Part 2
Mamoru finished his shower, and dried off completely in the big fluffy towel she'd given him, the towel itself was very warm and he dallied in getting dress because of it. He should buy towels like these, they were so comfortable and soft against his skin. He wrapped the towel around his waist, and was picking up the clothes she'd found for him. They looked like they would be too big, and he wondered if her father had any clothes from his skinnier days still.
The water was still running so he didn't have the opportunity to ask and he figured he might as well try the shirt. He had one arm in before he heard a thud. He dropped the shirt and ran to her parents' bedroom, he pulled open the door as it wasn't locked and found the bathroom door not too far away. He knocked on it, but the shower was still running.
He tried the knob, but this one was locked. He pounded on the door, but he got no answer, not even the water turning off to see what the noise was or if it even existed outside her imagination. He broke the door down, he'd deal with her outrage, but he'd rather deal with it than what he'd thought happened. The room was misty in the low heat and he could see her form through the frosted glass at the bottom of the shower, knees curled into her chest and tipped over.
He opened this door with haste and nearly tore it off its hinges and reached in to turn the water off. Her face was in the small amount of water gathered, and was still breathing, but was breathing in the water as well. He pulled her away from it, his hands slipping on her wet skin and almost dropped her head first back into the tilted tub. "Odango! Wake up!" He shouted as he searched around the room and found a matching fuzzy towel, this time pink instead of the white he was still wearing around his slim hips, though it too was slipping from place as he moved with rushed speed. He wrapped her in it, it throughly engulfed her and he rubbed her arms as he carried her to her parents' bed. He stripped the covers away and laid her down before bundling her up in those as well, her form was shaking so badly, now out of the heat of the bathroom. He laid down next to her and pulled her close. He used his free hand and opened one of her eyes. It was fully dilated and he swore, he tried to get her to wake up. He shook her, poked her in the side, anything that would stir a reaction out of her. How could she not tell him about the head injury? No wonder she didn't notice his change in Kamen out there, she'd passed out without his knowing it and only when he'd shifted her weight had she come to again.
The fear that gripped him in this moment, when he wasn't sure if she'd fallen into a coma or not, was thick on his tongue. He continued to try to wake her up, he begged her to return, and he took her face in his hands to stare directly down at her. He thought about the fairy tales he'd seen on her bookshelf, he'd laughed at their innocence, but if he remembered correctly, the one theme that seemed to run through all of them, was that a kiss could wake any sleeping beauty and everything was happy after that.
His head lowered towards hers when her eyes shifted under her lids and her face gained tension beneath his hands, the small moan distracted him from his efforts and he pulled away to look at her. She was struggling to lift those heavy lids and he urged her forward with words of encouragement. They lifted to reveal not clear blue eyes, but ones that were close enough, that he rejoiced in just seeing them. She blinked dazedly and confused up at him, and her eyes weren't focusing right, but at least she was conscious, and he'd have to ensure everything in his power to keep her that way.
She was saying something. It wasn't complete, but he caught: "Mamo....-chan?"
Her unknowing endearment, just because she was unable to say the whole word, gripped his heart with hope, but he pushed it aside as he knew it was no doubt short lived, she wasn't aware of it, and it wasn't intentional, it wasn't like she came up with the nickname. "I'm right here Usagi." He agreed, taking one hand away to sit her up against the headboard. It wrapped around her back, and they both realized, even in Usagi's fogged state that they were both still in a state of undress.
"I need to get clothes on." She almost wailed, but it wasn't to the extent that she normally could muster even when it was just on a word. He looked at her worriedly, this was not a good sign, but he had to respect her wishes.
"Will you be all right, if I return to your room, and do the same thing?" He needed to get nutrients into her and maybe get her down by the fire that he started, that was slowly warming the house.
She looked at him, not understanding for a moment before her eyes shifted away from his face to his bare chest and then lower towards where the towel was barely hanging on. She nodded as her eyes darted away and her face filled with red. Now that was a good sign and he chuckled as he pushed off of the bed and caught the towel before it fell away entirely and dashed towards her bedroom, pulling on his clothes quickly, least she fall again or fell back asleep. He should have known something was up when he'd found her, and at the very least when she ignored his concern about her eyes before the shower. She was struggling to remain upright, throughout their time together. He should have just become Kamen then and took her back to his place, at least there, the fire wouldn't have as many rooms its heat could escape out of, and he'd know where everything was and could have taken care of her properly.
He didn't take the effort to care that the clothes were baggy and hanging off of him, nor that the pants she had given him, ended mid calf while the sleeves were better, only ending above his wrists. He snatched up the sweater, throwing it on as he returned to Usagi's side, he didn't care if she finished dressing or not, he'd help her if he needed to.
