A.N: Well, Maddy requested I make up my lateness by getting out a
longer chapter, and since she takes the time to actually send reviews
(which are awesome), and I got no other suggestions, here it is! A longer
chapter! I hope you all like it. Also, for Sailor Grape, who asked in her
(awesome) review, I added some Heero/Usa interaction. Thank you so much to
everyone else who sent reviews for my last chapter, they were great! Please
send more!!
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Usagi whimpered and turned restlessly in her bed, tangling herself in her sheets. Her eyelids fluttered as she dreamed, the muscles in her body clenching, then relaxing.
*Usagi's Dream*
Sighing, Usa watched the bird flying over the field in her back yard, smiling as she got up and ran out towards it. All around her, small animals and insects were moving around, enjoying the day as she was. Stopping in the middle of the field, the young seven year old looked around at all the beautiful plants and flowers around her, trying to think of something to do. A car passing by on the distant road caught her attention, giving her an idea. Laughing, she headed back towards her house as fast as she could.
Running into the house, she called out for her mother to come outside, wanting her to hurry so she could come help pick flowers before her daddy got home. Receiving no answer, she ran into the kitchen, smiling when she found her mother lying on the ground pretending to sleep. She knew this game well, and played it often enough to get out of doing something she was supposed to, though this was the first time her mother had pretended.
"Mommy, I know your pretending." She walked over to her, both hands on her tiny hips. "I need your help with something, before daddy gets home." She got no answer.
Usa shook her mothers shoulder, trying to get her to stop playing around and get up. "Mommy, I said I need your help for something." Still, her mother didn't move. Usa giggled, pulling her mothers hand. "Okay, okay, I'll do my chores after dinner. I promise."
Still nothing. The smile faded slowly off of Usa's face as she dropped her mothers hand, shocked at the coldness of it. The hand fell limply to the floor, making a small thumping noise on the linoleum. Usa shook her mothers shoulders again, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Mommy? Mommy this isn't funny anymore."
Her mothers head rolled to the side, revealing her blood soaked hair and the red stain beneath her. Usa's eyes widened and she screamed in anguish, throwing herself on her mother in a tight embrace. "Please! Please mommy I promise I'll do all my chores, just get up!" Her voice was high and choked as her body wracked with sobs. Desperately, she sat up and tried to pull her mother into a sitting position, but she wasn't strong enough. "I'll be a good girl! I'll be a good girl mommy! I promise!" She was screaming, kneeling before the unmoving body as she begged. "Mommy! Please, I'll listen to you and I'll do everything right! I'll do anything mommy, just please get up!"
Her mother didn't move. Didn't get up and smile and say she had tricked her good. Didn't hold her daughter and say it was all just a joke. Just a silly joke. Sobbing quietly, Usa lay down beside her mother, hugging her close and begging quietly for her to get up.
She never did.
*End of Dream*
Usagi cried out, trying to raise herself, but too tangled in her sheets to move. Tears ran down her face, but she ignored them as she struggled to free herself, knocking her alarm clock to the floor when she tore one arm out.
Her door flew open and five figures ran into the room, three standing by the door and the other two around her bed. Giving up on her struggle for freedom, Usagi just lay still, letting the silent tears fall.
"Usagi, what the hell happened?" Duo's voice was gentle as he untangled the sheets from her body, disposing of them on the floor. Not answering, she sat up as soon as she was free and began to weep with her face in her hands.
Quatre moved towards her hesitantly. "Miss Usagi?" She still didn't answer, but had thrown her arms around the startled boy and was now clutching him tightly, her face buried into his chest. Quatre was blushing furiously, not exactly knowing what to do. Hesitantly, he gently hugged her back and began whispering comforting things to her, trying to calm her down enough so she could tell them what was wrong.
When she had calmed down enough to speak, Usagi whispered something to Quatre and slowly released him. Quatre ushered the boys out of the room, telling them Usagi wanted to change into her pyjamas, and they all went back to the living room.
Usagi sighed and went to her dresser, pulling out her pyjamas she looked into her dresser mirror. Her face was red and puffy, but the tears had stopped. Changing swiftly, she brushed her hair out and decided to leave it completely down, not caring if it dragged on the floor. Grabbing a robe, she threw it on and opened her door, going into the living room and standing awkwardly behind Trowa.
