Hello again, everyone! I'm back with Chapter 2, and yes, these updates are a record for me. Thank you so much to everyone who left such kind reviews for Chapter 1, and spider-momo, I'm so so so happy you like it so far!

Thanks as always to my dearest Kasienda for her edits, and to UglyGreenJacket for hosting this exchange!

Belonging
Written for spider-momo in the Usamamo Spring Exchange 2020
Chapter 2

"I brought breakfast!" Usagi sing-songed as she slid open the door to Rei's room, a grease-stained brown paper bag full of doughnuts hanging from her hand.

Rei's withering stare pierced her from across the table. "That would have been helpful if you'd gotten here two hours ago, you know, when the meeting was supposed to start." She gestured to the other girls sprawled around the room. Ami had her nose buried in a thick book. Makoto and Minako were hunched over Makoto's phone as they scrolled through a dating app.

"Sorry, sorry, Rei-chan! I…" Usagi crinkled her nose sheepishly as she trailed off.

She had taken advantage of her parents and Shingo being out of the house on a Saturday morning and spent a few hours showing Mamoru exactly what she had meant by spicing up their long-distance relationship via the wonders of modern technology.

She of course didn't care if her friends knew the intimate details of her newly-initiated Skype sex life, but she thought of Mamoru's red-tipped ears and fumbling words before he'd finally let go of his inhibitions and thought better of sharing.

Accustomed to Usagi's constant tardiness, Rei waved her off with a dramatic sigh. Usagi plopped down onto the floor and ripped open the paper bag in the center of the table. Without bothering to wait for the others, she popped a whole doughnut into her mouth, giving a little moan of satisfaction as the sweet glaze soaked her tastebuds.

Rei rolled her eyes and reached for a doughnut herself as the other girls joined them at the table. "Anyway, the senshi meeting. I think we should strategize with the Outers to try to-"

"Oh!" Usagi cut Rei off, and ignored her glare as she looked down at her phone. "I forgot that I told Mamo-chan I'd Skype him in for these when they weren't at weird times for him. It's only like 10 pm in Boston."

Usagi grabbed her laptop from her bag and set it on the table. Within seconds, the familiar Skype musical tune filled the room, Usagi bobbing along to it.

"Usako," Mamoru's voice came out of the speakers before the image adjusted into focus to reveal him sitting on his couch, shirtless in a pair of gray sweatpants. "Again?" The huskiness in his voice was unmistakable.

Usagi flushed as apparently the image came into focus on Mamoru's end as well, and his look of lust transformed into one of utter horror as he realized what he'd just alluded to in the middle of a senshi meeting.

To the sound of the four girls cackling, Mamoru swore as his screen went black. The room was left with just the audio feed, rustling noises sounding from the speaker.

Minutes later, the video came back on to reveal Mamoru in a wrinkled white t-shirt he had clearly hastily thrown on, his hair mussed, the tips of his ears still pink. He cleared his throat, suddenly trying far too hard to be all smooth Tuxedo Kamen medical student.

"Ladies. Hello," he greeted, his tone overly formal as he smoothed a hand through his hair. "Thank you for including me."

"Hey," Minako said solemnly, a twinkle in her eye. "Mamoru, it sounds like your courses at Harvard are pretty, um, hard."

Rei snorted out a laugh as Mamoru blew out a puff of air and rolled his eyes.

"Really, Mina?" he shot back. His cheeks were still blazing, but he fell back into the comfortable banter that had developed between them over the years. "I'd have thought the goddess of love would be more mature about this."

"Hey, we don't all enjoy the sight of a half-naked you quite as much as Usagi does," Makoto quipped as she reached for a doughnut.

"Maaako-chan!" Usagi whined as Mamoru sputtered onscreen.

"Guys, the senshi meeting," Rei tried.

"Well objectively, Mamoru does have symmetrical facial features, which the Evolutionary Advantage Theory proposes represents health and explains attraction in that people are attracted to mates who appear to be healthy," Ami supplied.

"So wait, you're telling me that thousands of years ago, Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion literally risked the world ending because they liked that their eyes were in a certain place on their face?" Minako asked incredulously, her eyes darting from Usagi to Mamoru.

Ami sighed. "Well, no. It's just a theory, and the science of attraction is much more complicated-"

"Stop it!" Usagi interrupted. "You're making Mamo-chan and I sound like a boooring science textbook."

"Guys," Rei tried again.

But the meeting had delved into chaos. Mamoru broke into a smile as he watched the girls bicker, talk over each other, and dissolve into giggles.

Even when he wasn't there, they still felt like home.

Mamoru turned over in his bed restlessly, sighing in frustrated resignation. He couldn't sleep.

This happened sometimes, usually when he was anxious about class or work or missing Usagi.

A sliver of moonlight shone in through the small window above his bed, and he was hit with a wave of longing for his apartment in Tokyo. In Boston, he'd rented a small studio near campus. He had the money, and the idea of dorm life, with its shared bathrooms and forced roommates, was unequivocally unappealing to an introvert accustomed to his privacy.

