Hello everyone! I still live! I'm very sorry this update took so long. In between writing my short story for SeiUsa week and summer plans, this chapter presented a great challenge for me. Nevertheless, Lady Motivation eventually came back around to bless her magic upon me and I was able to finally give this chapter to y'all :) Thank y'all so much for your patience and please enjoy!

Also, I hope everyone is safe and well!

**This chapter originally contained brief sexually explicit scenes but those have been edited out to comply with FFN rules. If you wish to read an unedited version with the scenes intact, please visit this story on AO3**

Beta'd by AnxietyAvocado

"Put Me Out" by Amanda Blank

Under the sun of the cloudless day, sandals, slip-ons, and slides kicked up the white sand of the busy beach. Cans, cups, and tumblers were iced and ready to get the celebration started while being carried in a red, white, and blue cooler in the midst of a line ten deep that was in search of that perfect spot.

As Usagi was set up in her chair, she glared from behind her bug-eyed sunglasses at Motoki and Mamoru setting up a tilted canopy while sipping on her fruity hard seltzer. She hadn't intended for the former to be invited, however, she didn't have a say in the matter as she only found out the day they left. Mamoru's excuse was that he needed a buffer between him and all the estrogen for a solid four days, which Usagi understood, but she would have appreciated the chance to dispute it. Because as expected he was taking up too much of Seiya's attention. Watching them apply sunscreen to each other's backs while sneaking in intimate touches almost too inappropriate for the public, the irate bunhead nearly crushed her can.

To quell her annoyance and anxiety, Usagi ensured her hand was never empty, even sacrificing her taste buds and reaching for the black cherry flavor. Whatever she needed to do to distort reality. In the meantime, she sat close to Seiya; if not being part of the conversation, trying to see if she could catch Seiya's sunglasses-covered stare in her peripheral vision. Usagi was sporting a new bikini which she bought specifically because it reminded her of the lead Starlight—white with light blue accents—and while it only prompted a small, passive compliment from Seiya, she took the opportunity to get a dialogue started on high school memories and inside jokes Motoki wouldn't be able to relate to, which ultimately had him resorting to seeking Mamoru's company for some actual interaction. Within the bunhead's mind, she added a point for herself on the scoreboard with a triumphant cackle.

But then that point and the whole scoreboard went up in flames once Seiya made her way to the cooler for a refill which Mamoru and Motoki were talking over.

Motoki tipped his chin forward. "Hey Seiya, we're low on drinks. Did you want to help me take the cooler back for a refill?"

"Sure! Let me get my shoes." She took a few steps away to slip on her flip-flops.

Overhearing the exchange, the alarms in Usagi's mind sounded off in panic mode, realizing she had to attack fast and reclaim her territory. As she threw her body out of her chair, the four to ten drinks in her system shifted her center of gravity to her head and caused her to catch herself with her face in the sand. While all witnesses winced and tried to suppress their chuckles, Mamoru ran to her aid to help her stand straight.

Of course, the bunhead was unfazed. "I can help out! I can take it in with Seiya—"

"It's okay, Usa," Mamoru sounded tenderly stern as he wrapped his arm around her waist and held up a seltzer can in between his thumb and forefinger. "I snagged the last White Claw for you."

"Yes, no need for the birthday girl to do any manual labor." Motoki winked. "Plus, I need to let Olive out anyway."

Seiya joined Motoki at the cooler with a smile. "We'll grab some snacks, too."

Usagi opened her mouth to protest, but her buzz kept her a syllable slower than Mamoru, much to her frustration.

"Sounds good. We'll text if we think of anything we want." His hold on her waist tightened as if he knew if he were to let up, she would run after them. Once Seiya and Motoki were far enough away to be out of earshot, he was again one step ahead of his wife as he heard and felt her sigh in distress.

"Let them go, Usa. You've been hogging Seiya all day."