Duo noticed her first, and thinking of how upset she had just been, decided to keep the remark that had just popped into his head to himself. She did look awfully hot though. The others turned when they noticed Duo staring, and Quatre blushed, which in turn made Usagi blush.
She was wearing a pair of baby blue, baggy, draw-string silk pyjama pants that hung off her slim hips and a tight baby blue tank top that just reached her belly-button, made from the same material. Over that, she wore a white, silk robe that hung to her knees, and a pair of fuzzy baby blue slippers that had white clouds scattered across them. Her hair was left down and fell around her like a silvery-blonde curtain, at least an inch of it dragging on the floor. Her face was no longer red and puffy, since she had calmed down considerably, and now was slightly flushed, set in a somewhat half amused, half tormented expression. Obviously trying to go for the 'cute' look, she had instead managed to look incredibly tempting and innocent at the same time.
Wufei was the first to speak, drawing the boys thoughts back to the present. "Are you trying to get yourself in trouble onna?" Usagi just stared at him, confused and completely at a loss for words. "There's five boys in your dorm, and you come out looking like that? If we were anyone else, someone would have jumped you by now!" He glanced over to Duo, frowning. "Although that's still a possibility."
Usagi was absolutely shocked by Wufei's blunt words, still slightly confused. She looked down at herself and wondered what could be so provocative about her choice of clothing. After all, Heero had seen her in less and it hadn't affected him in the least. Deciding he was just joking around to make her forget her problems, she shrugged and seated herself beside Trowa, who had moved over.
There was a moment of silence as she tried to find a way to explain what had happened moments ago, although she'd rather forget. The death of her mother had traumatized her as a little girl, and she had somehow blocked all memory's of her past when she was ten. Unfortunately, she could never completely block out the tragic events of her childhood, which was why she sometimes had nightmares. In fact, the only nightmare she ever had was the exact one she had just experienced. All other times, Her Mamo-chan had held her through it, but she could no longer rely on his comfort.
"It's okay Usagi." She snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to Trowa, who was smiling gently. "You don't have to explain anything." She smiled back and enthusiastically hugged him, instantly restored to a semi cheery mood. Needless to say, he was pretty surprised and took a while to respond.
Duo grinned and winked at Trowa, who was the only one facing him. "Unless you plan on sharing, you shouldn't tease the rest of the class!" He joked. Usagi laughed and stood, crossing the room to where Duo sat on the floor by the other three. Leaning down, she hugged him tightly, punching him in the shoulder when his hands 'accidentally' slipped a bit too far down.
"If Ruka had seen that, you'd be-" She stopped mid-sentence and looked around, blinking in surprise. "Where is she anyway? And where are Rei and Relena?"
"They were gone when we arrived." Quatre replied. Usagi frowned and sat beside Duo, her legs crossed and her chin in her hands as she stared at the opposite wall, trying to think of where they could be. Haruka would never leave Usagi home alone at night unless she was doing something important.
Duo shrugged and grabbed the remote, turning on the tv. "They'll be back sooner or la-" His sentence was left unfinished as he stopped flipping through channels and stared at the tv in surprise. On the screen, there was a picture off Relena at some kind of conference, and behind her stood…
"Oh my god! Is that Rei?" Usagi grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the tv.
"…As you know, the academy is very well advanced and only has the best materials to study and top of the line equipment and supplies. Our science wing is especially well stocked, and the explosion was nothing more then a forgotten chemical mix that a student forgot about in his dorm. The sun heated the chemicals, which caused them to expand and fuse, making them combust. The student in question was an aspiring science genius, and had many chemicals around his room, which also caught fire from the first explosion and caused it to become larger…."
Usagi stood and stared at the tv, slightly shocked. "What the heck happened here today? What explosion?" Before anyone could answer Usagi had run to the door and was hopping around as she tried to put on her shoes without losing her balance.
"What are you doing?" Wufei growled, standing and moving towards her. One shoe was on and the other was in her hand while she glared right back at him.
"I'm going to see Rei and Relena!"
