I found myself in a bit of a slog with my WiP so needed to shift my focus onto something else to work my way out of it. A fellow writer wrote a story set during the Masquerade episode and I became inspired to write my own after reading it.
Writer: A_Reptile_Dysfunction
Story: "Deja Vu"
From that inspiration came this little OS, which I am posting with her blessing.
This is a more mature offering than my WiP "Once More, with Feeling" - nothing super explicit but I wanted to provide that heads up anyway - and doesn't technically fit within that universe. But it does contain a lot of the same elements. Maybe consider this to be an aged-up AU of that world. I hope you enjoy, and maybe check out my ongoing WiP "Once More, with Feeling!", my rewrite of the Sailor Moon manga's first season, if you feel so inclined. Work has already resumed on that story, so I hope the next chapter won't be too much longer. For those of you waiting so, so patiently for the next chapter, I hope this OS tides you over until then.
This isn't my first explicit OS but I haven't had a chance to review/edit the first one I wrote. Once I do, I will post it over here. Technically this story takes place before that one, so it works out.
I am also on A03 and Tumblr under the same name (minus the 9 on Tumblr)!
Please let me know what you think!
Title: Consequences
Summary: Usagi never could help herself around Tuxedo Kamen
"... and I think it would be best if we split up to sear- Usagi-chan! Are you listening?"
Usagi offered no acknowledgment as she stared with wide-eyed wonder at the embassy looming before them.
Two years have passed since Luna awoke her at the tender age of 16 as the sailor senshi of love and justice Sailor Moon, but not much progress has been made in finding their princess and her mystical gem. So much of these last two years was spent on stake outs, fighting disgusting youma, and being verbally abused by the Dark Kingdom's Shitennou.
But finally, finally! A mission where she didn't have to spend hours outside, usually in the dark, and sometimes almost getting arrested for trespassing if not for her agility and prowess as a senshi.
But this wasn't just any mission, it was a masquerade! Where there would be dancing, music, and delicious food!
When Luna suggested the four of them go on this assignment, Usagi couldn't contain her delighted squeals, and immediately began using the disguise pen to pick out the perfect dress, much to Luna's chagrin and Ami and Rei's patient smiles. As Usagi transformed from one dress into the next, Ami and Rei, who have already attended such parties because of their respective parent's careers, quietly discussed which of their array of dresses they would wear to the formal event.
Usagi ran her gloved palms over the bodice of the dusty rose chiffon dress bestowed upon her by the pen, and the ambient lighting set up outside the embassy glinted and shone off the tiny sewn-in crystals sparingly added for sparkle.
And sparkle it did. Truly, her dress was gorgeous, hugging her curves in all the right places, pearl accents matching the ones in her hair, embroidered roses. Not even her mother, who has attended so many of these fancy events with her father when he is on assignment for his magazine, owns such a beautiful dress.
A jab to her shoulder made Usagi lift her gaze off her dress to Rei's exasperated violet eyes, which she quickly jerked towards Luna with a tilt of her head.
Oh, right.
"Sorry, Luna," she said sheepishly. "Please go on."
"As I was saying," Luna continued. "I think it would be best if we all split up when we get inside. Look for any signs of the moon princess or the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou, and report back to me if you find anything. You all have your communicators?"
All three girls lifted their left arms, their wrists bearing the communicator in their respective senshi color, and Luna nodded.
Usagi, who was once again awestruck by the beautiful old building, shining lights, and now the beautiful harmonious melody coming from somewhere inside the open wooden double doors before them, almost missed the call from the gentleman checking partygoers in at the gate.
"Excuse me, Miss? No cats allowed, I'm afraid. It's going to have to stay outside."
Luna's annoyed little kitty face was quite adorable, actually, though Usagi had no doubts that if she were allowed to speak, Luna would have given this poor employee quite the verbal lashing for calling her an "It".
She hid her amusement behind her hand. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even realize she had followed us here!" Usagi crouched down to Luna and shook a scolding finger at her. "Now Luna, be a good kitty and go on home! You heard him; 'no cats allowed'!"
If looks could kill Usagi would have been long dead, but Luna was giving it her best shot anyway. Still, after a roll of her eyes Luna did turn around, stopping just before the gate to give the girls her 'I'll find you inside' look.
Walking across the embassy's threshold was like stepping into a dream. The music was louder, and now the girls could hear the nondescript chatter of the other guests and the clinking of stemware while they were escorted up the elegant staircase and into the grand ballroom.
