Blueeyeddevil06, thank you for being my beta!
Current Mamoru and Usagi returned to the apartment with her overnight bag. Future Mamoru had cooked dinner, he had suddenly realized that he was starving when she left to go get a change of clothes. Living on crackers and coffee for five days caught up with him now that he wasn't miserable for the first time in over two and a half years. He noticed he was actually smiling thinking about cooking for her. He couldn't hold her or kiss her, but he could do things like this for her. That brought him joy.
He couldn't believe how light his heart felt now.
Usagi returned in a flurry of happiness and bags. She had her school bag, overnight bag, and a shopping bag with chocolate ice cream. Apparently she'd gotten Mamoru to stop at the store on the way back.
He had several bags, too, containing what looked like to the future Mamoru to be snacks. He smiled that the current version of himself thought to stock his place with food she liked. Well, junk food that she liked.
"I cooked!" he announced when they came in. "It's ready when you are. I thought I would make myself useful while you were getting a change of clothes."
Usagi put the ice cream in the freezer then walked over and looked at what he made. "I absolutely love curry!" she beamed up at him. "Thank you!"
He focused on her lips, but didn't dare lean in to kiss her. He would protect her from anything, even his own intense love for her. "It's no secret you love curry. Current me knows about it too."
She spun to look at that Mamoru, "You do?!"
"Yes, I've heard you talking about it a lot. Your favorite is Makoto's."
"I know," future Mamoru said. "This is her recipe. She gave it to me after you died. She thought it would help me feel closer to you."
She spun back to look at him, and there were tears in her eyes. "I hate that you suffered over my death so much. I know I wouldn't have wanted that."
"I know. You wrote the girls a letter, and said as much about me." He pulled it from his pocket and handed it to her. "What you didn't know was that you died in Tuxedo Kamen's arms —my arms. I was there when it was delivered because I was one of the group from that moment on."
She opened it, read the letter, and tears poured down her face. "I would do something like this wouldn't I?"
They both thought of the heartbreak they felt when they first read it. Future Mamoru's suffering was the worst.
"Yes, and you would in this timeline, but you won't have to. I'll make sure of that fact. They honored your wishes in that letter. They stayed close and looked out for each other. Whenever one of them is afraid to try something, they remind each other that it was what you wanted. Makoto is the head chef of her own restaurant now. They told her that you believed in her and would have wanted her to go after her dream. That's why she tried so hard." He smiled down at the curry, "This is on the menu as 'Usagi's curry'. It helped make her restaurant famous. It's almost impossible to get a table there."
She was beaming now with happy tears in her eyes. "And the others?"
"Ami's pre-med. That's no surprise. What she risked her heart on was Stephen, one of my lab partners. You told them to love boldly, and she does. He adores her. It's one of the things you need to know before I disappear. He has a ring and wants to marry her. They need to get together in this new timeline too."
He then told her about the other one that would make her happy. "Raye, well, she's a priestess at the shrine. She hasn't found love yet, but she's worked through her anger issues. She knew you wouldn't have wanted her to live her life carrying that around with her. She's more at peace with her father than she'd ever been before."
He frowned and added, "Minako, she's…." He paused and pulled out plates to dish up dinner. "She's like me. The guilt we both feel crippled us. Perversely, I get along with her the best. We're both suffering, and I get her the most. She was your head of the senshi, and she feels she failed you, her princess." He shrugged, "She did. And she won't forgive herself."
He handed her a plate of food, "I get roaring drunk around the anniversary of your death. Other than that, I went through life like a spectator. All that will change now; everything will be better."
"I drink?" Current Mamoru asked.
"Only once a year. I saw the hangover as my penance."
They all took their plates to the table and began to eat. Usagi took a bite and looked up at future Mamoru, "This is amazing! It's just like Makoto's. Wow."
He blushed, "I'll teach this to your Mamoru too."
She smiled hugely, "My Mamoru! I love the sound of that. I love you, Mamo-Chan."
Both of them were smiling like fools. Current Mamoru spoke, though. "I love you too, Usako."