"Dressed like that?" Usagi looked down at her pyjamas and blushed, throwing her shoes off and running into her room. Barely minutes later, she returned, dressed in a tight black tank top and a pair of tan cargo pants. Her hair was in the usual ponytail, and she had found a pair of sandals in her room that she had thrown on. She rushed out the door, but a split second after, stepped back into the room, smiling sheepishly.
"Umm…I don't know where the conference building is."
Wufei rolled his eyes while the others just laughed, except Heero, who did nothing, and Trowa, who just smiled. "We'll take my car." Quatre said, putting on his shoes and leading Usagi out of the room, followed by the others.
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Haruka glared at the man across from her, promising death if he didn't get away from her. Soon. She had noticed him staring at her from the time the conference had begun, and when he had approached and started hitting on her, she had just about ripped off his head. He moved away quickly when her eyes began to narrow even more, which made her smirk in triumph. Yep, she still had it.
Turning back to the food, she picked up a cracker and some cheese and nibbled on it mindlessly, her thoughts focused on a certain charismatic blonde. The conference was just about over, with only ten minutes left for questions, and Relena had executed her tiny white lie perfectly without a single contradiction. Whether she liked it or not, she made an excellent politician.
The sound of applause brought her back to reality, making her realize she had zoned out for quite a while and that Relena was now finished. The two walked off stage calmly, but as soon as Rei was out of sight, she let out a deep sigh and stretched her arms and legs.
"I thought I was going to get stuck in that darn pose! God, I don't think I've ever been that still for so long." Relena smiled at her, knowing what it had been like for her the first time. "I'm stiff as a board!" Rei pouted, massaging one arm. A man who had been eavesdropping quickly stepped up to her, grinning down at her hungrily.
"I'd be more then happy to give you a private massage." He was obviously trying to be seductive.
Rei glared up at him. "Ecchi! You disgusting, pig-headed, slobbering oaf! What in the hell makes you think I would ever want anything from you in private?! What are you, forty-five? You're old enough to be my father you pedophile! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She backhanded him, sending him reeling back in shock. "Get out of my face before I call security." The man just blinked, his jaw hanging open. When she raised her hand again, this time in a fist, he ran right out the door, knocking a few people down in his rush to escape.
Haruka noticed that it had been the same man that had tried to pick her up. Shaking her head, she sighed and walked over to the two girls near the stage. "Well, are you ready to go see if the others returned?" Rei nodded, hoping Usagi would be back.
Just as they were about to leave, the door opened and a girl ran into the room, looking around frantically before her eyes rested on the trio. Immediately, she headed towards them, throwing her arms around the first one she reached, which was Haruka. Haruka stared down in shock at Usagi, wondering briefly how she had known they were there.
The five pilots entered only moments after, moving to the girls. Relena smiled at Heero and took a step forward, as if to run into his arms, but one look at the now shaking Usagi stopped her. Worriedly, she went to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "What happened?"
Haruka looked stricken, hugging the distraught girl tightly to her. "All I asked was what happened to her today, and she burst out crying."
Quatre looked at the staring people around them and frowned. "We should continue this in private." He said quietly, giving Haruka a meaningful look. Haruka nodded and swept a hand under Usagi's knees, the other placed behind her back, and lifted the sobbing girl.
The group headed outside and Haruka took Usagi with her Relena and Rei, while the others drove with Quatre again.
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"Koneko, tell me what's wrong." The group had decided to go to Relena's, since it was larger then their own dorms and there was quite a few of them. Usagi was sitting in Haruka's lap, hugging her tightly as she sobbed brokenly, and Rei and Relena were on either side of them.
The guys were all seated across from them, except for Duo, who was sitting on the floor since there was no more room on the couch. Haruka pulled Usagi slightly away from her so she could look at her face. "Koneko, what happened today?"
Usagi looked into Haruka's eyes, silent for the first time in almost an hour. She could see the worry in her face, and knew she should reassure her that she was fine, but she wasn't. The others may have assumed she was crying because she was still upset over running into Mamoru, but that wasn't the reason at all. She was crying because she was ashamed.
