Chapter 8: Seed of Love and A Space Cadet

Chibiusa had finished her shower and returned to her room where Momo was sitting on her bed looking at her phone swiping through some of the photos Kyuusuke had taken tonight. Chibiusa plopped down next to her friend and let out a relaxed sigh and fell back letting her fluffy down comforter engulf her creating air pockets around Momo. Her friend giggled and laid back nestling her head on Chibiusa's shoulder holding her phone up in the air showing her the pictures.

"That is my new home screen!" Momo smiled as she looked up at Chibiusa.

Chibiusa examined the picture and smiled. It was a perfect moment in time that was captured. The three of them with big smiles arms wrapped around one another. The brilliant light of the fireworks caught in the picture cast a soft and warm glow on them. Both the fireworks and moon reflecting beautifully in the lake in the background of the picture.

"Send that to me Momo. I wanna copy you." She giggled.

Momo sat up thumbs working away at her phone doing as Chibiusa requested. Her phone chimed and she and Momo looked like a couple of phone zombies for a little bit there.

"Twinsies!" Chibiusa laughed as she sat up with a huge smile as she showed Momo her phone when out of nowhere a pillow was smacking her square in the face sending her right on her back.

"Where the hell did you run off to!?" Momo yelled as she quickly got up to close the bedroom door.

"Do you have any idea what you put me through!?"

Momo ran back over to the bed jumping on top of a very confused Chibiusa whacking her with the pillow again. Chibiusa threw her arms up blocking the pillow blows. When Momo was attempting to hit her again Chibiusa rolled enough to throw her off balance knocking her off the bed. With a huge thud Momo began laughing and Chibiusa threw a pillow at her only the aim was very off and ended up hitting Mr. Momohara who had come up to investigate the yelling and banging.

"It's mine now!" He said with a very serious face then began to chuckle. "Making sure one of you was still alive. Still need help in the restaurant from time to time ya know."

"Sorry dad." Momo said trying to catch her breath inbetween laughing. "We'll keep it down."

Mr. Momohara wished them a good night and actually walked away with Chibiusa's pillow. The girls laughed at his silliness and they settled back on the bed facing eachother. Chibiusa wondered what kind of pow wow this would be. Was it about sneaking off leaving her with Kyuusuke or her odd behavior. Or both. Chibiusa's stomach began to twist into knots. Momo took a deep breath her arms folded over her chest, eyes closed, eyebrow cocked.

"You ditched me with Kyuusuke. Things got awkward. He said you encouraged him. I am your best friend. We live together. You didn't think you could give me a freakin heads up?!" Momo placed her hands on her knees elbows locked making her shoulders rise to her ears. She tapped her finger as she slowly made eye contact with Chibiusa.

Chibiusa could feel the color leaving her face. Then a rise of irritation grew in her. Kyuusuke sold her out when he made her promise not to say a word. Now that only looked like Chibiusa was being dishonest to Momo.

"I'm so sorry Momo. When you were out of town helping your aunt and uncle Kyuusuke came over to check on me and well we started talking. He made me promise not to say anything. I know it wasn't right but I didn't want to reveal his secrets." She was sincere in her response and hoped that Momo would feel that.

Momo relaxed and then took a deep breath covering her face with her hands letting her upper body hunch over like a rag doll. The sight of Momo letting herself release the tension made Chibiusa feel a little better but guilt did linger on her. She reached over and rubbed Momo's back.

"I'm sorry Momo I never meant for any of this. It just made me so happy to know his feelings about you. How romantic to love someone for so long but how sad that he's felt the need to keep it inside. How do you feel about Kyuusuke? I guess that's what matters right now."

"He's my best friend, you know that. He's such a pervert though! He's always flirting with you! You can see how this is such a damn shock! If he likes me so much why does he treat me like one of the boys? Why doesn't he flirt with me?"

Momo stood from the bed and started pacing biting her bottom lip and hugging her shoulders.

"I've always loved Kyuusuke with all my heart but in the way you love your family but last summer when he was gone the whole time he barely called me or text me. It was then I realized how much I truly did care for him. More than just a friend. I missed him so much my heart hurt. Then one of our friends sent me a screenshot off a girls media page and joking said Kyuusuke's having a great summer and it was some pretty little thing in a very little bikini sitting on his lap all the while he's got a huge satisfied grin on his face...I never brought it up to him and his explanation of that summer was how tired he was everyday and barely had fun. I just left left it alone I shoved my feelings down and acted as if I didn't see that picture and never had that realization. But tonight. He was just so..."

Chibiusa saw the confusion on Momo's face and felt her sorrow. She couldn't imagine how that must have felt for Momo to see that after missing him for so long only to see that she didn't seem missed. Love is such a beautiful yet heart wrenching thing. Two people who love each other keeping it from one another to not destroy a friendship but being put through so much by each other unknowingly.

"So what happen?" Chibiusa said with caution in her voice.

Momo sighed and slumped herself into the bean bag by the desk.

"He was wonderful. He told me you knew that he needed to talk to me that you encouraged him to be honest with me and wanted to walk me home. He carried my bag, he walked close to me. He explained his feelings. We made it to the gate of the house and he gazed into my eyes. So long Chibiusa...he hugged me and held me tight. He told me to tell him to stop if it's not what I wanted. He was so close to my face I could feel the warmth from his body near mine and before I knew it he was kissing me."

Momo looked as though she was going to cry in that moment moving her fingertips gently across her lips as if she were remembering what his lips felt like across her's. Color rose in her cheeks and a sweet smile drew across her lips. Chibiusa had clutched her pillow tight like she were a child again having a fairy tale read to her before bed. She then leaped out of the bed and hugged her friend tight.

"And so the seed of love has finally been planted!" Chibiusa cheered.

Momo seemed to snap out of her cloud nine moment and shot a cold glare at Chibiusa.

"Oh you're not off the hook little lady! What's going on with you? Not only did this happen and I have no idea what tomorrow will bring but you went all space cadet on me...TWICE! If it wasn't so late you'd have to fess up tonight but we got lots to do this weekend so pow wow session number 2 tomorrow night!"