Author's Note: Some of my Fandom friends occasionally play something we call "The Prompt Game," where we find something that inspires us and then try to write a short piece (ideally 500 words or less) around it. They're quick, unbeta'd, and just for fun, and I'm going to be sharing mine here!

Today's prompt is "Mug," based on a fabulous piece of Mamo fanart by tamagooo - you can find it on Twitter at twitter . c om / tmjg58842932 / status / 1294303205698879488?s=19 (remove the spaces). Basically, it's Mamo-chan in scrubs holding an adorable mug in his hand.

Prompt: Mug

Word Count: 500 words

Rating: K/G

Hope you enjoy, and would love to hear what you think!

"Oh, so cute! Did one of your patients give you that?"

Mamoru glanced down at the mug in his hand, which held that day's fifth cup of coffee. It was a pale purple, with a winking white cartoon rabbit and the word "Usa" painted on the side in childish print.

He chuckled sheepishly, understanding his colleague's confusion. "Uh, no, actually. I took my girlfriend to one of those 'Paint your own pottery' places."

"Aw, and she made that for you?"

His ears turned red as he nodded.

He wasn't embarrassed that the mug was unabashedly cutesy - anyone who could find it in themselves to be embarrassed by the love and exuberance of Tsukino Usagi simply didn't understand her. What squirmed in his stomach was the lie - the fact that in reality, Usagi had painted the mug for herself, and it had taken him weeks to get up the nerve to pocket it one morning as he left her apartment for his shift at the hospital.

So far she didn't seem to have noticed - she had several dozen cartoon mugs already, after all - but a part of him did worry that she'd wake up one morning and wonder where it had gone.

Not enough to return it, of course - his shifts as an intern were grueling, and on more than one day this littlest reminder of his love had been the only thing to keep him going. But if lying to his colleague about the origins of the mug made him uncomfortable, he could only imagine what lying to Usagi about the mug might feel like.

It was a few hours later, sitting in the break room finishing up the day's paperwork with cup of coffee number seven on the table next to him, when a pair of small hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who?!" trilled his favorite voice in the world, and he grinned.

"Hmm… Ginga-san? It's been such a long time..."

Usagi smacked his shoulder before sliding into the chair next to him. "That is not funny, Mamo-chan," she informed him with her arms primly crossed and her nose in the air. Then, her eyes pivoted down to the table and she squealed.

Mamoru's stomach dropped when he realized she had seen the mug. It seemed his day of reckoning had come...

"Finally!" Usagi crowed. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to 'sneak' this out of my apartment!"

His brow knit in confusion. "What?"

She threw him the look she usually saved for the times when he was being particularly dense. "Mamo-chan, did you really think I needed another bunny mug? You've seen my cupboard, right? The ones I already have don't even fit!"

"Then why…?"

She rolled her eyes with her usual bright smile. "I wanted you to have it, but you didn't want to admit that you wanted it, so…"

He shook his head, bewildered, and hid his smile by taking another sip from his purple mug.