Valentine's Day: Secrets Revealed Part Three
By ACJ Leveille


Author's Note:
Okay, the next to last part. I had fun here, and hope you did too. Remember about the disclaimers - I don't own anyone or anything - and enjoy the fic! Oh, and please, leave feedback!


"I understand," he had said. Even now, hours later, he mused over the irony of it.

The night was spread out before him, a lone upperclassman perched on a rooftop overlooking Tokyo Bay. He had climbed to the height as Tuxedo Kamen, but wasn't too bothered by the question of how he was going to get down. His mind was a whirl of frustrating confusion.

She had apologized! Apologized for some secret in her life! She shamed him - he bent his head in acknowledgement.

Usagi had nearly ruptured their hard-won relationship for the sake of honest, while he hid pitifully behind his great lie-of-omission. He didn't deserve her all-too-evident loyalty.

As the moon soared overhead, Mamoru thought about his own reasons for secrecy. He needed to protect Sailor Moon, that was a given, but for the first time he wondered if he could reveal himself. Was it anything less than complete stupidity to even contemplate such an action?

The answer clearly depended on who he was going to tell - and why!

He asked himself the question: was his relationship with Usagi Tsukino - a brief two months old - world endangering his very life?

Her honesty had belittled him, true, but at what point did dishonesty become forgivable in a relationship? Somehow, he feared that if he wanted to continue to see Usagi, he must tell her something.

Not the whole truth, of course, not bluntly. That would be dangerous, indeed. But, perhaps as she had done... unspecific.... Vague...

Thinking of her confession had him clenching his teeth. He forced himself to dismiss the anger - he couldn't be upset at her secrets when he had his own!

And Valentine's Day! He groaned at the thought of it. Before Usagi's sudden need to confess he had planned a night out - dinner at least. Nothing much, given her age. In his turmoil, he had forgotten completely the reservations he had made at the prestigious restaurant. He lay back on the roof, staring up at the stars.

For a brief second, he thought back to the bliss that he had lived in right before his New Year's Resolution had dumped him headfirst into a relationship with Usagi. The thought was banished, but his soul lay guilt-heavy still. Maybe his relationship with her was better ended now - before tearful confessions, painful fights?

Usagi. Mamoru's eyes closed, and there she was, shining golden and bright in his mind's eye. Her weight in his arms, the soft shampoo-flower scent of her hair underneath his nose. With her, he wasn't alone.

She banished his loneliness, he realized. The dark emptiness that had existed inside of him as far back as his earliest memories.

She was important to him. He would find a way to honor their first Valentine's Day, he decided. Some way to show her how much he cared for her.

Thoughts whirling, he slowly stood, pacing across the rooftop, silhouetted by the moon's embrace. It was after midnight before he called on his power. Shortly thereafter Tuxedo Kamen leapt from the roof and into the dark shadows below.



"So you and Mamoru worked things out?" Amy asked.

Usagi glanced over at her friend. She smiled, thinking of Mamoru, of his warm body, his deep voice...

"Earth to Usagi!" Makoto faked a blast of space-static.

Usagi blushed. "Yes, everything's all right now."

Raya looked over at her, clearly wanting her to continue.

"What about Valentine's Day?" Makoto interjected.

Usagi bounced two steps, half-clapping. "Oh, it's so sweet! He has it all planned out and everything!"

"Wow!" Makoto said, hands clasped to her heart. Her eyes were all dreamy. "I wish I had a boyfriend to celebrate with this year!"

The other girls sighed in assent.

Usagi looked at all her wistful friends, her own happiness damped by their despondence. "Come on guys," she said cheerfully, "Let's all get a shake!" She commanded, pointing the way.

Still grumbling a bit, the girls followed her.

"Nothing like a shake to make you feel..." Usagi stopped as a tall body inserted itself in her path. "Mamoru!" She exclaimed, surprised.

"Hello, Usagi!" He greeted with a smile. Heart lifting, Usagi smiled back at him. "Hello, everyone." He turned to his girlfriend. "Can I talk with you?" He asked.

Mystified, and suddenly a bit scared, she nodded. She told the girls she would meet them at the Arcade. Inclining his head to her friends, Mamoru took her arm and led her to a secluded bench not too far down the street.

"What's up?" She asked, ignoring the feeling of dread that increased with every thump of her heart.

He didn't look at her. He stared straight ahead. 'Usagi, I.... You..."

"Mamoru, you're scaring me," she said with a small laugh.

He twisted, blue eyes burning into hers, taking her hands. "I have a secret, too." He said baldly, in one breath.

Usagi froze, dread washing over her in one foul, dizzying wave. "What?" She asked faintly.

