Mamoru reflexively rubbed his chest. Upon catching himself in the act he raised an eyebrow. He hoped he wasn't starting to catch the illness himself. He didn't have any of the other symptoms and his test had come back negative. That'd been a few weeks ago though, maybe he needed another check up. He winced remembering the discomfort of the cotton swab at the back of his throat and up his nose.

As far as he knew, no one else he knew had been tested. At least no one he knew outside the medical field. He made a mental reminder to ask about that the next chance he got.

But maybe not today.

He sat down in front of his computer and waited patiently. He'd already checked and double-checked his microphone and speakers were working so now all that was left was to await the call. Without meaning to, he massaged his chest again.

He'd considered making the call himself, but knowing Usagi and her situation it made more sense to wait for her to call him. That was presuming she could figure the software out. He felt a pang of guilt at the thought. Surely he should have more faith in-

Suddenly he saw a call coming through and promptly answered. He leaned back abruptly, horrified at the sight that greeted him. It was a weird black and pink shape of some kind.

"Mamo-chan? Can you see me?"

He sighed with relief and tried to compose himself. "Not yet. You're too close to the camera Usako."

"Whoops." Usagi leaned back, finally giving Mamoru a good look at her. "Is this better?"

"That's great Usako." Mamoru's heart skipped a beat. It'd been far too long since he'd laid eyes on Usagi outside of photos.

"Mamo-chan, I miss you soooooooooooo much!" she pouted.

"I miss you too Usako. But it won't be like this forever. Everyone will have a vaccine soon enough."

"Ugh, great. So I have a shot to look forward to."

"Hey, at least you won't have to administer any of them like me."

A guilty look crossed her face. "Oh, right. For a moment I forgot that you…Is it really awful out there?"

Mamoru just about managed to cover up the haunted expression on his face. "It's not great Usako. But we're making progress."

Usagi's eyes dropped. "If I could, I'd use Moon Healing Escalation on the whole world."

"Usako..." At that moment Mamoru really wished he could embrace her. "…When this is all over we'll all have a big party together, the whole gang. And then something smaller…with just the two of us…"

"That'll be nice," she mumbled. "I'm just…I'm worried about you."

"I don't take any unnecessary risks Usako. I promise."

"Oh, I know," she said, a surprised quality in her voice, "I meant…um…"

Mamoru raised his eyebrow "What?"

"I meant because…apart from when you go help at the hospital…you're all alone."

"…I'm fine." He hoped his voice didn't give anything away. He suppressed the urge to touch his chest once more. "Really. I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me."

Now Usagi raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh…Hey, would you mind waiting a minute?"

"Sure."

Usagi closed the laptop, leaving Mamoru to presume she was getting changed or something.

Somehow the sudden silence was deafening, and his cosy apartment felt like an empty Cathedral.

After a few minutes (that'd felt like hours) life stirred on his computer screen and Usagi came back into view. However, this time she wasn't alone.

"Hi Mamo-chan!"

"Chibi-Usa!?"

Mamoru's mouth hung open and his eyes briefly darted to Usagi on the chair next to the pink haired child. She gave him a small smile and a tiny nod. Evidently, she'd decided there were more important things than their first 'date' in months.

As Mamoru returned the smile with one of his own the numbness in his chest began to lessen.

A/N: Hi there!

Thanks for checking out this story.

Originally I intended this story to be a simple one shot about Usagi and Mamoru, but the response to it has prompted me to try and make a short anthology instead.

Whilst these plans are subject to change, currently I intend to post at least three more chapters, each one about Rei, Makoto and Minako. They should be going up each week (maybe on a Tuesday or a Saturday I'm thinking) so look out for them.

Additionally I hope to post some other Sailor Moon stories outside of this anthology series each week too (also probably on a Tuesday or Saturday) and I hope you might see your way to giving them a shot too.

And if you have the time I'd appreciate any feedback you could drop me!

Take care folks!