Trick or Treat… give me something sweet. (Part 1)
AN: This was suppose to be a one shot story… however we are 2 days after Halloween and I'm still writing and know that I'm quite far away from the end that is to come to this story. I don't know yet if this is going 2 or three or possibly four chapters.
As usual, it's a first season romance/comedy. The names are in Japanese, Mamoru and Motoki are 18 and the girls are 15 heading to 16. Also, the senshi do exist at this time, but no one remembers their past life on the moon.
Now, I do NOT own SM, nor do I claim to. This is a story from a fan for fans. Sailor Moon and all its character are owned by Naoko Takeuchi.
Legend:
Items in / / are info to know the day, time, location, etc.
.oO( ) are used to indicate what someone is thinking
" " are used to indicate speech
With this all said, I leave you all to the story and hope you enjoy it.
And now… on with the show.
AN 2: I do not know if Halloween is really celebrated over in Japan, if it is great, if not.. Oh well I'm pulling an artistic license here!
AN 3: Halloween is just around the corner and what would our favorite blonde odango girl want? Will she get a treat or be tricked?
/Crown Game Center - October 30th - 3:30 pm/
A young man, wearing a pair of dark trouser and a green blazer, was sitting at his usual spot at the counter, the same one he would take every day at this time. Little did anyone know that he had studied the layout of the arcade many nights before selecting this specific seat. In fact if one had ever bothered to notice, this was the best place to sit and watch people enter the arcade without being noticed. Yes, it's true, for you see even though his back was to the doors, the reflections of the people entering the café would always show up in the glass display before him and he could always tell when she would enter. However today, his head was bent forward and supported by his left arm, his right hand circling a steaming cup of java as he held his eyes closed. .oO(Why on Earth did I decide to come here of all places today? What was I thinking?) Sighing loudly, Mamoru managed to open his eyes to stare into the black liquid in his cup, attempting to block all the loud noises in his surrounding.
He had been up half the night due to a combination of having to rescue Sailor Moon and somehow find the time to complete his physics project that had been due at 8 am this morning. It's not that he hated being Tuxedo Kamen, it's just that there were days where he needed time to go about his normal life, or at least as normal as he could expect it to be. A small frown creased his brow as he remembered the night's event, he had been exhausted and had almost decided not to go and join the battle the night before. Thankfully, he arrived just in the nick of time to save the superhero once again from certain death. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he remembered setting her down and watching the golden haired girl, as she would so elegantly put it, -Moon Dusted- the youma. It always amazed him how quickly she would recover from one minute being terrified, then the next being elegant and breathtaking and in another blink of the eye she was courageous and diligent.
As another cluster of loud teenagers entered the room, he gave a quick glance at the glass in front of him and sighed as he did not see her yet again. As he heard the chattering of the young people who had just now finished school made him wince as he attempted to push back the looming headache. Straightening his back a little more, he forced himself to take a sip from his cup of coffee, taking a quick notice at the concern look Motoki had shot in his direction as the waiter attempted to serve his arriving clientele. Once more he wondered yet again as to why he was punishing himself this way, why had he come to this noisy abode in the first place. .oO(Come on Mamoru, you know very well why you are here… it's the same as always. You come here every day at this time just for a chance to see her, no other reason.) A wry smile formed on his face as he stared at his own reflection in the glass before him. He couldn't deny it, well at least not to himself. However he would promptly disagree with anyone else who would even come up with such an outrageous notion.
As if on cue, he saw the reflection of five young girls dressed in their school uniform entering the café. The first one was dressed in a gray outfit, different then her four friends and had straight long dark hair. It was Rei, a girl that for some reason scared him to the core whenever she would glare at someone. Thankfully, those glares were rarely directed at him and each time he would count his blessing. His eyes drifted over to the next girl, a petite girl with short blue hair and as usual she was busy reading a text book. It was Ami, a shy little girl that seemed to be quite studious. Next was a blonde haired girl, always flirting with his best friend Motoki or anything male she would set her sights on. Grinning slightly, he wondered how come Minako had never tried flirting with him, not that he wanted her too. Next his eyes drifted over to the tallest girl of the group, she too was wearing a different school uniform then the other girls. Makoto was taller then the rest of her friends and always seemed quite protective of them, she was defiantly not the type of girl Mamoru would like to get on her bad side. Finally, his eyes rested on the form of the last girl, the reason as to why he was even in this noisy room this afternoon, fighting against an oncoming headache. His grin changed into a sad smile as he studied her form in the mirror, Usagi, or Odango Atama as he loved to call her, was probably the most intriguing girl he had ever met. His eyes caressed her image into the glass as he memorized every one of her features for the millionth time in his mind.
