A/N: Here is chapter three! I hope you enjoy it! :) Also, I'm sorry about the poor indention, etc... I don't have Word and can't shell out the money to buy it so when I transfer documents using OpenOffice it comes out all... not great.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon!
"But Mama I don't want to move!" Eiji protested, eyes full of hot tears. She had just sat down with him Wednesday afternoon to explain to him their situation- well, some of it. She neglected to tell him she was now, supposedly, engaged... or that he was going to have a stepfather. She figured the news of him moving would be enough.
"I know, baby... but where we're going... it will be a lot bigger. More room."
"I like it here!"
"I do, too... but I promise things will be wonderful where we're going." She was on her knees in front of him, at his height level, and wiped his tears. "Really... you'll have more room to play. A bigger bedroom... everything." She didn't honestly know if she was telling him the truth. In fact, she only assumed Mamoru Chiba lived on a large estate, with a large house... and plenty of room for the three of them.
"What... what about school?" He asked.
"Well, you'll stay in the same school."
"So just changing houses?" He hiccuped.
"Yes, baby... just houses." She looked sympathetic. She kissed his forehead again.
"Ok, Mama..." He rubbed his eyes. "I promise I'll be strong for you..."
"Thank you, Eiji... now your aunts are coming over this evening and we're going to order us all a pizza! Won't that be fun?" She was proud that she worked a smile and enthusiastic nod out of him. It also helped that when Makato, Mina, Rei and Ami came over they brought presents for him, and spoiled him with attention. "Will you help Mama pick up your toys?" He nodded again and ran about, picking up cars, trucks and action figures and carrying them all to his toy box in his bedroom.
Moments later the door knocked and Usagi was nearly knocked out of the way as four girls barged into her living room.
"Aunties!" Eiji cried, racing towards them.
"Ohhh little Eiji!" Mina grinned.
"He's not so little anymore!" Makato boasted.
"I know, you've grown so much, Eiji! A young man now." Rei smiled.
"And your mother told me you've been making such good grades!" This, of course, came from Ami. They all took their turns hugging Eiji before reaching in their purses to pull new action figures for him.
"Thank you, aunties!" He grinned, hugging them again, before taking his new treasures to his room to open them.
"He has so many toys as it is..." Usagi sighed, but she was smiling.
"That's what we're here for..." Rei sounded offended.
"Yeah. We have to spoil him until he's so rotten... if I remember correctly that's how you were!" Mina joked.
"Mmhmm..." Usagi eyed her.
"So, what's going on?" Makato asked.
"Yes... what is the big emergency...?" Ami questioned.
Usagi opened her mouth to answer, then paused and walked to her purse. She pulled out a little red box Mamoru had given her earlier that day and set it on the table. The girls looked at it curiously.
"Usagi that looks an awful lot like..."
"It is."
Rei plucked the box up in her hand and opened it.
"Oh my God!" She shouted.
"Usagi... that thing is huge!" Makato added.
"When did... How did..." Mina could not find the words.
"Dr. Mamoru Chiba." Usagi said, a little disgusted.
"Your boss?" Ami looked at her, wide eyed. Usagi opened her mouth to explain- making sure to add in all of the details of how this fell upon her. Including her brief meeting with Mr. Chiba himself when he gave her the ring.
She was called into his office and, with her heart pounding, made her way down the long hallway to see him.
"Usagi." He greeted.
"Dr. Chiba."
"I'll accept if you want to treat me so formally at work, Usagi... but eventually you will need to call me Mamoru."
"Mamoru." She said bitterly. He smiled. "What do you need?"
"Come here." He motioned for her to come over to his desk. She warily approached him, keeping her arms uncomfortably folded across her chest. "This is for you." He slid the box across the desk.
"No, no..." Usagi started.
"Open it." He ordered. She picked up the box and slowly opened it, her mouth opening slightly in sheer amazement of the ring's beauty.
"There's... no way..." She whispered.
"Start wearing it immediately."
"Mamoru." When she said his name, without any hint of disgust, he smiled. A real smile. It made her heart stop.
"Take it home first. Try it on. If it needs any adjusting, let me know."
"..."
"This makes it official, Usagi. We are engaged..." When she still had no words for him he stood up and kissed her softly. She stepped back- earning another smile. "You may go back to work now." She turned, box in hand, and rushed out of his office.
"He sounds like a pig!" Makato made a face.
"You are going to marry THE Dr. Mamoru Chiba?" Ami looked bewildered. "Usagi, that man is known..."
"I know!" Usagi sighed. "I know... I've worked with the man for weeks now. I know how important he is..."
"More than that... he's known for all of the famous women he's seen!" Ami informed her. "So rich and handsome... women flock to him."
"I know that, too..." Usagi grumbled.
"But he hasn't been in any news for a while now... something about really getting into work." Mina assured her. "So maybe he's changed his ways."
