Unlocked Love
"I can't believe we're stuck here."
I look to my right. Mamoru is sitting on some boxes, his right leg propped up and left leg swinging freely, and bouncing an old tennis ball. I sigh. He's said that five time since we got in this mess and I wish he'd stop. But of course, he'll probably wind up saying it a few more times until get out of here. I roll my eyes and sigh, louder this time, and he looks up.
"What's your problem, Meatball Head?" he demands.
I shift, sitting on the hard, cold concrete floor with my back against the wall was becoming uncomfortable. "What do you think," I snap back.
He shakes his head and sighs. "I can't believe we're stuck here."
I jump to my feet. "Would you stop saying that already?! We're stuck because of you!"
"What?"
"You heard me! You're the one that got us in this mess!" My hands instantly go on my hips as I yell at him.
"Oh, right, " he says sarcastically, "you had nothing to do with it!"
I open my mouth to yell at him but I stop. He's right, partly. We both got us stuck.
See, about three hours ago, I was just finishing a double shift at the coffee shop where I work. Mamoru, unfortunately, is the manager during my shifts. Anyway, it was closing time and we had both been in a rush to get out. In our rush, cleaning up became a competition to see who could get their work done fastest. Mamoru bumped into me, I spilled some coffee, we got mad. We started to yell at each other. Neither of us were watching when we stormed into the store room and Mamoru unconsciously closed the door behind him, not thinking that about two seconds before then I had locked it from the outside. Stuck. Until the first shift of the day came in the next morning.
'Oh, if it had been anyone but Mamoru!' I cry out in my head.
My stomach growls loudly and I'm suddenly reminded that I haven't eaten since breakfast. I look up, hoping that Mamoru didn't hear it. But he has and is looking at me funny.
"What," I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
He shakes his head and rolls the tennis ball from hand to hand. "Is there ever a time you're not hungry?"
"For your information, I missed lunch! You took your break, remember, and I got stuck working this busiest run of the day!" I look at my watch. 9:15. Great, I've missed dinner too. "I've also missed dinner so excuse me for being just a little hungry!"
I sit back down and turn my head to stare at the door. We don't speak for a few minutes, I try my best to ignore my stomach. Suddenly Mamoru stands up and stretches. He grins at me for a second.
"Actually, I getting a little hungry myself. "
"What, the mighty Mamoru admits a weakness?"
He laughs. "Hunger is not a weakness, Meatball Brain."
I start to retort but realize he's right and I shut my mouth, wondering how I'll get him back for calling me names in the last ten minutes. I can't think of anything so I turn away again. He goes back to bouncing the ball.
"Not much of a conversationalist, are you?"
I had phased out for a minute so when he speaks, I'm not sure if I heard him right. "What," I ask impatiently.
"Whoa, calm down, I'm just trying to kill time here."
"I'm hungry, Mamoru, and I'm getting cranky."
"You're always cranky."
"No, only when I'm with you!"
"Oh come on, klutzoid, I can think of a thousand different people I'd rather be stuck here with than you!"
"Klutzoid?! How dare you?!"
He leans forward. "When was the last time you walked and chewed gum without tripping? Heck, when's the last time you did anything without tripping?"
"I'll have you know that I'm not that bad!" I stop and start sniffling.
"What now?" Mamoru demands.
"I'm hungry!!"
He shrugs. "So let's eat."
"Eat?! What, praytell, do you expect us to eat?"
Mamoru motions to the boxes and shelves. "We're in the store room, what isn't there to eat?"
"Won't we get into trouble?"
"Naw," he grins, "I'll take full responsibility if we get into trouble. Besides, Mr. Nakamura used to know my father. It's not likely to be much of a reprimand."
Gotta give him credit for making some kind of effort of being civil.
My stomach growls again and his does the same thing a minute later. I can't help but laugh and for the first time since working with him, I hear him laugh too. It's a nice laugh, light and without the reserve he usually has around me. I like it, I decide, because it's a different side of him that I haven't ever seen.