Taking another sip from his cup, not really tasting the warm liquid that flowed into his mouth, he watched as the group made their way to their usual booth, quickly joined by his best friend who was greeting them courteously. Sighing, he placed his cup down on the counter as he wished he could walk up to her and act that way, however since their first meeting he had taken another approach to this young girl and he was to proud to admit he had been wrong. What was done was done and he knew she hated him, not that he could blame her after all but still it hurt his self-esteem a little each time she would say those words to him.
Motoki had noticed his usual and favorite customer. Joining the group he put on his one million watt smile and spoke to the schoolgirls. "Well hi there, do you guys want your usual shakes or would you like to sample some of our new strawberry cheesecake that is on special today." His blue eyes scanned the group of young ladies one by one as he awaited their orders.
The girls were getting seated when they heard Motoki come over, like he did every time they came into the arcade. Smiling at the young, gorgeous, blonde hair waiter, Minako batted her eyelashes and said "Hi Motoki-kun, we will have our usual shakes, right girls?" She gave a quick glance at each of the girls and couldn't help but giggle as she added "And you may as well bring Usagi-chan here a slice of your cheesecake too." Flipping her golden lock over her shoulder, she winked at Motoki before turning to look at her friends and the group started talking again.
Motoki chuckled and nodded as he made his way back to the kitchen to get the orders ready, waving briefly at his best friend along the way.
Mamoru took a sidelong glance at the booth and took notice of the girls through his own eyes. Rei, Makoto and Ami were seated on one side and the two blonde girls were seated in front of them. A smile formed on his lips as he watched Usagi who was attempting to convince her friends and was in her usual chipper mode that seemed to be her signature call. Casually, he took his cup of coffee and made his way toward the crane game, which was conveniently located a few feet away from the group. It would give him a chance to be closer to them, or a least to her, without looking suspicious and it didn't hurt that he knew that he could listen in to their conversation from that vantage point. Maybe that way, he could over hear her say something that he could use today to tease her with. Then he would have had the chance to address her, which would make his day complete and he could go home, lock the door to his apartment and just fall asleep in hopes that this nagging throbbing in his skull would disappear.
Usagi had tried countless number of times to bring up the subject, however each time one of her friend would conveniently change the subject much to her despair. It's almost like they knew what she wanted to suggest and was trying to avoid the discussion. Nah, that couldn't be it, her friends wouldn't do that to her, now would they? Frowning she waited, as patiently as she could, till Minako got done telling her friends about this darling little dress she had seen in the store the other day.
Drumming her fingers on the table in front of her, Usagi scanned her group of friend another time and decided that it was going to be now or never. "Hey guys… how about we go trick or treating tomorrow, wouldn't that be a blast?" Leaning across the table to glimpse at her friends, she rested her chin in her cupped hands as she batted her eyelashes sweetly, hoping they would agree with her suggestion.
Rei groaned as she rolled her eyes, she knew the twit wanted to ask them to go trick or treating, after all she had hinted about it for the past week and she thought that maybe they would be free now that it was only a day away. Unfortunately, the blonde odango girl didn't give up easily once she had made her mind up.
Makoto couldn't even look at Usagi, she knew that if she did she would more then likely cave in to the girl. She always hated to see the girl sad or disappointed but honestly, why would they want to go trick or treating? Weren't they to old for that?
A sweat drop formed upon Ami's forehead as she dug her nose deeper into her book, attempting to pretend like she hadn't heard a word her friend had spoken since she was to busy studying. She knew better then to even look at her, Usagi often could persuade her to do the silliest thing and she as after all to busy cramming for that chemistry test next week.
Minako absentmindedly glanced down at the table top, finding it quite interesting all of a sudden, her eyes peeking over to the blonde as silence surrounded the table like an invisible dome. If they were outside, they would have probably heard the cricket chirping in the background. She adored the concept of dressing up in fancy costumes other than to go door to door begging for candy, it would be much more fun to spend that time trying to meet mister right, or at least mister right now.
Mamoru from his position had to hold back a chuckle at the thought of his odango dressed up and going around from door to door. Somehow to hear he suggest such an activity at her age only made him realize just how innocent she was deep down and he prayed silently that she would never change.
She couldn't understand it, the silence was deafening and her friends were attempting to ignore her on purpose. Frowning Usagi glanced from one friend to the next, attempting to make eye contact with them. "Well? Guys, what do you say? It would be fun…" Noticing that the girls were still silent she added in "Just think of all the yummy treats we could get on top of dressing up." She glanced around the table, hopeful that maybe they would at least say something to her. Once she had them talking, she knew she could somehow convince them to see things her way.
The girls exchanged knowing glance between each other, sighing Rei was the first to even dare say a word. Taking a deep breath, the Shinto priestess steeled her resolved and looked directly at the blonde girl in front of her. "Usagi, we are too old to go trick a treating. Honestly, we are in high school now and not in kindergarten! Stop being such a baby and stop thinking about such silly things. We have more important things to do then that!" She hadn't meant to sound so harsh to her friend, her best friend actually; however there were times when Usagi would suggest things that just didn't make sense to her and this time she did not want to give her the impression that she even had a remote chance of convincing them to change their minds.
