1 After the Rain
Summary: This is a sequel to Crying in the Rain. Previously, Usagi broke up with an unfaithful Jake. Seeing his chance, Mamoru confessed his love for her. Usagi, of course, reciprocated. This fic is a little revenge on Jake.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon but I wish I did!
A teenage girl with two silky, golden yellow pigtails sits at the counter of the Crown Fruit Parlor. Dressed up in a rose-pink sundress embroidered with tiny ivory flowers, she looks remarkably pretty as she slowly sips her soda. When the dark blonde man behind the counter cheerfully winks at her, she smiles sweetly with a satisfied cat-in-a-cream- pot expression on her animated face. Her ocean blue eyes sparkle with laughter. Looking extremely anxious, a tall brunette Amazon sits next to her and barely touches her drink. She's wearing a snowy-white halter-top with a gold belt and an emerald green miniskirt that matches her eyes. Trying to get the girl's attention, she gently taps her shoulder.
"Um, Usagi. You look happy. Did something happen?"
"Uh huh. Everything's wonderful, Makoto."
"Tell me you didn't get back together with Jake! That jerk broke your heart just last week! I should have pounded him into the ground!"
"Nope. I went out with somebody else. A really *dreamy* guy!"
"No way! Who? I haven't seen you with anybody!"
"You'll see him today. I'm meeting him here."
"Usagi, you're not… making him up, are you?"
"Oh no. You already know him. You'd definitely approve of this one. Motoki's seen us together. Right, Motoki?"
"Yep, we double-dated. You're not going to believe it but you're going to *love* it."
As he polishes the counter, Motoki winks again, grins broadly and whistles a popular tune. The brunette looks at both of them, trying to figure out what's going on. She can't think of anybody who'd make them so… so *smug*. Meanwhile, a cute, sandy-haired blonde teenager in a Juuban high school uniform approaches the two girls. Tentatively, he clears his throat to get their notice. Both girls pointedly ignore him and look at each other. Makoto grimaces and clenches her fist but relaxes when Usagi calmly places a hand on her arm. Nervously, he clears his throat again but they only glance at him and fiddle with their drinks. Their happy expressions dry up into unenthusiastic resignation. The Amazon shoots him a look capable of freezing a five-alarm forest fire while the blonde girl stares fixedly at her fingernails.
"Hi, Usagi. You've been looking really good today."
"Um… Thanks, Jake."
"I'd really like to go out with you again. That thing with Melissa was just… just an accident."
"Sorry, I'm waiting for someone."
"Come on, you can't have found someone *this* quick!"
2 "I told you… Mamoru!"
Completely forgetting about the boy (and finishing her sentence), Usagi sees a tall, broad-shouldered young man entering the store. With jewel- bright blue eyes and a sunshine smile, the blonde girl suddenly glows with happiness. Surprised by her luminous beauty, her friends gasp in shock and then notice the young man. Clothed in charcoal gray slacks with a sky blue shirt (which deepens the sapphire blue of his eyes and the highlights in his ebony hair), he is devastatingly handsome, especially with a bouquet of perfect red rosebuds and baby's breath in his hands. Once he sees the girl waiting at the counter, he walks over to her and smiles charmingly, lightening his normally somber expression and causing several nearby girls to have heart palpitations.
With a courtly bow, Mamoru presents the roses to the blonde girl. Blushing, Usagi shyly buries her face in the bouquet. Every girl sighs longingly, much to the consternation of many guys in the store. Gallantly, he takes her hand. For a long moment, they are oblivious to the world as they dreamily gaze into each other's eyes. In their minds, they are already waltzing around the room with softly lit candles and slow, romantic music playing in the background. Motoki noticeably smirks and enjoys the dumbfounded expressions on the green-eyed brunette and the teenage boy. The dark-haired man lightly caresses the girl's ivory cheek.
"Usako, you look even more beautiful. I should give you roses every day. Ready to go, my lady?"
"Mamo-chan, you're so sweet. Thank you."
When the man in the apron chuckles, the couple is startled out of their private world. Usagi blushes again while Mamoru sheepishly grins and finally becomes aware of other people at the counter. Recovering quickly, Makoto smiles engagingly and trades smirks with Motoki. In unison, they give the couple a giant thumbs-up. When the man sees the teenager standing too closely to the girls, he frowns and gently pulls the blonde girl off her seat until she is standing next to him. She smiles sweetly at him as he possessively wraps his arm around her shoulders. He glares at the sandy- haired boy.
"Hi Motoki, Makoto. And you are?"
"I'm… I'm Jake."
"One of Usagi's classmates?"
"Yes… yes, sir."
