Usagi couldn't stand waiting! It was absolute agony, especially tonight! You see tonight (or this morning if you see it that way) was June 30th. Her birthday! And she hadn't been able to get a wink all night! The anxiety of waiting until morning was painful!

Usagi whimpered as she pulled her purple bunny and moon cover over her head before she tossed and turned in her bed. It didn't help.

Usagi poked her head out and looked through the darkness at a picture of herself and Mamoru having a picnic with him giving a heartbreakingly beautiful smile while she made a funny face. Wait a minute! Mamo-chan! If he was here, then they could cuddle throughout the night and she'd be surrounded by his warmth. Where was he when she needed her prince charming?!

Probably at home, said the logical part of her brain.
And okay. It was probably right. But still!

Whenever she's in danger he's supposed to just come! And what greater danger was there than boredom, agonizing in wait for the day you become another year older, practically being on the brink of death from frustration?

Usagi loudly and dramatically sighed before looking over at her alarm clock which read 23:49. 11 minutes before midnight. Gr! THIS WAS SO ANNOYING!

Still growling and pouting, Usagi threw her purple bunny-on-the-moon comforter overhead as she tried to do the trick Mamo-chan taught her whenever she was having trouble sleeping without him because ever since stupid Galaxia murdered Mamoru Usagi would often wake up in a cold sweat.
Once after a particularly terrifying nightmare, Usagi had quickly turned into Sailor Moon and ran halfway across Tokyo at 3 AM in the morning to be sure that Mamo-chan was alright. He was, but just very confused. She was still allowed to slip into bed with him though and there she stayed until 10 in the morning when her parents (specifically her dad) called threatening to arrest Mamo-chan for kidnapping. Thankfully, they managed to resolve the issue without the police but that's also when Mamo-chan taught her the trick he learned in the orphanage whenever he had nightmares about the deaths of his parents and that all she had to do was think of something she liked and count them in her mind.

Which she was doing right now.

"...white chocolate bunnies…strawberry cupcakes with little pink hearts on them…strawberries dipped in dark chocolate," Usagi stopped at the one. She and Mamo-chan loved strawberries dipped in dark chocolate. She still remembers on one of their first dates, he packed a huge box of chocolate strawberries for them to share. Usagi giggled a little remembering how messy they were because Mamo-chan made them himself (he even still had a bit of chocolate on his shirt which was so cute!) but they were still delicious. It was a wonderful day! Maybe Mamo-chan will bring her some chocolate strawberries tomorrow!
…

Mamo-chan.
She missed him.
She reached out and grabbed a cat plushy and held it against her chest, trying to pretend the fake furred creature was her Mamo-chan.
It didn't work.
Why wasn't Mamo-chan here?

Just as she thought this though, a rush of cold night air flooded into the room. Even Usagi who was fully under her blanket subconsciously shivered and curled up into a tight ball before the reality hit her. Why did her window open up suddenly? Was Luna back? She did say she was staying over at Mina-P's in order to get closer to Artemis but maybe she was already back. The blonde, almost 17-year-old decided this was the most plausible answer and decided to complain about all her problems that alien feline, peeked out from under her blankets to see instead of Luna a dark shadow against the moon looking over from her window.

For a moment, she was frozen in fear simply staring up in shock at the strange, silhouetted man who stared down at her from her window without saying anything and seemingly holding something in his right hand. A box maybe?
However, there was no time to address this!

There was a strange man who was trying to come into her bedroom! Quickly, shaking off her fear she grabbed at her stuffed animals and began tossing them straight at his face as he tried to fight them off while still trying to maintain his balance while clearly trying to say something though. Usagi didn't care though! As far as she knew this was a strange man who broke into her room in the middle of the night!

Rolling off her bed, she dove at her shelf where her other stuffed animals were and began to fling them as hard as possible as the strange silhouette man made his way into her room! She wouldn't let him get farther though since who knows what he could do to her family!

Grabbing two stuffed animals at the same time she tossed them as he barely managed to swat them away in time for them not to hit him in the face. Sure they don't hurt but still…They were kind of annoying. Her strategy was working. He would go no further! Whoever this strange, unknown, and now that he's coming into the light a bit more she could see that he was, masked fi- Wait. Masked?

Usagi rushed for the light switch in her room and the golden light revealed the truth. It wasn't some strange assailant ready to destroy her and her family it was, "Mamo-chan!" Usagi cried out in joy as she glomped him so hard they both fell onto the bed causing it to bounce a little. "Mamo-chan! Mamo-chan! Mamo-chan!" Usagi cried as she nuzzled her face into Mamo-chan's, or well Tuxedo Mask technically, chest like a spoiled bunny. Which she guessed she was but with good reason. She missed Mamo-chan! And now he was here.

"Hey, Usa," Mamo-chan said as he trailed his long fingers through her long golden hair that was decorated with little bows before he topped it off with a little kiss on her cheek that sent shivers down her spine in a way only Mamo-chan ever could.

With her cheeks still a little pink, she looked at Mamo-chan with a sweet smile before she realized something. "What are you doing here?" Usagi asked as she grabbed as a mask and tossed it away, honestly so she could just see his perfect midnight-blue eyes in all their glory.

Mamo-chan gave a small chuckle, which was so cute by the way, as he sat up a bit to look around before his eyes landed on something on the floor next to her bed. Usagi looked over and could only make it out it was a box of some sort before Mamo-chan snatched it up which made the blonde superheroine and princess give a little noise of confusion. "What is that, Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked as he gave a bit of a wicked smile and hid the object behind his back.
"What do you think it is, Usako?" Mamo-chan said as he came closer to her until their faces were mere inches apart which made Usagi's pink cheeks turn bright red. Stupid Mamo-chan. Being all cute and hot all the time. It wasn't fair!