We stop laughing and catch our breath and he smiles at me. In that instant I decide that I like his smile, too. As much as he's a pain sometimes, Mamoru is actually a pretty good looking guy. I fade into a day dream that I've had for years since I was a little girl about good looking men who fit the tall dark and handsome description. Oh yeah, I think, he definitely fits that description well. And then it hits me. I've been practically drooling over Mamoru for the last five minutes. Mamoru! That egotistical, son of a gun... handsome?! Yuck! The day I admit Mamoru is handsome is the day I say that I have natural grace!
"Usagi.." His voice draws my name out in a sing songy tone. "Earth to Usagi.."
I blink and his face is two inches away from mine. "Gaaahh!!!" He laughs and leans back as I clutch my heart and try to catch my breath. "What in the -? Why were you- ?" I gasp. "Mamoru, you baka, what were you thinking?!"
He shrugs. "I was thinking about getting something to eat when you spaced out - again. You do that a lot?"
I take a couple deep breaths before speaking. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What would you have done if I just died right there?"
"I'm studying to be a doctor, you'd have lived."
I pout. "Just because you're studying to be one doesn't make you a doctor, you know."
"Yeah, I know. But any idiot knows CPR. You'd have been fine."
He leaps to his feet and starts going through some of the boxes. "Coffee, coffee, coffee..aha! Food! What do you want, Usa, muffin or biscotti?"
I'm still pouting so I don't answer.
"Hey now, ten minutes ago all you could think about was dinner and now you're playing the silent treatment because I scared you?" He holds up a muffin in one hand and a chocolate dipped biscotti in the other. "Which one?"
"Biscotti's the really hard one, isn't it?" Mamoru nods. "The muffin, I guess."
"Anything else?"
"What's there," I ask, getting up and joining him.
He shuffles through another box. "Bagels, sandwich bread..wait, I've completely forgotten about the fridge." We move over to the big refridgerator and rummage through. "Hmm..Pies, lots of pies."
"I can see, you know."
"Don't let me get in your way, then."
Mamoru grabs a slice of blackberry pie and grabs a fork out of nowhere. I decide on a blueberry cheesecake and the chocolate muffin I took earlier. I grin and before settling down, grab a stained tablecloth that I'd thrown in there earlier and smoothed it on the floor, figuring that if I was going to have to do suffer through a night with Mamoru, I was atleast going to enjoy this meal.
Mamoru smiles and joins me, bringing with him a couple of cups and a bottle of water.
"I can't believe we're stuck here," he says for the nth time. There's a change in his voice. I nod, enjoying every bite of my cheesecake.
"Mamoru," I say suddenly, "why do you want to be a doctor?"
He sighs. "Well, I guess it comes from this grandiose idea of really doing something to help people. Every doctor you ask says that and it's the truth. A lot of doctors will tell you they got into the medical field because their parents or grandparents were doctors. Others will say it's because the money is good. It's a lie. They wouldn't stick with it if those were the only reasons. Being a doctor is hard, yes, but it's one of the only professions where you can actually see the lives you're changing. I guess it's kind of a selfish reason but it's the truth." He takes a bite of pie and for a second is deep in thought. "I also like the challenge. I mean, you take all this information that's given to you in medical school and then memorize it. Once it's there all memorized, you learn to analyze it all, pick it apart, then memorize it all over again. And then, the fun part is where you get to actually use all that information. Everything you need to save someone's life is up here, " he taps his forehead, "just waiting for you to use it."
I smile. "Wow, sounds like you know exactly what you want."
"What about you? Know what you want to do with your life?"
I lean back on my hands and think. "I want to do a lot. I want to be a great performer like Minako-chan, I want to cook like Mako, I want to be a spiritual leader like Rei's going to be, I wish I was half as smart as Ami so I could go work with Bill Gates or someone. I want to do it all just once so by the end of it, I'll know exactly what it is I'm supposed to do."
