Ch4AN: So want to hear an funny story? As I'd just finished part three on the twenty-sixth of October, and had started it way back- can you see the date on the first chapter? That's right the 22nd, of October and all the ideas were already there and laid out.... on the 27th of October, heading back from class to my apartment, it started to snow at 5 PM and as I'm writing this, at 10Pm on the 28th, I would love to inform you all that it has not let up for a single moment since. (update: ended at 9AM October 29th) That's right, over 24 hours of snow fall. I hope it keeps on coming, because I would love to miss a day of school for legitimate reasons and not because I was catching up on my sleep or writing a paper for another course. Sigh. I can only hope. Speaking of which, I do have a paper due tomorrow..... Just thought I'd tell you my own version of the story that I set into motion without realizing it. Only problem is, that I'm not trapped, and I'm not trapped with a hunk like Mamoru-san. My roommate is the one with boys falling off of her fingertips. Oh well.... gives me more time to present you with this pairing! (I really wasn't going to make this story any more than 2 parts long, but... my imagination got away from me again and it is again longer). You wouldn't have thought that being holed into a house with no electronics would provide so many pages, did you? Ha! My power is at an all time high! Bow to me my pretties and write me my reviews! Hehe, just kidding. Not about the reviews though... that I would love more of.
Part 4
Mamoru won Clue, as he won most games. Although Usagi thought she was going to cheat by playing Pictionary but it turned out he was left handed. She humphed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away and into the dancing flames. The red embers still cooling from where the fire had no more use for the left overs and was only waiting to put itself out. No wonder he said it would loose her interest shortly and would have to come up with something else productive to do, he took all the fun out with always winning. She should have known she'd had no chance, as he was after all a brain and perfect at everything he attempted, while she... she'd never realized how much of a failure she was until this moment. So what if she beat Shingo, he was after all 3 years younger than she was.
The heat off of her back lifted slightly as well as a weight she'd grown used to as always being there. She turned her head to see Mamoru give her blond strands a playful tug. Her eyes were icy as they turned to him, she hoped that she could pull through some of her super powers and burn him to a crisp. Alas, it was not so, as that was Rei's specialty, and she really would hate to be stuck in this house with a charred corpse.
She wasn't really even that angry, just put out at having been bested, yet again by the great and wonderful Chiba Mamoru. It was probably best left unsaid; he thought as he looked at her cute angry face, turned up at him as if she could salvage some type of betterment over him by just that upturned nose; that he wasn't actually left handed, but had taught himself how to be ambidextrous. She'd just hate to know that if his wrist ever healed and they were to play again, he'd still win, as he was predisposed to be right handed. Her eyes tried to bore holes into his being and he was thankful for the fact that she couldn't harm him with just a gaze, and that he had his powers of Kamen to help him if she ever did learn how to unlock that particularly nasty skill.
Her eyes softened a fraction as she too came to the same realization and he wasn't going to shrivel up and die for her. She pouted, waiting for whatever it was that he wanted. "Don't worry Usagi-chan, I think you held your own pretty well there. If we ever play teams, I would want you as my partner, we could take over the world if we teamed up."
Usagi's nose crinkled at the thought, it was pretty funny that she was suppose to protect the world, she couldn't be ruling it at the same time. Then the image of facing off the girls, Ami playing against Mamoru as the lines were drawn, Usagi given to him as a handicap, Minako with Rei, and sticking by the bluenette's side. Makoto had been given to Mamoru as an appeasement prize, so he wouldn't argue about Usagi being on his team and them taking Minako so things were evenly balanced. Then they were all jumping in slow motion as Usagi, Mamoru and Makoto bested the loosing team, hands down and Rei crying pitifully into a dumbfounded Ami's shoulder.
A slow smile stretched across Usagi's features as the image got carried away, Mamoru was doing a victory dance on the table, and it was starting to get way to wild as he was starting to undress himself. Usagi quickly squashed that daydream, protecting the image from her friends' eyes, even if they were fictionally placed within the same thought bubble.