---
Usagi buried herself under the covers, her face was flaming hot as she realized as Mamoru bolted for the door, that they had both been naked in the same bed. He obviously saw her undressed before wrapping her in a towel and carting her off to the bed. He was obviously disgusted by her as he couldn't wait to get away soon enough. She eventually managed to drag herself out of the bed, she was still unstable but she knew she had to wear something, he'd be back soon, no doubt worried about her blacking out like she did in the shower. Damn her body and its reactions. Nobody else would be so weak, Rei would have gotten up and would have been able to take down a youma before going off to sip lattes with a board meeting. Not that Rei had board meetings, at least, not really, but it wasn't the point. Makoto could have done the same thing and then cooked a hundred meals before going to sleep peacefully and waking up early the next day. None of the girls would have slowly risen to their feet and then clung onto an escape ladder, needing to be saved. They all would have brushed it off as if it were nothing, it was just a head injury and continue on.
Usagi didn't realize how bad the injury was though until she was slipping her shirt over her head, and her hand brushed the bump that was protruding from where it had met the corner of the building. When her hand drew away and smoothed down the tank top, the first layer in her arsenal, she realized her hand came away with blood. It wasn't a lot of it, but when she looked over at the pillow on her parents' bed, it too was stained with the red liquid. She quickly turned it over, before Mamoru could see it and washed her hand off in the sink before returning to her pile of clothes. She had one leg into her pants, thanking anyone listening for at least having her underwear, bra and shirt already on when he came flying back in.
He didn't say anything as he caught her underneath her armpits and sat her down on the edge of the bed, helping her put her feet into the pant legs. They were a pair of sweatpants she wouldn't wear outside for the life of her, but looked so warm and inviting when she pulled out her drawers. When his warm hand encountered her cool flesh of her calf, he looked up at her with a frown before helping her stand and wiggle into them. He probably thought she'd fall over had she tried it on her own, and in some cases that was true, and with the way she was feeling, he was probably right. He pulled on shirt after shirt over her head until she looked like she was sixty pounds heavier with all the weight and bulk of the shirts and sweater.
"Do you have a first aid kit in the house?" He asked, picking her up, despite the added weight, bridal style into his arms.
"I think the kitchen." She knew it was there, she'd had to dig into it the rare occasions an injury had gone unnoticed by her observant friends. She didn't want to get him alarmed though, but it was probably easy to shrug off, as she wasn't the most graceful person in the world. He nodded and pulling off the blanket from her parent's bed, brought her downstairs. There he settled her in front of the fireplace and wrapped her up in every blanket he could find before heading into the kitchen.
He came back out with the box and a couple of towels. Some were wet. He dabbed at her face, it stung but it would keep the infection from setting into the minuscule cuts. "Do you have any other injuries that might have happened out there?"
Usagi hesitated before reaching up and parting her hair, they both winced at the action. She figured if he was going to be doing this anyways, he might as well do it now. He leaned forward and inspected the cut, apparently it wasn't too deep but as he cleaned it out, she wanted to shrivel up and away from the antiseptic. "You'll need a shot. The water and the stuff in it were probably bad for such an injury and it could infect it in other ways." He quickly finished taking care of her head and held up an ice pack to it, a shiver went through her body. "I know, I know, but it'll help with the swelling. Do you need another blanket?"
Usagi's eyes were a little foggier than when he'd brought her down and he shook her shoulder suddenly that her eyes snapped back to only that slightly too much dilution instead of her about to faint face. "What!?"
"You cannot close your eyes, do you hear me?" He was in her face, making his demand known and she nodded unwillingly. "Good. Now I'm going to go get your medicine lined up. Hold this here."
For good measure, he dropped another blanket onto her already growing mass, and this one, he dropped around her shoulders, and locking even the arm she held up into its warmth. "Where have you found all of these?" She mumbled, her eyes growing heavy with the weight and warmth, but snapped them open again to look at him. He was frowning down at her, unsure if he could leave her, but she tried to reassure him. "I won't close my eyes."
He nodded at the almost promise and disappeared again for a few minutes, trying to sterlize anything that would be used on her. "Where are your batteries, flashlight and radio?" Any household would have these things, he did and he lived with a community of people but none ever bugged him on his top floor loft.
"In the basement, want me to go get them?"
"No!" He called out, and almost hurt himself in the process when his head whipped behind him to stop her. "It can wait, it has too, the basement might have flooded." It was cold, dark and damp down there anyways no doubt, all things he didn't want Usagi getting involved in at the moment. He opened the fridge, expecting to have to rummage around in it to find something suitable to eat, but instead found weeks worth of food. He chuckled, it looked like something Motoki would do with Makoto's help, create a lot of food at once, so he wouldn't have to deal with it later on when he didn't have the time to cook.