Usagi thought of Asami, red eyed as she left his office. Always sneaking in there during the down moments. How close he was standing to that nurse at the hospital. The way he eyed Usagi. "I doubt it."
"What are you going to do?" Rei asked.
"... Marry him." Usagi said it quietly. "We're moving in on Saturday."
"What?" Mina asked. "So soon!"
"Yeah..." Usagi looked at them. "I've only told Eiji that we're moving in with him, so far... nothing else. I trust you guys not to tell him, either."
"We won't..." Ami promised.
"Usagi Chiba." Rei said, surprised herself at the sound.
"I know, I know, I know..." Usagi sounded distressed. The girls were all silent for a while- only the noise of Eiji playing in the background.
"...We need pizza. And ice cream." Mina smiled. She picked up a phone to order. The other girls all nodded in agreement.
"Usagi... you have our support... whatever you need or want to do..." Ami told her, hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"And if you want to bail and run... we can help you do that." Makato smiled.
"Run where?" Usagi asked. She smiled. "Maybe it won't be so bad... being a rich surgeon's wife."
"Many women DREAM of that life." Rei responded.
"And once I finish medical school and start work at the hospital... I'll keep an eye on him for you." Ami winked.
"Ordered!" Mina set the phone down.
"You got cheese right?"
"Of course I got a cheese pizza for the little man."
"Good." Usagi sighed. "I told him... you know... about Eiji..."
"What did he say?" Rei asked.
"That he would never force me..." Usagi whispered. The girls, again, fell silent. Usagi left it to them to change the subject for the rest of the evening.
Saturday came all to quick for Usagi and Eiji. Usagi had worked every evening and night since Wednesday getting their apartment packed up. Mamoru had been out of town until then, working a conference a few cities away. Her stomach was all in knots when the movers arrived. She held Eiji's hand and they were led to a car that would take them to their new home.
Upon arrival Usagi first noticed the size. Well above average- almost a mansion. The both of them gaped out the window as the car drove into the drive.
"This is where we're going to live?" Eiji gasped.
"Yes, darling..." Usagi told him. "I believe so..."
They were led into a greeting hall. Beautiful floors clicked beneath her heels when she walked in. A beautiful mirror to her left, on the wall... and from the looks of it everything was elegantly designed.
A member of the household staff took their coats, hanging them up on a beautifully carved coat rack, and Eiji took Usagi's hand. He curled his small fingers around her own and she gave them a gentle squeeze.
"Where is Mamoru?"
"He will be down shortly." A butler informed her. "He wanted me to show you your rooms." The butler, whom she learned was named Ryu, led them up a large staircase. The staircase then led down two separate halls. They started on the left- the first room to the right of the left hallway. Upon opening the door Eiji nearly screamed in delight.
The walls were painted a deep, forest green. Everything was jungle themed- darker colors to represent a boy. A large bed in the center- a thick, matching green comforter on top. Toy chests, paintings of animals all over. Eiji ran into the room, looking at and touching everything. Usagi leaned in the doorway, smiling. She hardly noticed Mamoru's presence until an arm snaked around her waist.
"Mr... Mamoru." She said, looking up at him. "His room is... beautiful."
"I was not sure what he was into..." He noticed her moving out of his reach and pulled her closer. "I figured most young boys enjoy animals."
"Well, it's wonderful."
"Your turn, Usagi." He said, grabbing her hand and taking her in the opposite direction.
"Mamoru, I still find this entire idea unacceptable."
"Here we are..." Mamoru, obviously ignoring her, opened a door to the third room on the right. She was still ready to protest until she actually looked inside the bedroom. Everything was so beautiful- a black wire frame to a king sized bed. White linens, an antique feel. Red roses on two stands besides the head of the bed.
"...beautiful..." She whispered as she stepped inside. Movers began to move her things into the bedroom. A door to a large closet, big enough to be a bedroom itself, with shelves for shoes and folded items. A bathroom with a large, jacuzzi bathtub. The entire room, including closet and bathroom, was practically the size of the apartment they had just left. "I don't need all of this space..."
"Well, eventually, in time... my intentions are for you to share it..." He smiled at her. She looked at him, a slight blush on her cheeks, and ignored his comment to further investigate the bathroom. A maid entered the closet and began putting up her things. "Dinner will be served shortly."
Dinner was more exquisite than Usagi had even imagined. It was comparable to eating at a five star restaurant and each course was served in a timely, well managed fashion. Eiji merely picked at his food until Mamoru sent off for something a child would like- and Eiji was served with spaghetti.
"You eat like this all of the time?" Usagi stared at Mamoru from across the dinner table. She felt that she was miles apart for him- taking into account the length of the table. Eiji sat quietly by her and Mamoru sat at the other end of the table.
"No, of course not." He gave her a sleek smile. "But tonight we are celebrating your arrival."