Seeing Mamoru so soon had completely caught her off guard. Sure she was afraid of him, and she had thought she would never want to be near him again. But then why had there been butterflies fluttering around her stomach? Why had her skin tingled when he touched her? She was completely and utterly confused, but she still knew she shouldn't be feeling those things, especially from him. So why had she? Was she no better then the women she looked down upon? The ones who would let a man run their life and still stay with them, even if they were abusive and violent? No, she was smarter then that. Wasn't she?
Haruka would be so disappointed in her if she knew. She had put her life at risk to get Usagi away from him, and now all Usagi could think of was how he had given her butterflies? Tears welled up in her eyes again and the shame came over her in waves. Apologizing quietly, she excused herself and ran into what she assumed was Relena's bedroom.
Rei stood swiftly, ready to go after her friend, but Haruka grabbed her wrist and held her back, shaking her head. Sitting back down, Rei turned an angry gaze to the guys. "Just what exactly happened today?"
"We followed Mamoru to a base and we were caught. Before The others came, we were in his office and he and Usagi were talking." Heero shrugged, absolutely no emotion in his voice. Rei narrowed her eyes at him, angry that he didn't even care about what her friend had been through. Before she could say anything, Heero excused himself and left, disappearing around the corner that led to the bathroom and two bedrooms.
Relena wanted to follow, but she was curious about how they had gotten out if they were captured, so she stayed to listen well Quatre filled them in on everything.
Once he had finished and Haruka had stopped uttering death threats, the girls told the pilots what had happened at the school in their absence.
(In Relena's Room)
Usagi brushed away her tears, letting out a shaky breath. She was too tired to cry anymore. Too tired to do anything.
The door opened and someone stepped in the room, but she didn't bother looking. It was either Haruka or Rei, and she was definitely not in the mood to answer their questions. Even if she was, she would end up lying to them. They wouldn't understand the truth.
Her gaze was on the window, but the person who had entered stepped in her way blocking her view. Swallowing, she looked up into Heero's eyes and stood, her hands nervously twisting the edge of her tank top. "What do you want?" Her voice was small and fragile even in her ears, but she couldn't help it.
"You shouldn't be so ashamed. You loved the guy for years, so it makes sense you would still have some feelings for him." Usagi just stared at him in surprise.
"How did you…"
"Simple observation."
Usagi frowned at him, not seeing why he always needed to sound so cold. The frown disappeared after a moment, and was replaced with a relieved smile. He understood. Somehow, things seemed better when she knew someone else could tell what she was going through and understand.
Not fully realizing what she was doing, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, too caught up in the moment to care. Hesitantly, he hugged her back.
As soon as his arms were around her, Usagi's heartbeat sped up and she stiffened. She had forgotten how good he smelled and how warm he felt. Only moments later, she completely relaxed, relying on him to hold her up.
Heero stared down at her, remembering the moment outside the school when she had done almost the exact same thing. Why did she seem to feel so at ease around him, knowing that he was a Gundam pilot? One of the deadliest in fact. He supposed it didn't really matter, since he could never hurt her anyway.
Pulling away slightly, Usagi looked up at him, her head slightly tipped to the side. She had planned on saying something, but as soon as their eyes met, she had forgotten what it was. Blushing, she desperately tried to think of something -anything- to say, but all that came out was a nervous laugh.
Heero slowly lowered his head, watching as her eyes began to close. A knock at the door caused Usagi to jump away from him, shaking her head furiously to clear her fogged mind.
"Usagi, are you alright?" The voice was Relena's, but the first person to enter the room was Rei. Both girls walked in, not noticing Heero in the shadows across from them. Rei rushed to her friend and hugged her, throwing Usagi slightly off balance.
"I heard what happened today Usa! I'm so sorry you had to go through that, you've been under so much stress lately." Releasing her, the three girls sat on Relena's bed and they began talking, mostly about what had happened at the academy.
Usagi was the only one to notice as Heero silently left, briefly feeling a pang of longing before her attention was brought back to an excited Relena.
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A.N: This chapter is definitely longer then the last one, and I hope you liked it. I'm grounded again, but my mom can't watch the computer 24:7, (especially since its in my bedroom) so I'm not going to let that interfere with me posting chapters! Although, I'll have to update at night. Oh well. Please, please, please review! Please!!
