AN: So, I've had this idea spinning in my head for awhile (not that it's an original one by any means) and then an anon on Tumblr brought it up, again, and I just couldn't resist.
I think this fic will end up being a lot of fun, as it includes NUMEROUS, cliched tropes, and who doesn't love those when Usagi and Mamoru are involved?!
A huge thanks to my beta, FloraOne for her constant support and excitement about this silly story. Every writer should have someone like you in their corner, love 3333
Please let me know what you think, and thank you so much for reading!
oOo
She paced back and forth outside the fruit parlor in the frigid December air, ignoring the concerned looks from passersby, trying to summon the courage she needed to walk in and face the mess she knew she'd created for herself.
Usagi knew Mamoru would already be there waiting, and seeing as she was perpetually late, she knew he'd probably expect her not to arrive on time. She'd texted him the night before and asked if they could meet at ten sharp the next morning, and he'd thankfully agreed without much protest or questioning.
She really hadn't meant to get him mixed up in all this. Usagi liked Mamoru! As much as one could like arrogant, stuck-up, unfairly good looking, future doctors. She'd known him for years, now. Since they were both high schoolers bickering in the streets of Juuban. And it wasn't her fault that his face and name was the first that came to mind when her mother asked for the name of this mysterious boyfriend Usagi kept going on about.
You see, Ikuko Tsukino desperately wanted to see her daughter happy, to the point where she kept dragging in men she met in any number of places (the park, the grocery store, her husband's office) to come meet her lovely, single daughter.
And as much as Usagi appreciated the effort, she was perfectly content to let love happen naturally. She knew it would come one day, and even if it didn't, her life was full of wonderful friends and family that filled her to the brim.
So, she did what any good daughter would do. She lied.
In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best decision, especially considering the predicament she was in now, but how could she have possibly anticipated that her parents would plan a little getaway up into the mountains for a weekend, and that her mother would insist on Usagi bringing her amazing boyfriend, Mamoru, along for the ride?
Usagi had declined at first, obviously, giving any excuse she could think of for why Mamoru would simply be too busy to go, but when her mother had asked her earlier that week what time they'd be picking Mamoru up that weekend, the only possible solution was to come and convince the baka to play along with the charade.
She took a deep breath in, squared her shoulders, and walked as gracefully as she could muster into the parlor (she was fairly certain no one saw her trip over the mat just inside the door), where she spotted the familiar head of inky, black hair bent over a book almost immediately.
After another quick, internal pep talk, Usagi slid into the booth across from Mamoru without a word, annoyance creeping through her at the smirk that raised one corner of his mouth.
Without looking up, he turned a page, and spoke in a smooth voice. "How kind of you to grace me with your presence, Odango Atama."
Usagi grit her teeth and bit her tongue to keep from lashing back at him, reminding herself that she needed him, as Minako's voice flitted in her mind with something about catching more fireflies with honey than vinegar.
But apparently she'd taken too long to answer, as Mamoru's face grew concerned, and he quickly closed his book. "Usagi? Are you ok?"
The sound of her actual name shook her from her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, sorry, Mamoru. You know me, spacy as ever," she said, with a nervous giggle.
He lifted one eyebrow in response. "Right. So...mind telling me why I'm here?"
Usagi glanced down to her hands in her lap, and began to wring them together in an effort to comfort herself. "Well...I...I need to ask a favor of you."
Mamoru's face was void of any readable emotion. "Ok, what can I do for you? Do you need tutoring or something?"
She probably did, but that could wait until another time. "No, no, my classes are going fine. I might actually declare a major one of these days."
He smirked again. "Will wonders never cease?"
Usagi was unable to keep her tongue from sticking out of her mouth at him. "Baka," she replied with a grin.
Mamoru chuckled at her before continuing. "So, if it's not tutoring, what is it?"
Her eyes grew wide, as she stared at him, the full weight of what she was about to have to convince him to do crashed into her. She groaned and buried her head in her arms on the table, with a muffled, "I can't do this."
Within moments she felt Mamoru's large hands shake her gently. "Odango, come on, whatever it is can't be that bad. You know I'll help you if I can, right?" he said in what she could almost imagine was a comforting manner.
Usagi peeked up at him from the safety net she'd made for herself, and when her eyes finally met his, he smiled that disarming, half-smile that always made her feel things in the pit of her stomach that she had grown very used to ignoring.
For the briefest of moments, sitting there and staring at him, openness and warmth spreading through her, she could almost convince herself this was going to work.
She sat up straight, and before she knew it the words will spilling out in a rush. "I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend!"
Usagi flinched as soon as she was finished, her heart racing as she watched his stunned face begin to process her request. She braced herself for his inevitable reaction and subsequent rejection, and her stomach fell when he started shaking his head slowly.
"You...need me to what?" he finally managed to fumble out in a shaky voice, after what felt like ten minutes had passed.
She flinched again, feeling the need to argue for herself why this wasn't quite as bad as it seemed. "It's not my fault! Well, I mean, I guess it is kind of…" she said scratching the back of her neck with a blush.
"Odango-"
"But my mom kept trying to set me up with all these guys, and yeah, some of them were super cute, but come on! So, the only logical thing I could do was make up a boyfriend. And then she booked this trip, and of course I told her you couldn't go, because, well, obviously!"
"A trip?"
"She just went ahead and booked it. Can you believe that? I mean, it is really so gorgeous in Yuzawa this time of year, with the mountains and the snow, and the cabin my parents rented is amazing. Plus, there's all the skiing."
"Uh, I don't ski-"
"And it's only for a weekend! Not like you'd be stuck with me for a month or anything like that."
"Usagi-"
"Oh, and there's plenty of room for us to sleep in different rooms, of course. Wouldn't that be so awkward?!"
"Usagi-"
"I mean you can't possibly say no to a free trip, right? It's winter break, and even a crazy med student like you has time off, and we both know you're a hermit who doesn't have a social life, so it's not like you'd already have plans."
"Usagi!" Mamoru finally shouted, and she nearly jumped out of the seat she was sitting in at his outburst.
"God, I know it's really difficult for you, but could you slow down for all of two seconds, please?" he continued on with an expression that was a mixture of annoyed and amused.
"Sorry," she squeaked out, certain that her cheeks had never been more red in her life, and that included the time Minako loudly explained different types of condoms to her in the middle of Family Mart.
Mamoru looked her dead in the eye before saying with a quiet assuredness that Usagi envied, "Ok."
Usagi sucked in a startled breath. Did he just say what I think he said?
"Ok, what?" she practically whispered, not knowing if he would have heard her had he not been staring rather intently at her face.
She thought she might have imagined the small twitch of a smile that appeared on his lips, as it was gone in an flash. "As in, ok, I'll pretend to be your...boyfriend."