As the young man sternly stares at him, Jake suppresses violent, contradictory urges to stutter, vomit and/or flee. Sweat breaks out on his brow as he tries to meet Mamoru's icy gaze. His knees quiver like jelly. Uncharacteristically awkward and clumsy, he surreptitiously checks for any unbuttoned gaps or glaring stains on his uniform, feeling like a military recruit facing inspection. The raven-haired young man's right eyebrow sardonically arches upwards, clearly stating "What is a lowly creature like *you* doing around *my* girl". Feeling nauseous, the boy looks at the now- unattainable, honey-blonde girl with starry eyes for the older, smoother, GQ-cover-model-like guy. Mumbling farewell under his breath, he drops his eyes to the floor and slinks off to join his unsympathetic friends.
As soon as the teenage boy turns his back, Mamoru smiles and winks mischievously at Usagi. Much to his joy, she gives him a delightful butterfly kiss on his cheek. Again, they lose themselves in each other's eyes. Still smirking, Makoto and Motoki laugh and exchange high-fives. When the dark blonde man blithely clears his throat, Mamoru suddenly twitches and checks his watch. He places a hand on Usagi's slender waist and gently guides her to the door. Distracted, he waves good-bye to their friends with his other hand.
"See you, Motoki, Makoto. Come on, angel. If we don't hurry, we'll be late for the movie you wanted to see."
"When are we going to eat?"
"Don't worry, Usako. I have reservations at a nice French place a block away from the theater."
"Bye, everyone! Talk to you later, Makoto!"
"Way to GO, Usagi! You better call me!"
The couple walks briskly through the automatic doors to his waiting car. Several customers rush to the window and sigh over the lovers driving away in his sporty black convertible. Some teenagers from Juuban High giggle and whisper excitedly over the juicy new gossip (to be spread at school tomorrow). The sandy-haired boy slumps in his seat and tries to become invisible, sensing his cool quotient diving to prekindergarten levels. Abruptly, the brown-haired girl at the counter grabs the shirt of the dark blonde man and drags him towards her.
"Motoki! You have GOT to tell me everything! When did they become a couple? ALL the details!!!"
"Hey, I can't squeal on my best bud Mamoru!"
"Talk or I'll sic Rei on you! Do you *want* a dose of her temper?"
"Well, if you put it *that* way, it all started last week…"
AN: Thank you to everyone (WaterColor Tears, LisaZUMStories, Sere*19, Starlife ^_^, MoonAngel, Loz) who read and reviewed my first fic! Special thanks to AngelicMoonDJ who is my beta-reader. ^_^.
Summary: This is a sequel to Crying in the Rain. Previously, Usagi broke up with an unfaithful Jake. Seeing his chance, Mamoru confessed his love for her. Usagi, of course, reciprocated. This fic is a little revenge on Jake.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon but I wish I did!
A teenage girl with two silky, golden yellow pigtails sits at the counter of the Crown Fruit Parlor. Dressed up in a rose-pink sundress embroidered with tiny ivory flowers, she looks remarkably pretty as she slowly sips her soda. When the dark blonde man behind the counter cheerfully winks at her, she smiles sweetly with a satisfied cat-in-a-cream- pot expression on her animated face. Her ocean blue eyes sparkle with laughter. Looking extremely anxious, a tall brunette Amazon sits next to her and barely touches her drink. She's wearing a snowy-white halter-top with a gold belt and an emerald green miniskirt that matches her eyes. Trying to get the girl's attention, she gently taps her shoulder.
"Um, Usagi. You look happy. Did something happen?"
"Uh huh. Everything's wonderful, Makoto."
"Tell me you didn't get back together with Jake! That jerk broke your heart just last week! I should have pounded him into the ground!"
"Nope. I went out with somebody else. A really *dreamy* guy!"
"No way! Who? I haven't seen you with anybody!"
"You'll see him today. I'm meeting him here."
"Usagi, you're not… making him up, are you?"
"Oh no. You already know him. You'd definitely approve of this one. Motoki's seen us together. Right, Motoki?"
"Yep, we double-dated. You're not going to believe it but you're going to *love* it."
As he polishes the counter, Motoki winks again, grins broadly and whistles a popular tune. The brunette looks at both of them, trying to figure out what's going on. She can't think of anybody who'd make them so… so *smug*. Meanwhile, a cute, sandy-haired blonde teenager in a Juuban high school uniform approaches the two girls. Tentatively, he clears his throat to get their notice. Both girls pointedly ignore him and look at each other. Makoto grimaces and clenches her fist but relaxes when Usagi calmly places a hand on her arm. Nervously, he clears his throat again but they only glance at him and fiddle with their drinks. Their happy expressions dry up into unenthusiastic resignation. The Amazon shoots him a look capable of freezing a five-alarm forest fire while the blonde girl stares fixedly at her fingernails.
"Hi, Usagi. You've been looking really good today."
"Um… Thanks, Jake."
