When Usagi had a nightmare, Mamoru did his best to comfort her.
There were still, to this day, things she didn't open up about. Memories too painful for her to speak of, but he could see the anguish reflected in her sapphire eyes. When she would wake, trembling and crying, he'd open up his arms to her, holding her until the nightmare faded from her mind. If it ever truly did.
On this night, Mamoru came to bed much later than he usually did. When he slipped into bed beside Usagi, she had already been asleep for a few hours. He took a moment to look over her, golden hair spread out beneath her head like a halo, one leg tucked over the blankets as she slept. The moment he had pulled the blanket over himself, he heard her; the softest whimper, the quiet little cry that told him so much more than her words ever could. He reached out a hand beneath the blanket and she trembled beneath his touch.
And then suddenly she was awake, rising up so fast from the bed sheets he thought she may fall over her side of the bed. "Usako..." His calming vocals reached her panic-stricken mind and she turned to look at him, her blue eyes wide and wild in her face. "It was just a dream..." He murmured as she dove into his embrace, her body quaking with the force of her tears. "Tell me." His softly spoken prompt caught her attention and she sat up, peering into his eyes for several long moments before she opened her mouth and began to speak.
Her words wove images of sacrifice and heroism; moments he had missed, moments he'd not been there to experience were coursing through his mind with her every word. Those times when the ones she loved most were ripped from her side, torn down before her very eyes. Silence descended and Usagi turned away from him, shoulders curved with the weight of her pain, of her suffering. Mamoru felt his own heart twist, recognizing the feelings that she was so deeply feeling. The feeling of inadiquacy, the feeling of being unable to protect those you loved the most. He had felt them himself so many times before, had he not? "How can I protect them all?" She whispered, pivoting back to face him, her eyes sparkling like gems, so full of unshed tears. "What if I'm not strong enough next time?"
Mamoru reached out, taking both of her hands in his, amazed as always by how perfectly they fit within his grasp. "There's no one stronger, there's no one better to protect this world." She shied away from his touch, his words not having the affect they usually would have. And so his hands were cupping her cheeks, drawing her gaze back to his as one of her hands fell into place over his. "Besides, you don't have to do it alone." He went on softly, his encouraging words beginning to draw her back. "I'll always protect you.. And this planet too." A single tear trailed the curve of her cheek and he swiped it away with his thumb, a small smile falling into place upon his lips. "I'm never going to let you do it alone." He drew her in, his lips finding hers without a moment of hesitation. "Get some rest," he urged as he helped her back into bed, drawing her into his arms and pulling the blankets back over them both. Mamoru knew she was asleep within minutes, drifting back into what he could only hope would be a much better sleep than before. He brushed a kiss to her temple, reminding himself of what he had just told her. He would always protect her. He would always protect her and this planet they loved so much, the planet of their rebirth, the planet that they would someday rule together.
He would never let anyone take away from him what he had. He would always, always protect what he loved. And that... That was her.