One Missed Call
By: InitialA
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.
"Ah, yes, yes, thank you very much. Good night!" Mamoru smiled as his friends drunkenly stumbled down the hall to the elevators. It was a good thing they only lived one floor down. He closed the door with a sigh, and draped his coat over the back of a chair.
He shivered; he checked the thermostat to make sure the heat was on—indeed it was. It was colder in Massachusetts than back home. He still wasn't used to a Christmas where snow was not only expected, but piled in drifts along the roads and sidewalks.
Christmas.
With an ache in his chest, he reached for his mobile. He'd spoken to Usagi the night before, her Christmas morning, when she'd called him on her new phone in excitement. He glanced at the clock. It was a little after one in the morning, so Usagi would (in a perfect world) be awake and able to talk at 3pm in Japan… He hit 'send' and waited; the American ringback tone was still unfamiliar to him, and he was distracted enough by it that he was startled by the cheerful Japanese woman declaring that the person he was trying to call had not set up their voicemail yet. Mamoru smiled ruefully. 'Usako…'
It would have been an expensive call anyway. He'd e-mail her later. It wasn't quite the same as talking to her, but it was cheaper, and she was getting better about using less punctuation and emoticons (he'd actually kill Minako if she added emojis to Usagi's phone).
There was just enough alcohol in his system that he didn't care to change out of his nicer clothes before falling into the bed. His friends had been very kind about letting him join their families for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, but he was still just nineteen and alone for the holidays. Perhaps if the last few holidays hadn't been surrounded by Usagi and her insistence on giving them one-hundred-and-ten-percent, it wouldn't be quite so bad. And maybe it was the alcohol talking, but seeing the his friends' parents doting on them and how kind they had been to get him even the smallest gift to make him feel included… well, it made him miss his Usako, that was all.
He was dozing when the phone rang. His arms weren't quite awake when he made a grab for it, and he fumbled a few times before managing to answer it. "Ah? Usako, you called back."
-Mamo-chan! Of course I did! Why didn't you leave a message though?—
"Your voicemail isn't set up."
-You have to do that?—
Mamoru smiled. "Yes, love, you have to do that. Have Ami-chan help you."
-Ah, okay,- Usagi giggled. –Mamo-chan, I miss you. How are you? Isn't it late?—
"It's a little late, but… I just wanted to tell you Merry Christmas again. It just ended for me."
-Mamo-chan…-
"Are you out shopping with the girls?"
-Ah, yes, but Mako-chan is with Ami-chan, and she's stuck in the bookstore because she can't decide which book to buy, and Minako-chan is trying to make Rei-chan buy her a crepe because she spent her Christmas money already on a new dress, and Rei-chan is trying to save her money…-
Usagi went on, happily filling him in on the minute details of the day, and how Christmas had gone in the Tsukino household after their initial conversation. Mamoru was on the bed, and only after he realized that Usagi had gone into details that he'd heard before did he glance at the clock. "Usako… I don't want your father to kill me for driving up your phone bill."
-Oh… oh, right, of course. Sorry, I didn't… I just miss talking to you all the time.—
"I know, Usako. I miss you too."
-We'll talk again next week, right?—
"Yeah, we'll talk next week. I'll write to you in the morning too."
He could hear her smile. –Right. I think I can do e-mail on this thing too, I'll have Ami-chan show me! I can write you all the time now!—
"I can't wait," Mamoru smiled, thinking of all the half-finished or one-word e-mails he was about to receive while she was figuring it out.
-I love you, Mamo-chan!—
"I love you too, Usako."
He didn't remember hanging up and falling asleep.
The next week went rather quickly, as school holidays are wont to do, and Mamoru found himself at an acquaintance's New Year's Eve party. Almost everyone there was paired off with someone else; it was easy to tell who were newly together, because all they talked about was how romantic kissing at midnight was going to be. Mamoru felt a pinch in the romantic part of his soul when he realized he was both jealous and a little revolted by these declarations. He, Chiba Mamoru, revolted by declarations of love! He'd never write haiku again if he kept up that attitude.
But again, perhaps it was the loneliness talking, after it danced a waltz with the alcohol at the party. He'd talked to Usagi at midnight her time, and between Minako's party plans and the Tsukino's family time during the day, he didn't expect to hear from her until she got around to e-mailing him back (which, he was pleased to find, she was quite good at on her phone. Ami had messaged him separately to let him know she'd taught Usagi how to use the voice command)
So he was fairly surprised when, at three minutes to midnight, his phone started buzzing in his pocket. Everyone was starting to crowd into the TV room to watch the ball drop in Times Square, so he ducked out onto the back patio. "Usako? What's wrong?"
-Mamo-chan! I wanted to call you at midnight so you weren't lonely!—
He blinked a few times. "Usako…"
-Mamo-chan would never say so, but you called last week because it was Christmas and you were lonely, right? I didn't want you to feel that way again.—Her voice took on a worried tone. –I was right, wasn't I? And it's not midnight yet?—
Mamoru chuckled. He should have known that she would catch on to him eventually. The sound of people counting down from 30 echoed even outside. "It's thirty seconds to midnight."
Usagi shrieked with glee. –I got it right! See, I knew I could figure out the time zones eventually! Wait until I tell Rei-chan!—
10… 9… 8…
"Usako, I really appreciate this."
4…3…2…
-Happy New Year, Mamo-chan.—
"Happy New Year, Usako. I'll be home for the next one."