harder.

"That's not ALL that she's doing," Minako whispered loudly to Makoto, who snorted and nudged the blonde in the ribs, giggling.

Usagi glared at them, which only made them giggle harder. Wisely, for once, she didn't say anything.

Ami quickly spoke up, "Ah, thank you for the tea and cookies, Tsukino-san. It was nice of you to let us in unannounced."

Ikuko laughed. "Oh, don't worry about it, dear. It's my pleasure. And please, I've known all of you too long for you to keep calling me 'Tsukino-san'. It makes me feel old. Ikuko is just fine." She smiled brightly, encompassing the whole room.

Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako all nodded as Usagi sulked in the corner.

Usagi was still smarting from when her friends had walked in on the peculiar scene of her precarious position over Juri. It didn't help that they were all snickering about it, either. Usagi had slipped! That was all! There weren't any ulterior motives! How could she convince them of that? As if having all of her friends at the door wasn't bad enough, looking into Juri's surprised green eyes had been worse. Usagi had mumbled something about slipping, falling, and a common occurrence before she hastily left the room, guiltily knowing that Juri couldn't follow her.

That hadn't stopped her friends, though.

Hearing another snide comment Makoto offered back to Minako, Usagi's mother having left with a promise to give the brunette a copy of her recipe for peanut butter and tapioca cookies, Usagi decided that she had had enough with acting the wounded hero. She opened her mouth, balling her hands into fists, sitting up straight.

Unfortunately, Luna decided to saunter in, Ikuko kindly letting her out of the kitchen where she had been holed up. Nodding a hello to all, the black cat padded over to Usagi, settling down next to her leg. Feeling Luna's fur soft against her skin, and hearing a beginning a purr rumbling through her body, she started gently scratching between her ears. She started calming down.

Why was she so riled up? Normally, her friend's comments didn't really affect her. But… But she had gotten so close to Juri so quickly that their comments seemed to have merit.

Usagi sat up straight. Wait… Did they really have merit? Was she really beginning to develop feeling for Juri?

Usagi was no stranger to feeling confusion about herself with regards to those around her, many people having expressed interest in the blonde. Whenever she was confronted with someone new, it always took her a while to decipher everything she felt about them. Being the very emotional and feeling person she was, Usagi was never quite sure about how she exactly felt about people. Sometimes she felt so much she didn't know how to act around them.

Looking around her living room, seeing everyone's familiar faces turned towards her, waiting, Usagi frowned. Lowering her head to gaze into Luna's soft red eyes, she closed her eyes in thought.

The room was filled with her closest friends, everyone different in their own right. But how did she really feel about them?

Usagi shook her head. Now was no time to be thinking about things like that. It was time to just take the ribbing from the others and worry about facing Juri later. Besides, she was hungry. Her mother's tea and cookies looked good to her.

***

The next morning, at the breakfast table, Usagi would look up every so often to see if Juri had opened the door. It didn't matter that she never heard the door open. Having slept on the floor of her room in case Juri needed something in the middle of the night, she cracked her neck and stretched to try and get rid of the lingering feeling of stiffness in her body. Fortunately, the older woman hadn't needed anything, and Usagi had gotten up for school without even waking her, her phone alarm set to vibrate.

Watching Shingo tease Luna with a piece of toast, Usagi giggled at the exasperated look her guardian sent her. "Otouto, stop teasing her. Give her some already if you're going to."

Sticking his tongue out at her for ruining his fun, Shingo finally gave in and tossed the black cat one of the corners of his toast, laughing a little when it bounced off her nose.

Tsking at him, Usagi looked up when the door opened, her heart beating a little faster in anticipation before she could stop it. Immediately berating herself for the physical action, not quite sure if it was from embarrassment or actual anticipation, the blonde still felt her smile falter when it turned out to be her father who walked through the door.

"Ah, Usagi-chan!" Taking his usual seat at the head of the table and adjusting his glasses, Kenji Tsukino beamed at his daughter, "It's nice to see you up at an early time."

Smiling back at him, Usagi passed him the butter and jam that had been placed in front of her earlier by her mother, glad that she had decided to save the last of the blackberry for him. "Good morning, Papa. Juri-san's still recuperating, so I didn't want to wake her with Mama knocking on the door."