"What?" She laughed out the word as she blushed. "What does that mean?"

"It means other people would like to talk and hang out with her on this trip as well."

Her inner body temperature soared with the onset of embarrassment. Was she really that obvious? She thought she was acting relatively normal… but perhaps that was relative to the seven or twelve drinks she knocked back. Still, it was her birthday weekend. Wasn't she allowed this one pass to hog whoever she wanted?

"But they see each other all the time!" She protested. "And she won't be here for much longer."

"I know, Usa." He held up his hand to brush some sand from her cheek. "Just sit and relax… Give them twenty minutes."

Give them twenty minutes for what—to talk? They've been talking for the past two weeks!

As Mamoru's thumb brushed over a particularly ticklish area of her neck, she giggled as she involuntarily locked his hand in between her jaw and shoulder. He smiled as he wriggled his fingers within her hold to watch her squirm a little bit longer—that little bit of laughter giving her the ability to come around for the time being.

"Okay, Mamo." She pulled his hand away before she reached for the White Claw.

Five minutes turned to ten minutes that then turned to thirty. Usagi sipped her seltzer slowly to ensure she didn't lose the concept of time. How long does it take to load a cooler exactly?

But then it hit her… were they taking so long because they were doing… that?

Certainly not, though—Seiya wouldn't be so inconsiderate. Not to Usagi… not to someone she likes… especially not on her birthday trip. But then why else would they be taking so long? Motoki mentioned having to let Olive out so maybe the fur baby was taking longer than normal to do her business. Yes, of course, Seiya wouldn't do this to her… she wouldn't do this to her…

Then again, that's close to what Usagi told herself when she thought Seiya wouldn't hook up with Motoki in the first place.

The thought of Seiya and Motoki having sex produced a cold burning sensation all over her body and she suddenly found it hard to focus her eyes on anything other than sand. Grabbing the ends of her hair, she weaved it tightly through her fingers as she pushed in her bottom lip to gnaw on while her mind did what it did best. But the restlessness soon became too much to contain and Usagi reached in her tote bag to grab her phone. Perhaps the sound of a little ding would interrupt them, or maybe, at best, make Seiya feel bad for taking so long once she saw the missed texts.

But then the winds of fate abruptly changed direction when Usagi noticed a low battery warning after unlocking her screen. She could have sworn she charged her phone the night before, but she was pretty tired once she crawled in bed after a few hours of party games and a few servings of Minako's mess of a cocktail concoction. Not that her phone didn't have enough power to send a simple text, but…

The clutches of destructive curiosity held firm on her brain and she made her decision before finishing her can of seltzer in three gulps and chucking it on the sand. The fresh alcohol made its way up to her brain to run circles in her head as adrenaline rushed down to her feet, causing her to practically jump to stand.

Her abrupt movements didn't go unnoticed to Mamoru, who looked up from reading his paperback novel. "Everything okay?"

"Huh?" She was surprised he noticed her yet she never paused in her actions of slipping on her sandals and swimsuit coverup. "Uh… just gonna go to the house and grab your portable charger. My phone's dying."

"Usa, please leave them alone." He sighed and grasped onto her wrist as he begged. "I'm sure they'll be back any minute."

"I'm serious, Mamo!" She tapped her phone screen with her thumb before showing him. "I'm at five percent!"

He placed his book face down on his lap to lift his wafer sunglasses, squinting to decipher the battery percentage against the brightness of the day. "I thought you plugged it in last night."

"I did! I must have plugged it in wrong or something."

His glasses back on his nose, he sighed and shook his head. "Stay here, Usa. Everyone you talk to is here anyway."

"But my parents said they wanted to video chat today! I don't know when they're gonna call."

Usagi could sense from the movement of his brow and jaw that he was struggling with an inner dilemma; most likely trying to decide if he should babysit her.

"I won't bother them, okay?" Despite her racing heart and antsy nerves, she managed to soften her tone while squeezing his hand. "I'll go in through our balcony door, they won't even see me."