Usagi blinked a couple of time in total shock, she was used to Rei talking to her harshly nevertheless the other girls would usually be on the sideline and this time they appeared to be in agreement with the dark haired girl.
The four other girls gave a warning glance at one another, knowing full well what was to happen next. Too often they had went through these five painful step and the last one was usually the one that would break their resolve.
Minako took a sidelong glance toward her friend that was sitting right next to her and inwardly winced as she saw step 1 taking place. Usagi was giving them what they dubbed -sad puppy dog- look. The odango haired girls blue eyes were big and looking at the girls in a pleading manner.
Ami sighed and lowered her book, biting her lower lip as she dared to look at her first true friend. She already knew what she would see, it was now phase 2. Usagi's eyes were started to fill with little unshed tears which were beginning to pool against her unusually bright blue eyes as the young girl attempted to plea silently for her friends to join her.
The brunette's fists formed tiny balls as they rested upon her lap. She hated seeing her friend upset but she couldn't honestly think they would agree so easily to her plan, now did she? Without even looking at Usagi, Makoto knew they were now hitting the third steps, just two more to go. She could hear Usagi starting to sniffle which only meant that the moment of truth for all of them was fast approaching.
The dark haired girl had shut her eyes briefly and snapped them open as she had heard the sniffling start; her eyes peered directly at Usagi's face only to notice the fourth stage taking place before her eyes. Usagi's lower lip was starting to tremble which only meant that the last and final stage was right around the corner.
Mamoru had stood back and watched the scene unfold before them. He couldn't blame the girls for not being interested in Usagi's suggestions but he unfortunately knew what was going to happen next. Too often he had been a witness to these occurrences and sometime even the cause. Wincing, he could feel his headache ready to pounce back and he decided to do something about it.
She couldn't believe it, all her friends were turning against her, they were ganging up on her instead of even attempting to give her a chance to convince them about her plan. So what if they were in high school, there was no law saying that you couldn't have fun, right? She had looked at each of her friends pleadingly and got no response other then deafening silence, then she had fought back the tears that were forming in her eyes and hadn't been able to stop herself from sniffling as she tried to control her growing disappointment. Then she could feel herself loosing control of her emotions as her lower lip started trembling and she could feel the tears ready to roll down her cheeks.
The four girls exchanged knowing glances and they all placed their hands on their ears, shutting their eyes in what they knew would be an ear shattering wail from their usually cheerful friend. Silently they counted down in their mind till when the water work would start from across the table and were stunned by the fact that even after counting well past ten that no sound could be heard. Ami was first to dare take a peak and let out a startled gasp at what she saw. Slowly the other girls all open their eyes and stared in shock, unsure as to what was happening.
Mamoru had sat down next to Usagi seconds before she was about to start bawling her heart out. Gently he had wrapped his arm around her shoulder and rested his hand tenderly against her mouth. Leaning closer to her, so only she would hear his words "Odango… please don't cry… I'll buy you a pound of candy if you don't, okay?" At that point, he was honestly ready to promise her the world if she would not cry. His heart and his brain both were in total accord for the first time, tears from this angel would not be a good thing on this day. He stared at the confused girl that fitted so right in his arms and turned his gaze to the other girls, his midnight blue orbs patiently watching and waiting for them to acknowledge his presence. Sighing he started talking, never releasing his hold on the blonde by his side. "As amusing as all of this is, I have a killer headache and do not want to go through this. Why don't you guys just agree to go trick a treating with her right now? We all know that you will cave in anyway."
Usagi was feeling like her world was crashing down, then all of a sudden she felt a warm body next to hers and a strong arm wrap around her shoulder before a gentle hand was placed over her mouth. Stiffening she didn't dare move and was in complete shock when she heard Mamoru whisper in her ear, almost pleading for her not to cry. Wasn't he usually the reason why she would cry? Not only that, but he had even offered to buy her some candy if she didn't cry. .oO (What? Ok, I must be going crazy here? Why is he doing this? Why is he here and not teasing me?) Her brain was trying to understand what was happening as another part of her was trying to calm her beating heart. Silently she listened to his words and couldn't help but divert her eyes to gaze at the dark haired man by her side. He looked exhausted and sincere when he told the girls that they should agree with her idea.
Motoki had just come back from the kitchen, in time to witness the strange occurrence. At first he had noticed that a man was sitting beside Usagi, his arm wrapped around her shoulder and he had leaned in to whisper something to her. However when he noticed the jacket the guy was wearing he had to frown; only one person wore such an ugly green blazer and that was his best friend and never would his best friend be sitting that close to Usagi-chan, surely he was imagining things. Making his way to the table, holding the tray atop his shoulder he listened carefully and watched the booths occupant and waited patiently to see what would unfold from this situation.