"Just tell me," Usagi pouted. "Please," she said giving her the best puppy dog eyes she could. That always worked on Mamo-chan.
"Nope," Mamo-chan said. Darnit, he's started to build up a resistance.
Usagi saw there was no other choice but to give in to his little game. "Hm…chocolate strawberries?"
Mamo-chan shook his head.
"A rose?"
Mamo-chan shook his head.
"Oh, is it another stuffed animal!"
Mamo-chan glared a which made Usagi nervously laugh a bit. Clearly, he wasn't amused.
"Come on, Mamo-chan quit with the games! Just tell me what it is!"

Mamo-chan smiled before he pulled out the box which turned out to be one of those fancy boxes the Osa-P had when they needed something to put super high-class jewelry in. Wait. "Mamo-chan! Tell me you didn't sell a lung for this!" Usagi said with her hands on her hips.

Mamo-chan rolled his eyes as he simply placed the box into the palm of Usagi's hand. "Even if I did, it would've been worth it for my beautiful Usako." he said as Usagi's face turned crimson as she ducked her eyes. "And anyway, I wanted to be the first to say happy birthday, Usako. I love you."

"I love you too, Mamo-chan," she said with a deep blush before reality hit her. "Wait! It's not my birthday yet!"

Mamo-chan gave a teasing smile before turning towards the alarm clock that had long been forgotten now read 00:05. The 30th of June. Her birthday! It was officially her 17th birthday! She was officially 17 now. "This for you," he said pointing at the fancy box, "and I think you have every right to open it."
Unable to argue against that logic, and not wanting to, she slowly opened the box to reveal his gift was the most beautiful choker she had ever seen. It was three rows of perfectly cut, pearls that were as perfectly white and bright as a full moon held together by a snow-white silk ribbon and completed with a pure gold moon in the center. It was incredible!

"Do you like it?" he asked, a little awkwardly since he was still getting used to this whole giving presents to other people. "I knew you liked pearls and I thought the gold would go with your hair and-Wait, why are you crying?!" He looked like a deer in the headlights.
Usagi sniffled a bit and she did indeed have tears in her eyes. "Mamo-chan," she said quietly as Mamo-chan, from the look on his face though he made the wrong choice, pushed him down onto the bed giving him a big kiss on his cheek and wrapping her arms around his body all the while thanking the Heavens for this perfect man. "I love it!" Thankfully, her tears were tears of joy.

Mamo-chan obviously a bit confused, just relented and wrapped his arms around Usagi without saying anything. He didn't need to. Usagi just knew that Mamo-chan was just happy as she was as they just laid there in silence for a moment, just basking in the joy they shared.

Usagi begrudgingly pulled away from him after a few minutes but not enough to actually be separated from him. "So…Do I have to put it on myself?"

"I…I can do that," Mamo-chan said as he took the choker from Usagi who was holding up her hair to make it easier revealing most of her smooth, milk-colored skin which made her always cool, calm, and collected boyfriend blush a bit as he wrapped the choker around her neck. She felt so close to him with his warm breath on his face as she glanced at his dark eyes trying to concentrate on tying on a choker that felt as cool as the air outside. He looked so handsome. Well, he always looked handsome but tonight there was just something about her soulmate that made Usagi…The teenager quickly gulped as he finished tying on the necklace with a few of his nails scraping her spine sending down a few shockwaves that made her blush harder. She looked up at Mamo-chan who despite looking emotionless, was clearly in the same boat she was as he stared at her with so many emotions at once it was hard to keep track.

She noticed he was coming closer though. His face specifically. Her chest heaved upwards the way it always did when they kissed but this was slightly different. A good different but different and she didn't know why but she wasn't against it.

Usagi matched Mamoru's movements as she moved her hands across his chest to the back of his neck as his hands came lowered across his back as she impatiently waited for the moment of truth.

And then he stopped.

"I should probably go before your parents realize I'm here," Mamo-chan muttered against her lips that were only millimeters from hers. Usagi could've cried.

This immediately woke Usagi up from her dream-like state as Mamoru gently started to pull away from her. No. He can't leave now! She wouldn't let him!

Quickly, she pushed him down onto the bed and muttered into the nape of his neck, "Please don't go," as she clung to him like a drowning person to a life preserver. "I can't sleep," she admitted with a bit of awkwardness before looking into his eyes that held so much worry and love all at the same time.
"...Alright," he said as he made himself a bit more comfortable on the bed as Usagi stayed glued to his body. Usagi's face immediately brightened as she curled up into her ebony-haired prince's chest as petted the top of her head in a way he knew she liked. She looked up at him as he shifted a bit so he could wrap her in his black velvet cloak. She smiled as she simply listened as she held his cape and simply listened to his beating heart as it slowly lulled her to sleep. She gave a small touch to her pearl necklace and gently smiled.

Honestly, Mamo-chan didn't have to do this. Sure, she loved it and she was grateful but he had already given her the present she wanted the most. Himself. Her heart and soul. The man who always encouraged her to fight and never allow the darkness to engulf her when she felt like drowning. The man who was there for her from day one. The man who made her smile and laugh, who made her angry and inspired. The man named Mamo-chan. In the end, if it came down to choosing between all the crowns and jewels in this world or the next and sacrificing Mamoru, she would always choose Mamo-chan.

Her eyes soon shut with this happy thought and for the rest of the night, she didn't have a single issue falling asleep until her party began.