Title: Starting Again
Author: Raya
Theme: OTP / Ashes by Embrace
Genre: General / Angsty
Version: PGSM – (spoiler level Vesta, i.e., direct references to scenes and plotlines MAJOR SPOILER ALERT)
Rating: PG
Couple: Usagi x Mamoru
Word Count: ~389

Disclaimer: My one true pairing (Usagi and Mamoru) sprang complete from the mind of Takeuchi Naoko, and they still belong to her except for the piece she shared with Bandai. These little chocolate simulacrums, however are mine! *hugs the chocolate protectively to her chest*

Starting Again

I've waited, and given the chance again,
I'd do it all the same, but either way
I'm always outplayed, up on your down days
I left it the right way, to start again ... "Ashes" by Embrace

Usagi stared out over the edge of the bridge and watched the plane climb higher into the evening sky. It was over. Done. Finished before it even started. And as she watched him leave her behind, she searched her soul to see if she could truly do this.

Deep inside, there was a throbbing feeling, as if a painful bruise had been hit hard. But other than that, she felt fine. She had had her period of mourning, of loss, already when she had discovered that he was engaged. She knew how to deal with this pain.

She took a deep breath and gave the world a brave smile. She had done the right thing, letting him go. Now, it was time to start again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

He stared out the small window, his eyes intently scanning the cityscape far below. He was not trying to memorize the scene to stave off homesickness later. He was not enamored with the bright patterns of lights so far below. He searched instead for the girls who were watching him chase his dreams.

Hina would be probably be in a taxi still, maybe on that major roadway down there. She had been so beautiful, so strong when she had told him goodbye. He truly hoped that she found someone who would love her the way that she deserved soon, but he could not help but be grateful that he was free of the lie.

And Usagi... Usagi. The young teenager who had mysteriously stolen his heart. The heroine he looked up to. The princess who haunted his dreams. He knew she was down there, watching him. 'One day,' he promised her silently. 'One day, when I know who I am, when I know what I am, I will be back. And then...'

And then what? He did not know. Their love was supposedly cursed, and yet he could not, would not believe that. Until he remembered what had happened in that other life, though, he would not know what to do.

For now, he would start a new life, in a new country, far from the two women who meant so much to him. He sighed as he sat back in his seat, the view so distant now that he could not make out any individual details. It was time to start again.