The girls only glanced at one another then at Mamoru and Usagi and then back at one another. Surely they were imaging this. Not only was Mamoru sitting next to Usagi with his arm draped over her shoulder but he was actually trying to convince them to go along with her plan instead of teasing the girl that he usually tormented day in and day out. Usagi on her part was totally ignoring her friends and her gaze had a concern look as she watched the man by her side, her body relaxing in his hold.
Minako was the first to recover from the shock and tilted her head, her eyes scanning Mamoru as she leaned in closer to examine him as if he had grown an extra head, causing the poor guy to blink back in confusion at the blonde. Pursing her lips together in a tight smile which gradually transformed into a grin she started speaking in her sing song voice "Well well well, isn't this an interesting turn of event. Mamoru-sama is actually siding with Usagi on this. That must be one bad headache you have there to team up with your enemy like that." She quickly winked at her friends who all decided to join in and lean forward against the table to stare at Mamoru to await his reaction.
Mamoru was left speechless, his eyes darting over only to meet with Usagi's. He had to hold his breath as he lost himself in her blue eyes; she actually looked concerned about something. That's when he finally noticed that he still had his hand over her mouth, he removed it and softly whispered to her, "Oh sorry about that Usa… erm I mean Odango" Blushing he tried to find a way out of this situation and then notice his friend next to the table with the order for the girls. Sighing in relief, he was positive that his friend would come to his rescue. "Hey Motoki-kun, I see you have the girls order." He gave his friend a pleading look in helping him change the subject and waited patiently to see what he would do.
Motoki only gave a knowing glance at Mamoru, who even though he had removed his hand from the blonde girl's mouth still had his arm wrapped around her shoulder in an almost protective manner. Regardless, he decided to give his friend a break for a few moments as he would attempt to gather more information about this turn of event. Grinning, he started putting the milkshakes in front of their respective clients. Rei and Minako would always order a strawberry shake, Ami would always take vanilla and Usagi and Makoto would always order a chocolate shake, though Usagi always asked for extra whip cream on hers. After placing the drinks in front of each one, he handed a slice of the cheesecake to Usagi and held his tray against his chest as he tilted his head and asked casually "So, what is the topic of discussion that has left you all so speechless?"
It took the blonde girl a few seconds to recover as Mamoru's hand had dropped from her face, however she could still feel the warmth of his arm wrapped around her and for some reason she hoped that he would not pull away. Hearing Motoki's voice, she easily got distracted as they were handed their orders a gleeful giggle escaping her lips as she watched the slice of cheesecake being placed before her. Forgetting what had just happen; she eagerly reached for a fork and took a bite from the cheesecake, quickly leaning into Mamoru's embrace as she savored the treat, oblivious to her surrounding.
Mamoru inwardly winced when Motoki had gave him that look; he knew that look all to well and he was fully aware that he would have to deal with the usual twenty thousand questions his friend would toss at him. Nevertheless, he was thankful for the distraction his pal was bringing the group and he quickly turned to look at Usagi as he heard the sound of happiness which caused him to grin as he watched as her face lighted up at the presence of the cheesecake. He shook his head as he was amazed yet again how this young girl could change from sad to happy in a blink of the eye and how little it seemed to take to make her happy.
Mamoru warmly smiled as he saw an expression of pure bliss form on her face as she leaned back into his embrace. .oO(Wait a minute? Why do I have my arm wrapped around her like this?) His eyes open in shock as he watched her for a few minutes and he quickly relaxed. Either she had not noticed or she didn't mind, deep down he hoped it was the latter but for now he was quite content just watching her and holding her close.
The girls had turned their attention toward Motoki and were taking turns in answering his questions. Rei started in her usual annoyed tone "Well Odango brain here wanted us to dress up for Halloween…" Ami cut in and shyly said "And she wants us to go trick a treating but…" Makoto added in, her hands grabbing her shake and pulling it closer to her "We're not really interested in going because, well we are in high school after all…" Minako was the last one to speak up, her eyes still taking notice of the -couple- by her side, a grin on her face "and then Mamoru-kun came to Usa-chan's defense and is trying to convince us to go… isn't that right, Mamoru-kun?" Her eyes held an unknown twinkle in them as she watched the two, not sure if the cheesecake or Mamoru's presence was responsible for the expression on Usagi's face.
Motoki had not missed the look Minako was giving the two and he had to hold back his laughter. He had known of Mamoru's interest in Usagi for a long time; as well as the fact that he was positive the blonde girl hated him. Earlier during the day, when his friend had first came in, it had been painfully obvious that he wasn't feeling to well and yet he had come all the way to the arcade and though he claimed it was for his usual cup of coffee he wasn't easily fool and had always known the real reason. Grinning slightly he started to speak "Well, I'm not surprise that he would take her side if you girls were all ganging up against her, after all it's his job to annoy her not yours… right Mamoru?"