"So do it."
"It's not that easy, I'm afraid."
"Why not?"
"I can't decide where to start first," I reply with a smile.
"Why not work with kids? You're the biggest 10 year old I know so you'd fit right in!"
That remark really stings. I mean, I know I'm immature sometimes but I had thought that it'd all begun to change over the past few months. I frown and before I can stop it, a tear forms and falls down my cheek.
"Hey, hey, Meatball Head, I didn't mean to make you cry! It was a joke."
"Yes, but I've tried so hard lately to not be so immature!" I sniff.
"Is that why you took this ridiculous job here?"
I nod. "I wanted to show my parents that I can be responsible. They don't even think I can handle sharing an apartment with two of my friends! I wanted to show them that it's possible for me to be away from their guidance and make it through okay!"
"Hey, now, I think you're doing pretty well." Mamoru said softy. "In fact, you're the best employee we've had. I mean, you've got a ton of energy, you never complain and you're great with the customers. In fact, so great that the repeat business has increased because of you! If you weren't such a meatball brained klutz you'd be perfect."
I look down. "Mamoru, do you hate me?"
The surprise in his voice is obvious. "What? Why would you think that?"
"Because you're always criticizing me, always calling me names. Just when I think I can like you, you call me a klutz or meatball head or something."
Mamoru scoots closer to me. "Look, I know I'm rough on you, sometimes. But it's nothing personal. I don't hate you. Actually, I kind of like you. I just tease you sometimes because.. well, it's hard to tell you how much I actually do like you."
"You're not just lying to make me feel better?"
I feel his hand lift my chin up and suddenly my hearts racing. "Do I look like I'm lying?"
I look into his clear blue eyes and the daydream I had earlier comes racing back. I am suddenly overcome with the desire to tell him off and I don't hold back. "You've got a lot of nerve, Mamoru Chiba! You think you're so important because you model and you're my boss and because you're going to be a doctor some day! Well, it doesn't excuse you from always making me feel worthless, you know! And you think just because you finally are nice to me that I'm going to kiss-"
I can't say anything more because Mamoru finally has found a way to shut me up. My first real kiss. I mean, I've kissed guys before, a lot of them, but this one is the first one I've actually felt like melting into the ground with. This one actually feels like it's supposed to. It's just like a movie, but oh so much better!
We part, breathless. "It's about time you did something productive," I grumble teasingly.
Mamoru grins. "You weren't too bad yourself, kid." He looks at his watch. "Oh, hey, it's getting late. We should probably try to sleep some tonight." My eyebrow raises as he leans back against the wall and pats the ground beside me. "Come on, you can use me as a pillow. Just don't drool on me or anything."
"Mamoru, you baka," I reply, chuckling.
"Sleep well, Usa."
I'm sound asleep when Mamoru gently rouses me. The door of the storeroom is open and Myoko Shinjun, the day manager, is standing in the doorway, her mouth open wide.
"Were you two here all night," she asks incredulously.
I look at Mamoru and then nod. "And you were able to keep from killing each other this whole time?!"
"Yeah, actually, it was.. nice."
"Wow, I can't believe you two made it through unscathed."
Mamoru winks at me. "Well, we're not totally unaffected by it."
I grin at him as he wraps his arm around my waist and we walk away, our hands in each other's back pockets and leaving Myoko to wonder about what really happened last night.
~The End~
AN: I got the inspiration for this fic because Faeriephoenix had a challenge thingy going here on FFn. She's got a list going on a web site which unfortunately I don't have with me at the moment. (If you're curious, email or leave a review or im me or something and I'll get you the link..) Anyway, dealing with a bad case of writer's blocked, this helped me get unstuck - even if temporarily - so I owe Faeriephoenix a big thank you. Hope you liked it! ^_~
Oh! Thanks to my pal, B-chan for the title!
