Welcome to UsaMamo Week 2022!
I will be posting all my stories for the week in a collection here.
Originally only going to be two stories, I wrote this one at the last minute because I was feeling left out from all the other stories being posted.
Whipped up in about an hour, Day 1 may be a little on the rough side, but that's OK.
It's all part of the fun!
No Beta, we die like Prince Endymion!
I hope you enjoy!
Please let me know what you think
UsaMamo Week 2022
Day 1: Pearl/"Here, it reminded me of you."
Summary: Mamoru has a little something to give to Usagi
Day 2: Lost & Found/Book
Day 3: Emotion/"But why me?"
Mamoru sat at the counter on his favorite stool, waiting for his favorite person.
Of course, she didn't know she was his favorite, probably thought she was one of his least, for all the times he's teased her.
But what can you do?
She lit up whenever he did so, eyes blazing, nostrils flaring, and mouth scowling as all of her attention focused solely on him.
So, what was he supposed to do?
Not tease her?
That didn't sound right.
His senses tingled with the door chime signaling her arrival.
"Mamoru-kun," Usagi greeted, plopping down on the stool two over from his, "gracing us with your presence today?"
Answering with a slow shrug, Mamoru slid his eyes her way, watching as she brushed back strands of damp hair from her red face and fanned herself with a menu.
"Phew! It is hot today! Toki-chan's here, right? I could really go for a cold milkshake!"
"Yea, he's here," he answered. "He had to help Unazuki-chan with something over at the Fruits Parlor, but he should be back soon."
Usagi acknowledged with a nod but didn't look at him, her fingers fidgeting with the latch on her bag.
Mamoru frowned. "You're late today."
Finally, she glanced his way, but only out of the corner of her eye. "What, are you keeping tabs on me?"
Mamoru shrugged again. "Just making conversation."
Usagi huffed. "You? You never just do anything."
Stemming his elbow on the countertop, Mamoru propped up his chin on his fist. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Her fingers twitched against her bag. "Talk about what?"
"The reason why you're late."
"No," she sighed, "I'd rather not."
Taking in her downcast eyes and slumped shoulders, Mamoru decided to let it go and turned back to his book. "OK."
"I failed another English test and had to stay late to go over it," she whispered, lowering her head to the counter. "Mama's gonna kill me when she sees this grade."
"I-ah," Mamoru cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to hear that."
She turned to face him now, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at the adorable way her cheek and mouth were squished against the countertop. "Are you?"
He blinked. "Of course I am."
"It's just…" she nibbled on her lip. "The last time I failed an English test, you gave me a lecture about studying."
This time he grinned. "I didn't lecture you; I merely told you to 'study harder.' Besides, in my defense, you did literally toss that test in my face."
Her giggle was music to his ears. "OK, you got me. Sorry about that."
Chuckling, Mamoru shook his head. "That's ok. No harm done. It was one hell of an icebreaker though."
"Yea, I guess it was," she laughed, sitting up.
The quick glance she threw his way before turning to her bag made the butterflies in his stomach flitter about, and he looked away before she could see his blush.
"Well, I should go since Toki-chan is busy. May as well get this over with," she grumbled. "See you later, Mamoru-kun."
"Usa, wait!"
Usagi's eyes fell to the hand he wrapped around her wrist, and he jerked it away. "I… um… I have something for you." His hands were shaking as he unlatched his bag and reached inside, probably from the way she watched him so intently.
"I was at the bookstore the other day," he started, holding back his grin at the way her nose wrinkled. "Here, it reminded me of you."
Usagi scowled at the English Workbook in his hands. "Thanks," she said dryly.
"Let me explain." Flipping through the pages, he opened it to her when he found the answer page at the end of the first section. "After going through a bunch of them, I decided this one would help you the most when I saw this."
Usagi leaned in when he tapped his finger on the page. "See? At the end of each section, not only does it give you the answers, it explains the rationale. I know it isn't fun-" he chuckled at her deadpan expression "-OK, it isn't fun for most people," he amended, his heart fluttering from the way she smiled, "but if you work through these problems and check the rationale afterwards, I think it will really help you."
Grasping the book with both of her hands, she stared down at it with an emotion he couldn't place.
At least he was fairly certain it wasn't disgust.
"I can't believe I'm saying this about a workbook, but thank you, Mamoru-kun. This is actually really thoughtful." Her eyes returned to his. "How many did you have to go through before you found this one?"
The corner of his mouth quirked up. "You don't want to know."
"OK," she giggled, placing the book in her bag. "Again, thank you."
Mamoru lifted his coffee mug in response and watched her go, taking a sip just as Motoki arrived at the counter.
"Was that Usagi-chan?" He asked, wiping his hands on his apron. "Why is she leaving already?"
"If you can actually believe this, Motoki-kun," Mamoru said around his mug, "I think she went home to study."
Motoki scoffed. "Are you crazy? This is Usagi-chan we're talking about here."
Mamoru simply smiled and returned to his book.