It took a few moments for his brain to clear up to realize that he was in a tight corner. His eyes drifted away from the face of the woman in his arms to the one sitting beside her and he inwardly winced as he saw the look she was giving him and was about to reply to her question when Motoki piped in with his comment. Groaning, he attempted to fight back the blush that was threatening to show up on his face. For a split second, he was tempted to pull his arm away from Usagi, get up and just leave the place without saying a word instead he decided to play along with Motoki's comment, a quirky grin forming on his lips. "Well yeah, it's my job to annoy her and it was no fun letting you guys have all that fun." To prove his point, he reached for the cheesecake and pulled it away from Usagi just as she was reaching to take another bite.
Rei, Makoto and Ami were busy looking between Minako, Motoki and the so called couple in front of them, not sure which of the three was more interesting to watch. Grinning Rei leaned back in her seat and watched quietly and wondering when Usagi would come back to reality to notice that the guy she kept saying she hated was still holding her close and worst had now stolen her desert. This would definitely fun to watch. Makoto's eyes watched the scene before her, wondering why she didn't have a camera on her. Ami on her part had grabbed her book again and was pretending to read when in fact her eyes were looking directly above the edge of the book, waiting in anticipation as to what would happen next.
.oO(Delicious! Absolutely delicious) Usagi was totally lost in her thoughts about the sweet treat that was before her, not really paying attention to her surrounding which had been her source of frustration earlier. Instead she decided to reach for a second bite and only found that her plate was being pulled away from her. Frowning, her eyes followed the plate and quickly notice the hand that was holding it. Her blue orbs moved up along the hand, to the wrist, to the ugly green jacket covered arm and then to Mamoru's face. Pouting, she crossed her arms and said in an annoyed tone "Hey! Give that back, it's mine!"
He couldn't help himself but laugh as he shook his head at her, his blue eyes watching her adorable pout. Teasingly Mamoru started to speak "No, don't think so. Sweets aren't good for you." He placed the plate in front of him and reached for a spare fork on the table and slowly moved it toward the desert, all the time watching her reaction from the corner of his eyes. As his fork cut into the gooey desert he could see her jaw drop in shock and her eyes were now glued on the desert. Leisurely he lifted the piece of cheesecake to his lips and waited to see if she would say anything, instead he was stunned to see her remain speechless as she watched in shock as he was stealing her treat.
She couldn't believe it. First the baka had come to her rescue when all her friends had ignored her; secondly he was still holding her? Wait, why was his arm still around her and why was it that she hadn't snapped at him yet? Usagi stared in disbelief as he took her desert away from her and said that sweets weren't good for her, like if she was a child?!? Oh how dare he talk to her in that way and why hadn't she yelled at him yet? Then he did the unthinkable, he was going to eat her, yes, her cheesecake. Her jaw drop in shock as she stared speechless at him, her eyes following the tasty morsel as they reached those perfect lips of his. .oO(Perfect lips? What in the world am I thinking, this is Mamoru-baka… remember! Eeesh he acts nice to you for five minutes and you fall for him? Fall? What am I saying, I'm not falling for him, I don't even like him… Well not that much at least, right?)
Glaring at him, Usagi crossed her arms against her chest as she lifted her chin up in the air proudly and stated, though her voice remained soft instead of her usual screeching mode. "You know, Mamoru-baka, you could have simply asked if you wanted a bite."
Mamoru was speechless, the desert resting so close to her lips as he listened to her words and watched her. He had expected her to scream her head off and claw at him to get her desert back, instead she was actually acting, well her age. Tilting his head, he watched her silently before saying, "Oh? And would you have agreed if I had asked?"
Usagi's eyes had watched Mamoru's expression and she held back her laughter as she turned to look at him, as serious as she could, her eyes staring into his. It took a few seconds for her to recover from being drawn deep within the recess of those midnight blue orbs to remember what she wanted to do. Smiling sweetly she leaned closer to Mamoru, her lips approaching his. She thought she heard him gulp and she could hear the gasps of her friends around her, steadying her nerves she stopped herself, her nose almost brushing up against his as she said, as sweetly as she could, "Nope, it's my desert and you can't have any!" Without hesitation she leaned in and quickly wrapped her mouth around his fork taking back her desert before he had the chance to devour it. Grinning proudly, she leaned back against the bench and allowed the small red hue of a blush to appear upon her cheeks.
She was close, she almost looked like she wanted to kiss him and if he hadn't been in such a state of shock he would have kissed her himself. When their eyes had met, she had this determined look upon her features that had forced him to swallow as he felt his mouth dry up. His stomach had done a couple of flip flops as Usagi was so close to him that he could feel her warm breath upon his lips. When she had pulled back, after stealing back her desert, he let out a small sigh of relief or was it disappointment? Smiling, he placed the plate back in front of Usagi and shrugged, "Oh well, can't blame a guy for trying, right Odango?" Before she could react, he quickly grabbed the strawberry that was on top and gave her a challenging look.