He took one of them out and threw into the microwave as the directions stated, with Usagi's eating habits, she'd no doubt finish most of it herself. Then realized that the microwave didn't work either, and cursed how dependent they all were on the household supplies and electricity. He would just have to put it on the fire, and hope it didn't burn. He found a bunny hand-hold timer and twisted the nose around until it was facing the direction he wanted and then let it go. It kind of looked like Usagi's namesake. He was chuckling again as he came out to her and her face fell as she saw the needle. She held out her hand, waiting for it, but refusing to look. He shook his head and sank onto the couch on his knees again beside her and removed the hand holding the ice pack. He carefully inserted the needle and pushed the liquid into her body. It was too late to ask her if she had any allergic reactions to any medicine, though, if she did, no doubt her parents wouldn't keep it around.
He replaced the hand holding the ice pack, but the hand was cold to the touch. "Why won't you tell me when you are feeling cold?" He wrapped her up and pulled her against his chest, rubbing her arms and back. He took the ice away from her and held it himself. "I can't help you, if you won't communicate."
There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. "Because if I do, I fear I will cry."
"I've seen you cry before." He reminded her gently and held her closer. "I need you to be able to tell me when something's wrong, you could have died in that shower if I wasn't here. It's important to keep the lines of communication open."
Usagi sighed and leaned her head against his chest. She reached forward and bundled her hands between his shirts, fisting into the bottom layer, but protected by the top and laid there, staring at the roaring fire. "I'm just a little cold." She admitted, despite the layers and warming fire. "I think the ice is causing it."
Mamoru nodded and took the pack away, the swelling would have to go down on its own, and the pain that would come soon, could be combated by the Advil he'd forced her to swallow once it kicked in. He'd made a calculated risk with the Advil, but he couldn't watch her in pain and he almost sighed when she snuggled into his chest, becoming comfortable, and with the heat, it was comfortable for him too. He sighed and almost fell asleep himself, being wrapped up in so much warmth, it was only when she couldn't fight back the small tremor that he realized that she was sick. There wasn't much he could except to continue holding her and making her drink water.
That's when he realized that he'd put food in the fireplace and the timer was beeping at him that it was done. He shifted the bundle on his chest and she made a sound of protest. It was too warm under her with all the blankets and fire lapping heat at them. He kept her wrapped up but carried her into the kitchen and set her down at the table. He filled a glass with water, and made sure it wasn't compromised by the weather outside, he turned his back on her, so he could purify it with a little bit of magic that he had discovered not long ago. It turned a dark gold color for a moment before it lapsed back into its clear color, if it had turned purple, it might have needed extra work, but it was pure.
He set it in front of her with the stern order to drink it. Mamoru went to go retrieve the food before it burned and despite the pot holders he was complaining by the time he got back into the kitchen and dropped the pan onto the stove. "Ouch, hot!" He shook his hands out and tried to cool them down. They wouldn't have burnt. He glanced back at Usagi, to ensure she was awake, and then returned to his task at hand, thinking about her as he dished food onto two plates. When he sat down across from her, she was lost in the blankets but at least she finished the glass. He filled it up again and started into his food. He was half way through his helping when he glanced at hers, she was sipping the water, but only pushing around her food. She hadn't touched it otherwise.
"Usagi, eat, it'll return some of your strength." He'd never known her to refuse food.
Her nose scrunched up. "I don't know if I can eat it. My stomach doesn't feel that good."
"At least eat a bite, you can have more later." Mamoru snagged her plate and propped a bite on a fork. She reluctantly ate it and then he put the plate back in the middle of table so she'd have access to it. He finished his portion and then when she still hadn't bothered with it, he wrapped up her plate and put everything back in the fridge. "Are you feeling any better?"
She nodded sleepily. "Yeah, I'm not shivering anymore." Usagi watched him come over and and put a hand against her forehead, she didn't feel like she had a fever, he feared for pneumonia at first but it was probably going away since she wasn't out there long enough. He nodded and scooped her up again, she was still a little cold, but going back in front of the fire place would help. It was only ten o'clock, surely her parents would be braving it to come home, but maybe they were still stuck there, until the power would come back on again. There had to be back up generators in those kind of places.
"Have your parents called yet?" He asked, setting her on the couch and squatting in front of her.
"No, the power's out, remember?" He nodded and she went on. "Besides, it's doubtful they realize what's happening yet. They're probably still on a flight to South America."