While the apartment was functional and comfortable enough, it wasn't home. It didn't have that big picture window with the killer view of the city. Instead, it had a few small windows that didn't open all the way and didn't let nearly enough natural light in. It had a well-appointed kitchen, but it wasn't the one Usagi had made a mess of every time she'd made curry for him and Chibiusa, which she insisted on doing frequently after that one time she'd been successful.

Most of all, he missed the balcony he'd spent countless hours with Usagi on. Where she'd landed silently the night after she'd rescued him from Nehelenia and he'd pressed her to him and decided right then he'd be buying her a ring the next day. Where he'd blushed and sputtered awkwardly when she'd asked him if he remembered their first kiss, unsure of which one she'd meant. Where she'd help him hang his laundry, her small socks and shirts sometimes pinned next to his, the breeze tickling their necks as they went inside to make tea or cook dinner.

The long distance thing was hard. But if Mamoru dwelled on it too much, he would go insane. It was a year. One year before an eternity with her.

And Usagi had made him promise to make the most of it. So he tried. He took walking tours of Cambridge and rode those silly touristy duck boats. He went to international student parties because she encouraged him to go, and he gritted his teeth through the small talk and sometimes hid in the bathroom when it was just too much.

He kept a note on his phone of all the places he planned to take her when she would come visit during her school holidays: a retro diner that made milkshakes that rivaled Motoki's, Swan Boat rides, the bronze duckling sculpture in the Public Garden.

Mamoru had tried to make friends, but had only succeeded in making casual acquaintances. He wasn't someone who made friends easily. When he had first arrived at the orphanage as a child, he'd been quiet and withdrawn. But, since he was one of the older kids there-the ones no one wanted to adopt-he'd eventually become a sort of fixture. Some of the younger children had looked up to him as a big brother figure, and Mamoru thought he had found a bit of a home, albeit a lonely one, there.

Some of the staff and the children at the orphanage had even thrown him a small going-away party when he'd made the decision to move out on his own, worried that his late-night escapades as a young Tuxedo Kamen would draw too much attention.

That first Christmas after he'd moved out, Mamoru went back to the orphanage to see what he'd thought of as his "family", only to discover that most of them had left and never bothered to contact him.

He hadn't known any better. He hadn't known that the smallest modicum of care and surface-level conversations weren't what family was about. The orphanage was the only family he'd ever known.

So, he'd assumed it was him. That there was something wrong with him, something broken about him. He'd retreated back into his quiet, insecure shell and hadn't entertained the thought of coming out until the day a crumpled test paper had landed on his head and he'd been immediately mesmerized by the blonde tornado of a girl who had thrown it.

It hadn't been easy, though.

Mamoru never doubted his love for Usagi or Usagi's love for him, but he did sometimes have doubts about where he fit in among the rest of the senshi. He had often thought that they merely tolerated him because of their loyalty to Usagi. What could he possibly offer to the rest of them?

But over time, their relationships had grown. Ami had been the easiest to get along with at first. They could talk about school, medicine-easy subjects that Mamoru was comfortable with. He'd been a little self-conscious around Rei at first, until one day she'd just put it out in the open that a couple of cups of coffee a few years ago didn't count as dating and he needed to stop being all awkward around her.

Minako had come next. Yes, she could be frivolous, but no one understood his relationship with Usagi quite like she did, and vice-versa. And finally, on one recent birthday, Makoto had shown up to his apartment with a basket of baked goods to bluntly talk about how much it sucked to be an orphan.

Still, it wasn't really until they were fighting the Dead Moon Circus that Mamoru had comfortably eased into his relationships with all of them - study sessions at his apartment, long afternoons snacking at the Crown Fruit parlor, seamlessly working together in battle.

He had finally felt like he belonged. And paradoxically, if he hadn't, he never would have had the guts to go to Harvard.

But at the moment, he felt particularly lonely. He'd expected to miss Usagi. But he hadn't expected to miss so many other things about and people in his life so profoundly.

He reached for his phone on his nightstand. 2:00 am. It would be about 4:00 pm in Tokyo. He couldn't remember if Usagi had manga club today. If not, she would be done for the day and maybe at home or at the Crown.

It wasn't the first time he had called her out of loneliness.

Usagi was sitting on those rickety metal bleachers outside of the high school when she answered the video call, puffy white clouds filling the late afternoon sky behind her. A flash of concern passed over her features. "Mamo-chan. It's late for you. Is everything ok?"

"Yes. I just…" he trailed off. He just wanted to hear her voice. See her face. Be reassured that she was there.

She smiled knowingly at him. "I miss you, Mamo-chan."

"I miss you too, Usako. What are you doing?" He could hear shouting in the distance. A whistle blew.

"Watching American football."

"I'm sorry, what?" Mamoru asked, unable to keep the disbelief out of his voice. Of all the things he ever expected to hear out of her mouth, that wasn't one of them. The one time Motoki and Reika had invited them to a soccer match, Usagi had spent the whole time whining about how bored she was and scandalizing (and, if he was honest, also tempting) Mamoru with the suggestion that they go make out in the bathroom instead of watch the game.

