The Hap-Hap-Happiest Christmas

By: AReptileDysfunction (written as a gift for Sessediz for the 2021 Sailor Moon Holiday Fan Exchange)

Prompt: nothing goes "right" for Chibi-Usa's first Christmas, but they have great memories and fun anyways

Characters: Usagi and Mamoru and Chibi-Usa

I had some fun interjecting some "inspired by true events" into this fic. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what part that is! Happy Holidays, Sessediz!

Thanks to Lin Lamont, UranusWind, and ReisPinkOveralls for all the beta and support when I wanted to cry.

18, December

"Mamo-chan…"

Mamoru stood at the counter sipping his coffee and making funny faces at the 6 month old in the high chair. "Yes, Usako?" He called back without tearing his eyes from the red ones of his daughter.

"Have you seen a white shopping bag?"

"You're going to have to be more specific." He chuckled as he brought his mug to his lips.

"I left it right here by the tree. It had ChibiUsa's Christmas presents in it."

Mamoru choked. He had just finished tidying that room the other day. The pink-haired infant giggled at the strangled face he was making.

"Mamo-chan…"

Usagi entered the kitchen, startling him even more. He yelped as hot coffee spilled over the front of his shirt. Immediately, Usagi was in front of him blotting him with a towel and unbuttoning his shirt.

"You okay, Mamo-chan?" Usagi's doe eyes showed concern, he wasn't usually so jumpy. She rested her hands on his bare chest and absentmindedly dabbed at it with the towel.

Mamoru gulped and tried to find his voice. He glanced at ChibiUsa out of the corner of his eye. Maybe Usako wouldn't be so hard on him in front of her.

"Mamo-chan, you're scaring me."

He squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep breath, and stepped back in an attempt to get some distance. "I may have… thrown them away."

There was silence. Warily, he opened one eye. Usagi still stood before him but now with a blank stare. Because more words would only help his situation, he continued.

"I was tidying up the apartment and saw the white bag and must have thought it was a garbage bag. It was a simple mistake; could have happened to anyone!"

Still, she was silent. So he plowed on, unable to stop himself.

"She's only 6 months old, Usako. It's not like she's going to remember this!" Nervously running his hand through his hair, he clutched at his shirt as he moved to get past his wife. "I should go grab a new shirt… my shift starts in 20 minutes." Inching his way around Usagi was not an easy feat in their narrow kitchen.

He changed his shirt and tie, grabbed his briefcase, and walked back to the kitchen where Usagi was still rooted to the same spot he had left her in. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Have a nice day," he attempted to make eye contact. When that didn't happen, he sighed and kissed ChibiUsa's cheek. "Bye bye, baby girl!"

He had just put his shoes on at the genkan and opened the door when all of a sudden, Usagi finally spoke.

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

21, December

Malls were not his favorite place. Too many people, too many stores… it was enough to set his introverted self into an anxious sweat. The mall in December was even worse. He couldn't move without touching someone and stumbled as he was jostled around by various shoppers. He unconsciously hugged the sleeping baby in the carrier closer to his chest.

Usagi, however, was in her element. The lights from the Christmas decorations reflected in her eyes as she stared wondrously at the surrounding decor. She grabbed his hand as she navigated the sea of people. Suddenly, she stopped as she spotted the destination she'd been looking for, nearly causing Mamoru to crash into her.

He paled as he took in the line leading to the Santa who sat among the gaudily decorated Christmas village. Families packed in like sardines filled the roped off line sections leading up to Santa's throne.

"Usa…" he began, "that is a really long line."

"ChibiUsa needs a picture with Santa, Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru sighed as he followed Usagi through the throngs of people and stopped behind a woman and her six rowdy children.

"Ok, Mamo-chan," Usagi stroked his arm and kissed the top of ChibiUsa's head. "I'll be back in a little bit!" She turned to go. Horrified, Mamoru reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Where are you going?"

"Well, someone threw out ChibiUsa's Christmas gifts so now I need to go buy them again." She gave him a pointed look as she crossed her arms.

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Mamoru sighed.

"Nope! Text me when you're five people away!" Usagi flashed him a dazzling smile before flouncing away.

Mamoru gulped as he turned forwards. His stomach churned at the thought of all the people around him and he traced patterns on the velvet rope in an attempt to ground himself. It didn't help that he could feel a headache coming on. The woman in front of him was wearing some very strong perfume and Mamoru was sensitive to scents. Perfumes and colognes sometimes caused him migraines.

He was pretty sure he hadn't moved from the same spot he started in since Usagi bounced away 20 minutes ago. He could hear his heartbeat mingled with the muffled sounds of the surrounding crowd and he was rapidly becoming unable to see out of his left eye. He shifted as best he could so as not to wake the sleeping infant strapped to his chest. It was getting warm and he was starting to sweat.

He stood in that line for (what seemed like) an eternity before he caught a whiff of something coming from the baby carrier. ChibiUsa had started to stir and he was 100% positive she was going to need a diaper change. Mercifully, he noticed he was close to the front of the line and typed out a quick text to Usagi.

Within minutes she was at his side and unstrapping the infant from his chest. Offended at having been removed from her warm cocoon, ChibiUsa began to cry. Usagi looked at him, panicked and began to rock her back and forth. This only made her cry more. Their turn was next and ChibiUsa's face was tearstained red.

"Ho, Ho, Ho!" Santa beckoned them closer. ChibiUsa, startled at the sudden laugh, was silent as she stared at the man in red.

