i apologize for the late update, but it's finally done. i had a bit of writer's block. now i have to go finish these beta-reading requests i'm behind on. anyways, enjoy the update!

Elevator Music

By: BrittanyTheWriter

Chapter Four

.i do not own sailor moon.

Mamoru glanced at his watch. They were going on three hours now since he and Usagi had gotten stuck in the elevator. She was hard at work on her cellphone, doing something or other for the company she worked for. He, honestly, was still curious as to what she did for a living. But he'd decided that he wasn't going to pry into her private life like that, not right now at least. Especially when she was clearly very busy with whatever it was that she was doing. He knew how much he hated being interrupted, so he figured he'd extend the same courtesy to her. Not to mention she would probably yell at him for being so nosy. They were just getting on the right track, he didn't want to do anything to ruin it so soon in the mending of their relationship.

Since they'd gotten the emergency hatch opened and fresh air started to circulate again, she'd not been as fidgety about being stuck in there. She was even doing the breathing techniques he'd showed her to keep her anxiety levels down and under control. Mamoru mentally patted himself on the back. It seemed as if he were getting somewhere with the pretty blond, other than on her nerves as he'd done for the last thirteen years since they'd met. He wondered, honestly, how he was going to make that up to her. He'd already apologized, and she'd taken that better than he'd expected her to. And he wouldn't deny the attraction he had for her.

At twenty-seven, Usagi was definitely a looker. Long, shapely legs, tiny waist, wide hips and the face of an angel; complete with long blond hair and the brightest cerulean blue eyes he'd ever seen. And just like any other red-blooded thirty-year-old man, he could definitely appreciate having eye candy such as her to look at; especially if he had to be stuck in an elevator for hours on end.

Mamoru took a sip from the water bottle that Usagi had given him. Azure hues continued to watch her as she typed on her phone before pausing and writing something down in a notebook she'd kept at her side. He could see small bits of the granola bar she'd eaten clinging to the sticky gloss that covered her lips. He wanted to tell her it was there and brush it away. But he didn't want to break her concentration or touch her without permission. He'd wait until she took another break to stretch.

That break came a few moments later, he heard her sigh as her phone was placed down before she was stretching her arms and legs. He glanced up from his newspaper again. "You have something stuck to your lip, Usagi."

She blinked, glancing up at the raven hair, caught by surprise. He had to have been staring at her awful hard if he noticed something stuck to her lip when she didn't. She wiped it away before awkwardly glancing back at him. "Thanks, didn't notice that it was there."

He almost said he already knew that it had been there for a while, but smartly decided against it for fear that the small amount of progress they'd already made would be thrown out the window. She'd have asked him why he was staring, and he wouldn't have been able to come up with a good answer and then they would have been right back at square one. Instead he shrugged, lifted his paper to cover his face once again and started reading, "You're welcome."

Usagi rolled her eyes at how weird he'd been acting before picking up her phone again and continuing her work. There was silence between the two of them for a few minutes longer until she broke it again. "Hey Mamoru, can I ask you something?"

"You technically already did," Mamoru quipped, using her own words against her.

"Okay smart ass," Usagi bit out, her nose scrunched up in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, what were you going to ask me," Mamoru asked, placing his paper down on the floor before reaching for the half drunken water bottle she'd given him earlier. "If you still want to ask that is."

"Yes, I still want to ask, because I'm curious," Usagi said, finally glancing up at him again. She placed her phone down, tucking her legs beneath her as she turned to look at him. "How come you never mention your parents? Since I've begrudgingly known you, you've never mentioned them once. And Motoki let it slip once that you'd lived alone even when you were in high school. And since we seem to be in a sort of a truce right now, I figured I'd ask before we go back to hating each other again once we get out of this elevator whenever the hell that may be."

Mamoru swallowed thickly. The only person he'd ever told about his past and his parents had been Motoki. It was a tough topic for him to brooch. Especially since he didn't remember his parents all that well. "I'm surprised Motoki never told you about it. You were like a little sister to him."

"He said it wasn't his story to tell," Usagi said shrugging. "That's why I'm asking you now. I would have asked you sooner, but we were always at odds with one another, so I never bothered to ask."

"Of course, Motoki was never one to divulge someone else's secrets, let alone his own," Mamoru said with a roll of his eyes. "Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I can tell you."

Usagi leaned back against the wall of the elevator shaft, waiting patiently while he gathered his bearings about himself to begin the tale. It was obviously going to be very hard for him to talk about if the look on his face when she'd asked him about it was anything to go by.

"My parents were both doctors," Mamoru started after a few minutes of silence. Usagi watched him carefully as he inhaled a large breath before he continued. "When I was born, they were at the peak of their careers. Miyako and Mamoru Chiba, renowned surgeons at Tokyo General and completely devoted to one another. I was their miracle child. My mom was originally told that she would never be able to have children, but then, five years into their marriage, she was pregnant with me."

"Aww," Usagi cooed, urging him to continue.

"I was a happy child, from what I can remember," Mamoru continued. "But that all changed on the day of my sixth birthday."

"Why is that," Usagi asked, curious.

"Well, like I said, it was my birthday," Mamoru reiterated. "I had begged and pleaded with my parents to go to this amusement park that was opened a few cities over and they finally agreed. When we were coming back home, it had begun to rain heavily. Mom was concerned about us continuing on to our home in the bad weather, but Dad insisted that we would be okay."

Usagi's eyes grew wide, piecing together what he was going to say next. He must have lost his parents in an accident that day. No wonder he'd never mentioned them. She would have had a hard time doing so as well if she'd been in his shoes.

"There was a drunk driver, ran my dad off the road and over a cliff," Mamoru choked out. "My parents didn't survive, but somehow I did. I had amnesia at first, didn't know who I was. It wasn't until I was fifteen that I got my memories back. When I turned seventeen the orphanage I was staying at didn't have any room for me anymore. And being that I had no family but did have the trust fund my parents left behind for me, I was able to get an apartment and support myself. I've lived here ever since."

He was surprised when Usagi wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. He could feel her tears seeping into the fabric of his shirt. He hadn't expected that kind of reaction from her, maybe just a "sorry for your loss" or an "I didn't know" and then they would continue to wait out the rest of their stay in the elevator. When she didn't immediately let go of him, his arms raised to wrap around her waist. They stayed like that for several minutes until the crackling of the speaker pulled the two of them apart.

"Oh please, don't stop on my account," Nephrite laughed. "It's good to see the two of you making progress like this. I wouldn't be surprised if you agreed to dating each other by the time you get out of there, whenever that may be."

"Was there a reason you called, Nephrite," Usagi bit out.

"Oh yeah, the reason I called," Nephrite said, she could hear him snapping. "They said that it's still gonna be a few hours before they can get the two of you out of the elevator, so hold tight, okay? You still have enough supplies to last you for now, right? If not they're gonna have to like air drop you food and stuff or whatever. You know how kids are these days with their drones and stuff."

"Thank you Nephrite, you're free to hang up now," Usagi grumbled.

All she was met with was a laugh before there was silence again. She and Mamoru shared a glance. This was definitely going to be one of the longest days of their lives. And here Usagi was hoping that she'd be able to get out and at least salvage the rest of her work day. But from the looks of it, that wasn't going to be happening. She was going to have a lot to catch up on the following day when she returned to work.

"Well, the good news just keeps coming, doesn't it," Mamoru murmured more so to himself than her.

"I knew I should have just taken the stairs this morning," Usagi grunted, unamused.

Mamoru couldn't help agreeing with her.