Mamoru was truly enjoying himself and he had somehow forgotten about their audience, it had been the first time in a long time that he was alone with the girl of his dream for more then their usual 2 minute collision meeting in the morning. He watched her intently as her eyes glared back in him, ready to accept his challenge that he had silently issued to her. Grinning, he placed the strawberry between his lips and took a slow bite out of it and teasingly said "Delicious!" He heard her gasps and he held back a chuckle as he offered the half eaten strawberry to her "You sure you don't want to share?"
Usagi's eyes open wide in shock as she watched the strawberry leave the cheesecake and make its way to Mamoru's lips. As she noticed him taking a bite from it she glared back at him, though part of her wanted to laugh at the silliness of the situation. Still she kept her composure as she watched him offer her the half eaten strawberry. Tilting her head, she examined his feature and she couldn't help the joy she felt at seeing him having so much fun, though it was at her expense it wasn't like his usual taunting. Her eyes glimpsed once more at the strawberry before a grin formed on her lips and she said, "You know what, baka, I changed my mind, I will share my delicious desert with you." Dipping her finger in the whip cream on top of the desert, she moved her finger slowly toward her lips, stopping for a few seconds as she watched his reaction and quickly moved her hand to smear the topping onto his nose before bursting into a fit of laughter.
Mamoru couldn't help himself but start laughing as well as he ate the strawberry before reaching to wipe the whip cream from his face. Shaking his head, he leaned back into the seat and gave Usagi a gentle hug with his arm that had remained conveniently wrapped around her shoulder. For anyone who didn't know the two, this would have seemed normal for the couple, but the people at the table all looked like they were witnessing the end of the world.
Motoki wasn't sure what to make of the scene, all he knew was that it was the first time in a long time that he remembered his best friend having such fun without appearing to have any regret and an idea started to form in his mind as he grinned at the booths other occupant. Clearing his throat, he attempted to get the girls attentions as he leaned in against the table. "Well, then if I understand the situation here. Usagi-chan wants to go trick a treating and you guys don't, right?" He glanced over the group, avoiding Mamoru's questioning glare. His smile broaden as he continued "Well then I have a solution to your dilemma so please hear me out before you say anything."
Mamoru had noticed a twinkle in Motoki's eyes and he had to wonder just what he was up to. He gave a quick glance to Usagi and noticed her shrug at him before diverting her attention toward Motoki. Then he watched her as she shifted slightly so she was resting closer to him and he wondered if she had actually done it on purpose or just because she wanted to hear better what his pal had to say; either way he was happy to have her close to him and wondered just how long he could hold her like this.
The arcade clerk grin and straighten his back, confident he now had all the groups attention as he started. "Well how about this, you all agree to go trick a treating with Usagi…" He held up his hand as he noticed that Rei was about to start protesting and he continued "For let's say an hour and then you can all come here to the Halloween party we are holding at the café and I will treat you all to a milkshake on the house." He paused for a few moments and watched as he noticed the group appeared to be considering the proposition, the twinkle of mischief showing up in his eyes as he added "And to make it extra fun, I don't think any of you should have a say in your costume. You guys should all chose what your friend would wear."
Rei was about to argue with Motoki before he stopped her, however what he offered wasn't half bad. First it would make her best friend happy and secondly they would get a free milkshake in the end. Not bad for an hour of knocking door to door. Surely this would suffice Usagi's silly notion of the holiday right? However, when she heard the last part of Motoki's suggestion, she frowned and glared at the blonde waiter. "And just what do you mean we have no say in our costume? If you think that I will dress up without any…"
Mamoru wanted to burst out in laughter as he watched Motoki take a few step away from the table as he waved his hands in protest at the fiery tempered girl in front of him. He heard his friend gulping and heard Usagi giggling next to him, both of them knowing full well that it was not a good idea to get on Rei's bad side.
Stumbling back a couple of step from the table, using his tray as a protective cover from Rei in case she decided to lunge at him, stuttered as he attempted to clarify his idea. "Well wh...what… I meant to say... Was that… well it would be… Erm fun… yeah that's it… Fun if you guys selected each others costume. Like for example, your friends would select your costume without you being able to say a word." Taking out his notepad he lifted it up and continued "See, we could write down the final suggestion from your friends on a piece of paper and give it to you so you knew what your costume was to be… Surely you can trust in your friends to select an appropriate costume for you, right?" He paused and held his breath as he watched the girls' expressions and sighed in relief as he noticed the dark haired girl leaning back in the booth, apparently debating the merit of his suggestion.
Minako was the first to react and giggled and clap her hands, "Oh that sounds so great, Motoki-kun, you come up with the greatest ideas ever!" Gleefully she glanced at her friends and continued "Come on guys, it would be so much fun and you all know what an amazing taste I have in clothes so you are sure to look ravishing!" Winking she teased the group "And we all know that anything you selected for me would be more then breath taking anyway, so what do you guys say?"
