AN: So, the idea for this *very* short little story came from a song by Three Doors Down called "So I need you". Every time I hear this song it reminds me of this scene from the manga where Tuxedo Kamen takes Sailor Moon back to his apartment and reveals his idenity to her. And as I read the manga, it occured to me there had to be more. There had to be a space of time between when he brought her in and she actually woke up. What was he doing, thinking, etc. during this time? And so this is my little short on it.

If you are not a manga fan, or at least a Sailor Moon Crystal fan, I highly suggest you take a moment to read it. You can find it on sailormoon dot xyz (fill in the dot and take out the space, bam! all the manga and Sailor Moon Crystal episodes.) I am a HUGE manga fan, so all of my stories follow that storyline. The romance between Usagi and Mamoru is much better, much deeper, more awesome than the first anime could have ever dreamed up. I accept all flames for this, I can't help my opinions, though :)

I hope you enjoy. And if you do, please review. I have a lot of little ideas like this so I will probably add more to this as time goes.

Just a Moment...
Part 1
By: Bethany

Dark ebony hair fell into his eyes, the only sound was that of long slender fingers drumming on the counter top. Chiba Mamoru glared into the cooling cup of coffee in front of him and let out a long sigh.

Ocean blue eyes glanced at the closed door to his bedroom. How long would she sleep? Was she ok? What happened? He closed his eyes, remembering how she had collapsed after using her power. Mamoru, no, Tuxedo Kamen, had barely caught her before she hit the ground. Picking her up, sweeping off with her. All he could think of was how beautiful she looked. Her face was flushed, her breathing even as he scooped her up in his arms. Even in her sleep, she had snuggled closer to him as he made his way back to his apartment and his heart had skipped a beat.

He hadn't wanted to leave her alone, but had resisted the urge to sit near her. Surely she would be confused enough without waking up to his face. So now he sat in his kitchen while she lie in his bed, a closed door between them that felt much too far in Mamoru's mind.

This whole situation was getting out of hand. Mamoru knew he needed to focus on finding the Silver Crystal. He knew the girl (a Princess, he believed) in his dreams night after night, needed him. He wanted to help her, he wanted his memories... his eyes darted back to the closed door. But he couldn't help the intense urge to be near Sailor Moon.

Tsukino Usagi. Sailor Moon. The Princess in his dreams, with long flowing hair, calling to him nightly. The first two were one in the same. He swallowed loudly. How wonderful if all three could be the same. That, to Mamoru, would be the perfect answer to this entire situation. Right now he very much feared that if the Princess was a different person entirely he would have a very big problem on his hands. He was fairly certain he was falling for the girl in his room.

He shook his head. What did he know of love? How could he know he was falling for anyone, having lived his entire seventeen years without knowing love at all? All he had was the reoccuring dreams of a girl calling out to him, begging him to find the Silver Crystal. Promising him it would return memories to him that he longed to have. He didn't even know if she, the girl in his dreams, wanted him beyound this task. At one time, if asked, he would say he loved this girl in his dreams. But then he was hit on the head with a crumpled test papers and everything changed...

Try as he might, Mamoru couldn't keep his mind off the golden haired, blue eye beauty that seem to think he needed a paper to the head occassionally. When he saw her on the bus, noticed there was no way Sailor Moon and Usagi could NOT be one in the same, he felt his heart do a flip flop. He had been so attracted to both, and it was no wonder; they were the same. His dreams at night were haunted by the mysterious Princess, by day his mind was full of Usagi. He couldn't afford this distraction.

He couldn't afford NOT to be distracted. The feelings Usagi rose up in him were nothing like anything he could ever remember feeling. Pouring himself another cup of coffee, he smiled to himself as he thought about the Princess ball. She had been... beautiful, breathtaking... and holding her in his arms, hearing her say she had wanted to see him. His heart constricted painfully in his chest. He couldn't say that the thoughts of the Princess in his dreams ever made him feel this way. So lightheaded, so happy and scared silly all at once. He couldn't help himself when he kissed her, it had felt as natural as breathing.

Mamoru shook his head. He had a mission. He had memories to restore, things he must do... feeling his stomach flutter like it was full of butterflies, he went to the bedroom door and creaked it open. Usagi was sitting up on his bed, her head in her hands. He wanted to stay there, watch her for a moment, but she had noticed him already.

"I see you've finally woken up?"

I hope you enjoy this little moment in our favorite Prince of Earth's head :) r&r please!

Love, hugs and japanese food!
Beth