'Maybe this wouldn't be so bad,' Mamoru thought as he pinched his eyebrow in an attempt to alleviate some of his migraine. He winced as ChibiUsa gave out a deafening scream. 'Guess not…'

Poor Santa looked very uncomfortable between the screaming infant and the smell emanating from her diaper. Mamoru and Usagi got in the frame and made a valiant attempt at soothing her but to no avail.

"Just… take… the picture," Mamoru growled at the pimply teenaged elf behind the camera. He could feel Usagi boring holes into his skull but at the moment he just didn't care. He just wanted sensory deprivation.

CLICK!

Mamoru stood up so fast he got lightheaded but recovered quickly.

"Here's your image," the elf handed them the printed photo.

'Well if that isn't on brand then I don't know what is.' Mamoru thought as he stared at the image which was slightly obscured by the migraine aura in his left eye.

The picture showed Santa smiling and holding a screaming ChibiUsa, Mamoru with his left eye half closed, and Usagi glaring daggers at him.

24, December

Mamoru closed the door to the nursery as softly as possible so as not to wake the ticking time bomb that was his daughter. He padded his way back into the living room and flopped down onto the sofa next to Usagi. She immediately leaned into his side and he draped his arm over her in reflex.

The apartment was silent. Candles were lit and the tree glowed in warm light in the corner by the window. Snow was falling peacefully outside. It truly was picturesque and he hugged Usagi closer.

Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a small box.

"Merry Christmas, Usako." He held it out to her and she took it in her delicate hands.

Mamoru held his breath as she unwrapped the package and opened the box. Exhaling at her small gasp of surprise, he moved to extract the necklace from her hand and place it around her neck.

"It's moonstone," he began as he peppered kisses over the back of her neck. "Moonstone symbolizes love while the crescent moon represents motherhood. These past six months have been very hard, Usa." He trailed his hands down her arms and wrapped her in his embrace. "With ChibiUsa's colic in the beginning, all the feeding issues…" he trailed off as she spun in his arms and kissed him.

He groaned as he leaned back against the couch cushions. Usagi splayed herself on top of him and he flexed his fingers on her waist. Between Usagi's lengthy recovery from childbirth, their jobs, and sheer exhaustion, they hadn't had sex since before ChibiUsa was born and their movements were frenzied and out of practice. He ripped his mouth from hers and began kissing his way down her neck. Meanwhile, his hands slipped beneath her sweater and immediately began fumbling for her bra strap.

Where was the bra strap?

Usagi began to giggle as she pulled away from him. She sat back with one leg under her and pulled her sweater over her head. His look of bewilderment melted away as she undid her bra from the front.

"Front clasp, Mamo-chan." Usagi purred as she crawled her way back onto his lap and began to unbutton his shirt. Five agonizing seconds later, her hands were on his bare chest and he was shuddering. The feeling was torturously exquisite. He tightened his grip on her hips and took one of her breasts into his mouth. She gasped and arched into him as he curled his fingers into the small of her back.

Unable to control himself any longer, Mamoru deftly stood up and spun them so she was pinned between him and the couch. Her surprised squeak only emboldened him further and he ground his hips into her as he continued to lavish thorough attention to each breast. Usagi's nails raked across his scalp and he moaned against her skin. He brought his face up to hers and kissed her fully while bringing his right hand up her thigh to where he found her already wet through her panties.

He teased the edge of the fabric and chuckled as she moved her hips in an attempt to get him to touch her. Kissing her once more, he pulled back to look into her eyes. They were hooded, full of need and… something else he couldn't quite place in the dim lighting. He dragged his knuckles across her thighs and up to her stomach where he paused. His emotions sobered as he lightly traced the scar that saved all three of their lives. Tears pricked the corners of his vision as he remembered the panicked looks on the doctors faces as they rushed her to surgery.

Had anything happened to her and Chibi-Usa…

Mamoru shook his head as he noticed Usako's gaze. Insecurity… that was it. That was the emotion he wasn't able to place. Lowering his lips to her belly, he kissed along the scar.

"So beautiful," he murmured against her skin. "So beautiful and so mine."

"Mamo-chan," her voice was breathless as she lifted her hips. Taking the hint, he slid her skirt and panties down her legs and quickly added his own garments to the pile. His lungs hitched at the vision before him. The flickering candlelight cast dancing shadows across the planes of her nude form. Just the sight was enough for him to start throbbing painfully and he rejoined his wife on the couch.

"Do you see what you do to me, Usako?" he whispered against her neck as he pressed his erection into her. "Do you feel how crazy you make me?" Usagi whimpered in response, twisting her hips in a vain attempt to get more contact. "Tell me what you want, Usako." He nipped at her ear lobe before lifting his head to gauge her response.

"You," she panted, "I want you."

"You have me, Usako." He grinned down at her and chuckled when she pouted.

"Make love to me, Mamo-chan."

"What do you think I've vowed to spend the rest of my life doing?"

"Argh!" Usagi growled. "Just fuck me already!"

In an instant he was home and they both cried out in unison, then pausing to make sure they hadn't actually heard the baby cry. When nothing but silence answered, he began to move within her. Finally… Finally they felt like themselves again as the room turned to nothingness and all that remained was the two of them. Months of tension, insecurity, anxiety, depression melted away as they looked to each other in affirmation. Nothing else mattered in these moments. It didn't matter who they were a thousand years ago or who they would be a thousand years from now. All that mattered was that he belonged to her: mind, body, and soul. And he would spend the rest of his mortal life proving to her how unworthy he was of her love.

Minutes later, Mamoru sighed blissfully as he played with the silken tendrils of hair draped over his torso. Usagi kissed him on the chest and snuggled closer.

"What time do you need to pick up the KFC order tomorrow?" She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

Mamoru blinked in realization and threw an arm over his eyes.

"...Fuck…"

FIN