Slowly, one by one the girls nodded and giggled as they started talking about the activity for tomorrow, leaving Mamoru to sit beside his angel and listen in quietly. Hearing his friend sigh in relief, he chanced a look in his direction and noticed that Motoki was avoiding looking at him which caused him to frown. .oO(Motoki, what are you up to? Every time you have that look on your face I end up in the silliest situation possible…)
Motoki cheered silently, his plan was starting to work and now all he had to do was convince the girls to play along. Somehow he knew that it wouldn't be an issue with them and he smiled and glanced at the group before saying "Well since Halloween is tomorrow, how about we select your costumes right now so that you have a chance to go and get what ever you need to put it together." Grinning he said, "How about we start with Minako's costume first?"
The blonde girl clapped her hands in glee and nodded her head up and down rapidly before leaping out of the booth and saying "Ok girls, I'm counting on you to make me look even more fantabulous that I already do!" With that the girl was at the counter, leaving her friends to discuss her costume as she started flirting with the cute guy leaning against the counter.
Motoki leaned closer to the table, the girls leaning forward as they started bouncing ideas off each other, Mamoru grinning and shaking his head as he attempted to stay out of the conversation all together. After all, it's not like he was going to join in with them anyhow. Each girl took turns suggesting ideas, Rei was first and hummed to herself for a few seconds and said "How about… oh I know, a super star. She's always dreaming about being one anyhow." Glancing around the group, her suggestion was met with a few meek nods and she huffed back and said "Fine, you guys come up with something better!" Makoto pursed her lips and glanced at their friend at the counter and giggled as an idea came to her mind "How about cupid, it would give her a reason to run after all the guys saying she has to make them fall in love" The group giggled as the took a glance at the blonde who appeared oblivious to their discussion. Usagi grinned and added "Or how about a beauty contestant, we all know she has enough gowns in her closet to be able to come up with that look." Ami spoke up as she said, "Hey I know… how about Cleopatra, and you know the Egyptian queen? That dress Minako wants to buy so desperately would be perfect for it and she'd finally shut up about it!" A blush covered the blue haired girl as she lowered her head and quietly stuttered "Sorry… never mind…" Usagi grinned and shook her head, glancing at the others, "No Ami-chan, you know you are right, Minako would look great as Cleopatra, right girls?" As each girl nodded, Motoki grinned and jotted down the suggestion on his notepad, folding the sheet in half and writing Minako's name on top. "Ok, who is next? How about you Ami-chan?"
Glancing around the table, Ami nodded and stood up before joining over Minako and tapping on her shoulder and informing her that it was her turn. She watched as the blonde girl bounced back to the booth and the group all leaned in closer to one another as they started discussing her faith for tomorrow. A slight shudder ran through her as she wondered just what they would select for her and hoped they would be kind to her.
As Minako sat down, the girls started brain storming once more. Makoto spoke up first and said, "Well how about a doctor?" The others shook their head as Usagi said, "How about a mad scientist? I'm sure she has everything needed to make that costume…" Shaking her head, her pigtail dancing around her head she giggled and said, "Never mind, knowing her, she'd probably try to use that as an excuse to study tomorrow night." Minako giggled and nodded, "Yeah, what we need is something different and sweet, something that would take Ami-chan away from her books for the evening. I know, how about a super model?" As the blonde glanced around the room, all she could see was huge sweat drops on the girls' forehead. Rei glanced over at Ami's direction and smiled, "I know, how about Snow White?" Grinning she glanced at the group and said, "Also, it would be a worthy excuse to keep her from eating healthy since we wouldn't want her to bite into a poison apple, right?" The group burst out in a fit of giggled as Motoki jotted down the suggestion, folded the paper and addressed it with Ami's name.
Glancing at the group, Motoki said, "How about Makoto next?" Glancing at the brunette, she nodded and went to inform Ami of the switch the two traded places. Ami sat back down with her friends who quickly started debating the options for their friend. "How about a chef" stated Ami, which wasn't warmly welcome or rejected by the group, Rei suggested a police woman and Usagi suggested a princess. Minako remained pensive for a few moments and shook her head, "Nah, how about Robin hood? Well a female version of it?" Glancing around the group she shrugged and said, "I mean, green does look great on her and she's always defending us." The group nodded and Motoki pulled another piece of paper and jotted the information down.
Rei stood up and said, "I'll go get Makoto and you guys can figure mine next." Pausing she glared at the girls, though a hint of a smile was present on her face. "Nothing frilly, got it?" Positive she got her point across she tapped Makoto on the shoulder and motioned to the booth as she took a seat at the counter, glancing at the group from her position.
