Teacher Appreciation

Chapter 1

Post-Stars

Usagi / Mamoru

Romance


A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. ~Henry Adams



"Usako" Mamoru breathed, trying to pull himself away from the petite blond.

"Busy" she replied, throwing herself on him. She flawlessly wrapped her arms around his neck, and threaded her fingers. From a normal girl he would have been able to displace her hands, but this was no normal girl. She was Sailor Moon, and even though it had been months since she had fought Galaxia, nothing about her was showing any signs of weakness.

"No, not busy," he stated, still trying to untwist her fingers "We need to talk about something."

"Later". Starting at the collar of his shirt, she kissed her way up to his ear, right to that sensitive spot that made him forget about anything and everything he was thinking about. But this night, he wouldn't be dissuaded. "Usako, this isn't going to work. We really need to talk tonight."

Usagi sighed and slowly unwound her arms from her boyfriend. Making her pout quite prominent, she pulled away in a sulk. Usually when the date ended up back at his place, he would like nothing more than when they kissed. She briefly wondered what he needed to talk about that was more important than their precious making out time. Worried about how long it would take, she took a brief look at her watch and almost died. It was 8:45, just a mere 15min till her curfew. She may be late for everything in the entire world, but heaven forbid if her father finds her not at home! Usagi jumped up, forgetting in her haste that Mamoru wanted to speak to her.

"OMG MAMO-CHAN I HAVE TO GO". Placing a brief kiss on his upturned lips, she bolted out the door. He looked at the clock and sighed. He allowed her to stall more than he had intended. Knowing that she would definitely make it home on time, he didn't worry too much. He was more worried about tomorrow and how she would react when she first saw him.


Usagi bolted into the classroom just minutes after the bell. No one in the classroom was even remotely surprised. It was business as usual as far as they were concerned. Everyone, that is, except the new TA. Usagi bowed deep and ran to her seat, throwing her bag to the side. Knowing English was her first class, she pulled out the book they were reading and hid behind it. Usually she made class with just seconds to spare, but this morning was different. After the lecture from her father for being two minutes late, she had a difficult time sleeping. Mamoru had wanted to speak with her, and it was bothering her. She had wanted to call him, but was afraid that he was asleep already. She USED to call him in the middle of the night when he first came back after the Galaxia battle, until he yelled at her to stop. Inside she knew she did it because of her fears. She was afraid that he would disappear and leave her all alone again......

Usagi was so lost in her thoughts she missed the coughing of the new TA. The class hid their laughter as the TA crept over to the desk of the student who was clearly not paying attention. Slamming his hand on the desk, Usagi jumped in the air, dropping the book she was pretending to read. "Gomen Matsura-Sens......" She gasped as she finally looked into the eyes of the person who upset her thoughts. It just so happened that he was at the center of them.

Mamoru couldn't believe that Usagi was spacing out in his class. He wasn't even sure she was aware of his existence at this point. Now only was she late, but she hid behind a book that was clearly upside down. His repeated attempts to gain her attention had gone unnoticed, so he did the only thing he could think of.

She looked into the eyes of her boyfriend and gasped. Instantly her hands went up to straighten the hair she only half halfheartedly styled this morning. "Mam..." Mamoru interrupted her with a cough. "Tsukino-san is it? I'd appreciate it if you are not only on time for my class, but I also expect you to pay attention". Usagi's jaw dropped at the cold tone she received, still confused as to why he was here.

Mamoru went back to the front of the class and wrote his name on the board. "As I was saying, My name is Chiba Mamoru, you can call me Mamoru-sensei. Your teacher has accepted a program to allow the college students to gain extra credits by teaching their class, while they take a nice extended vacation." He waited until the laughter died down in the classroom. He had a feeling he was going to like that class, even if Usagi was in it.

He felt that this was definitely bad luck on his part. He knew it wasn't going to be easy teaching her. It was one thing to be a boyfriend, but another to be a teacher. He didn't expect Usagi to stay quite, so he wasn't surprised when she spoke up. "And just how long do you plan on staying here? Teaching I mean". Mamoru smiled slightly, instinctively feeling the anxiety of the ditzy blonde. She didn't want him here any more than he wanted to be there. "I will be your teacher till the end of the semester. I fear, Tsukino-san, that you will be seeing a lot of me in the next couple of months."

Normally Usagi would get excited over seeing Mamoru anytime, however she wasn't as stupid as many people thought. She clearly knew that having him as her teacher was a very bad thing. The only time the two lovebirds fought was when it had to do with her schooling. Usagi began running all different types of scenarios in her head, and in all of them it ended very badly for herself.

Mamoru continued on with his class, all the while keeping an eye on his girlfriend. He could feel the wheels turning in her head, to the point where he could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears. A multitude of expressions passed her face. Sadness, anger, resentment, fear.....something he had hoped to avoid by informing her last night.

Usagi was overreacting, she knew it. However, she was having difficulty with logic at the moment. She built herself up so much that she suddenly felt everything she was hearing was more of a muffled blur. She tried to pay attention, she really did, but suddenly her head became light as a feather. Gone from the world, she slipped out of her chair, saved from crashing her head on the floor by a strong arm that just barely caught her.


He knew she was going to be upset, but he never thought she was going to faint over the idea of him teaching her class. As he sat by her bed in the nurses office, he looked down on the sleeping girl.

"Mamo-chan"

Knowing she was still sleeping (and obviously thinking of him) he leaned over and gingerly brushed the hair out of her eyes. Compassion and tenderness filled his eyes as he watched her. He loved her dearly, but he wasn't blind to her faults. He wouldn't be a very loving boyfriend if he didn't know everything about her. It didn't mean he had to love every little tidbit. He knew that she had a weakness for studying. He also knew that she tended to slack off, knowing that her future was virtually set in stone. He had yet to officially propose (sure, there was the airport...but that was more of a promise ring. He had never given her the formal proposal he planned on doing sometime in the future), but there was no doubt in her mind he would. Mamoru sighed as he pulled his hand away from her sleeping form. It was past time that he had to be getting back, and knowing her she wouldn't wake up for hours. Better save the explanation for later.


Authors Note: Ohoyo Mina!

I was really craving a story about a Teacher Mamoru and Student Usagi, but had a very, very difficult time in finding some. I have gone through 3 of the 5 I was able to locate here, and it appalled me. (If you know any that are good, definitely let me know!) So, here I am writing my own. This story is rated M for mature content in later chapters, but know it won't contain any serious citrus fruit. And wow! I really need to pay attention to my story sometime! I originally said that Usagi and Mamoru weren't engaged....but oops! They totally are. Well, it wasn't exact, so I alluded to it. Chapter 2 is well underway! Hopefully I can get it up tomorrow (2/9)

For those of you also reading Child's Tale, I definitely DO intend to finish it, but I am just having difficulty getting the ambition to write it. I decided to take this idea and run with it. Please let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated, but I will in no way threaten or hold back chapters. ^^: I will try to get the next chapters out soon. Also, I still intend to rewrite the rest of my older fan fiction, so keep an eye on that as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know!

Aarana