She turned fully to Mamoru, grinning, and he was pleased that he'd managed to take the grumpiness away from her again, though he didn't know exactly what he said to place that smile on her smirking pink lips. She clopped onto his shoulders and practically pulled him from the couch before he could see her coming at him. She was always a lot quicker than he gave her credit for.
She pulled him to the floor with her and sat around a monopoly game. "You can't beat me at this one, it doesn't require any brains, its all chance with the dice roll." He didn't feel like breaking it to her that this one required just as much strategy any of the ones they'd played thus far. He didn't know what half the games were, as he'd explained to her, and then after reading the directions quickly, he got the premise down. She'd sulked after Clue that it was not just strategy but beginners luck.
That beginners luck followed them through several games, Pictionary he'd used his brain as a means of best breaking down the word so she'd have no trouble figuring out the meaning. She tried to draw the object itself most of the time, even when it was a hard word without a visual representation, like when she'd stumbled upon love, she'd drawn a heart and he went anatomical on her and totally veered off path and lost the points. They were playing honestly, even though she'd attempted to tip the scales in what she'd imagined a hindrance, but they honestly guessed for the other. There'd been other games, but he honestly couldn't remember the names of them, she'd been most excited about the two she'd first held up, and those names stuck.
Now he leaned on his elbows as he landed on Broadway, she owned both dark blue squares and had apartment complexes filling up the squares' small space. He'd teased her when she bought the most expensive ones and had ignored most of the other squares, except the railroads. Turns out, she managed to skip his properties every time, and there were many and built up as much as his depleted funds could handle. He'd always managed to land on one of the six properties she owned, while she skipped merrily by on either the corner, railroads, center pay in or reward cards.
It wasn't fair, as her pawn skipped onto the cash-cow, the farthest corner from GO! And collected all of the remaining cash that the bank had as the game had lasted long enough to get so intense as to exchange money with the community funds and leave the government bankrupt. As Usagi had not needed the 200 reward for going past go or the 400 for landing on it, when the bank collapsed, she'd gotten by, where every time he came to it, he was holding on with just his fingernails to gain a small minuscule amount, often broken down into 40s and 20s as she held all of the higher amounts and put the smaller change in for him in pity. She'd only put substantial money into the bank a handful of times and he'd pounced on it, as the bank owed him, and her, but she could do with some charity.
When almost every property rested in her dainty hands, he held onto his plumbing and electric companies as his own sole means of survival, and all the cash from 500 to 5 was neatly stacked in a tower pile, all he had left were ones, ones which he'd had to hand over as he landed on the weakest purple square on the board, and normally wouldn't cost so much, but it too was towering high with apartment complexes and quadrupled the amount it was originally worth.
He reluctantly handed over the remaining cash he had and had to forfeit the companies he owned to pay the rest of his bill off. Payday had come too late, as he'd already owned her that too. It was moot point as she owned everything and he was out on the streets, penniless and property-less. It was almost like he was walking down these streets and he scuffed his shoe against the sidewalk as his hands dug into his pockets, shoulders slumped. It was strangely echoing real life, she had everything while he was left out in the cold, only able to look in.
"Looks like we found your weakness, Mamoru-chan, looks as if you don't know how to handle your money. If you're not careful, you'll be broke." Mamoru's eyes shot up to her, and she quickly retracted. "Oh come on, you're like the richest person I know, and you have the brains to manage a real life situation. Like I said, it was all luck." His eyes looked so pained, it was like he'd never lost, even a game before. "It's just for fun." She whispered.
It was then that he realized she'd called him Mamoru-chan on purpose, and he pushed himself off of his elbows and into a seated position. "Yeah I know. I'm fiscally responsible. I just better not let you at my money or the whole commodity will become yours, as clearly represented." He waved his hand at the board, though.... "Although, if I do let you at it, you could earn me a fortune if your real life skills are as amazing at this. Ever thought about going into business?"
Usagi laughed outright in his face. "Mamoru-chan, I know you are an engineering major and all that, so the prospect of working in a business sounds exciting, but I have other life aspirations... other responsibilities..." She died off as she thought of those other responsibilities were, Mamoru reflected he too had other things to worry about than just getting a good grade in uni.