"Ah, yes." Taking a piece of toast and buttering it, he smiled at her, "Your mother said something about that last night. Is she the girl I saw you with a couple of days ago?"

Usagi blushed, scowling softly at her dad. "Yes, Papa. She was the one I showed around the neighborhood. But I really wish you wouldn't spy on me! It's embarrassing," she muttered into her glass of milk.

"Now, now, dear," Ikuko took her seat after laying a plate of pancakes on the middle of the table, "He's just being a father."

Shingo snorted. "I'm SO glad he won't do that to me when I get older."

Disgruntled, Usagi stuck her tongue out him, "Who says he won't?"

"Because I'm a boy," Shingo proclaimed proudly.

She turned to her father, looking for some reinforcement. "Papa, tell him he's wrong!"

Kenji cleared his throat, slight color staining his cheeks. "Well… Erm…"

"What?" Usagi stared at the dark haired man. He WOULD'NT do that to Shingo? Why not? "It's because I'm female, isn't it!?" she suddenly burst out, jaw dropping, "Papa, that's so SEXIST!" She crossed her arms, glaring down at the pancake waiting to be buttered on her plate, "And not fair."

Like a broken record, Kenji tried to defend himself, "Well… Uh… Usagi-chan, it's only because, well…" He played nervously with the collar of his shirt.

Watching her father try to dig himself out of the hole he had dug himself into, the blonde frowned, pushing herself up from the table. "Well!" she announced loudly, "I should go and see how Juri-san's doing, and then let Motoki-kun know as well." She kissed her mother on the cheek, frowned at her brother, pointedly did not look at Kenji, and then turned around to go up to her room.

As she left the dining room, she could hear her father splutter, "Motoki… KUN??" Rolling her eyes in exasperation, she walked up the stairs, pausing in front of the door.

Juri was in there… If Usagi woke her up too much, she might ask about what had happened the day before. But she really DID want to know if the older woman was feeling better. Sighing, she sucked up her embarrassment and knocked softly. "Juri-san? Are you decent?"

Not hearing a response, she knocked again before slowly opening the door. Breathing better than she had the day before, Juri slept quietly, her mass of orange hair slightly covering her face. Smiling at the cute sight, Usagi crept over and took a seat on the edge of the bed gingerly. She smoothed Juri's hair away from her face, pressing her palm gently against her forehead. Good, her temperature felt better, and her skin wasn't sticky with sweat anymore.

Juri must have felt her touch, because she stirred. Heart beating a little faster, Usagi waited for the girl to open her eyes. "Hey," she smiled as sleep cloudy eyes met hers, "How are you feeling?"

Juri swallowed, smiling a little. "Much better than before," she croaked out.

"You thirsty?" Without waiting for an answer, Usagi reached over to pick up the glass of water on the bedside table. Idly, she noticed that sometime in the night, without waking her, Juri had finished off the rest of the chicken soup Usagi's mother had forced her to eat, making a mental note to take the empty pot when she left. Looking at Juri nodding and trying to force herself up through the pile of blankets that were tangled around her body, Usagi giggled softly to herself and got up. She placed the glass down again and then turned back to slip onto the bed behind her, ready to support the orange haired woman. She raised her arms and gently pushed Juri's back up, scooting closer to then lean the woman solidly against her right side. She figured Senshi strength would help her keep from falling backwards.

Whoah. Bad move.

It wasn't because Juri was so much taller than her (making her de facto bigger than her), or that Usagi was afraid of getting sick, or even that Juri smelled like a sick person, which actually wasn't that strong. No. It was because, for the first time, Usagi felt the strength that flowed through the other woman intimately. Sure, she had hugged her, glomped onto her, and even fallen on top of her, but all those actions had been quick, friendly, and not out of the ordinary for the blonde. There was just… so much power in Juri's back and shoulders. She could feel it even in the woman's ill state. But all of the power Usagi felt wasn't just coming from touch; that close, for an extended time, the blonde could feel the same sort of power flowing out of Juri that each Senshi had. It shocked her so much she involuntarily tightened the arm that she had slid forward to curl around Juri's waist.

"…Usagi?"