"They're gone?" Mamoru questioned, gripping her upper arms.
"Yeah, for two weeks." She mumbled, waking up again with his intensity, her eyes just looked tired now, most of the dilution was gone but it still lingered. "Why?"
It made so much more sense now why there was food stacked up in the fridge like it was. She was going to be alone in this large house for two weeks? Without anyone to oversee her? Sure she was sixteen, but still, what if she'd gotten sick during the time? He realized he shouldn't be one to talk, as he lived alone himself, and so did her friend Makoto, and Rei only had an old grandfather to care for her. Ami and Minako weren't much better off, having parents but not having them around ever. But it clearly showed that Usagi didn't know what to do to manage on her own where everyone else had learned because they had to. He probably wasn't being fair, even with the head injury, she managed to get them both home rather than be so confused as to get lost. She was still thinking most clear thoughts, not telling him had been a huge indicator of how unclear she really was.
"You don't have a cell phone?" He questioned as he rearranged her to be more comfortable on the couch while he went to her wet school bag, she wouldn't be happy to learn that all the homework she never did was completely ruined, or rather she'd be ecstatic, but if he was to be with her this weekend, and he was intending to stay all weekend, he'd help her do it. "Where's your brother? They left today?"
"Yea, today. Shingo's at a friend's for the duration. No cell, never really needed one." She settled back into the sofa. "If you're going to have me stay awake, you're going to have to talk to me."
Mamoru frowned, but his words waylaid anything she could imagine it meaning. "I can do that." He took the other side of the couch and propped her feet into his lap so he'd have easy access to a body part to stir her back into the living. "How old is your brother?"
"Thirteen, and a pain in the ass." She responded, leaning against the arm rest and looking at him with a sense of wonder as he laughed.
"I'm sure little brothers are that. I know I wasn't the sweetest kid on the block."
"Who said that changed?" Usagi shot the words out before she could stop and he tickled the closest foot to him. She squirmed and tried to get away as she was being tortured. "All right, all right! You win, I was just kidding!"
He laughed and replaced the blankets over her feet, she was at least waking up more if she could tease him. It was almost like returning to the way they were, but this caused a change, it would never be completely the same, and he knew he cared more for her, the fear he'd felt out in the storm had made him realize it. She had to realize it to, with the way he treated her.
She did, he was just so tender with her, and the look in his eyes when he'd taken care of her, he had more heart than even she had realized. She always knew he had more heart than he showed, that's why she didn't just walk away from him during their mini battles. He either had just great-side bed manner or was really worried about her and not just because she hit her head. He could have acted so differently and taken advantage of the situation, he could have had blackmail if he wanted her to do something for him in the future and teased her unmercifully in the mean time.
He didn't do that, he didn't even mention seeing her naked, had only laughed when she blushed at seeing him in the same state. Now he was finally getting to know her and about her. She tilted her head to look at him. "You know, I don't know why anyone would think you were bad, you really are one of the sweetest guys I've ever met. Your parents must be proud of the man you've become."
Mamoru stilled for a moment and carefully regarded her, but she seemed unaware of what she'd just stumbled into and she was also so perceptive, perhaps it had been one of the reasons he kept her at bay, because if she got close, and she would have, she would have figured it out and he hadn't wanted her pity. It would by sympathy she'd share with him now, he knew that, knew her well enough that she wouldn't pity him and so he rested his hands on her shins, and leaned towards her slightly. "Thank you Usagi. I'm sure you would be correct if they had lived past my sixth birthday."
She gasped and without his knowledge had flung herself into his arms an hugged him tight. "I'm so sorry."
He held her tight, and with an arm he managed to untangle grabbed up a couple of blankets wrapping it around her. "It's all right. I hardly remember them. I know they're watching over me every day, helping to guide me. I'm sorry if I have been a little coarse with you over these last few months with you."
"No, no I understand, it's hard to let someone close when you're afraid of loosing them, especially after you've already lost so greatly." She was sniffing back her tears as she tried to offer him her comfort.
He nodded but held her even closer. "Don't worry about that now. We're talking about you."
"I want to know, do you have anyone worrying about you right now?" She looked up at him so innocently and curious.
Mamoru chuckled and tapped her nose. "I think I do."
"Oh! Who-" She caught herself as his actions became clear and she blushed, burying her head back into his chest. "You will always have me worrying about you, but anyone at home?"
"No, I was never adopted." He admitted, adjusting her so she was laying along him a little better instead of sitting on him in the position she fell in.
"If you were anything like you are now, I just don't understand it." She mused, looking sadden by the idea that he'd had nobody growing up.