Usagi held back and gasped. The melodious notes from the orchestra sailed over the swaying and twirling dancers. Along an entire wall stood a table filled with various finger foods and desserts, and servers wearing black tuxedos and white gloves carefully navigated the mass of mostly masked guests, carrying trays of hors d'oeuvres, colorful cocktails, or empty glasses, plates, and stemware. From the walls hung rich tapestries and flags from Princess D's home nation.
"I'm not picking up any strange readings," Ami said as she discreetly operated her minicomputer via one of her earrings. If any of the other guests happened to glance her way, they would likely assume she was merely fidgeting with the rounded blue stud, unable to see the data on Ami's side of her invisible visor. "Rei-chan?"
Rei closed her eyes and reached out with her sixth sense. "I'm sensing... something." Her violet eyes reopened to visually scan the ballroom. "It's very faint, but I'm sure it's the Dark Kingdom. They're probably here for the treasure too."
Ami nodded. "Then we should probably find this Princess D sooner than later. Usagi-ch-" Ami paused when she found the place beside her empty, and then started looking around. "Where did Usagi-chan go?"
"Where else?" Rei waved a dismissive hand towards the food table, where Usagi was seriously contemplating the too many options before her. "Best leave her be for now; you know how she gets when she's hungry. I'm sure she'll find us later."
Rei turned towards Ami, who was watching Usagi with an amused yet kind expression as the other girl began strategically stacking her plate. "Do you know where Princess D is right now?"
Ami's eyes refocused to her visor as she tapped her earring with a gloved finger. "She's in the suite just off the top of..." She turned around to point at the two-story grand staircase leading off the expansive room. "Those stairs. On the right."
Rei let out a full-bodied sigh before starting towards the stairs. "Why did I wear heels to this thing again?" She muttered.
Ami lifted a hand to cover her soft giggle. "Rei-chan, you fight youma in heels."
An undignified snort was Rei's only response.
o0o
Usagi deposited her now empty plate on the passing server's tray, then turned to watch the dancing couples, her lips pulled into a wistful smile.
She'd dreamt of attending parties like this since she was very small, when her father would sit her down a few days after he attended such an affair to show her the pictures he had taken for his job. She would 'ooh' and 'ahh' over the women's flowing gowns and sparkling hair accessories, the men in their dashing tuxedos, the colorful floral arrangements, elegant décor, and world class food.
But now that she was finally here, in her gorgeous dress and classy elbow length gloves, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. It wasn't that this masquerade wasn't everything she dreamt of and more, but she wished she wasn't here on senshi business so she could enjoy herself freely.
And as she watched the dancers move gracefully across the dance floor, she longed for someone to dance with. Usagi loved dancing despite her two left feet and lack of grace.
Oh well.
After one last wistful glance, she turned away from the dance floor, fully intending to look for Ami and Rei, but a warm hand wrapped around one of hers and spun her back around.
"Princess," a familiar baritone voice greeted, "May I have this dance?"
Usagi's face flushed a pretty pink as she stared up into the face of the masked man leading her into a dance before she even said yes. "Tuxedo Kamen," she breathed. His formal wear was nearly identical to the other guests, but she'd know him anywhere.
His smile down to her made her mouth go dry and her toes curl in her shoes. It was unfair, really, how handsome he was – a good part of the last two years was also spent swooning over this man and his sharp tuxedo – but tonight he was somehow even more dashing. Maybe it was the magic of this place, or the way he had eyes only for her despite the other more elegantly dressed women in the room.
He led her in a waltz across the dance floor, one hand holding hers, the other splayed warmly against her back. She had wished for this, and yet Usagi knew, deep down, she should stop, that she should pull her hand from his grasp and herself out of his arms to go find the girls. Where his allegiances lie was muddled at best so Luna would definitely not approve of Usagi dancing with their possible enemy.
But Usagi never could help herself around Tuxedo Kamen.
"Just now," she started shyly, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of pink. "I was thinking that I wanted to see you."
The hand holding hers gently squeezed and the other flexed against her back. "Me too."
There was a sincerity to his response, along with something else, and it sent the butterflies in her stomach wildly fluttering and flitting about. Usagi desperately wished she could see his eyes.
He twirled her around, the skirts of her dress flaring about her as she spun, and when he brought her back, the hand returning to the small of her back pushed her just that little bit closer. Usagi wasn't sure it would be considered proper, nor what Luna or the girls would think should they happen to see her with him like this, yet it took everything within her not to rest her head against his chest and close her eyes.