The scratchy voice snapped her back to reality. "Oh, sorry. You wanted some water. He…" Usagi twisted her left arm backwards and to the side, leaning a little and gritting her teeth with the effort not to push the glass over with her clumsy fingers. Finally, she managed to grab the lip, pulling it forward a little more before she tried to place her whole hand around it. She managed to barely spill anything. "Aha! Here you go."

"Mmm, thank you." Juri accepted the glass from her. Usagi hoped that she couldn't feel the strong pounding of her heart. Her power had… spoken to her. Yes. Something inside of Usagi's body eagerly responded to the sensation Juri's strength was causing. She wasn't sure exactly WHAT she was feeling, though.

She knew her heart was beating hard, but why? What emotion was causing it? Was it surprise? Nervousness? It surely wasn't fear, could be excitement, but to her discomfort, she couldn't rule out… attraction. But if it did turn out to be… attraction, it didn't mean she was attracted to Juri… Right? It could be she was just intrigued by the power. Usagi bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth. What was going on?

*

It had been sweet of Usagi to offer to give her some water even though Juri would've eventually been able to get it herself. It would have happened much quicker, but the stupid blankets had banded together and decided to hold her prisoner at some point during the night. Juri had been starting to get embarrassed by her inability to free herself; though she felt much better than the day before, she still felt weak, and her throat was uncomfortably still squeezed tight. So when Usagi had slid in behind her to help her sit up, Juri was thankful but feeling a bit foolish. However, when the small blonde had brought her back, snaking an arm around Juri's waist, the orange haired woman had been shocked that the younger girl could support her. She was sure she weighed a lot more than her! But, Usagi seemed to not have a problem, and Juri sure wasn't going to complain. The half-hug felt nice.

She sipped at the cup, remembering the interesting muscle contractions she had felt as Usagi had scrambled for it. It had been very amusing to hear the girl's frustrated noises. She smiled, appreciating the water wetting her mouth. It hurt when she swallowed, but she knew she needed the liquid. She quickly drank half of the glass.

"Uhm… Juri-san?" Usagi had decided she was going to lay her chin onto Juri's left shoulder, so she could feel the blonde's breath tickle the hair in front of her ear as she spoke. The position only worked because Juri wasn't sitting up exactly straight.

"Yeah?" she asked, lowering the cup Usagi immediately reached forward to take. Her right arm tightened around her again as the younger girl stretched once more to set it down on the table; Juri felt almost positive the blonde was going to place it closer to her than before. She grinned. The muscle contractions were so WEIRD! But it was very nice to be this close to another human being again. She didn't want to feel guilty that she was happy the human being was a very cute, pretty girl. She sighed mentally again, knowing she was being silly. Usagi was already taken (by a boy no less), and she wasn't interested in her anyway. She decided it was loneliness that made her take advantage of the situation.

"This may sound odd," Usagi continued, placing her chin back onto her shoulder, "But, do you… play any sports?"

Well, that was random. Juri cleared her throat and licked her lips before answering, "Fencing." She immediately forced shut the door of sadness that tried to open. Surprisingly, it worked. Huh. The sickness must be helping her. That was nice. But it was unfair that to get mental peace, her body had to be suffering.

"Oh." Usagi's voice was soft, but Juri still felt the younger girl's throat vibrate against her, "I bet you're wondering why I asked, right?"

Juri chuckled. Which she shouldn't have, she found out, the laugh turning into a cough. She should really remember she was sick, she reprimanded herself. A hug and water was no reason to not pay attention to how crummy she felt. As she got back in control of herself, she found that Usagi was patiently holding the water glass in front of her. Mumbling a thank you with a thick voice that sounded odd in her stuffed ears, she tilted her head back and drained the rest of the glass. Water really did help her throat, she decided.

There was a pause in the room after Juri gave back the empty glass. Juri figured Usagi was going to let go of her, seeing as there was no water left. It wasn't that Juri was uncomfortable, but as more time passed, she became more alert, realizing that she really was imposing on the younger girl. She was in her room, in her bed, in her… no, these probably weren't Usagi's pajamas, she thought, looking down at the striped white sleeves of the shirt that actually fit her. They were too big. Okay, she was in someone in her family's pajamas, and she was making her hold her up.

Okay, yes, she was enjoying the hug, but… Wait, why was Usagi's heart beating so hard?