her heart was pounding.
waking up in a foreign bed, yet still so familiar. it smelled of him... faintly... but she could still yet make out the scent of the cologne he wore. and then there he stood, across the room, just in the doorway. his ocean blue eyes engulfed her and she held her breath, still and silent on his bed.
he took one single step into the room and watched her as she rose from the sheets, hair tousled and her blue eyes wide as she took in everything around her. he watched as her hand trailed across the bedside table, empty aside from a glass of water he had gotten for her when he had first brought her back there. his eyes strayed to the bed, messy and probably still warm with her heat, then back to her, only to find she was staring right at him.
"tuxedo... kamen..." her words were soft and full of disbelief as she came to stand before him. beside them was a chair, over it draped his cape and discarded mask, which her shaking hand reached out to pick up. "mamoru..." her lips formed around his name, saying it for the first time to him in a tone that was not full of disgust. he remained silent as those same hands reached up, placing the mask over his eyes, confirming for her the truth behind his identity. "but why... tuxedo kamen..." from her hands he took the mask and stepped around her, crossing the room to stand at the window, his back to her. he cast aside the mask yet again and could feel her eyes staring at his back, unwavering and without judgement. eyes that he knew from a dream.
"in order to regain my memories, I need the ginzuishou..." he said softly, as if this answered all of her questions. he heaved a sigh and at once, the words began to tumble freely from his lips. the story of how on his sixth birthday, he and his parents had piled into the family car for a drive. how when around a sharp turn his father had lost control and they went over an embankment. how his parents had died that day and so had any memory he had of who he was. he heard her sharp intake of breath and he did not need to turn around to see the tears that had gathered in her eyes. "am i really chiba mamoru...? or am i someone else...?" he looked up into the sky, watching as the sun sank lower in the sky, threatening to fall below the horizon. "and then i started to have the same dream over and over again." he turned back to her then, the blurry images of the long silver hair filtering through his mind. "the maboroshi no ginzuishou, that's all she ever says... i found myself walking the streets at night, searching for it, the only clue i have to regain my memories." their eyes met and he tilted his head, wondering why he was even telling her all of this. "what about you? you're searching for the crystal too, aren't you?"
usagi shifted uncomfortably, wishing with all of her heart that she had a better reason to be looking for the crystal than she did. "well, because..." she felt her cheeks growing warm, embarrasment flaring up. "it's hard to explain, but luna told me to find it and protect it." she hated the somber look that was in his eyes. it's such a sad look in his eyes, she thought, finding herself not used to such a look. this was not the annoying, cocky chiba mamoru she had come to know.
"can you keep what i told you a secret? between us?" she hesitated and he knew she was thinking of her friends, her comrades, wondering how she would ever keep something so important from them. but then she gave a nod and he felt relief rushing through him. "thanks."
"a secret between us..." she murmured the words back to him, her hands clenched together at her chest, immediately thinking back to something luna had said to her. he might be tricking you, she had warned, but as usagi looked up into his sad eyes, she couldn't believe that. he wouldn't do such a thing. he was smiling then, lighting him up like a flame from within, and she felt herself blushing, his smile captivating. she took a few steps closer to him and felt her heart strike up its pace once again. i believe in you. she had never felt something like she felt in that very moment. like she wished time would stop and never begin again. she could be happy just standing there, staring into his smiling eyes forever. "I..." she took another step forward, fighting the urge to run and the urge to put her arms around him. "i have to go, luna is waiting for me!" she turned then, sharply, and made for the door, but was stopped as he put a hand to her shoulder. her hand on the door handle, his on her shoulder, they remained frozen in time for what felt like an eternity. but then... he spoke.
"usako..." his husky voice sent chills down her spine and she forced herself to keep her back to him, unable to face those smoldering blue eyes again. he was so close to her... she could feel his body heat against her own... but then his hand fell away and suddenly everything felt so much colder. she felt something hard against the back of her head then and the softest of chuckles as he spoke again. "your bag..."
minutes later when she had rushed out of the front doors of his apartment building, she walked along the sidewalk, clutching her bag close to her chest. usako... she thought, unable to help herself from feeling elated at being given such a nickname. "he's mamoru, so i guess his nickname would be mamo-chan." a heavy sigh escaped her and she hugged her bag a bit closer to herself, still recalling the way his eyes had looked upon her, still remembering the weight of his hand on her shoulder.
as he watched her go from his balcony, he too was wrapped up in thoughts of her; of how clear her eyes were when they were full of tears, of the pitch in her voice when she called him by name... he watched her until he could no longer see her and then his eyes trailed to the moonlit sky above, and she was still there on his mind. it was still hard to believe that the girl from the street, the twin-tailed blonde with a sassy attitude was the girl he'd been fighting alongside all this time. but as he thought back, he wondered how he could have ever have missed it.
