A Rose for Christmas
The sky was filled with tiny snowflakes gently falling to the ground. The air was crisp and cold, and softly blinking lights hung from every tree. Jolly old men dressed up in furry red suits and put on cotton ball beards. Candy canes, reindeer, and presents.
It was Usagi's favorite time of year. She stood outside her house looking up at the gray sky and smiling. She giggled as a snowflake hit her nose and spun around joyfully. She stuck her tongue out in an effort to catch one, but she ended up catching more hair than anything else.
She finally stopped spinning long enough to collapse onto the soft bed of snow that had already accumulated on the lawn. She sighed and smiled to herself.
Life was wonderful.
"Usagi-chan!" her mother called from the door. "Come inside and clean up for dinner."
"In a minute, mama," she smiled.
"You're going to catch a cold sitting out there!" she reprimanded. "You don't want to get sick now, right before your wedding."
That got Usagi's attention.
"Hai, I'm coming," she cried as she ran inside. "What's for dinner?"
"Chicken and rice. Come on, we're all ready to eat."
"Ooh. Yummy!" Usagi drooled as she sat down at the table. "Mama, you're such a great cook."
Ikuko beamed. "Why thank you, Usagi-chan. I'm sure that you will be a wonderful one as well, some day."
Usagi just shrugged. "I'm just glad that Mamo-chan doesn't care about how I cook."
"Yeah, or else he'd never marry you," Shingo snorted. "I guess he doesn't care about looks or personality, either. Or intelligence... So why is he marrying you again?"
Usagi stuck her tongue out at him. "Mamo-chan loves me."
Ikuko saw the look on Kenji's face and the evil look in Shingo's eyes and spoke up quickly.
"When is Mamoru-san going to come over for dinner, Usagi-chan?"
"Uh... I don't know. He's pretty busy right now with exams and all."
"You will have to invite him over for our Christmas dinner. It would only be right, since he is a part of our family."
Usagi's almost shy smile lit up her face as a blush crept onto her cheeks. Her heart warmed at just the thought of being Chiba Usagi.
Mamo-chan, she sighed. Just one more week, Mamo-chan, and we'll be together forever.
Cheeks still red, she picked up her chopsticks and dug in.
~~~~~@
This had certainly been a year that Usagi would remember for the rest of her life. She and Mamoru had been dating for years, but this past year had been the most wonderful of them all. There had been no attacks by people wanting to destroy the world, there had been no future children interfering with her love life, and Mamoru had finally gotten permission from her father to propose to her...
Usagi loved life. She was so lucky to be fated to love the most wonderful man on earth - and even more amazing was that he was fated to love her.
The wedding was going to take place on December 26, the day after Christmas. Usagi was hoping that the snow would hold out long enough for there to be a white Christmas. This year, above any other, she wanted it to snow on Christmas.
Usagi walked into the mall, eager to begin her Christmas shopping. She had to find the *perfect* present for Mamoru. It would be like her wedding gift to him, so it had to be extra special.
She had already bought her presents for her family and the senshi. They had been easy to shop for. But Mamoru was a different story. She didn't just want to find a great present for him, she wanted to find *the* present for him.
But where should she look? In the sports store? In the chocolate store? In the department store? In the toy store? In the jewelry store...?
Okay, now she was getting desperate. She sighed and passed by the jewelry store remorsefully. She passed by a few stores without even glancing at them before she suddenly stopped in her tracks and pressed her face up to the window of the store she was in front of.
"That's it!" she cried excitedly. "I could never give him something more special." She giggled and clapped her hands together. She turned and ran out of the mall, humming the tune from the locket.
~~~~~@
Mamoru had never been more nervous in his life. Not that he was afraid of getting married to Usagi, but he was afraid of being a husband.
Not having grown up around a family, Mamoru had no idea what it was like to be married. All he knew was that he loved Usagi and that, no matter how scared he got, he wanted to marry her.
And because he loved her so much, he was standing in the middle of a very crowded mall, three days before Christmas, looking for her Christmas present. He had been coming here every day for the past week, and had the present been for anyone else, he would have given up long ago. But he loved Usagi too much to settle on a present for her. He would brave the mall every day until he died if it would make her happy.
And so he had made his way through every store in the mall - all except one. And he hadn't even gone through the door before it hit him. The perfect gift for Usagi. Nothing else even compared. He smiled thoughtfully and left the mall, eager to begin work on his gift.
~~~~~@
Christmas Eve came, and the Tsukinos were having their annual gift exchange. Mamoru had been invited over, much to the dismay of Kenji. But the two of them seemed to be getting along much better than before. Kenji had even - begrudgingly -- bought Mamoru a Christmas present.
Ikuko was very pleased at how well Mamoru fit into their family. Even Kenji was beginning to accept him. She was so proud that he would be her son-in-law in two days. She had seen how much he meant to Usagi and knew that he cared just as much for her.