"Do you want me to come with you?" He became more tender in his delivery as well, his thumb rubbing on her skin.

"It's okay, Mamo. It doesn't take two people to get a charger. I'll be in and out."

"You sure?"

Her facade began to shake as she said curtly, "Yes, Mamo."

She tried not to be too quick in her strides. Not that the sand allowed for it anyway, but any passerby could see she had a purpose in her steps. When Usagi made it to the beach house, she scuttled up the stairway that led to a small decorated patio, complete with two plush wicker chairs and bistro table, and kicked off her shoes with the patience and grace of a toddler. She then quietly opened one of the French doors that led to the master bedroom where she and Mamoru settled in. It was the only upstairs bedroom with the rest of the amenities and rooms located downstairs on the first floor, where Seiya and Motoki would naturally be for any and all reasons. Usagi was appreciative of such a layout that was almost tailor-made to sneak into the house undetected.

But not even two steps in, she heard her…

The instant regret hit Usagi so fast she couldn't process it. Her whole body was rendered frozen while her ears and chest felt set aflame. It wasn't enough that that familiar cold burn permeated deep into her bones, but she could feel her heart crack and disintegrate with each sound of Seiya's cries of pleasure. To swallow or even breathe through the lump in her throat felt like it was only making it bigger. To try to hold back the involuntary tears only felt like it made more. To try to take off and run away only made her lose the strength to stand.

She grabbed for the knob of the patio door to soften her landing as her knees buckled under her. To the bunhead's fortune, the bedroom was lined with carpet, allowing her to keep her presence a secret for as long as she was able to control her sobbing. But no, she wouldn't dare let one slip. She would be damned before Seiya saw her like this… like the jealous creep she knew she was.

She remained still listening to all the sounds coming from downstairs. The acoustics of the house created an echo against the soundproof windows and walls to each corner, grating on the bunhead's sanity with each moan and grunt. However, the grip of destructive curiosity grew claws to penetrate deeper into her brain, blocking all synapses of rationale and reason with a wicked intention. Usagi then found herself beginning to crawl toward the other side of the room to the open doorway closer to the sounds. As much as she tried to fight it—the suffocating anxiety, the despicable act of voyeurism, the sheer stupidity of her actions—she felt if she didn't see for herself, she just might explode and die.

Making it out and over a walkway to peek through the wooden balusters of the railing, she had a full view of the downstairs area to notice one bedroom door was open. It, of course, was the bedroom where she spotted Seiya and Motoki. It was almost as if they knew she would be watching and placed themselves at the perfect spot for Usagi to see them from her angle. For if they were merely a couple of feet over, they would be hidden from her view.

...

Usagi gulped as she kept her eyes square on Seiya, completely taken and enamored with the sight of her. For being in such a submissive position, she was still able to exude such sexuality and confidence, still in control of his and her pleasures. The whole of her thick wavy locks cascaded down to one side of her perfect glistening body if not sticking to it from all her sweat. She would bite her lip and smirk right before she would do something else to send Motoki into another dimension of sexual rapture, making Usagi remember when that was once her.

The claws retreated from her brain, dragging the bunhead back into the bedroom. She had seen enough and couldn't bear to watch Motoki pleasure Seiya better than she ever could. After quietly closing the door, only muffling their noises by about half at best, Usagi somehow found the strength to crawl onto the bed atop the covers. She curled onto her side in the fetal position and rested a pillow above her head in an attempt to further block the sounds. Watching her with Motoki made Usagi feel such betrayal as if she walked in on a cheating lover, shattering her heart to the point of nonexistence. What was wrong with her? Why did it hurt so much and yet make her feel so numb and empty?

