Mamoru never had trouble sleeping alone before.

Sleep itself was always somewhat of a troublesome necessity in his life. Dreams had always haunted him; if it wasn't flashes of the horrific accident of which he had no conscious memory, it was the enigmatic pleas from a princess he couldn't identify. Then, it was dire warnings about Usagi's death, then it was The Silence ending the world in red and black and mouths opened in unheard screams. Lately, his sleep had been mostly dreamless, which wasn't comforting - too much like death.

No, sleep was never a particular friend to Mamoru. But that he was used to.

It was only now that he looked at his bed skulking in the corner of his room like an enemy. It wasn't the dreams (or lack thereof), or his general restlessness which he'd had his whole life to adjust to.

No, now sleep meant something brand new. It meant hours without interaction with the world.

Hours with no proof he was actually alive.

"What are you doing?" Suspicion colored over the sleepiness in Luna's voice.

Usagi cringed a little, one arm already through her jean jacket, leggings pulled up beneath her pink nightgown. "Erm..." She pulled on her lip a little with a sheepish shrug. "I... kinda wannagocheckonMamochan," she mumbled.

"It's the middle of the night," Luna lectured, shaking her head. "I'm sure Mamoru is fast asleep. He has classes in the morning you know."

Usagi sighed. It was true, Mamoru was incredibly busy making up classes he'd missed while being - she abruptly ended her thoughts there, but Luna's softening gaze made it obvious she'd followed Usagi's train of thought as well.

"I just... wanna make sure he's..." She shrugged helplessly. "I called but... I got his answering machine." Her voice hitched a bit.

Hiding her sympathetic look in a disapproving shake of her head, the cat stood up and stretched her lean body. "I'm sure he just slept through your call. I'll go check on him," she said. "I'll make sure he's safe and alive and then will you go to sleep? And stop the nonsense idea of galavanting around the city at all hours of the night?"

"I guess," she pouted a bit. She'd wanted to see Mamoru herself - it'd been a while since she'd had any real time with him. But Luna's gaze held no room for argument. "Thanks," she threw out, only a little grudgingly, Luna leapt to the window and gave Usagi a cat-smile on her way out.

It was about an hour later that Luna returned to see Usagi still awake, much to her guardian's chagrin.

"So? Was he asleep?" Usagi asked, "Did he look like he was having nightmares? Did you wake him? Or was he peaceful?" her eyes turned dreamy for a moment, "He looks so peaceful when he's sleeping. Like a little boy..."

"Sure, sure," Luna said, quickly. She patted herself a little downy spot on Usagi's bed and made to lay down. "His place was fine, no sign of anything strange."

"Luna," Usagi's voice lowered, eyes narrowed.

The cat sighed, looked up and Usagi and admitted: "He wasn't there."

The all-night cafe was harshly lit, noisy from the clientele and the electronic staccato of the panchiko parlor next door. A strange sort of sanctuary.

A giggling group of post-nomikai college girls clustered at a nearby table, giggling over their coffees with red faces and bleary eyes, voices loud and happy. Stirring the spoon in his tea, Mamoru couldn't help being reminded of Usagi and the girls; since he'd returned, their dynamic so different without Chibi-Usa there, with their newfound maturity as high school juniors, their talk peppered with references he didn't understand and inside jokes that didn't include him after his long absence from their lives. From her life.

The tired, 'welcome' called out from the two employees was the only indication someone else had entered the shop, and it wasn't until Mamoru felt the slight tingling feeling of someone's gaze that he turned around.

She smiled.

"I knew if I wandered around long enough, I'd run into you."

He blinked, fighting the tug at his lips as best he could. It was best to be firm - Usagi shouldn't be out this late. Not that she couldn't take care of herself (and then some), but it was the middle of the night and she needed to sleep. But then she dimpled a sweet smile, the one that rendered him helpless.

"You always do," he answered.

They went back together, Usagi tsking a bit at Mamoru's perfectly made bed. "You didn't even try to sleep," she admonished. "You know, even if you feel restless sometimes just laying down all cozy will - what?"

"Not everyone is as talented at sleeping as you, Odango Atama," he said, and he realized he was smiling. Hadn't stopped smiling since he saw her in the cafe like she'd answered a call he didn't know he had sent.

She'd shed her jacket and leggings, and sat cross-legged on the bed in her nightgown, tilting her head and wrinkling her nose at the nickname. He couldn't believe she'd gone out to look for him in her nightie, hair half-heartedly pulled into pigtails, sneakers shoved over bare feet. What a ridiculous girl. What a ridiculous, wonderful girl.

After donning the pajamas he kept in drawer specifically for when Usagi and Chibi-Usa would stay over (normally he slept in only boxers, but for obvious reasons that was eschewed when the girls were there), and brushing his teeth, he'd reentered his bedroom to find Usagi quietly looking out the window. The city sparkled below, the air thick with light. Tokyo was never dark.

Someday, he'd have to take her somewhere where she could see the sky. The thought came unbidden and almost irresistible - to just take her hand and run away to somewhere away from everything. Just him, just her. Just for the little bit of time they had before they once again belonged to everybody.

Instead, he just let her climb in bed next to him.

Usagi took his hand, curling his fingers through his. "We still fit, right, Mamo-chan?" her voice was small, so different from the boisterous bossiness when she had been been ordering him to get ready for bed, and to try to sleep.

He looked at their intertwined hands, resting on his stomach. "We'll always fit," he said, in a comforting voice. Things were different now, and Usagi never did well with different. He needed to reassure her. "You ... it's us." She bit her lip and he released her hand and shifted over to face her, reaching up to caress her face. "It was always us. It will always be us."

She kissed him.

It was something new, the fact that she'd just kiss him herself without hinting and tugging his sleeve and puckering her lips and waiting for him to kiss her. But it wasn't something he thought he'd have any trouble getting used to. She was changing. He had changed.

But her lips were still so sweet, her skin so soft. He ran his fingers through the soft curls of hair around her ear and neck, as her arms wound around his shoulders. They kissed deeply, languidly. He swept his tongue into her mouth, seeking more of her familiar sweetness, as comforting as it was intoxicating. She pressed herself closer to him, hitching her leg up against his, and he felt his heart shudder at the rush of desire that threatened to overtake him.

This wasn't as innocent as it should be, as he needed it to be, right now.

So he pulled back, kissing her nose and brushing her hair back from her forehead. "We'll always fit, Usako." She gave a small half-smile and nodded. Convinced. Maybe just for now, but convinced.

"G'night, Mamo-chan," she mumbled, already yawning and rubbing her eyes. She curled under his arm, head on his shoulder. The blonde strands tickled his nose, itched his neck, surrounded him with the soft perfume of her shampoo.

"Stay," he murmured, needlessly, as an unexpected and heavy sleepiness fogged his brain. It was a needless request, Usagi was curled up in his arms, practically asleep, clearly not planning going anywhere until morning. But he said it anyway, and she hummed a sweet acquiesce.

He tried to say his next works out loud but wasn't sure his lips actually moved. The words were lost in the surprisingly peaceful way sleep was settling over him like a blanket, safe with this girl in his arms.

Marry me, Usako.