"You could own your own interior design company if this is anything to go by." He mentioned the room again and she winked at him.
"I thought you said I couldn't have at your money anymore."
"If you make me money, or other benefits, like making my apartment more welcoming, then I will allow you the one time freedom, but I just better not learn about you buying an entire wardrobe for yourself or a library of mangas."
Usagi giggled as she finished packing up the game and flopped down onto the carpet so she was gazing up at him. "Maybe one outfit, to showcase the room better for you." She pried, though it was all fictional anyways, he'd leave here, and never contract her to do something that big. He'd probably forget about their moments or at least put it down as just having to find a way to pass the time or go insane. Or they might just have killed each other, otherwise. She kept the dark thoughts from encroaching in her finally blissful moment, she'd won a game, he was right, they each had their own strengths they brought to the table, but in essence, they were equals.
"I think my eyes would be drawn to you and wouldn't see the rest of the room, if you were to unveil it together." They both froze as he'd said the words out loud and Usagi scrambled to her feet, laughing nervously.
"What do you think? Is it time for dinner?" He struggled to get to his feet, but she shot a hand outward. "No, stay!" She scampered off into the kitchen. It took her a lot longer come back out then just figuring out what she wanted to eat. He started to worry about her and wanted to set things back on their normal path, he didn't mean to admit attraction, they'd only had their fragile truce for two days. He was about to wander into the kitchen when she came back out with another platter. He doubted her mother had intended every meal to be shared by the two, but Usagi had assured him that Ikuko-mama had made plenty for Usagi to last for 3 weeks on her own, and then more for when Shingo came over to visit and steal a snack. "What do you think?" She presented him with a... Mexican style dish? He shrugged, it was bound to taste all right if her mother made it.
She set it in just like he'd showed her how to and then turned around to sink into the couch he had previously occupied when she'd made her escape to the kitchen. "Usagi-chan, I hadn't meant it like you're thinking." He swallowed the objection to the lie down his throat and then continued. "I was thinking more along the lines, I'd be sizing each up, trying to see which had cost me more, the outfit or the room. It was a joke."
Usagi patted the spot next to her and shook her head. "I knew that silly. I figured as much. Now, as punishment for believing me to be so callous and spend a ton of money on myself, I get the reward of painting your nails!"
Out of her pocket, she withdrew three different colors, all were a different shade of pink. He gulped and tried to pull away, he'd have his gender preferences questioned even more, if he allowed her to do such a thing. Even if nobody saw it, it was bound to get out, especially if she was telling the tale. He couldn't find purchase with his feet as she pounced on him and pulled his uninjured hand towards her. "Now, Usagi-chan-"
"Which color do you want? I think the brighter one would look best with your skin tone. Off set it and all that."
"Come on, you can't be serious!" Mamoru almost fell backwards over the armrest when he'd finally managed to push off the ground and had measured out the strength needed poorly. She stopped that however, by keeping a firm grasp on his hand, holding them to her inspection.
"Wow, they're clean and tailored." She grinned up at him broadly and he finally settled back into his spot, if it made her so happy-. "Don't worry, I'll remove the polish tomorrow. Nobody will be the wiser." He settled into the torture she was about to bestow upon him and took it like a man, even if the process was ultimately so girlie.
He watched her work diligently and didn't bother to pay attention after she promised to remove it, but it slowly filtered in. "Wait, tomorrow?"
"Yep, after you help me with my homework, it'll keep me from chewing you out." Usagi's answer was smug, as if she had other plans than what she'd just shared with him.
"Who said I was helping you?" He questioned sharply and she slid her eyes up to his face coyly.
"Why you did." She batted her eye lashes before returning to her work. The right hand was a little more difficult as she had to work with the bandage and coming at him with a different angle. When she finished she capped the bottle and blew on his nails so they'd dry quicker. "There. You look so pretty!" She cooed and he almost demanded she remove it at that instant if she was going to tease him. But he had to admit, as he looked down at his fingers, she had chosen the right color for his skin tone, it was with reluctant acceptance.