Usagi giggled. "American football. My friend Seiya plays, and he invited me to come watch."

Oh. Seiya. Seiya was one of the Three Lights, the pop idols Usagi had been so keen on befriending. Mamoru ignored the little pang of jealousy in his heart. He was glad Usagi had new friends, glad she'd met people she liked at her new school.

Mamoru opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off with an "Oy! Odango!"

He watched as Usagi's eyes narrowed just like they used to at him, and he was transported back to flying test papers and shoes and insults in the streets years ago. Usagi stuck her tongue out, her nose wrinkling adorably.

Just like it used to.

"Stop calling me that!"

It was more than a pang of jealousy now.

"Who are you talking to?" the same voice said as Usagi turned to her left.

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi answered.

"Oh. The boyfriend."

Fiancé, Mamoru wanted to correct him. But the word stuck in his throat.

"Here; I want you to meet him! Mamo-chan, this is Kou Seiya!" Usagi excitedly thrust her phone at Seiya, and he came into view on Mamoru's screen, sitting next to Usagi on the bleachers. He wore a green football jersey, his face sweaty and flushed. Mamoru couldn't help but notice that Seiya bore a resemblance to him. His eyes were darker; his long ponytail was a bit ridiculous. But the similarities were there.

"Hello," Mamoru said evenly.

"Hey," Seiya grunted in response. "So, Harvard, huh? For a whole year?" Was Mamoru imagining it, or was there judgement in Seiya's eyes as he spoke?

Mamoru nodded. "So, pop idol?" he said stupidly.

Seiya lazily leaned back and shrugged, resting his back on the bleacher behind him. "I guess you could say that." He handed the phone back to Usagi. "Anyway, nice to meet you," he added. It sounded like an afterthought.

"Hey, Odango."

Mamoru couldn't help the clench in his jaw as he watched Usagi's eyes narrow again and he heard Seiya's rumbling chuckle in response.

"A few of us were planning to go get milkshakes. Want to come?"

Usagi's eyes lit up, as Mamoru knew they did any time sweets were mentioned. He gave her a little smile. "I should try to get back to sleep anyway. Have fun!" he forced, sounding much more cheerful than he felt.

Mamoru's phone screen went black and he fell back into bed with a sigh, trying to ignore the uneasiness that had taken up residence in his gut. He tried closing his eyes, but it was no use. All he could see was Seiya's smirk, his easy swagger and confidence as he teased Usagi.

He reached for his phone again. As a rule, Mamoru didn't pay much attention to social media. He hadn't logged into his Instagram account since the day Usagi had begged him to make one a few years ago.

He opened the app and clicked on Usagi's profile. Her Instagram was 98% pictures of food: crepes, milkshakes, her favorite meat buns, those perfect macarons they'd stumbled upon while out shopping one day. Occasionally, Mamoru made an appearance, but more often, just his hands did as they held up something for Usagi to get precisely the right angle for the shot she wanted. He'd been there for most of the pictures she posted, either behind the camera or just outside of the frame.

Hating himself a little bit, Mamoru searched through Usagi's followers until he found what he was looking for: KouSeiyaOfficial.

He frowned as he scrolled through Seiya's photos. Seiya posted a lot. At least five pictures a day. And in between all of the pictures of soundchecks and autograph signings were some familiar faces. Usagi had told him how they'd all befriended the Three Lights, but Mamoru hadn't expected this. First, there were the group photos: The Three Lights with all of the girls smiling in front of a fire at a cabin, laughing as they shared lunches on the roof of the high school, hanging out at some sort of recording studio, posing at a joint concert with Michiru.

There were others, too. Makoto and Taiki on some sort of cooking show. Minako with the three of them looking somewhat exasperated behind her, a clipboard in her hand and a headpiece attached to her ear. Even one of Yaten sitting on a park bench with Luna.

Mamoru exited Seiya's account and opened the camera roll on his phone. This was stupid. This was immature. But he couldn't help himself.

The only other photo on Mamoru's Instagram account was of the potted fern by his balcony door, posted when he'd first gotten the app and was mildly curious about the different filter options.

But now, next to it, he uploaded a semi-recent picture of him and Usagi. Not being particularly clever, he simply captioned it "Edward's Ball."

Then he started following Seiya's account.

Admittedly, I like the way this chapter turned out, and I hope you did, too! Reviews are love :).

Also, two fun facts about me that I feel like I need to mention, as they, in addition to spider-momo's preferences, 100% guide the writing of this fic:
1. I worked as an advisor in a college study abroad office for about 4 years, so, big fan of the whole study abroad concept. I could write an essay about this, but I won't.
2. I've been in a long distance relationship for a while, and I'm basically the one who made it that way because of my own education, so yes, I am sometimes unnecessarily triggered by the "Mamoru is so selfish for going to Harvard" argument because I (as I believe FloraOne, UglyGreenJacket, and Kasienda all pointed out to me) project it onto myself. But also, I am not a superhero or reborn Earth royalty, so, you know, there are some differences there.