The sight of the blue ocean through the open patio door reminded her of Seiya's eyes from in between her legs. Thinking about the softness and wetness of the lips of her mouth and labia made Usagi quiver for all the right reasons. Seiya was so tender and confident, able to weave the perfect amount of sentimentality and lust to create an unforgettable experience that would find a permanent place in Usagi's fantasies. Instead of her mind spinning with dread and self-pity when trying to sleep, the new memory was able to replace the tumultuous thoughts and lead her effortlessly into slumber. However, this wasn't without the occasional masturbatory session if she were truly frustrated. And then she would think about those eyes again to guide herself to orgasm.

She knew it was wrong, though—everything about 'that night.' She should be thinking about her husband, or at worst that unattainable celebrity, but not her friend. Certainly not the only person who could understand her or help her or who actually liked her as her true self as Usagi. The ring on her finger told her that was the worst thing she could do. But how could it be so bad when Seiya was her only path to feeling safe or calming down? She was the closest thing that brought her back to normalcy... Wasn't that what everyone else wanted, too?

The tears stopped falling and her breathing normalized as she stared so distant and resolute at the gentle waves of the early afternoon tide. She finally allowed the bubbles of her deepest, darkest desire to float to the top and burst within the light into freedom. She wanted Seiya all to herself—to monopolize all of her time, happiness, and sex, and in turn, give her all of hers. Mamoru was too busy with his own life to notice and adhere to any of her current needs, and Seiya embodied everything she desperately coveted—a deep connection through their identities as guardians and regular people. In the grand scheme of things, this was what was supposed to happen. When Mamoru decided to postpone Crystal Tokyo and leave their lives to chance, naturally a new destiny was set in motion for Usagi; one that would lead her to someone who could truly help her... one that would lead up to 'that night.' Despite what she told Seiya on that day they talked in the lobby, what happened between them was no mistake at all.

"Odango?"

Choking on a gasp, Usagi wiped her face on the pillow before rolling over to see Seiya standing in the doorway. Her hand was on the knob as if she just opened the door. How long had she been there? How much did she hear?

"Seiya… hey." Usagi suppressed her self-consciousness and sat up with a forced smile, folding her legs to the side.

"Are you okay? Have you been crying?" She walked over to the bed and sat on it with one leg hanging off. Her lips were parted and her brow furrowed with concern.

"Oh uh, no! I'm fine." Usagi sniffled as if that wasn't a dead giveaway. "Just tired and red from being out in the sun."

"Are you sure? It looks like you've been crying."

She rested a cheek, now red with coyness, on one of her shrugging shoulders. If Seiya insisted on knowing, she might as well oblige her. This was what Usagi wanted. "Well, just… Maybe a little bit…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Seiya leaned over and placed her hand on Usagi's knee.

The touch made the bunhead's heart race and transformed her stomach into a swarm of excited butterflies that reached every tip and curve of her body. She made sure to keep her leg still so as not to cause Seiya to remove her hand.

"Well, I didn't want to… intrude… on you and Motoki."

Seiya retracted her hand to place it over her mouth as she gasped in horror. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! You heard that?"

Usagi giggled. "It's okay. You sounded like you were really enjoying it."

"Odango… I… I'm so sorry. We didn't hear you come in."

"Don't be." She shrugged again and dropped her voice into a mumble. "He was doing a better job than I ever could."

"What?"

"Nothing!" Usagi grabbed her hair to pick at as she internally reprimanded herself for her pettiness. Stupid alcohol. "Never mind! It was nothing!"

Seiya's mouth hung in playful offense. "It's not nothing! Tell me! What did you say?"

Knowing she was past the point of no return, she groaned out a regretful laugh as she covered her face with both her hands. Oh well. What's the harm that can come from repeating herself? Or being honest with Seiya?

"That… it sounded like he was doing a better job than I ever could."

She then felt Seiya's warm hands gently grab her wrists to bring her red eyes and face out from hiding. And as if using guardian magic, she was suddenly right next to her, their knees brushing against one another's.