With Luna's warnings echoing in her mind, she tilted her face up to him. Was he as affected by her as she was him? She could never tell. "What brings you to the party?" She asked.
That question counted as senshi business, right?
The familiar smirk pulled up the corner of his mouth, and it did things to her. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked playfully, his hand squeezing hers again.
Usagi tripped over her own feet but he was there to catch her, just as he always did in battle. It was actually one of the very few things she could count on; Tuxedo Kamen being there for Sailor Moon whenever she needed him.
Luna would demand a clarifying response to his answer, and Usagi knew she should ask, but she also knew her heart couldn't take him telling her he was there only for Princess D's treasure.
"I didn't know you could dance," she said instead.
Usagi didn't think it was possible, but Tuxedo Kamen's smirk grew even wider right before he leaned down to place his lips against her ear. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Sailor Moon," he whispered.
Lord help her, she swooned. His closeness, low voice, his smell (roses, always roses), the brush of his lips against her ear, all vibrated straight through her and fanned the already rapidly growing heat between her legs.
And she was so distracted, Usagi didn't realize he was leading them out onto the terrace until the evening air bit at her exposed skin. But she was so worked up and flushed from his touches and his words she welcomed it, and when the hand still pressed against her back gave her a gentle nudge, she allowed herself to be guided to a secluded alcove a few pillars down from the ballroom doors.
A quick glance around revealed an otherwise empty terrace and had Usagi convinced of the privacy afforded by their little alcove should anyone happen to step out of the ballroom for fresh air.
It would appear that Tuxedo Kamen had no intentions of being disturbed.
Her eyes whipped back to his face, and she nearly combusted. There was an intensity about his gaze now that they were alone, so filled with longing and lust, and that gaze, along with the closeness of his lean, muscular body, had her feeling heady.
It also made her reckless.
She felt more than heard his sharp intake of breath when she pressed her palms to his chest, and by the time she reached the collar of his shirt, his gloved fingertips were gliding along her forearms with the barest of touches, traveling up to her bare shoulders and leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.
But it was the tilt of his head into the hand she gently raked into his hair that finally did her in, and Usagi locked her hands behind his head to pull him down for a kiss.
He came oh so willingly, granting her tongue access to his mouth the instant she brushed against his lower lip. Despite the intensity of his gaze, his lips and tongue were soft, almost worshipful. As she savored the taste and feel of him, the tips of his fingers tenderly caressed her cheek before settling into her hair.
When she curled her fingers into the labels of his tuxedo jacket to pull him closer, both of his hands dragged down her back to her thighs, tarrying against the curve of her bottom to knead the flesh through the layers of fabric, and she was certain she felt him smile against her mouth when she moaned. Her skirts bunched above her hips when he effortlessly lifted her, allowing his arousal to perfectly align with her throbbing sex when he pressed her with his body against the wall.
Usagi's head fell back against the brick with a low moan. "Mamo-chan..." she gasped, her chest heaving. She lifted her hand to rip off his mask so she could finally see his warm ocean-blue eyes. "You don't play fair."
Those blue eyes twinkled with mirth. "Is that so?" He responded before pressing himself against her again.
"Yes," she moaned as arched against him. "You know you're too hot in that tux, and the girls are here. What if they saw us? Besides," she added with a pout, "this brick is going to ruin my dress."
Mamoru's darkened blue eyes roamed appreciatively over her flushed appearance and bunched up skirts. "It is a very nice dress," he agreed before leaving a trail of kisses across her cheek to the shell of her ear, each peck of his lips eliciting another small gasp from Usagi's. "But are you absolutely sure you want me to let you go?" As if to prove his point, he rocked his hips into hers again, causing her head to fall back against the rough brick once more.
"Just shut up and kiss me," Usagi muttered, and Mamoru chuckled as he lowered his lips to hers again.
They had so little time like this, just the two of them. The attraction was there from the very beginning, pushed down and concealed first by childish taunts, and later by friendly banter laced with hidden meaning. Eventually learning Mamoru was also Tuxedo Kamen only strengthened her feelings since she had been so very attracted to both, and Usagi was never good at denying herself the things she wanted most in this world.
And she very much wanted Chiba Mamoru.
So she fought hard for Tuxedo Kamen to be accepted by the senshi, but despite her best efforts, Luna made it perfectly clear that he was not to be trusted, and that the senshi were to exercise extreme caution around him.