"..." She became quiet again and looked at her son. "You look tired, love... we'll have to get you to bed after dinner."
"Yes mama." Was the response, through a yawn. She smiled softly at him and leaned over to kiss his forehead.
"You will not need to come into work for the next few days, Usagi... take some time to get settled."
"Mamoru, I'm perfectly capable..."
"I am not questioning your capabilities... I am instructing you to stay home from work for a few days." He raised an eyebrow at her, as if daring her to argue further and she bit her tongue- adjusting her thoughts into trying to think of only positive things. She was grateful when the final course was taken away and she had Eiji as an excuse to leave the table.
The next few days were intended to feel luxurious for her but Usagi only felt stressed to the max. Mamoru was hardly home which calmed her slightly- she knew he was in for a busy few weeks with surgeries and consultations. She spent some time unpacking their things from the apartment- adding them into her room and Eiji's to make it feel more like home.
On her wall she hung pictures of her friends, family and her son. She organized her closet several times. She stocked the toy chests that Mamoru had bought new toys for with some of Eiji's favorite toys- including every action figure money could buy.
But by the end of the second day at home, and Mamoru intended for her to be home the entire week, she was bored. And nervous. Waiting, uneasy, for her fiance to walk through the door. But he never did until late- so Usagi found her way into a music room and sat at a grand piano while Eiji played in his room upstairs.
She was, in no way, a musical genius. Rei was much better at the piano than she was- but she could play a few songs that her mother had taught her and was happy with that. Her fingers struck the keys and she was mid song when two hands weighed her shoulders down and she jumped up.
"Mamoru."
"Will there ever be a time that I don't scare you?" He asked.
"...How was your day?" She ignored the questioned, looked at the clock. "You're home earlier than usual."
"Say that again."
"What?"
"Home." He smiled. "You're speaking like you finally live here."
"What choice do I have?" She raised a brow and he dropped his smile. He grabbed her left hand and looked at her finger.
"The ring doesn't fit?"
"No, it does..."
"Then why don't you wear it?"
"I haven't told Eiji yet..."
"Why not?"
"It's one thing to bully me around, Mamoru. But to force something like this on my son... I will not stand for it. Eiji has to like you. You can't expect for me to just tell him that you're going to be his father and for him to love you."
"..." Mamoru seemed to take in what she was saying. She looked over his shoulder at a young woman that stood behind him. The young woman was dressed in a summer dress- a little revealing Usagi couldn't help but wonder about this woman's relationship with Mamoru. Mamoru, too, looked over his own shoulder. "Ah, Maiko."
"Hello, Mamoru. Ryu showed me in- I hope you don't mind. I heard voices and..."
"I do mind, actually." He put an arm around Usagi's shoulders and pushed her forward a little more. "Not that it matters now but you've just interrupted a conversation I was having with my lovely bride-to-be."
"Bride-to-be?" Maiko blinked at looked Usagi over again- some sweetness disappearing from her face. "Mamoru, I'm afraid I don't understand... I came all this way because your Father..."
"Yes, I know what my Father wanted from you." Mamoru sighed. "But, as you can see, I have already chosen a bride. And you can relay that message to my Father."
"Mama!" Eiji broke some of the tension by bounding into the music room and into his mother's legs. Both Mamoru and Maiko watched him. Usagi wrapped two arms around him.
"Yes, baby?" Usagi looked down at him, then up at Mamoru. "Maybe we should excuse ourselves while you settle whatever it is that you have to settle." She couldn't hide the sarcasm in her voice. She picked up her son and walked out of the room.
"Arranged marriage?" Usagi questioned as Mamoru attempted to explain the appearance of Maiko . "Yes, that sounds great. Let me off the hook and marry that girl."
"I have no interest in marrying Maiko." Mamoru said, too darkly for Usagi to retaliate. "My father's conditions for inheritance is to marry and produce children of my own. He chose Maiko because of her family's status. I am, obviously, wealthy enough on my own to not need his inheritance."
"Hmm..." Usagi only listened, "Why the interest in me?" Mamoru looked at her, the grave look on his face loosening a bit. He ran a few strands of her long hair through his fingers, looking at it adoringly, which caught Usagi by surprise.
"I'm not sure yet."
"It's late, Mamoru. I need my sleep to get Eiju up for school in the morning." She stood from the dining room table, where they sat next to each other for the first time since she had moved in. "I won't pretend to understand exactly why your father has requirements for you- or why you are so against marrying into even more wealth... maybe someday I'll have the patience to understand... but I am still hoping for you to change your mind about me..."
"You sound a little less convincing than you did a few days ago, Usagi." He smiled and stood as well. She opened her mouth to protest but he stopped her with a kiss. A different kiss, she noted, and was unable to pull away. It was soft, warm... unexpected. "Good night Usagi."
And for once he was the one to leave her behind.