Makoto barely had time to sit down that the girls started going through their options for the dark haired girl which caused a lot of laughter to erupt from the gaggle of girls. Minako had tossed in the idea of Vampire slayer, then Ami countered with Vampire and Usagi had selected a wicked witch and retracted it quickly when she got a glare from her friends. Makoto tilted her head and glanced over to Rei and said, "How about Red riding hood? Should be frilly just enough to get her to complain for part of the evening but not enough to keep her in that bad mood?" Glancing at her friends, they all nodded in agreement and Motoki finished yet another note, this one with Rei's name. Glancing at Usagi, who was resting comfortably against Mamoru, Motoki grinned and said, "Well Usagi-chan it's your turn… oh wait, you still haven't finished your cheesecake now have you?" He winked at the other girls and said, "We'll go and join Rei-chan at the counter and discuss your costume while you finish up." Standing up, he waited for the girls to join him before looking at his friend, "Hey Mamoru, you don't mind keeping Usagi-chan company, now do you?" Grinning he didn't wait for a reply and guided the confused girl over to the counter.
Mamoru raised an eyebrow as he watched his friend and the other girls leave along with him, leaving him alone with a petite girl that was still miraculously by his side. Shrugging it off, he decided to make the best of it and glanced at Usagi who appeared almost like she was blushing, her fork picking away absentmindedly at her forgotten cheesecake. Grinning Mamoru reached over for his fork and stole another piece of desert and took a bite, winking at the girl as he heard her gasp, "What Odango, I thought you had agreed to share" He was rewarded with Usagi rolling her eyes at him, muttering something about this baka taking advantage of her generosity before giggling herself.
Usagi was surprised at first at the quick departure of her friends from the table, then when she heard Motoki's comment directed at Mamoru she realized that she was seated snuggly against the dark haired man even though there was enough room for two more people on the seat. What made her blush was noticing that since Mamoru had joined her and her friends earlier, he still had his arm placed around her shoulder and she actually loved being like this with him. Though her mind was screaming at her that this was the same man who tormented, her heart kept telling her to enjoy it and hope that maybe he would stay this way. She was idly picking at her food as she debated what to say, feeling unsure what subject to talk about or if she should just sit blissfully happy in his embrace. However when she saw him reach for her treat she couldn't help herself from gasping in shock, naturally she was about to comment on it but he had to wink at her and flash a smile that made her heart skip a beat. She just had to roll her eyes as he mentioned that she had, which was true, agreed to share with him. She muttered under her breath "Of course Baka-sama would remember that and take advantage of my kind heart!" Taking a peak from the corner of her eye she couldn't help herself from starting to laugh quietly as she reached for a piece of her desert before it was all gone.
Motoki grinned as he glanced over where two of his dearest friend where now apparently talking as though they had been friends instead of enemy for so long. Shaking his head, he diverted his attention to Rei who was giving them a questionable look. Reaching her at the counter he simply offered, "I just figured it'd be easier to discuss Usagi's costume from here instead of having her leave Mamoru's side." Shrugging his shoulder he said, "Don't you agree?"
The four girls all turned and took notice of how close Usagi and Mamoru were sitting and wondered how they had failed to notice earlier. Exchanging glance between one another they turned their attention toward Motoki who was grinning proudly as he leaned back against the counter and said "Well now, I have the perfect costume idea for Usagi." Not waiting for the girls to reply, he jotted it down and showed it to the four friends and smiled, "Don't you agree this would just be perfect for her?"
Rei raised an eyebrow as she re-read the single word on the piece of paper for the tenth time, not quite understanding what Motoki was trying to hint to, turning she glanced at Makoto who shrugged. The brunette glanced over to Ami, who usually could make a connection between the oddest of things and making it seem logical but was greeted with a perplex expression on the group genius.
Minako grinned and said, "But Motoki-kun, why would Juliet be perfect for Usa-chan? That is unless…" Her eyes held a magical twinkle as Motoki nodded to her and held up another piece of paper which said -Romeo- on it. Folding it in half, he revealed the name of the chosen one. Minako was first to start laughing and clapping her hands in agreement; the others glanced over to the booth then at Minako and Motoki who seemed to be thinking the same thing. Shrugging they smiled as the logical one cleared her throat and stated "Ok, so we have Usagi-chan figured out; but how do you expect to convince Mamoru-sama to join us?"
The two blonde exchanged a knowing look and grinned as they watched the two seated at the booth, oblivious to what they were to be faced with in a few minutes. Motoki said, "Oh trust me, it won't be that difficult for me to convince him." Giggling Minako nodded her head and glanced back at her friends "Like he said it himself, he will just cave in at the end." The brunette, the ebony and ocean blue haired girls' faces lit up as they realized what the two blonds were indicating and they had to giggle as they nodded in agreement.
AN 4: Well that's it for now, please let me know what you think of this story so far and what you'd like to see happen. I already have a few ideas floating around in my head but am open to suggestions if you have any. Also, Mamoru wanted me to ask if Motoki should pay for all his meddling.
-Jy