Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi
"Serenity, you need to get up now. We need to leave soon so that I'm not late to class." Mamoru gently shook the princess' shoulder. He felt a bit guilty about waking her up, she'd looked so drained the day before, but he couldn't afford to miss class. Although how he was going to explain her presence to his professor, he had no idea. "Serenity, come on, you just have enough time to shower and eat before we go. I'll make you some breakfast while you're getting ready." At the mention of food, Mamoru was finally rewarded with Serenity's wide blue eyes slowly opening and peering at him.
"Will you make pancakes?" she asked him hopefully.
Mamoru's heart skipped as she spoke, her expression and voice sounding so much like his Usako that he could almost believe that her memory had returned. But no, the crescent moon was still brightly visible against her brow. Abruptly realizing that she was waiting for his answer, Mamoru cleared his throat. "Yes, I'll make pancakes."
Serenity gave him a brilliant smile and then she threw off the blankets and ran for the bathroom. Mamoru shook his head in amazement. In some ways, Serenity and Usako were exactly alike. Smiling, he headed to the kitchen to start breakfast.
Mamoru had just set the plate of pancakes on the table when Serenity came into the kitchen. She was wearing a softly pleated white skirt that flared slightly at the bottom and hovered just above her knees, and a pale pink blouse with sleeves that puffed out at the shoulders. A plain gold tiara, similar to Sailor Moon's but without the jewel in the center, covered her crescent moon mark.
"This smells wonderful, Endy-, I mean, Mamoru. I had no idea that the Prince of Earth could cook!" Serenity exclaimed as she happily piled pancakes onto her plate. "I cannot wait to see more of Earth. I have always wanted to visit, but Mother always says that it is too dangerous..." her voice faded away as she remembered that her Mother was long-dead and she quickly looked down at her plate as she struggled to control her emotions. For a little while, she had forgotten why she was here and had simply been enjoying the visit with Mamoru. She felt a warm pressure on her hand that sent tingles throughout her body and she quickly looked up to see Mamoru regarding her sympathetically. She gave him a weak smile and then took a deep breath, determined not to let grief overwhelm her. As she looked into his eyes, she felt a warmth rise in her chest that banished the sorrow that had threatened. An image flashed again in her mind of Mamoru in a tuxedo turning away from her, petals of a crushed rose falling from his hand. Serenity gasped and jerked her hand away, knocking her glass of milk on the floor in the process. She stammered an apology and quickly got up to clean the mess she had created.
Mamoru also got up and silently bent down to help pick up the pieces of broken glass. She was withdrawing again, but why? For a moment there, she had looked at him just as she used to, with love glowing in her eyes, then she had jerked her hand away from his as if he had burned her.
Serenity kept her eyes averted as Mamoru knelt beside her and started picking up the jagged shards of glass. Her cheeks were burning with embarassment--she hadn't been this clumsy since her twelfth birthday! She bit her lip in frustration. She had always followed her heart before, why was she getting conflicting messages now? Her heart told her to trust the dark-haired prince, but her mind kept sending her warning flashes of hurt and betrayal. Suddenly, Serenity felt overwhelmingly lost and confused and the tears she had been keeping locked inside silently slipped free. Serenity tried to turn away before Mamoru could notice, but when she felt his warm arms come around her in a comforting embrace she knew she had failed.
Mamoru saw the small splash as a teardrop hit the puddle of milk just before Serenity hurriedly turned away from him. The misery she was feeling was so strong that he could almost see it and he moved instinctively to comfort his princess. At first, she stiffened at his touch, but after a few moments of murmuring to her softly and rubbing her back, she relaxed against him and let the tears fall against his chest. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her quietly.
Serenity shook her head in denial, but contradicted herself by speaking in a broken whisper. "I don't know what to do. Nothing makes sense anymore."
Mamoru momentarily tightened his embrace at her quiet confession, then he pulled back so he could look at her. Tilting her chin up, he gazed into her eyes, reading the bewilderment in their crystalline depths. "Why don't you just take it one day at a time, OK? Today, you can see what a typical college student's life on Earth is like. You don't need to think about what will happen tomorrow or the next day, just pretend you are taking a vacation on Earth with a friend. Think of it as an adventure. Can you do that?"
Serenity's gaze never wavered as he spoke and as she listened to his voice she searched his eyes and read the concern and...something else...that he felt for her. Not trusting her voice, she simply nodded in agreement, her heart speeding up at what she thought she had read in his eyes. She heard Mamoru's soft sigh of relief and he hugged her to him once again. Closing her eyes, Serenity allowed herself to simply enjoy the warmth of his arms around her. He made her feel safe, protected, loved... She shied away from that last thought. It was too soon to be thinking of that, but somehow it just seemed right. Could she love him? She had only just met him! Well, according to the Senshi, she did love him and had known him for a thousand years. Serenity took a deep breath, she would do as he suggested and take it one day at a time. No sense in worrying about a past she didn't remember and future she couldn't predict. With that decision made, she felt much better and realized that they had better leave or Mamoru would be late for his class. She stepped back and gifted Mamoru with a small smile. "I'll go wash my face and then we should depart for your class. I would not wish for you to be late." So saying, she turned and left the kitchen, leaving Mamoru staring after her in surprise.
*****
Mamoru smiled as he watched Serenity take in the sights on the way to the university. Her eyes were wide with wonder and she exclaimed over each new thing with such joy and excitement that he found himself looking at things he had seen everyday with a new perspective. She clung tightly to his hand and occasionally she would tug on him so she could take a closer look at sign, the hot dog vendor, the trees, and various other things. Reluctantly, he had had to curtail her explorations so that he could get to class on time. She had dimmed a bit, but had perked back up when he promised that she could explore to her heart's content once he was done with classes for the day. It wasn't until they reached the campus that Mamoru began to worry about how he was going to explain her presence to his professor. He had just decided to tell everyone that she was a cousin who was visiting from out of town when they reached the class room. He gave Serenity one last reassuring squeeze of the hand and then he released her and opened the door.
"Ah, Mamoru, Princess Serenity, I'm so pleased you are here!" Professor Green gushed as he rushed to greet them, bowing low to Serenity as he approached. "When Ms. Meioh contacted the Dean about your upcoming visit, we were very pleased to hear that you were considering attending our humble university. It is not often that we have royalty amongst our student body."
Serenity returned his exuberant greeting with a regal nod of the head and then she took his hand and gave him a brilliant smile. "Thank you Professor, for the very warm welcome. I am sure that I will find Tokyo University to be a very fine institution. I do hope that my presence will not inconvenience you in any way."
"Oh no, no, you must not think that! I am delighted to have you. Mamoru, why don't you show the Princess to the seat next to yours? Ms. Meioh was very specific in her instructions. Should the Princess need to leave for any reason, you must accompany her and I will be sure to send any notes you may have missed to your apartment. All of your professors have been so advised and if the Princess needs anything, you have only to ask."
Mamoru simply nodded and led Serenity to the two open seats near the wall. Sailor Pluto certainly had been busy. He wondered just what exactly she had told the Dean, but then mentally shrugged--it really didn't matter as Serenity's presence by his side was now completely expected and approved. He glanced over at Serenity to see how she had taken the surprising welcome and she just smiled and winked at him. Evidently, she was accustomed to Sailor Pluto arranging things for her in advance.