"I've got a secret too." He repeated. "Look, I didn't want to tell you this way."

Usagi wanted to pull her hands free, to run away. She wanted to cry, to scream, to hurt him. He had kept a secret from her!

The thought stopped cold the fury coursing in her blood. She lifted her eyes, seeing the doubt, the hesitation and fear in Mamoru's eyes. Was this how it felt, she wondered?

"Like yours," he was continuing, "I can't tell you all of it. It's... something I do... at night, usually." He was blushing, she noticed. "I can't say it, but.... I wanted you to know." He exhaled.

"Why are you telling me this?" Usagi asked, bewildered.

"I have to be honest with you, as you were with me," he said stiffly.

Usagi was silent. "I understand," she murmured. A chuckle broke free. "What a pair we are, huh?"

"Does this mean you forgive me?" He asked.

"Of course!" She assured him. "How could I do otherwise!?"

"Thank you," he said softly, pulling her against him in a discreet embrace. She felt him kiss the top of her head. She looked up at him, snuggling into his arm, and froze. The angle of the sun cast a shadow over the upper half of his face as he bent over her.

"Usagi? Is something wrong?" He asked.

She shook herself, forcing herself to swallow. It couldn't be, her mind shouted. It couldn't be.

He was watching her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Mamoru," she stammered out slowly, dazed with disbelief. She stood up, taking her bag. He stood as well, holding her wrist lightly and looking worried.

Usagi forced herself to smile at him, though she felt like questioning him until he ran, and gently touching his hand. The touch even made her wonder... was that his skin, underneath those white gloves?

"I have to meet my friends," she told him.

Mamoru still watched her, eyes sharp and fixed on her face. He glanced once at his watch, then gasped. "Oh, I have a study session to get to!" He began to turn, to leave, and Usagi saw a cape fly out behind him, though none existed. He stopped, turned to her. He took her in his arms, holding her tight. He bent and kissed her lightly on the nose. "We'll work things out, Usagi." He smiled at her. "Don't forget, it's Valentine's Day tomorrow!" He reminded her, then was gone.

Usagi watched his familiar green jacket disappear into the crowd, and headed for the Arcade.

Should I tell the girls, she wondered? She didn't have facts, after all, only suspicions. The more she thought about it, though, the more it made sense. How ironic, however, that they should each be keeping such secrets, when, if it was true that Mamoru was Tuxedo Kamen, there was no need for secrets after all!

Buoyed with the thought, Usagi began to skip. She laughed freely into the Arcade, where her friends were waiting, all sucking sadly on their shakes. She spontaneously hugged Raya as she sat down, and laughed still more when Motoki set a chocolate shake in front of her moments later.

"I'm glad Mamoru makes you happy," Raya said. Her voice was sarcastic and genuine at the same time.

Usagi, unable to help herself, smiled. "You don't know the half of it!"



The battle raged that night. As usual, Usagi had been called in a rush. She had been wearing pj's, but decided to change before she transformed. She wanted to look good for Mamoru.

The plan was set, although she was the only one aware of it. She longed to tell Makoto, who would giggle over it, and Raya who would be amazed and unbelieving, but she couldn't. In the back of her head the thought lurked - what if she were wrong? She didn't want to make a laughing stock out of herself, thus she stayed silent about her plans.

The youma was dispatched easily, with no dickering around. Sailor Moon was impatient to get to the end. The girls looked at her, stared, really, when she easily and smoothly rid them of the monster. She clapped her hands together in victory, and turned, looking for her hero.

He hadn't rescued her, but then, she hadn't really given him a chance.

Ah, she spotted him. In a tree. She laughed. He was staring as well. She jogged until she was beneath him. "Tuxedo Kamen!" She called.

He looked down. "Sailor Moon?" He asked. His voice was dark and sexy... and incredulous. Another laugh escaped.

"Could you come down here, please?" She asked, her heart beating quickly. She felt her knees quiver, and realized that she was nervous. The girls gathered around her slowly, looking at her with questions in their eyes.

He jumped, landing on bent knees at her feet. He stood, towering over her. Just like Mamoru, she thought. She reached up, one gloved hand sliding on his chest, the other taking the edge of his half mask and tugging it.

He grunted, and pulled away. The mask came off in Sailor Moon's hand, and his white cheekbones were bared to the night air. Shock and horror filled his eyes, and then slow panic.

Sailor Moon felt her heart begin to beat again, and the relief made her feel lightheaded. "Mamoru," she said, drawling his name out.

He stilled, and turned to her, eyes widening as he began to realize.



TO BE CONTINUED...............