"I'd really like to go out with you again. That thing with Melissa was just… just an accident."
"Sorry, I'm waiting for someone."
"Come on, you can't have found someone *this* quick!"
2 "I told you… Mamoru!"
Completely forgetting about the boy (and finishing her sentence), Usagi sees a tall, broad-shouldered young man entering the store. With jewel- bright blue eyes and a sunshine smile, the blonde girl suddenly glows with happiness. Surprised by her luminous beauty, her friends gasp in shock and then notice the young man. Clothed in charcoal gray slacks with a sky blue shirt (which deepens the sapphire blue of his eyes and the highlights in his ebony hair), he is devastatingly handsome, especially with a bouquet of perfect red rosebuds and baby's breath in his hands. Once he sees the girl waiting at the counter, he walks over to her and smiles charmingly, lightening his normally somber expression and causing several nearby girls to have heart palpitations.
With a courtly bow, Mamoru presents the roses to the blonde girl. Blushing, Usagi shyly buries her face in the bouquet. Every girl sighs longingly, much to the consternation of many guys in the store. Gallantly, he takes her hand. For a long moment, they are oblivious to the world as they dreamily gaze into each other's eyes. In their minds, they are already waltzing around the room with softly lit candles and slow, romantic music playing in the background. Motoki noticeably smirks and enjoys the dumbfounded expressions on the green-eyed brunette and the teenage boy. The dark-haired man lightly caresses the girl's ivory cheek.
"Usako, you look even more beautiful. I should give you roses every day. Ready to go, my lady?"
"Mamo-chan, you're so sweet. Thank you."
When the man in the apron chuckles, the couple is startled out of their private world. Usagi blushes again while Mamoru sheepishly grins and finally becomes aware of other people at the counter. Recovering quickly, Makoto smiles engagingly and trades smirks with Motoki. In unison, they give the couple a giant thumbs-up. When the man sees the teenager standing too closely to the girls, he frowns and gently pulls the blonde girl off her seat until she is standing next to him. She smiles sweetly at him as he possessively wraps his arm around her shoulders. He glares at the sandy- haired boy.
"Hi Motoki, Makoto. And you are?"
"I'm… I'm Jake."
"One of Usagi's classmates?"
"Yes… yes, sir."
As the young man sternly stares at him, Jake suppresses violent, contradictory urges to stutter, vomit and/or flee. Sweat breaks out on his brow as he tries to meet Mamoru's icy gaze. His knees quiver like jelly. Uncharacteristically awkward and clumsy, he surreptitiously checks for any unbuttoned gaps or glaring stains on his uniform, feeling like a military recruit facing inspection. The raven-haired young man's right eyebrow sardonically arches upwards, clearly stating "What is a lowly creature like *you* doing around *my* girl". Feeling nauseous, the boy looks at the now- unattainable, honey-blonde girl with starry eyes for the older, smoother, GQ-cover-model-like guy. Mumbling farewell under his breath, he drops his eyes to the floor and slinks off to join his unsympathetic friends.
As soon as the teenage boy turns his back, Mamoru smiles and winks mischievously at Usagi. Much to his joy, she gives him a delightful butterfly kiss on his cheek. Again, they lose themselves in each other's eyes. Still smirking, Makoto and Motoki laugh and exchange high-fives. When the dark blonde man blithely clears his throat, Mamoru suddenly twitches and checks his watch. He places a hand on Usagi's slender waist and gently guides her to the door. Distracted, he waves good-bye to their friends with his other hand.
"See you, Motoki, Makoto. Come on, angel. If we don't hurry, we'll be late for the movie you wanted to see."
"When are we going to eat?"
"Don't worry, Usako. I have reservations at a nice French place a block away from the theater."
"Bye, everyone! Talk to you later, Makoto!"
"Way to GO, Usagi! You better call me!"
The couple walks briskly through the automatic doors to his waiting car. Several customers rush to the window and sigh over the lovers driving away in his sporty black convertible. Some teenagers from Juuban High giggle and whisper excitedly over the juicy new gossip (to be spread at school tomorrow). The sandy-haired boy slumps in his seat and tries to become invisible, sensing his cool quotient diving to prekindergarten levels. Abruptly, the brown-haired girl at the counter grabs the shirt of the dark blonde man and drags him towards her.
"Motoki! You have GOT to tell me everything! When did they become a couple? ALL the details!!!"
"Hey, I can't squeal on my best bud Mamoru!"
"Talk or I'll sic Rei on you! Do you *want* a dose of her temper?"
"Well, if you put it *that* way, it all started last week…"
AN: Thank you to everyone (WaterColor Tears, LisaZUMStories, Sere*19, Starlife ^_^, MoonAngel, Loz) who read and reviewed my first fic! Special thanks to AngelicMoonDJ who is my beta-reader. ^_^.