Mamoru ate ice cream. It was a vanilla chocolate swirl mixture, two large scoops rising above the ice cream cone. It was beginning to melt so he licked up the ice cream that dared to try escaping. Slowly, he worked his way closer to the scoops of ice cream. He wanted to savor the taste. Going around the bottom of the mound of ice cream, he took a small bite. He licked the spot back to being smooth, no longer looking as if a bite was taken out of it. He repeated biting and licking a few more times. Mamoru thought it was odd the flavor was changing. No longer could he taste the chocolate. It was vanilla now, with a hint of something he couldn't place. The taste kept morphing and now the ice cream smelled. It wasn't a bad smell, in fact it was very good, but he couldn't describe it other than, "Usagi". That's who his ice cream smelled like. Curious as to what a bite of this ice cream would now taste like, he took a nip higher up the ice cream, but didn't taste anything. All his mind registered was that the ice cream had gasped.
Mamoru opened his eyes, thinking it was an odd dream he had, but stilled when he realized what was in front of him. He was looking at her chest. Sometime during the night, they shifted so Usagi was laying on her back and he was curled up next to her, his head resting on her shoulder. He lifted his head up and was mortified to discover he had drooled all over her in his sleep. No. He hadn't drooled. Judging by the faint red mark, he had actually been licking and nipping at her. Had she been in regular pajamas, it wouldn't have been a problem. He could say he drooled. She would never know he bit her. However, she was still in her everyday clothes. Since she planned on staying on the Moon, she probably didn't think to change. Her light grey button down shirt hadn't been buttoned so the shifting in her sleep made it fall open, revealing the pink tank top she wore under it. Usagi turned her head to him as she opened her eyes. She jumped up and shoved him away, her eyes full of confusion and possibly fear. He apologized. "Usagi, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
She shook her head. "No, it isn't anything you did. It's a dream I had, but…" She looked at him in confusion as his words sunk in. "What do you mean you didn't mean… to…" She felt her chest. "Why am I wet?" She looked at her hand in shock. "Did you slobber all over me?"
Mamoru sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Usagi said. "I'll go wash it off." When the bathroom door closed, he ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't believe what he'd done. Why did he do that? She wasn't going to believe him. No doubt she'd see the bite mark at the top of her breast and think he tried to take advantage of her. Is that why there was a hint of fear in her eyes? He leaned against the wall a few feet from the bathroom door so if she tried to run, he could… could what? Stop her? He ran a hand through his hair again. Jerking his head up at the sound of a knock, he sighed.
Usagi didn't know how long she could hide in the bathroom and was relieved when Mamoru lightly knocked on the door, saying someone was at the front door and to not come out. It bought her some time to think. She had dreamed Mamoru was kissing her neck, working his way lower, when suddenly he nipped at her then disappeared. When she woke, she freaked out seeing him right there and when she discovered he had actually drooled on her, she was shocked. She was even more shocked when she saw the faint bite mark. Her face had gone beet red. If neither of them had woken up, would he have continued? She wondered what he had been dreaming about? A smile crossed her face as she imagined him eating an ice cream cone or a sundae. Her smile fell when she thought he might have dreamed of another woman. Had he been dreaming of making out with someone, and when he woke up, he was horrified to see it was her?
She breathed deeply, deciding she wouldn't ask. If he asked what her dream was about she'd say he was helping her study, vanished, and she was shocked to see him right there when she woke up. No way she'd tell him she dreamed they were making out and she certainly wasn't going to tell him she wanted him to finish what he started. She wasn't sure how long she stood there lost in her thoughts before he knocked to say the coast was clear.
Exiting the bathroom, she stood in the hallway. Deciding to tell him now instead of risking being caught off guard later, Usagi said. "I'm sorry. I dreamed you were helping me study. You suddenly vanished like a decomposing mummy and when I woke up, you were right there. It freaked me out and I over reacted." He seemed relieved, but she didn't ask what his dream had been. What if he had been dreaming of making out with another woman? What if he had dreamed of Beryl? What if he dreamed of them giving Prince Diamond a show? No, Prince Diamond wouldn't sit back and watch, he'd be part of it. Did Mamoru dream of the three of them making out? She rubbed her forehead. Where the hell were her thoughts going?