Her edict forced Usagi and Mamoru to carry on their tryst in secret. It killed her to keep him, and her feelings for him, hidden from her friends; to have to suppress their strong, mutual attraction and pretend they didn't mean the whole world to each other when out in public. But the alternative was far worse: depriving themselves and each other of these moments, of their love.
So, if in secret was the only way to keep him, then a secret he must stay.
Her rucked up skirts blocked her access to Mamoru's trousers, so she crossed her ankles behind his back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hold on so he could undo the fastenings himself. When Usagi finally heard the lowering zipper, she whimpered in anticipation.
His free hand lifted to his mouth to remove the glove but Usagi intervened, locking her blue eyes with his as she took one of his fingers into her mouth before nipping at and pulling off the fabric with her teeth, drinking in his slackened jaw and sucked in breath. Mamoru's shudder rippled pleasurably through her, and his now glove-free hand palmed her cheek as he kissed her deeply before returning to its original task.
One long finger pushed aside her lace panties and slid inside her, joined by a second when she bucked her hips into his hand and mewled into his mouth. She was so wet, and so worked up, that his desperate whimper of her name when her thrusting hips slid his fingers in even deeper was nearly her undoing.
Usagi was not known for her patience, and right now there was nothing she wanted more than for his dick to be inside her. Her fingers tangled into his hair as she arched and bucked against his fingers. "Please," she begged against his lips, "Mamo-chan. I need..." But her head fell back against the brick and her words devolved into a gurgled moan when the pad of his thumb brushed her clit.
"Usako, look at me." She forced her head back up, though struggled to keep her eyes open when the tip of his length pushed just past her entrance. His hand was back against her face, tender and soft. "I love you," he whispered, and then kissed her as he thrust himself deep inside her.
The affirmation caught her right in the chest, as it always did. Words were not his strong suit, at least when it came to expressing his feelings, even to her, even after all this time. Though he excelled at relaying his love through his touches, she coveted each and every time he verbally expressed it.
She saw stars when he entered her, and her breasts arched into his chest. His hand against her cheek, with his fingers curled into her hair, prevented her head from falling back so he could temper her moans and cries with his kiss. His movements were slow but purposeful, pulling most of the way out so he could sink all the way back in, and she gasped her pleasure each time he filled her completely.
Mamoru's head fell into the crook of her neck as they moved together in blissful harmony, his breath coming in hot pants against her flushed skin, but when she neared her climax he was back to watch her face, and his glove-free hand returned to the apex of her legs to rub and encircle her clit to help her over that exquisite edge.
He captured her lips to once again swallow her cries when she fell, and he tumbled shortly after. Usagi's hands settled into his hair and around his shoulder to hold him close as he came.
Their kisses turned languid, their touches softer, less urgent, as they came down from their high. Mamoru pulled away to nuzzle his face against her cheek and her hair. "Usako," he murmured in her ear, and Usagi hummed in response, her whole body warm and sated.
But the sound of Luna's voice calling Usagi's name ruined the moment.
It was with a deep sigh that Mamoru extricated himself from Usagi and carefully lowered her feet back down to the floor. While he put himself back together and retrieved his mask and glove, Usagi assessed the damage done to her beautiful dress, frowning when she found the fabric horribly wrinkled. She could use the pen to fix this, but that would mean erasing the proof of their time together; would mean donning what would technically be a different dress, one in which she didn't get to dance with Mamoru, in which she didn't just make love to him against a brick wall.
Oh, right.
The brick wall.
"Mamo-chan, quick," Usagi turned her back to him. "How does my dress look from the back?"
Mamoru took great satisfaction in each and every wrinkle in her skirts, knowing they were caused by him and their shared pleasure, but she would never be able to explain away the pulled threads and small tears ripped into the back of the dress. Not only that, between that cursed brick wall and his own hands, her hair was so mussed that one bun had nearly come undone.
In all seriousness, the look of Usagi's sex-flushed skin, kiss-swollen lips, mussed hair, and ruined dress probably replaced the number one spot in his top five favorites.
However.
"I'm sorry, Usako, but your dress and hair look like you just had sex up against a brick wall." The corner of his mouth lifted when she glared at him over her shoulder, but her disappointment pulled up on her face before she fully turned away.
In a flash of pink light her dress and hair were good as new. "How do I look now?" She asked as she twirled for him, her fingers holding up her skirts.
Mamoru smiled sadly, his own disappointment settling deep into his chest, and cradled her face in his hands. "Beautiful," he whispered. "It's like I wasn't even here."
Usagi frowned, and covered one of his hands with hers as the other caressed his cheek. "Mamo-cha-"
"Usagi! Where are you?"