"I can't believe we're stuck here."
I look to my right. Mamoru is sitting on some boxes, his right leg propped up and left leg swinging freely, and bouncing an old tennis ball. I sigh. He's said that five time since we got in this mess and I wish he'd stop. But of course, he'll probably wind up saying it a few more times until get out of here. I roll my eyes and sigh, louder this time, and he looks up.
"What's your problem, Meatball Head?" he demands.
I shift, sitting on the hard, cold concrete floor with my back against the wall was becoming uncomfortable. "What do you think," I snap back.
He shakes his head and sighs. "I can't believe we're stuck here."
I jump to my feet. "Would you stop saying that already?! We're stuck because of you!"
"What?"
"You heard me! You're the one that got us in this mess!" My hands instantly go on my hips as I yell at him.
"Oh, right, " he says sarcastically, "you had nothing to do with it!"
I open my mouth to yell at him but I stop. He's right, partly. We both got us stuck.
See, about three hours ago, I was just finishing a double shift at the coffee shop where I work. Mamoru, unfortunately, is the manager during my shifts. Anyway, it was closing time and we had both been in a rush to get out. In our rush, cleaning up became a competition to see who could get their work done fastest. Mamoru bumped into me, I spilled some coffee, we got mad. We started to yell at each other. Neither of us were watching when we stormed into the store room and Mamoru unconsciously closed the door behind him, not thinking that about two seconds before then I had locked it from the outside. Stuck. Until the first shift of the day came in the next morning.
'Oh, if it had been anyone but Mamoru!' I cry out in my head.
My stomach growls loudly and I'm suddenly reminded that I haven't eaten since breakfast. I look up, hoping that Mamoru didn't hear it. But he has and is looking at me funny.
"What," I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
He shakes his head and rolls the tennis ball from hand to hand. "Is there ever a time you're not hungry?"
"For your information, I missed lunch! You took your break, remember, and I got stuck working this busiest run of the day!" I look at my watch. 9:15. Great, I've missed dinner too. "I've also missed dinner so excuse me for being just a little hungry!"
I sit back down and turn my head to stare at the door. We don't speak for a few minutes, I try my best to ignore my stomach. Suddenly Mamoru stands up and stretches. He grins at me for a second.
"Actually, I getting a little hungry myself. "
"What, the mighty Mamoru admits a weakness?"
He laughs. "Hunger is not a weakness, Meatball Brain."
I start to retort but realize he's right and I shut my mouth, wondering how I'll get him back for calling me names in the last ten minutes. I can't think of anything so I turn away again. He goes back to bouncing the ball.
"Not much of a conversationalist, are you?"
I had phased out for a minute so when he speaks, I'm not sure if I heard him right. "What," I ask impatiently.
"Whoa, calm down, I'm just trying to kill time here."
"I'm hungry, Mamoru, and I'm getting cranky."
"You're always cranky."
"No, only when I'm with you!"
"Oh come on, klutzoid, I can think of a thousand different people I'd rather be stuck here with than you!"
"Klutzoid?! How dare you?!"
He leans forward. "When was the last time you walked and chewed gum without tripping? Heck, when's the last time you did anything without tripping?"
"I'll have you know that I'm not that bad!" I stop and start sniffling.
"What now?" Mamoru demands.
"I'm hungry!!"
He shrugs. "So let's eat."
"Eat?! What, praytell, do you expect us to eat?"
Mamoru motions to the boxes and shelves. "We're in the store room, what isn't there to eat?"
"Won't we get into trouble?"
"Naw," he grins, "I'll take full responsibility if we get into trouble. Besides, Mr. Nakamura used to know my father. It's not likely to be much of a reprimand."
Gotta give him credit for making some kind of effort of being civil.
My stomach growls again and his does the same thing a minute later. I can't help but laugh and for the first time since working with him, I hear him laugh too. It's a nice laugh, light and without the reserve he usually has around me. I like it, I decide, because it's a different side of him that I haven't ever seen.