They ate dinner in relative silence, Usagi had to stifle a giggle every few minutes when her sight caught hold of the hand he brought to his mouth with a forkful of food. He had to let it go though, as it meant that she was looking at him with relative frequency, it made him feel better for sneaking his own glances at the blond nymph.
After dinner, the pipes continued allowing water to flow through them and he washed the dishes. Although the water continued to run, it was freezing cold, as the heated water had completely disappeared in the mean time. He had to pull his good hand away and shake it out, as the temperature was affecting him. "Just let it go." She told him, leaning against the door frame and yawning.
He turned his gaze to her and it felt almost domestic, the two of them in this place. Albeit, a throw back to earlier times, before the wonders of man allowed them to do things in a more comfortable fashion. She pushed her blond pig-tail over her shoulder and it fell to the floor. He turned the tap off and gestured towards it. "But it'll cake on."
"Just put water in it, and let it sit. When we have warm water again, we can deal with it. Until then, it's probably best to just conserve resources. Even though our water isn't froze, it doesn't mean that it is an unlimited supply." She stretched. "Is it against the rules for me to go off to bed? Or is there a time limit on needing to be awake?"
"You can sleep the whole night through, Usagi-chan."
"Not if I need to keep waking you up to ensure your survival." She was teasing him and he held up his busted hand.
"This, is not a head wound."
"It could have been. Honestly you need to be more careful." He waved her off towards the stairs.
"Go, I'll join you soon. I'm bushed myself."
Her lips quirked to the side as she gathered more candles and matches. "Turning Australian on me? Should I put out the fire?"
He shook his head. "No, I wanted to make a cup of tea first."
Usagi nodded and scampered off up the stairs. It was another moment he had alone, in this large house, with only the girl occupying it, he hadn't realized it was possible to escape with another's presence around. However, he had no intention to do so, Usagi was someone he didn't really want to hide from. He had experience however in hiding from people even when surrounded by a crowd, he'd always managed to distance himself off. It was strange then, how when he could be the most alone, with a blanket of snow deterring anyone from joining them, that he felt the most engaged.
He set a pan of water to boil on the fire, and when it was finished, doused the fire, and took his steaming cup up the stairs, the flashlight lodged between his ribs and elbow of his lame arm. He was eager to return to the bundle of energy, even if it was snoozing. He set the cup down and slid into the bed next to her, pulling her against him, and was rewarded when she snuggled in and wrapped her own arms around his torso, somewhere in the middle of sleep and wakefulness. "Thought, I wasn't going to have anything interrupted."
"Then go back to sleep." He bent his head and kissed the top of her head. She mumbled something sleepily, and it was probably another barb thrown his way. Somewhere along the way they had become more in jest, a tease that the both shared in, and enjoyed, rather than harmful. It had started before their strange circumstance forced them to realize it. Wasn't it just the other day, he had been talking to the girls, and had only been relenting on the fact that Usagi was misunderstood and there was so much more to her reasonings than what was presented?
He drifted off soon after her.
The following few days blended together, but there were moments that he'd always remember, nothing could steal those memories away. She too was touched by the memories that the small moments gave them rather than the compilation, she could give details on what made her happy, instead of just a general 'it was good, or fine'.
They were working on homework, all of Usagi's immediate homework was completed and piled into her school bag, they were working on future assignments. She was really quite smart, just not motivated enough to complete the homework on her own when she could be off doing something else, something she deemed more important. She slammed the book shut when she got bored with the theory in physics he was trying to explain to her and her eyes lit up delightfully devious. "So... can you bench press me?"
Mamoru scoffed at the question. "Without a doubt. You weigh less than I normally deal with." Not that he spent an over amount of time at the gym, his other extracurricular activities took care of most of his need to exercise. Although he tried to make it there once a week as a method of training and went jogging every morning. If Moon needed his help while he was stuck here, not only would he be incapable of escaping, but he'd be grossly out of shape as well. "But if you haven't noticed, I am short one hand."