Her eyes jerked the direction of Luna's voice before returning to his face, regret lining every inch of her features. "I have to go."
"I know," His lips brushed against hers before stepping back and replacing the mask on his face. "I'll find you," he promised, and then he was gone, disappearing into the darkness just as Luna found Usagi standing breathless in the moonlight.
"Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" Luna chastised. "Princess D is going to make her appearance soon, and I want to get a look at her crystal before she does."
Usagi's fingers brushed against Mamoru's last kiss; her whole body still humming with pleasure. "Sorry, Luna, I just needed some air. Where is the princess?"
o0o
After climbing far too many stairs (seriously, who decided this staircase was an appropriate design choice considering all the young ladies who have to climb these things wearing fancy shoes?) Usagi found herself standing guard with Luna just outside Princess D's suite. Ami and Rei were already inside as they had been unable to wait for her.
Usagi's eyes drifted to the rounded moonlit balcony across from the heavy double doors and she sighed. She should feel guilty, not just for being in a relationship with the man who was Tuxedo Kamen, but for also having sex with him while on assignment and thus leaving so much of the work to Ami and Rei. But she just couldn't bring herself to feel it. What felt wrong was not letting him into their group, and having to hide her feelings. It felt wrong in a way Usagi could not put into words.
As her mind wandered back to Mamoru's warm eyes and gentle hands, a commotion erupted on the other side of the suite doors, and Usagi jumped out of the way just as they both forcefully swung open, crashing with a bang into the wall on either side of the doorway.
Who she assumed to be Princess D stepped out, her mouth pulled into a too wide toothy grin, her movements jerky and unnatural. Clutched tightly to her chest was a large case.
"Princess! Please stop!" An attendant called from inside the room. "Come back!"
As Princess D ran past a confused Usagi, Rei shouted her name. "She's been possessed by Nephrite!"
Her words spurred Usagi into action and she took off after the fleeing princess, catching the other girl just as the chest was lifted above her head to be thrown over the balcony. "Princess D, you have to stop! Get a hold of yourself!"
Behind her thick glasses, the princess' eyes flashed green and she jerked her body harshly, pulling Usagi off balance and then hip-checking her hard. Usagi felt the nauseating pull of gravity in her stomach as she fell over the balcony's railing, and she reached a desperate hand out to catch herself.
But when that hand found nothing, her eyes squeezed shut and she prepared for the end. She'd never fallen or jumped from such a height before, and she was absolutely certain she would not survive the fall. Thoughts of Mamoru filled what she was sure were her final moments, and tears leaked out from between her lashes at the prospect of never seeing him again. But a sudden squeezing, burning pain around her wrist pulled her mind from her dispiriting thoughts, and Usagi's eyes flew open.
She was shocked to find a panicking Tuxedo Kamen straining against the railing to keep her from falling, a firm grip on both her right wrist and the railing's edge.
"Mamo-chan," she gasped, but he only grunted in response as he tried and failed to lift her.
Her glove slipped off her hand just that little bit and he quickly readjusted his grip, desperate not to let her go. But a large blast of energy following a high-pitched, maniacal laugh pushed Mamoru over as well, ripping a terrified scream from the deepest reaches of Usagi's lungs.
Luna's voice rang out over the chaos above just as the two cleared the balcony. "The pen!"
Usagi threw the hand holding her pen high into the air, and Mamoru wrapped his arms around her abdomen to both hold on and pull her back against his chest. When the pen transformed into an oversized umbrella and slowed their descent, the two shared a stunned glance and a deep sigh of relief.
As soon as their feet were safely on the ground, Usagi whirled around to face him, strategically shifting the umbrella to hide them from everyone above. His expression was taut, his eyes dark and intense.
Usagi lifted her free hand to his cheek. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered.
Mamoru carefully wrapped his hand around hers and placed a kiss to her gloved palm before shaking his head, all without breaking his intense gaze into her eyes. "But I didn't," he murmured.
Usagi sighed. He always did take the responsibility of her safety too personally. It was one of the many things she loved about him, really, but she hated the way he would mentally withdraw and blame himself over things completely outside of his control.
The call of Mercury's Shabon Spray returned their attention to the balcony in time to see the cold mist cover the area, but when Usagi turned back to Mamoru he was gone.
The battle didn't take long after that. Sailor Mars immobilized the possessed princess with an ofuda, and Sailor Moon's Twilight Flash cleansed her of Nephrite's shadow with purifying moonlight.
o0o
Since they were already there and had gone to much trouble, Luna and the girls stuck around to see the treasure which had caused all the fuss in the first place.