"What do you mean by that, Odango?" Those eyes flickered with sensuality as the question emanated from the bottom of her throat.

Usagi wouldn't dream of wasting this moment. She twisted her wrists out of Seiya's grip to interlace their fingers as her gaze fell on the Starlight's pale pink lips. Her own breath began to quicken, feeling a familiar tightening between her legs.

"Just that… you sounded like you were more into it than… when we were together."

Half of her mouth curled into a smirk that affected Usagi in a way she could only describe as wet.

"That couldn't be farther from the truth."

Then in one swift movement that Usagi couldn't process at the time, Seiya laid on top of her snuggly within her straddle as she began to lay soft kisses on her ear. Their hands stayed locked together and rested above Usagi's head on the pillow.

"I thought you didn't want this," Seiya teased.

"No, I do," Usagi whined as she wrapped her legs around her waist as if she was about to get up and walk away. "I want you, Seiya."

Seiya released one of her hands...

"I want you, too… Usa…"

As weird as it was to hear Seiya call her anything other than, 'Odango,' she went along with it—Seiya could call her anything she wanted as long as she had her. Usagi closed her eyes and moaned with the pent-up pleasure of a full few weeks...

"Usa… Usa…"

...

"Usa… Usa…"

"Usa… Usa…"

Usagi squinted her already-shut eyes as she came up for air from her deep, drunken slumber. A small groan crackled from the middle of her throat.

"Wake up, Usa."

With eyelids still lowered, she reached over to grab the hand that was shaking her shoulder.

"Mamo?"

"Yes, Usa?" He gave her shoulder a squeeze.

Her mouth was dry, forcing her to smack her tongue to stimulate her salivary glands and be able to speak. "What time is it?"

"A little after four."

She groaned. That felt so far in the future. "How long was I gone?"

"A couple of hours."

More groaning; louder this time. The revelation helped her open her eyes as she used her other hand to rub them. "Oh God, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be. I figured you passed out when you didn't come back with Seiya and Motoki."

Oh shit, that's right. Those two… The torrent of anxiety from that memory flooded throughout her chest and stomach and she wished at that moment she could have stayed asleep forever.

"I'm sorry, Mamo," she yawned as she sat up with his aid. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready to go back." As much as she dreaded facing Seiya and pretending as if she didn't secretly watch her have sex, she did feel terrible for disappearing on the rest of the group.

"It's fine." His hand moved down onto her thigh as he pecked her on the head. "Everyone was ready to come back in so we're all here at the house."

God, she was the worst. Usagi's groan then became a whine which made Mamoru chuckle in response.

"Don't worry," he assured. "There is still the rest of the night. Did you want to shower first?"

"It's okay." She released another yawn, thankful she was able to get a couple of hours to mentally prepare herself. "You can go first. I need to eat something."

"I brought you a couple of snacks." Mamoru pointed with his chin toward the nightstand. Not only was there a bag of chips and a small sleeve of cookies but also a can of coffee and a bottle of water. Usagi sighed in relief and didn't waste any time grabbing for the chips and water bottle.

"Thank you so much, Mamo."

Giving her another kiss on her head and a couple of strong pats on the side of her bottom, Mamoru then made his way into the bathroom.

She shifted her position to sit on the bed with her legs hanging off the side, still trying to wake up as she inhaled the crab-flavored crisps and sucked down the water as if she had been lost in the desert for three days. Meanwhile, she discovered she had been sleeping on top of her cell phone, it still somehow hanging on with one percent battery life left. And of course, her parents had tried to call her about an hour ago. She then inserted a charger cord into its port, the phone vibrating to indicate it had connected.

If anyone is curious to read my SeiUsa Week 2021 short story, "Close to you," it is published on Tumblr and can be found by searching the tag #hana-bean close to you

Each of the seven chapters doesn't go above 3k words (I think...) so should be a quick run-through :) I hope that one is enjoyable for y'all as well!