She blinked up at him innocently, now how had she gotten so close? It was one thing when they were in the bed, it was another when they'd been doing something as innocent as homework and just sitting up had caused her to be almost pressed up against him, front to front. The innocence that shone through her eyes though had to be false, as the words following the movement of her mouth had him skeptical that he hadn't just walked into a trap. "Can you bench press me one handed?"
"Sure, I can, but I'm not going to."
"Why?" She was looking at him owlishly, her eyes so large. "Are you not strong enough to handle my weight with one hand?"
He had walked directly into that one and she was baiting him, trying to make him forget about her homework, which she'd been doing on her own as he read his own textbooks. However he'd leaned over to explain a problem to her that she hadn't covered yet in class. He knew that was her plan, but he still fell for it. "Is that an insult Odango?"
"It's only an insult if what I say is something you know to be true."
Damn, she was good! "Do you really want me to bench press you? Where did you learn that by the way?"
"It's the truth, insults only hurt so much if they're based on something you already dislike about yourself, and no, not really."
"Hmm. There is something between these Odangos after all." He teased and she pouted.
"Now, you can throw harsh comments at another person, whether its true or not is immaterial." She batted at the hand that was resting on top of one of the golden balls on her head. "Why are you always joking about the hair?"
"It drew my attention first. I was angry at the time and food was on my mind. I called it as I saw it. I'm sorry if it has annoyed you."
Usagi's pout turned into a smile. "No, I'm just glad to finally know where you got such a ridiculous idea."
"You look like a bunny sometimes too."
"Well my name does mean bunny." The fire licked its heat at both of them, making them even hotter from the close position they were not only to it, but also to each other. Usagi's tongue darted out to moisten her lips, and his gaze traveled down to where she had drawn the attention unknowingly.
Mamoru pulled away, and gathered up the books. "You know, you're right, it's time for a break. What do you play to Scattegories?"
She nodded in amusement and he laid it out in front of them.
---
Another moment was Usagi's favorite. The wind had picked up outside, the radio they had had been useless as no one was reporting in the local area and with the insulation around the house, they had absolutely no signal to get a broader forecast. She'd been snuggled up on the chair, reading a manga, she'd only gotten through two so far, and Mamoru had been tinkering with the radio in the kitchen, using the large round table as a his work bench. It would also allow him the ability to concentrate as the fire caused too much heat for him to want to do much more than curl into the couch and pull Usagi against him and read over her shoulder.
The wind swept down through the fire chute and was strong enough to blow out the fire. Usagi was aware of this when the smoke first shot back at her, and clouded her vision for a moment in black soot and then the light had gone out.
Usagi wiped away the grime now coating her features so she could see, thankfully the flashlight was always at her side, and she used it to make her way to Mamoru. Her light only blended in with his so she turned it off, and looked over his shoulder. He was working on making the radio pick up a greater amount of frequencies and try to break through the cloud that surrounded them. "You know, Shingo has the newest type of radio out there, except the only problem is it doesn't run on batteries only electricity."
Mamoru jumped, and when he spun around and landed, their bodies brushed against each other so intimately that Usagi was blushing, and thanking the low light. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were reading! Is it snack time already?"
She'd forgive him his slightly harsh tone with that last question, as it implied it hadn't been asked in honest curiosity. She'd scared him and he returned to what he knew. "The fire went out."
"I thought you were supposed to watch it." He shook his head. "Honestly, it's better not to burn them all down and out. We'll run out at this rate if that were the case." He headed in the direction of the living room and she was right behind him as he stopped to look at it.
"The wind blew it out." She continued in her explanation before he'd cut in. He spun around again, falling back a step and putting his right hand out to save himself. Usagi grabbed his left at the same time. "Honestly Mamoru-chan, one would think that you were nervous around me."
"It's just that you keep appearing out of nowhere."