We stop laughing and catch our breath and he smiles at me. In that instant I decide that I like his smile, too. As much as he's a pain sometimes, Mamoru is actually a pretty good looking guy. I fade into a day dream that I've had for years since I was a little girl about good looking men who fit the tall dark and handsome description. Oh yeah, I think, he definitely fits that description well. And then it hits me. I've been practically drooling over Mamoru for the last five minutes. Mamoru! That egotistical, son of a gun... handsome?! Yuck! The day I admit Mamoru is handsome is the day I say that I have natural grace!
"Usagi.." His voice draws my name out in a sing songy tone. "Earth to Usagi.."
I blink and his face is two inches away from mine. "Gaaahh!!!" He laughs and leans back as I clutch my heart and try to catch my breath. "What in the -? Why were you- ?" I gasp. "Mamoru, you baka, what were you thinking?!"
He shrugs. "I was thinking about getting something to eat when you spaced out - again. You do that a lot?"
I take a couple deep breaths before speaking. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! What would you have done if I just died right there?"
"I'm studying to be a doctor, you'd have lived."
I pout. "Just because you're studying to be one doesn't make you a doctor, you know."
"Yeah, I know. But any idiot knows CPR. You'd have been fine."
He leaps to his feet and starts going through some of the boxes. "Coffee, coffee, coffee..aha! Food! What do you want, Usa, muffin or biscotti?"
I'm still pouting so I don't answer.
"Hey now, ten minutes ago all you could think about was dinner and now you're playing the silent treatment because I scared you?" He holds up a muffin in one hand and a chocolate dipped biscotti in the other. "Which one?"
"Biscotti's the really hard one, isn't it?" Mamoru nods. "The muffin, I guess."
"Anything else?"
"What's there," I ask, getting up and joining him.
He shuffles through another box. "Bagels, sandwich bread..wait, I've completely forgotten about the fridge." We move over to the big refridgerator and rummage through. "Hmm..Pies, lots of pies."
"I can see, you know."
"Don't let me get in your way, then."
Mamoru grabs a slice of blackberry pie and grabs a fork out of nowhere. I decide on a blueberry cheesecake and the chocolate muffin I took earlier. I grin and before settling down, grab a stained tablecloth that I'd thrown in there earlier and smoothed it on the floor, figuring that if I was going to have to do suffer through a night with Mamoru, I was atleast going to enjoy this meal.
Mamoru smiles and joins me, bringing with him a couple of cups and a bottle of water.
"I can't believe we're stuck here," he says for the nth time. There's a change in his voice. I nod, enjoying every bite of my cheesecake.
"Mamoru," I say suddenly, "why do you want to be a doctor?"
He sighs. "Well, I guess it comes from this grandiose idea of really doing something to help people. Every doctor you ask says that and it's the truth. A lot of doctors will tell you they got into the medical field because their parents or grandparents were doctors. Others will say it's because the money is good. It's a lie. They wouldn't stick with it if those were the only reasons. Being a doctor is hard, yes, but it's one of the only professions where you can actually see the lives you're changing. I guess it's kind of a selfish reason but it's the truth." He takes a bite of pie and for a second is deep in thought. "I also like the challenge. I mean, you take all this information that's given to you in medical school and then memorize it. Once it's there all memorized, you learn to analyze it all, pick it apart, then memorize it all over again. And then, the fun part is where you get to actually use all that information. Everything you need to save someone's life is up here, " he taps his forehead, "just waiting for you to use it."
I smile. "Wow, sounds like you know exactly what you want."
"What about you? Know what you want to do with your life?"
I lean back on my hands and think. "I want to do a lot. I want to be a great performer like Minako-chan, I want to cook like Mako, I want to be a spiritual leader like Rei's going to be, I wish I was half as smart as Ami so I could go work with Bill Gates or someone. I want to do it all just once so by the end of it, I'll know exactly what it is I'm supposed to do."