That's when she noticed the rose on his dresser. Mamoru smiled as he looked at the rose. "That's a replica of the rose you gave me when I was in the hospital… I don't know if you remember, you would have been around 3. The one you gave me died, so I used one of my roses to take its place." He looked at her. "That was nice of you to go around giving out roses. It made my day." Usagi nodded. If only he knew where those roses had come from. She thought back to the day after Shingo was born.
Usagi watched her father take cover as her mother threw the vase of roses at the wall, angrily saying. "I don't want your stupid roses." The vase shattering brought two nurses rushing to the room. Her mother continued to berate her father. "How dare you say such things!" One nurse cleaned up the mess and picked up the roses while the other tried to calm her parents down. If her mother could have gotten her hands on something else, she would have thrown it. Glaring at him, her mother said. "Kenji. How could you go behind my back? How can I ever trust you again?" Kenji was furious. "I should be the one asking you that!" Ikuko acted appalled. "Excuse me?" Her parents continued to bicker as the nurse who had cleaned up the mess led Usagi out of the room. As the door shut behind her, she heard her father say. "He is my best friend!" The nurse smiled, handing the roses to Usagi. "Let's give these to some of the other patients, shall we?" Usagi nodded, taking the roses, and walked with the nurse to give roses to patients on a different floor than the one WWIII was taking place on.
She sighed. Sometime between Shingo being born and the time he turned five, they had evolved into the perfect family. Now that Shingo was gone, she wondered if they would go back to the way they were? Would her parents bicker like they used to? Would half the dishes get broken again? She couldn't stay there, but where would she go? Makoto or Minako might take her in, but she didn't want to be a burden. Could she stay on the Moon? No, she couldn't. While the silver crystal was very powerful, it didn't provide an endless supply of food and drink. At least, she didn't think it did. How was she going to pay for everything she needed? Something had to give. After the senshi meeting… her eyes widened. "Mamoru, I can't go to the senshi meeting. If someone sees me and tells my parents, then they'll know I'm not in Fukushima."
He nodded. "You can stay here and Sailor Venus can update you. I've got to help Motoki, but I'll be back when I'm finished. I could tell him I can't help with the arcade, but the boss is supposed to be there later today to inspect or something. I can't bail on him today."
She nodded and said. "Umm. Are you online?"
Mamoru asked. "Yes. Why?"
Usagi said. "It's hard for us to sneak away to fight. If we try to sneak away to talk, it will be harder and more suspicious. I thought we could talk online, instead of always trying to meet… or we could schedule a meet… or… I don't know."
He nodded. "Of course. When I get back, we can go over what sites we're on and which will be the best to communicate on. Your parents aren't monitoring your accounts are they?"
She shrugged. "They probably try to keep an eye on what is public, but they don't have access to the accounts and I won't give it to them. Just to be safe though, I'll keep our conversations deleted. You know, in case they resort to hacking."
He said. "Okay. We can try doing that. I'll be back in a couple of hours. If you get hungry, there's some sandwiches in the refrigerator." Usagi watched him leave. Pulling out her communicator, she pushed the button for Venus. Things needed to change and they needed to change soon. She didn't know how much longer she could keep going. The way she felt made her want to give it one or two months, but decided to give it until Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas. By then, if she didn't have a destination, if nothing changed, then she'd quit. She'd have two options, run away to the Moon or die. Hell, maybe there was a third option of selling her soul to a gang. Some people might say, "Stand up for yourself" or "Tell them to shove it" but she was in no position right now to do so. She had nowhere to go and even if she did, she'd prefer to leave quietly and not make a scene. Sighing, she shoved those thoughts aside as Minako answered the communicator and she explained why she wouldn't be attending the meeting. Minako nodded in understanding and agreed to call her so she can be part of the meeting instead of relaying information.
Prince Diamond scowled. The tracker he placed on the back of Sailor Moon's red hair jewel had accurately tracked her from Nemesis, to the Palace, and back to the 20th century. So why did it stop tracking her for a few hours? He had ordered Rubeus and the Spectre Sisters to investigate and he had yet to hear back. His patience was wearing thin. He'd give it one more hour before contacting them for an update.
AN: I'm going to try focusing more on other characters (like the Black Moon Clan) in the next couple of chapters. Probably won't see much of Usagi. So, the next song I have on the playlist is another Lesley Roy song, "Misfit".