Hello, everyone! For better or worse, I have jumped into writing for this year's MamoUsa Week on Tumblr. Honestly, this is a massive challenge, as I tend to be an absurdly slow perfectionist, but I'm hoping this makes me get better. I'm feeling ok about day 1 today, but it's gonna be a little touch and go from there. Hope you're willing to take the ride with me! Oh, and please let me know what you think?

This takes place right at the end of Episode 83, you know, the one where Demande kidnaps Usagi and they find out all the things about the future. Because if I'm gonna write something off-the cuff, it's gonna be in Sailor Moon R.

A massive thanks to Kasienda for taking time out of her insanely busy life to beta this for me. Your edits help me so much!

MamoUsa Week 2019
Free Day: Together

She was real.

She was safe.

She was with him.

Tuxedo Mask gently ran his hands up and down Usagi's back, those words repeating in his head like a mantra, attempting to soothe them both.

His eyes scrunched shut tightly in rage as he made contact with unfamiliar, cheap-feeling satin and flimsy gossamer wings. He wrapped his cape around her shivering form, trying to both warm her and hide the vile dress and all it represented from view.

Fear and fury churned through him as he held her close. He couldn't rid his mind of Sailor Moon's terrified eyes, her desperately outstretched arm in the Crystal Palace bunker, Demande trying to force himself on her. Bile rose up in his throat as he thought of the Black Moon prince's eyes on her bare skin, of what could have happened had he arrived just seconds later.

There was so much he needed to say to her.

They had "reconciled" weeks ago, with soft, forgiving kisses on a crisp fall night, the Tokyo city lights sparkling behind them. But Mamoru had insisted, and Usagi had reluctantly agreed, that they still try to keep their distance from each other until he could find out more about his dreams.

They weren't always very good at living up to that agreement.

There had been reassertions of love in battle, hand-holding under the table at senshi meetings, and stolen kisses in the back room of the Crown Arcade. But all the while, Mamoru hadn't been able to shake the feeling that he was still putting her in danger. He had still held back.

And for what? To try to prevent his recurring nightmare of the woman he loved in danger, standing in a tattered dress surrounding by a ruined city, from coming true?

Everything he had done to protect her—all the torture he had put them both through—had been in vain.

His gloved hands gripped her hips and he pulled her closer to him tightly, whispering in her ear in the falling snow.

"Usako," he murmured. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." The words tumbled out of his mouth in a near-incoherent heap: frantic apologies for not being able to protect her, for causing her pain, promises to always protect her in the future.

He reveled in the feel of her solid form in his arms, trying to anchor himself to the reality that she was ok.

She was real.

She was safe.

She was with him.

And their future? He was ashamed to admit that the first thing he had felt upon learning about their future was joy.

For a brief moment, he didn't care that the city around them was broken, didn't care about the Black Moon clan. He and Usagi were together in the future. His heart had soared when his future self had uttered the words "my wife", referring to his Usako. And it had nearly burst with happiness when they had learned that Chibiusa, that precocious child he'd become so inexplicably attached to, was their daughter.

He'd even instantly forgiven King Endymion for sending the dreams. Mamoru understood better than anyone that it had been well-intentioned, though inexplicable and poorly executed.

But now, standing in the frozen wasteland their future city had become, and having borne witness to the kind of damage their enemy could inflict upon them, he was flung firmly into the present and all the dangers that came with it.

"Tuxedo Mask," Usagi breathed. She was uncharacteristically quiet, her muscles tense beneath his hands.

He gently pulled his head away to face her. "King Endymion said our real test begins now." He swallowed, the anxiety slithering up his spine at the implications of the King's words.

Usagi nodded, her brow furrowed, her lips set in a firm, determined line. "No matter what happens, we're…" she trailed off.

He ached to be able to finish the sentence for her.

We're going to be ok.

We're going to get through this.

We're going to be with each other forever.

But as usual, his emotions bubbled up in him behind a dam that wouldn't let the words come out.

If he couldn't tell her, he could show her.

He pulled her closer to him as the snow began to fall harder, cocooning her shivering body between his arms and his cape. She sighed into his embrace as he tenderly brushed a drop of snow off her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

Snowflakes dotted her lips, and he leaned down to melt them away with his own. Her lips were cold and trembling beneath his, and she whimpered as the tip of his tongue skimmed across her skin, erasing each drop of snow. He eased his tongue between her lips, coaxing them open and pouring his emotions into the kiss.

He needed to feel her, needed to know that she was real and ok, that she was really safe in his embrace, needed her to know that he would always be there, that she could always count on him to protect her.

The adrenaline that had been pumping through his system ever since she had been taken from him channeled itself into passion, and he moaned against her mouth as he increased the pressure on her lips.

Usually, Usagi kissed him with no restraint, tangling her tongue with his, fisting her hands in his hair, letting out little mewls of pleasure as she pressed herself up against his form.

But something was off.

Tuxedo Mask pulled away, his breath forming little puffs in the cold air. "Usako?"

"Mamo-chan," Usagi whispered. "He almost…someone other than you almost…"

She didn't have to finish her sentence.

He tenderly brought his hands to cup her cheeks, his fingers moving in calming strokes in the hair at her temple. He tried to convey comfort and reassurance through his gaze, wanting to help her forget the horror she had just been through, to promise her that she was safe now. He was there, and would always be there.

Her eyes flickered to the cut on his forehead from the glass wall he'd torn through to rescue her, and tears welled up in her eyes as she followed the trail of dried blood down to his chin.

"You're hurt."

He shook his head.

"It's nothing."

Her tears began to fall freely then, and she stood on her tiptoes to reach up to recapture his lips with hers. She took the lead this time, and he was happy to follow. The kiss started off gentle, with Usagi softly slipping her lips against his, the salty taste of her tears mixing with the frigid snow that continued to fall.

It then grew into something deeper. Mamoru let out a guttural groan as Usagi pulled his bottom lip between her teeth and plunged her tongue into his mouth. She pulled him closer to her as she explored him, her hands running unchecked across his body. She was frantic, clinging to him with her lips, her tongue, her arms.

Mamoru rode the wave of Usagi's raw need and sighed into her embrace. He knew there was an intense battle to come. But for now?

This was real.

They were safe.

They were together.

There we go! I hope you enjoyed it, and for real, please tell me your thoughts (because yeah, external validation is absolutely part of what's gonna get me through this week).

Also, I have to throw out a couple more thank you's - to FloraOne, for her constant encouragement and helping me figure out how to properly write a kiss scene. To UglyGreenJacket, for her general input and specific suggestion for Mamoru to be physically cut here, and the QueenRisa, for encouragement and listening to my nonsense.

And of course, AGAIN, thanks to Kasienda!