"So do it."
"It's not that easy, I'm afraid."
"Why not?"
"I can't decide where to start first," I reply with a smile.
"Why not work with kids? You're the biggest 10 year old I know so you'd fit right in!"
That remark really stings. I mean, I know I'm immature sometimes but I had thought that it'd all begun to change over the past few months. I frown and before I can stop it, a tear forms and falls down my cheek.
"Hey, hey, Meatball Head, I didn't mean to make you cry! It was a joke."
"Yes, but I've tried so hard lately to not be so immature!" I sniff.
"Is that why you took this ridiculous job here?"
I nod. "I wanted to show my parents that I can be responsible. They don't even think I can handle sharing an apartment with two of my friends! I wanted to show them that it's possible for me to be away from their guidance and make it through okay!"
"Hey, now, I think you're doing pretty well." Mamoru said softy. "In fact, you're the best employee we've had. I mean, you've got a ton of energy, you never complain and you're great with the customers. In fact, so great that the repeat business has increased because of you! If you weren't such a meatball brained klutz you'd be perfect."
I look down. "Mamoru, do you hate me?"
The surprise in his voice is obvious. "What? Why would you think that?"
"Because you're always criticizing me, always calling me names. Just when I think I can like you, you call me a klutz or meatball head or something."
Mamoru scoots closer to me. "Look, I know I'm rough on you, sometimes. But it's nothing personal. I don't hate you. Actually, I kind of like you. I just tease you sometimes because.. well, it's hard to tell you how much I actually do like you."
"You're not just lying to make me feel better?"
I feel his hand lift my chin up and suddenly my hearts racing. "Do I look like I'm lying?"
I look into his clear blue eyes and the daydream I had earlier comes racing back. I am suddenly overcome with the desire to tell him off and I don't hold back. "You've got a lot of nerve, Mamoru Chiba! You think you're so important because you model and you're my boss and because you're going to be a doctor some day! Well, it doesn't excuse you from always making me feel worthless, you know! And you think just because you finally are nice to me that I'm going to kiss-"
I can't say anything more because Mamoru finally has found a way to shut me up. My first real kiss. I mean, I've kissed guys before, a lot of them, but this one is the first one I've actually felt like melting into the ground with. This one actually feels like it's supposed to. It's just like a movie, but oh so much better!
We part, breathless. "It's about time you did something productive," I grumble teasingly.
Mamoru grins. "You weren't too bad yourself, kid." He looks at his watch. "Oh, hey, it's getting late. We should probably try to sleep some tonight." My eyebrow raises as he leans back against the wall and pats the ground beside me. "Come on, you can use me as a pillow. Just don't drool on me or anything."
"Mamoru, you baka," I reply, chuckling.
"Sleep well, Usa."
I'm sound asleep when Mamoru gently rouses me. The door of the storeroom is open and Myoko Shinjun, the day manager, is standing in the doorway, her mouth open wide.
"Were you two here all night," she asks incredulously.
I look at Mamoru and then nod. "And you were able to keep from killing each other this whole time?!"
"Yeah, actually, it was.. nice."
"Wow, I can't believe you two made it through unscathed."
Mamoru winks at me. "Well, we're not totally unaffected by it."
I grin at him as he wraps his arm around my waist and we walk away, our hands in each other's back pockets and leaving Myoko to wonder about what really happened last night.
~The End~
AN: I got the inspiration for this fic because Faeriephoenix had a challenge thingy going here on FFn. She's got a list going on a web site which unfortunately I don't have with me at the moment. (If you're curious, email or leave a review or im me or something and I'll get you the link..) Anyway, dealing with a bad case of writer's blocked, this helped me get unstuck - even if temporarily - so I owe Faeriephoenix a big thank you. Hope you liked it! ^_~
Oh! Thanks to my pal, B-chan for the title!