A Simple Day
Mamoru smiled as he settled the oar along his knees and the canoe began to drift along the river's current. "It's beautiful today," he said, craning his neck to peer at the cerulean sky overhead. Small clouds dotted the sky, and the sun shone brightly upon them, its light reflecting off the waves.
Usagi returned his grin. "It's so romantic," she said, blushing. Mamoru cleared his throat, attempting to hide the color that rose to his cheeks; his red ears betrayed his embarrassment.
"We've got the whole day to ourselves," Mamoru continued. "I was thinking that later, once we're done here, we could go head over to the arcade, play a few games, grab some food."
Usagi nodded enthusiastically. "We can play co-op on the Sailor V game!" She pumped her fist, eyebrows drawn together in determination. "We're gonna kick monster butt!" At Mamoru's chuckle, her grin returned. "Afterwards, maybe we can have a picnic?"
"We can't have a picnic right after we finish eating dinner," Mamoru said.
Her lower lip jutted forward. "We can so!"
He blinked once before shaking his head in amusement. "If you want. We can swing by my place and pack up the food once we finish eating."
She clapped excitedly, her feet tapping the bottom of the boat in an erratic rhythm. "Yay!" She moved forward quickly to hug him, but the canoe swayed, and Mamoru's hands shot forward to keep her from further unbalancing the weight distribution and capsizing them. She squealed as the boat rocked.
"Usako!" he cried, pushing her to her seat, his heart thudding in his ears as the boat's rocking lessened. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she replied. "I'm sorry, Mamo-chan. I forgot we were in a boat."
Mamoru shook his head, smiling. "It's all right. I forget where I am when I'm with you, too," he admitted. Then he ducked his head, realizing how cheesy that statement was.
Usagi stared at him for a few moments, letting the words sink in. Then she smiled softly, and lifted his chin. "Hey, Mamo-chan," she said. He swallowed. Their faces were inches apart, and he could feel the warmth of her breath across his lips. "I love you." She tentatively brought their lips together in a chaste kiss, one that left his insides warm and made him feel so light, he thought he might just float away and join the clouds hanging in the sky above them.
When she drew back, she giggled at the dopey smile plastered across his face. He shook himself, then grinned. "I love you, too, Usako." After a few moments of silence, wherein they appreciated holding each others gazes, Mamoru decided it was time to once again revisit their plans for later that evening. "So you want to picnic. Any ideas as to where we should go?"
Usagi nodded enthusiastically. "We should go to the beach!"
Mamoru frowned. "If we go to the beach, it'll take too long. I won't be able to get you back in time for your curfew." Usagi's father had set a strict curfew on their date; his daughter was to be home no later than ten in the evening, sharp, or there'd be hell to pay. He didn't put it in so many words, of course, but Mamoru was fluent in glares-that-emanate-my-dislike-for-you-and-let-you-know-that-I-will-punish-you-if-my-daughter-returns-home-late.
Usagi let out a raspberry of displeasure. "I wanted to see the ocean," she said. "It's really pretty when the moon reflects off the surface of the water. And I heard on the news that it'll be a full moon tonight, so I thought it would be really pretty and we could watch it together."
Mamoru's eyes softened. "Well, I can't drive us to the beach. But maybe we could picnic here, in the park?" Noting that she didn't seem too thrilled, Mamoru racked his brain for another location. "How about the docks?" he asked. "We could sit on the pier and picnic there." The view was a sight to behold, but it wouldn't be particularly comfortable; Mamoru made a mental note to bring a blanket for them to sit on.
Usagi nibbled at her lip, then nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."
"It's settled, then," Mamoru said as he picked up the oars and settled them into position atop the canoe. He began to pull them to the shore of the small lake. "We'll head over to the arcade now, before it gets too late. We'll spend an hour or two there, playing Sailor V and whatnot and eating dinner. Then we'll swing by my place, pack ourselves some delicious food, and go watch the moon. And the sunset, too, if we manage to get there in time."
Usagi beamed. "That's the plan all right! And we're gonna have milkshakes at Crown, and we'll definitely want to order one or two to go, cuz those are really good and you never know when you'll need another. Motoki-kun also mentioned something about a new update for the Sailor V game. I'm really excited!" They docked the canoe and headed towards the parking lot as Usagi continued talking about all the things she was going to do, with Mamoru interjecting every now and then.
"And then we get to see the moonlight glittering on the waves, and it will be so beautiful and romantic, and… and…." Usagi trailed off, blushing madly, and Mamoru turned to her, eyebrow quirked.
"And?" he prompted.
She shook her head from side to side quickly. "Nevermind," she said, offering a fake smile.
"C'mon," he said teasingly, nudging her with his elbow. "What is it?"
"N-nothing," she stammered, quite obviously embarrassed. "It's nothing."
"You sure? That blush doesn't look like it's nothing to me," Mamoru grinned. "You can tell me. I promise I won't judge." He paused. "Much," he added jokingly.
Usagi laughed. "Well… it's… I mean… don't laugh."
He bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to chuckle. "I promise."
"I was going to say that it was romantic, and that we… we could… we could kiss… a lot," she squeaked.
Mamoru's eyes widened. Usagi had never been so forthcoming about wanting to kiss him a lot. He swallowed, training his eyes on the car as they approached it. "I… it certainly would be romantic."
She hid her face behind her hands. "See? I knew I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, no, no, it's not you," he hurried to assure her. "In fact, I think it's really cute. I just wasn't expecting it." He cleared his throat, his ears burning as an idea popped into his head. "But you know what?" he asked.
Usagi peeked out from behind her hands. "What?" she asked, her eyes gleaming.
Mamoru gently moved her hands away and cupped her face, moving close. "We don't have to wait till later to kiss."
Usagi blushed furiously, her eyes widening. "Oh," she managed, her eyes darting towards his lips. Then she giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We don't," she said simply, and then their lips met in a soft kiss.
"I love you, Mamo-chan," she whispered as they broke away.
Mamoru smiled and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. Her arms squeezed him in return.
"I love you, too, Usako." He knew that their future together wouldn't be without its ups and downs. They faced monsters and demons on a daily basis, after all. But right here, in this moment, Mamoru and Usagi didn't care about that. As they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes, they came to an unspoken agreement: that they would relish every moment they had together, and that they would always love one another, for all eternity.
A/N: A cute, fluffy one-shot that's supposed to be just cute and adorable. Hope you enjoyed! :)