And Mamoru had been so sweet to buy presents for their entire family. However, Ikuko had noticed that Mamoru and Usagi had yet to exchange their presents.
"Usako," Mamoru spoke up softly, after all the other gifts had been given, "Would you like to go for a walk?"
"Hai," she smiled sweetly. "Let me get my coat." As Usagi ran out of the room, Kenji cleared his throat and gave Mamoru a warning glance.
"Sir, I would like some privacy to give Usagi her gift," Mamoru asked respectfully.
"Just be sure that I have no reason to cancel the wedding," Kenji warned.
"I would never do anything inappropriate with your daughter," he promised.
Kenji narrowed his eyes, then sighed and extended his hand. Mamoru shook his hand, understanding the importance of this action. Kenji was releasing his control of Usagi to him.
"I'm ready, Mamo-chan!" Usagi called from the door.
"I'm coming, Usako."
As the two of them left the house, Ikuko smiled at Kenji and gave him a hug.
"Thank you for doing that. I know how you feel... Usagi is our little girl, and we're about to give her away."
Kenji smiled back at her and kissed her temple. "I guess all little girls have to grow up sometime," he answered softly.
~~~~~@
Usagi and Mamoru walked in silence for a while. The snow crunched under their feet, and their breath was easily visible in the crisp night air. They finally came to a stop in front of a bench in the park.
"Usako," Mamoru broke the silence.
Usagi whimpered and threw herself into his arms.
"I love you Mamo-chan! I love you so much!"
Mamoru stared in wonder at the girl in his arms. What had he done to deserve this? How had this come to be - that in less than 48 hours he would be marrying his princess? Mamoru was filled yet again with an indescribable sweetness and protective feelings towards her. He would protect her at any cost, he would treasure her forever, and he would never, ever forget just how lucky he was to be her fiancé.
"I love you, too, Usako," he managed to choke out. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Then he set her away from him. She looked up at him curiously, but he just kissed her cheeks, rosy from the cold, and winked at her. "I've waited a long time for you, Tsukino Usagi. And I want to wait just a little bit longer, okay?" They were too alone, and much too close. But Mamoru would not go back on his word to her father. Usagi meant too much to him.
"Usako," he began again. "Usako, I wanted to give you this," he said, taking a wrapped package out of his coat pocket.
"No, wait, Mamo-chan," she said, taking something out of her coat, too. "You have to open mine first."
"I do, do I?"
"Yes, you do."
"Okay," he said, taking the package from her. He slowly pulled back the wrapping and opened the box to reveal a dried rose. "What's this?"
Usagi blushed and shifted uncomfortably in the snow.
"Well, it's the first rose you ever gave me. You used it during the first battle with the Dark Kingdom to save me. You never knew this, but I took it home with me that night. I wanted to give it back to you."
Mamoru laughed softly. "Oh, Usa... Open your present."
Usagi took the package from his hands and tore into it. There, nestled in a bed of tissue paper, was a perfect red rose.
"Mamo-chan?" she asked, confused.
"Usako, *this* was the first rose I ever gave you. Don't you remember?"
"No," she blushed.
"Usako... Princess... I gave you this rose as a symbol of our love right before the Dark Kingdom destroyed the moon, a thousand years ago. It was the first gift I ever gave you..." He took her hands and began to rub them gently between his own. "Usako, this is the rose that I use to transform into Tuxedo Kamen."
"But - Mamo-chan!" she breathed. "I can't take this... how will you be able to be Tuxedo Kamen anymore?"
"It's all right, Usako. I don't think that Tuxedo Kamen will be needed anymore. There have been no attacks in forever, and we're getting married in two days." He smiled reassuringly. "Besides, I can always become Prince Endymion to save my princess."
"Oh... Mamo-chan!" Usagi started crying. "I don't deserve this..."
"Yes you do," Mamoru leaned in, forgetting all his inhibitions about being close to Usagi as he kissed her soundly on the lips. "You deserve so much more, Usako. You deserve all that I can ever give you... but I wanted you to have this - to show you that I will always love you and protect you."
"Mamo-chan..." she whispered against his lips. "I love you..."
"I just wish that I could give you more than just a rose."
Usagi pulled away from him to look him straight in the eyes.
"You're wrong, Mamo-chan. You give me more than I could ever need or want."
They snuggled together on the bench for a few moments before Usagi broke the silence with a giggle.
"Nani?" Mamoru asked.
"It seems that we both had the same idea for a Christmas present."
"Huh?"
"We both gave each other a rose for Christmas."
Mamoru smiled and pulled her a little closer into his embrace. "Our symbol of love... Our eternal love."
"Mmm... two days, Mamo-chan..." Mamoru laughed ruefully and stood up from the bench.
"Hai. Two days, Usako," he extended his hand and bowed. "May I have the honor of escorting the lady home?"
Usagi giggled as she stood up and curtsied to the best of her ability. "You may." She took his hand and the two of them walked off towards Usagi's house, talking and laughing the whole way.
~~~~~@
THE END
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