"I've been with you the entire time." She shook her head. "It's you that is blocking out the rest of his senses." He grumbled, but she was right. He restarted the fire, and when he headed back into the kitchen to continue on his project, it wasn't but a few minutes later that he called her to him. "Yes?" She asked, staying a few feet away from him, least it scare him again, but oh, she liked that power over him, but she didn't want to abuse it.
"Do you think you could find me your brother's radio?" Usagi's lips tilted up as her head bowed forward in a nod of agreement then she was gone. But she could hear him sigh as she took the steps two at a time. "Dammit, don't look at her like that."
She practically cheered until she skidded to a halt outside her brother's room, why would that be a good thing? She didn't like him like that! They needed to get out of this house and clear their heads. But... as she returned to the kitchen with her brother's radio, she couldn't help but stand and watch him work before clearing her throat and presenting the radio to him.
"Thanks, Usa-chan." He smiled up at her gratefully and she melted just a little in her resolve, he'd called her a nickname that wasn't Odango, and hadn't even seemed to realize it. She pranced back to her love-seat and curled back into her book. It turned out that her idea had actually worked, but they still couldn't reach any information, only a classical music station off to their west. It was at least a different noise than their breathing.
Which Mamoru would take advantage of in a few days.
---
In the meantime however, Mamoru was reading his textbook on the chemical formation of three particular atoms, when he glanced up to see Usagi studying the cards intently. He could see her mouth repeating them out loud as if to engrave them better into her mind that way. He chuckled at the sight she presented. It was another game, but it had facts, questions and answers upon them. "Why is it that, that you will do with no problem, will spend hours looking at them and memorizing the details, but when it comes to homework, you want no part of it?"
"These facts are actually useful." She waved a card at him, but when she caught his dubious glance at the box, she sighed. "I suppose it is more interesting when it is set up like this. In a textbook, I just get so bored. That and these are small tidbits and I'm not being forced to read them, rather I chose to do it."
"So if I designed an entire year's worth of notecards in the same fashion, you'd study them?"
She shook her head, blond locks flying everywhere, she'd stopped putting it up in Odangos, as it got in her way when sleeping and usually took them down then or at home anyways for a long period of time. "Nope." She disagreed. "Because then I would have to study them. I'd rather find something out on my own, because it came up and intrigued me."
Mamoru set his book aside, atom bonding be damned. He sat next to her on the ground and looked at the one that had been most recently in her hand. It was asking about valentines day in other countries compared to that in the states, and was wondering if China celebrated it. He flipped the card over and discovered the answer. "These things will rot your brain or take up space with wasted knowledge." He set it back down and laughed at her glare. "It's all right though, there is some use for this kind of thing. But try to study some more." He handed her his textbook, but she refused it. "What, you don't want to read about nitrogen pairing with oxygen and what it does to the life in the sea?"
Her lips pressed together and she shook her head. "Rather eat dirt, thank you."
He laughed and gathered her to his side. "Don't you have a manga to read?"
She squealed and darted up the stairs before coming back down with the newest volume. "I love that you're so easy going after all!"
"Only around you." He sighed when she settled back in next to him and they leaned against the base of the couch, how did they always end up here?" He wondered dryly.
---
The most poignant memory of their time together happened to be one of a not so happy topic. They were sitting opposite each other on the couch, their feet find a way to tangle together in the center. Each were reading a book, attempting to study, but a shift would cause a round of footsie and he should have known better by then to put space between them when she was studying as it wouldn't last for long unless there was space or if he was being a task master.
He felt her foot lift from the spot it was currently in, along his calf and he thought she'd just be shifting in seating position, instead he was surprised to find his book knocked out of his hands as a foot hooked around the binder and tossed it to the floor, thankfully skidding to a halt a few feet away from the fire roaring on this 'winter' day. It was September, for crying out loud, talk about global cooling.
He looked to the culpit, moving his gaze from the fuzzy pink sock to black pants along her shins and thigh, along her front, pausing only briefly, to imagine what was hidden beneath the thick sweater, and then up her swanlike neck to her bashful eyes.
He'd expected her to be playful, trying to get him to do something else, but instead she looked insecure and unsure what to do next. He nudged her foot that was now in his lap with his knuckles. She pulled out of it, looking at him ruefully. "What's up that you'd almost send my book to it's early death?"