Princess D finally took her place at the top of that blasted staircase and proudly presented her nation's heirloom. Despite everything, the presentation of the princess and her priceless treasure was only slightly delayed, and it seemed none of the partygoers in the ballroom below were even aware there had been any issues at all.
As the princess explained its importance to her small nation, Ami tilted her head in confusion, Rei groaned, and Usagi tried her best to stifle a laugh. The treasure, which had attracted the Dark Kingdom and nearly cost one of the senshi her life, was a very large, clearly very expensive, yet very gaudy diamond cut to look just like the Kingdom of D's very first princess, of whom the short and extremely nearsighted Princess D apparently bore a strong resemblance.
"Well, that was a waste of time," Rei grumbled as the three girls walked towards the exit after Luna dismissed them home. Ami nodded in agreement from her place beside her but Usagi trailed behind, sparing a departing glance at the party still underway in the grand ballroom. When she turned to leave, Usagi found herself being pulled into a dark hallway and crushed into a very familiar embrace.
"Mamo-chan, I'm OK," she whispered to his chest, but a gloved finger pressed against her lips to silence her. Because her eyes didn't have time to fully adjusted to this level of darkness, Usagi felt more than saw Mamoru carefully lift her right arm and slip off her glove, yet it wasn't until her face was illuminated by the golden sparks of his psychometry that she understood he was healing the bruises and inflammation he caused to her right wrist when he caught her.
When he was finished, Mamoru laced his fingers through her now bare hand and silently bade her to follow, and led her to a bench on a closed off section of the terrace.
Usagi waited with as much patience as she could muster for him to speak, but when he didn't, she filled in the strained silence. "Mamo-chan, it's OK. Even if you hadn't grabbed me, I had the pen." She flashed him a reassuring smile and hoped he wouldn't remember the fear, lack of control, and resignation he likely would have sensed from her after she had fallen from the balcony. "Besides," she continued with more exuberance than she felt, "I'm Sailor Moon! I'm strong enough to survive anything!"
But his dark, intense expression didn't change, and her smile slipped from her face with a soft sigh. When Mamoru was this mired in his self-loathing and grief, Usagi knew words were meaningless, but touch was everything. So she settled into his lap, tucking her head beneath his chin and curling the fingers of one hand into his crisp white shirt, and wrapped the other around his back.
His arms were around her immediately, one hand to her hair and the other to her waist to pull her closer, his cheek resting against the crown of her head. Occasionally his jaw shifted ever so softly against her hair and, while she couldn't hear what he was murmuring, she was certain it was her name.
She wasn't sure how long they sat together on that bench, neither saying a word save for his occasional indiscernible mumbling into her hair, but she was nearly asleep when his fingers finally brushed her cheek, lulled by his warmth and the steady beating of his heart.
"Mamo-chan," she sighed dreamily as she leaned into his touch. "I'm OK."
"I know." His hoarse whisper reverberated through his chest. When Usagi pulled her head out from under his chin to look up at him, his hand palmed her cheek and his weary eyes held hers. "Thank you," he continued, "and I'm sorry."
Usagi didn't bother asking what he was apologizing for. Instead, she ran a comforting hand through the bangs framing his forehead. "I love you," she murmured, and then leaned up to kiss him.
His moan against her mouth was low and needy. He tilted his head to deepen their kiss before lowering Usagi down to the seat of their bench, sliding his knee between her legs and pressing it into the wood so he could lean over her in the narrow space.
As Usagi tangled her hands into his hair, gasping from his lips trailing searing kisses down her neck and his large hand kneading the swell of her breast over the bodice of her dress, frustrated tears pricked at her eyes. That frustration was immediately read by the still hypersensitive Mamoru, who pulled out of her embrace to stare down at her, his concern wrinkling his features.
"Usako?"
But she shook her head and smiled the radiant smile she had only for him. "It's nothing." He did not appear convinced, but came easily when she tugged him back down to her by the lapels of his jacket.
It wasn't fair, she decided for the millionth time since the two began their tryst all those months ago.
There was no way these feelings, this love, could be wrong.
She wanted to keep him forever, of that she was absolutely certain. But she was now no longer content to keep that knowledge a secret.
She didn't know what Luna and the other senshi will say, what they will do, nor what they will try to force Usagi to do.
But Usagi was absolutely determined to keep this man.
The consequences be damned.