Yay! I can finally update! Three cheers for ff.net! Anyway, I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting this chapter, so here it is! Oh, btw, I was inspired by this fic to draw some fanart... I'm starting a series... Thought that'd be fun. Anyway, if you wanna check em out, go here:

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=40725

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=44898

I have another favor to ask... A couple of days ago I posted a new fic, Shiver. So far it has gotten no reviews, and that makes me want to cry! Please, for the sake of my sanity, go and read this fic! I put a lot of effort into it, and I thought it turned out really well! Now, you guys know I don't normally plug my own stories, but this is really important to me. Thanks!


And now, on with the story!




"What if something happened to him?" Quatre asked, nervously drumming his
fingers on the chair's arm. He couldn't help but think that he was responsible for
Heero's current disappearance.

The others knew nothing about what had happened the night before. And if they
did, they didn't let on.

"Quatre, my man, don't worry about Heero!" Duo exclaimed, lounging on the couch.
"I'm sure he's fine."

"Maybe he came in last night, and we didn't hear him," Wufei suggested. He didn't
tend to worry about Heero. Now, if Duo had been missing for a long period of time,
then he'd be wondering what kind of harebrained situation the braided man had gotten
himself into.

"I'll go check," Trowa volunteered. He silently slipped upstairs to Heero's room.
The truth was, he was also worried when Heero never came home, but he knew that the
man was more than capable of taking care of himself.

He opened the door to Heero's room, only to find it empty. Shutting the door once
again, Trowa decided to see if Usagi was awake.

Opening her door, he blinked in surprise. Not only was Usagi still asleep, but
Heero was asleep right beside her! Trowa didn't know what to think of this. Out of all of
them, Heero having feelings for Usagi was even more crazy than Wufei having feelings
for the girl. And Heero allowing her to get close to him like that? If there was even the
slightest doubt that Usagi was something special, it was definitely cleared up now.

Trowa backed out of the room, quietly pulling the door closed behind him. He
made his way downstairs to the living room.

They all looked at him expectantly. Should he tell them what he found? No, he
would let Usagi and Heero keep their privacy. "Heero is sleeping upstairs."

Quatre heaved a huge sigh of relief, but Duo only grinned. "Told you."

Trowa was still mulling over this newfound information. He was surprised hat he felt
no jealousy. When he first met Usagi, he was attracted to her; who wouldn't be? But
now, he felt more protective over her than anything, like he needed to take care of her.
He just hoped that Heero wouldn't hurt her with his distant attitude.



Mumbling something incoherently, Usagi snuggled up closer to the pillow. The
pillow, in response, held her tightly against it.

Wait a minute... Cocking one eye open, Usagi waited for the blurriness to go
away. When it did, her other eye flew open as she lifted her head up.

Staring back at her, smirking slightly, was Heero. His hair was rumpled from
sleep, but his eyes were alert, focused solely on her.

Usagi was surprised to find her arm draped lazily across Heero's chest. She was
even more surprised to find his arm around her back, cradling her to him. "How long
have you been awake?"

"A while."

"Why didn't you move me?" she collapsed back to the mattress, not bothering to
move her arm. She rather liked having him so close to her.

"I didn't want to," he answered evenly, causing a pretty pink glow to cover her
cheeks. Then his voice took on a more serious note. "Usagi... can we talk?"

Usagi sat up, pulling out of his grasp. "Every time you say that, you want
information." She didn't say this bitterly, only stated the facts. But it was perfectly
fine this time, because she didn't plan on giving him any information unless he gave her
some in return.

By this time he had sat up also. She faced him, a no-nonsense expression staring
back at him. "Fine. We'll talk. But you have to answer my questions as well."

One corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly, but he complied. "Fair enough.
Now, who are your friends, really?"

She sighed. They weren't going to be happy about this... "You know how I said
that there were other Sailor senshi? Well, my friends are also my senshi."

Heero had been suspecting this, but he wanted her to confirm his suspicions. "So
when you went to meet them after your attack and said that they could protect you..."

"I meant it." She gave a hint of a smile as she thought of Haruka, her devoted
bodyguard.

"What about your cat?"

At this, Usagi jumped. She knew he was suspicious of the senshi, but she didn't
know he had noticed Luna also. Must have been the crescent moon on her forehead,
definitely not normal for a cat, or anyone for that matter. "What about her?"

"She's not a normal cat."

Damn. Now Luna was going to be even more angry at her. "You're right again.
She's not normal..." Usagi took a deep breath before continuing. "Luna is my
guardian. She is the one that told me I was Sailor Moon."

"Told you?"

"Ummm... did I forget to mention that Luna can talk?"

"Talk?" Heero gave her a dubious look. Sailor Moon, senshi, reincarnation... he
could handle all that. But a talking cat?

"Yes, she can talk. If I knew where she was, I'd show you. But I don't, so you'll
just have to trust me."

Heero put his hands up in front of him. "All right, I'll give you the benefit of the
doubt." He changed the subject. "Do your friends know about your being attacked?"