She squirmed when his fingers turned ticklish underneath her sock and tried to pull her foot away. He caught her and stopped her from removing herself from his physical contact. "Well...." She dragged the word out, regretting her impromptu act, she was burning with curiosity, but it wasn't like she could blatantly ask him about it, but now she was stuck. "I was wondering if you would tell me about your parents."
He stiffened and left her briefly to retrieve his text book and set it beside his seat. "My parents?" He asked cautiously.
"Yes, I was wondering if you would tell me what they were like."
"There isn't much to say. They died when I was very young." He wasn't looking at her when he talked, and she didn't like it, he never did that.
"Yeah, but surely there must be something you remember."
"I was six, we got into a car crash and I had amnesia of my life and name before that." He sat up straight and they were no longer touching as he made sure that there was space between them.
Usagi leaned forward, capturing his hands in hers, and wouldn't let him pull away. His nails were cracked with the pink paint she'd applied and had forgotten to take off. She'd managed to con him into feeling bad enough after one particularly nasty comment to let her do his make-up. She'd gone overboard and after snapping a picture he was blissfully unaware of, he'd scrubbed his face clean, but hadn't noticed the nails in his demand that she remove the awful contraptions that females put themselves through. The thought side-tracked her, but it also gave her the strength to push this.
"Mamoru-chan, I'm sorry about all of that." She reached up a hand and touched his face with her palm. "You remember nothing of the life you had with your parents? Not a memory, not a picture in your head, a smell or touch?"
"I remember roses, and that's why I grow them, they're probably all dead by now in my apartment, left untended."
Usagi smiled encouragingly. "The smell was sweet, and I remembered seeing them and a woman holding one tenderly. There was a girl when I was in the hospital that gave me one as well when I was crying. She was-"
"Going to go see her newborn brother and mother. Gods Mamoru, this means we've known each other almost our whole lives."
"How did you know that? You were the girl?" He asked amazed, he remembered the child, and the other boy who'd been his friend before, but he never put the two together, the ages had blurred in his mind. She gestured to a picture of her as a little girl, holding roses while in her mom's lap with her younger brother tucked in the other arm, reaching out for the flowers or Usagi, he wasn't sure, as the hand almost touched hers. He chuckled. "People are always drawn to you, aren't they? Even newborns to a three year old."
"No, even a little girl to an upset boy." She was smiling into his eyes and he did something that surprised both of them, but neither ran away. His head turned and he pressed a kiss to the soft flesh of her wrist.
"A little sad boy to a little girl with a large heart."
"I came to you, if you remember." Usagi moved the other hand up to the cheek on his other side. "I want to know about that life, the one that you had before you came back to Tokyo."
"I was never far away, Usa-chan, I was always in Azuba. I just didn't make the rounds to the arcade as often as I liked until I met Motoki at a school event." So he told his story, and she listened with a focus he'd never seen from her, crying even in parts when he'd admitted to the loneliness he'd felt in the orphanage, with no one searching for him. Then one day, it ceased to matter, for he would never be left alone again when a paper ball hit him exactly in the middle of his head.
She'd told him that she was looking into every dark haired child's face, seeing if it was him, but thought that he'd left her for good, she couldn't keep her promise of always being his friend, if she couldn't fulfill that role, she'd cried when she learned that a few years later. He'd comforted her then, reassuring her that he always knew she was out there, and that even when they'd argued, she was the greatest friend he'd ever had, even Motoki didn't stand close to what she could do for him.
It had been the major turning point in their relationship, it had crushed all their ideas that they could just be friends and they couldn't go back to hating each other either. It had open the flood gates into the knowledge that they cared a great deal and that everything they had done during this time only proved how much they were meant for one another. They both admitted, to themselves at this moment, that they were in love. They didn't tell the other for fear of the rejection, the other could run from them, not that they had far to go.
When they held each other that night, they held each other a bit closer, there was a new feeling in the bed with them and the moment was just that much more intimate.