"I wouldn't worry about it odango. I don't think I wanted to be adopted, really, I would rather live on my own then have parents again who weren't really mine. I was a rotten child too, I was always being a trouble maker, and when I wasn't I had my nose stuck in a book. It was then I realized that it was probably easier to just do well in school then concentrate on anything else. Books were easier than people." He shook his head, looking down at her with a frown, she was getting sleepy again, now that she wasn't put on the spot and having to answer questions. He glanced at the clock, it was now just half past ten. "How'd we get here? Odango, what's your favorite color?"
"Hmm? Oh... I think black."
"You think?" He mused, laughing internally but wanting to know her meaning behind that, how could she not be sure, and to have such a dark color? "I've seen your room, it's like pink exploded in there."
"Yeah, pink's my favorite color, I guess. But black's really grown on me, and blue."
"Why's that?"
Her breathing was becoming deeper and more rhythmic, and listening to it, was drawing him into that sleepy place as well. "Its... color." He missed everything in there, and jerked her forward in a sudden movement, her eyes snapping open at the action. "Sorry." She breathed and pushed away. "It's just so warm and comfortable."
She tried to push away and take her spot across from him again but he just adjusted her so she was sitting up next to him and kept an arm around her shoulders. "You're right, it is very warm in here. How are you feeling?" He put a hand on her bare skin, it was warmer than before. "I think you could shed some layers." He pulled away a few blankets but kept the warmer ones still securely around her. "Is that better?" She nodded, and he sought for a new topic to question her on. "What's your favorite movie?"
This continued for awhile and around Midnight, she couldn't blame the sagging of her eyes anymore on the heat, though it no doubt still played a role. "Mamoru-chan, I'm so very tired. Surely a little sleep won't be bad?" She couldn't believe she'd been awake for almost eighteen hours. She hadn't slept very well the night before either, as she'd been dragged from her warm bed to go face down a youma.
He hesitated, looking into her sleep laden eyes and then nodded. "We can try it, but I have to wake you up every few hours."
With a pout at that idea she agreed. He brought her, surprisingly back to her parent's room. "Where are you going?" She asked in alarm when he turned to leave.
"Going to go get a few candles to keep this room warmer, don't worry, I won't be leaving you." He glanced around the room. "It's probably not appropriate to be in here, but it'd be awfully cramp in your bed, when we could be sharing this one instead." It was a tease, in a sense, and she smiled blissfully as she settled in, she'd always liked this bed, it was always so comfortable. He came back with a tray full of candles. The first thing he'd done when he'd gotten in and checked on everything was to light a fire and close all windows, lock them and pull the shades, trying to keep what remaining heat there was in, so he hadn't had a chance to look outside yet. He lit the candles and placed them around the room, where they could burn all night, without worrying about starting a fire. He slipped into bed with the blond, pulling her close before pulling the blanket up over them.
There was many reasons he wanted to share the bed with her, first of all, to be close to, second to be near in case he was needed for anything and the third was to keep body heat and use less resources by trying to heat two rooms. He would have kept the fire running downstairs and slept there, but the couch wasn't the optimal place to get good sleep, especially after the day they'd just had. They needed good sleep, no matter how interrupted it would be. He set his watch for two hours and pulled her close.
"On the good side." Usagi was mumbling as she found her way towards him as if gravity was pulling her there. "We don't have to worry about being caught up in a youma attack with weather like this, nobody will be out and there will be nobody to attack."
Mamoru froze momentarily as he looked at her, and he wondered if for a moment she had actually seen his transformation, but then her words set in and he chuckled. "Yeah, it's a pretty good bet. Though I think the senshi are still patrolling the city to ensure it from happening on a smaller scale." Mamoru said playing along with the random thought.
Usagi shook her head, a grimace coming across her features. "I doubt it, it would be so cold in a skirt that short, no, I bet they're all snuggled into their beds. Kamen and Moon sharing one on this cold night in a nice and toasty room, like they always do."
Mamoru chuckled at the image. "I only hope so."
Neither knew how close to the truth Usagi's words were, only knowing half of the secret, not realizing that despite never sharing a bed before, and it wasn't exactly toasty, Kamen and Moon were in fact sleeping in the same bed together this night.
EAN: So it didn't work out exactly like I was planning it was supposed to be more of a spoof, where they got locked in together, but didn't solve anything as in the beginning they just argued, then afterwards they just sat apart glaring at each other or the ceiling. When found nothing had been resolved, and they continued the same way they usually did, because it wasn't long enough and they knew they'd been set up. That obviously didn't happen, because I was conflicted in which story I really wanted to write. So this is what you've gotten... And with probably one or so more parts coming up! ;P