"I told them, and they weren't happy, mostly because they weren't there to protect
me. They felt that they had failed me. But I reassured them that you guys would keep
me safe." She met his gaze, her crystalline eyes boring into his. "Now why don't you
explain to me how you guys would be better at protecting me than my own senshi."

There was no dodging the question. He could lie to her, and easily at that. Then
she wouldn't have to know what they had done, what he had done. But she deserved
the truth about what they had once been before peace was established.

"Before the War, there were these five scientists who made mobile dolls that were
different from the others. They were taller, larger, stronger, more deadly, and made of
Gundanium alloy. These Gundams were by far the most advanced, the best mobile
suits made. They were virtually invincible in battle."

"And?" Usagi waited for the story to continue. She gazed into his eyes, which
mirrored all of the pain and violence that he had been witness to. Then his words
started to sink in. Her eyes widened. "You! You five piloted the Gundams?"

This was truly unbelievable. She remembered seeing shots of the Gundams on the
news during the War, and she had been highly impressed with their structures. Never
in a million years would she have imagined that she'd meet their pilots one day. Then
again, she was sure they had felt the same way about Sailor Moon.

"You were so young!" she cried, clutching his arm.

"Said the girl who also fought crime," Heero countered.

"Good point..." Usagi blushed again, then said, "You five really did something for
humanity."

"We almost killed our own in the process," Heero muttered under his breath, eyes
downcast.

But Usagi heard his words. She loosened her grip on his arm, making him look up
at her. "It's over now, and you're all fine." But even as she said this, she knew it was
partially a lie. She had seen firsthand what the War had done to them.

Wufei had sought only revenge after his entire clan was killed. He pushed himself
to be the best so he could defeat his enemies. Trowa was plagued by nightmares that
repeatedly reminded him of the horrors he had gone through. Quatre had so
desperately wanted to believe in her innocence, as if to compensate for the loss of his
own. Duo gave off the facade of being a normal, happy man, but she suspected that,
like the others, he had a rather morbid past.

And Heero... Heero was the enigma of the group. From the moment she met him,
he had been nothing but suspicious and accusing towards her. He had become more
accepting of her presence, but she still felt like miles were between them. And then,
when he kissed her... it was as if all that suspicion, all that distance, disappeared, and
they were the only two that existed, as if his life depended on their closeness.

She felt such strong emotions from all of them, and she was attached to each one
in one way or another. She wanted to know each of their stories, and she hoped they
would learn to trust her enough to tell her in time.

"Heero..." Usagi began, but he cut her off.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, once again resorting to his usual monotone.
He flopped back against the bed, closing his eyes.

"I understand."

Heero felt the bed shift, so he assumed she had gotten up. Then Usagi grabbed
his hand. He cracked one eye open.

Usagi had scooted closer to him. She brought their hands to his chest, feeling his
heart beat strong and steady. "Every beat of your heart reminds you of your humanity,"
she told him softly. Then she pressed their hands to her own heart, feeling her own
heartbeat, which was thumping wildly. He cocked an eyebrow at her, and her cheeks
flushed.

He gently pulled her hand down, holding it to his heart once again, which was now
beating out of control. "I feel the same way."

Before she could say anything, Heero pulled her down to him, his lips claiming
hers in a kiss that made her fall against him. She melted into his embrace, one hand
slipping to the back of his neck, the other still entwined with his and pressed between
their bodies over his heart.

Unlike the day before, she allowed herself to get lost in him. She focused on the
little details: the hand holding her to him, his index finger tracing tiny circles on the
small of her back; the silkiness of the hair at the nape of his neck; how his lips seemed
to mold perfectly to hers, his kisses gentle but full of passion...

As breathing became an issue, Usagi pulled back, slightly panting. Her eyes
locked onto his, her lips curling into a smile. "Care to not talk about it some more?"

He chuckled. "Maybe later. I should make an appearance downstairs so the guys
don't--oh hell, they wouldn't worry."

"Fine, just leave me!" She jumped off the bed, dramatically throwing one hand
across her forehead before fleeing into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

A minute later, Heero heard water running. He shook his head. That girl definitely
made life interesting. He got up, grabbing his boots. Looking from the bedroom door to
the bathroom door, he hesitantly knocked on the latter.

"Come in," Usagi called out.

Opening the door, Heero was hit with a cloud of steamy air. "I'm just passing
through," he told her, proceeding to the door leading to his own bedroom.

Usagi pulled the curtain back just enough to stick her head out. "Just so you
know, I fully intend to not continue our conversation later." She winked at him before
pulling the shower curtain closed once again.

Smirking, Heero went into his own room. He wasn't one to disrupt her plans.




I had to throw in a little mush there at the end... It was absolutely necessary... I bet you guys are wondering when the real fun will begin... Well, I can honestly say that you won't have to wait long... I have a bunch of ideas that will lead to copious amounts of fun. So please review! If I get awesome reviews (which I always do, because you guys are wonderful), then I'll try to post by mid next week. Thanks so much! I love you guys!