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Usagi whimpered and turned restlessly in her bed, tangling herself in her sheets. Her eyelids fluttered as she dreamed, the muscles in her body clenching, then relaxing.
*Usagi's Dream*
Sighing, Usa watched the bird flying over the field in her back yard, smiling as she got up and ran out towards it. All around her, small animals and insects were moving around, enjoying the day as she was. Stopping in the middle of the field, the young seven year old looked around at all the beautiful plants and flowers around her, trying to think of something to do. A car passing by on the distant road caught her attention, giving her an idea. Laughing, she headed back towards her house as fast as she could.
Running into the house, she called out for her mother to come outside, wanting her to hurry so she could come help pick flowers before her daddy got home. Receiving no answer, she ran into the kitchen, smiling when she found her mother lying on the ground pretending to sleep. She knew this game well, and played it often enough to get out of doing something she was supposed to, though this was the first time her mother had pretended.
"Mommy, I know your pretending." She walked over to her, both hands on her tiny hips. "I need your help with something, before daddy gets home." She got no answer.
Usa shook her mothers shoulder, trying to get her to stop playing around and get up. "Mommy, I said I need your help for something." Still, her mother didn't move. Usa giggled, pulling her mothers hand. "Okay, okay, I'll do my chores after dinner. I promise."
Still nothing. The smile faded slowly off of Usa's face as she dropped her mothers hand, shocked at the coldness of it. The hand fell limply to the floor, making a small thumping noise on the linoleum. Usa shook her mothers shoulders again, her eyes beginning to tear up. "Mommy? Mommy this isn't funny anymore."
Her mothers head rolled to the side, revealing her blood soaked hair and the red stain beneath her. Usa's eyes widened and she screamed in anguish, throwing herself on her mother in a tight embrace. "Please! Please mommy I promise I'll do all my chores, just get up!" Her voice was high and choked as her body wracked with sobs. Desperately, she sat up and tried to pull her mother into a sitting position, but she wasn't strong enough. "I'll be a good girl! I'll be a good girl mommy! I promise!" She was screaming, kneeling before the unmoving body as she begged. "Mommy! Please, I'll listen to you and I'll do everything right! I'll do anything mommy, just please get up!"
Her mother didn't move. Didn't get up and smile and say she had tricked her good. Didn't hold her daughter and say it was all just a joke. Just a silly joke. Sobbing quietly, Usa lay down beside her mother, hugging her close and begging quietly for her to get up.
She never did.
*End of Dream*
Usagi cried out, trying to raise herself, but too tangled in her sheets to move. Tears ran down her face, but she ignored them as she struggled to free herself, knocking her alarm clock to the floor when she tore one arm out.
Her door flew open and five figures ran into the room, three standing by the door and the other two around her bed. Giving up on her struggle for freedom, Usagi just lay still, letting the silent tears fall.
"Usagi, what the hell happened?" Duo's voice was gentle as he untangled the sheets from her body, disposing of them on the floor. Not answering, she sat up as soon as she was free and began to weep with her face in her hands.
Quatre moved towards her hesitantly. "Miss Usagi?" She still didn't answer, but had thrown her arms around the startled boy and was now clutching him tightly, her face buried into his chest. Quatre was blushing furiously, not exactly knowing what to do. Hesitantly, he gently hugged her back and began whispering comforting things to her, trying to calm her down enough so she could tell them what was wrong.
When she had calmed down enough to speak, Usagi whispered something to Quatre and slowly released him. Quatre ushered the boys out of the room, telling them Usagi wanted to change into her pyjamas, and they all went back to the living room.
Usagi sighed and went to her dresser, pulling out her pyjamas she looked into her dresser mirror. Her face was red and puffy, but the tears had stopped. Changing swiftly, she brushed her hair out and decided to leave it completely down, not caring if it dragged on the floor. Grabbing a robe, she threw it on and opened her door, going into the living room and standing awkwardly behind Trowa.
Duo noticed her first, and thinking of how upset she had just been, decided to keep the remark that had just popped into his head to himself. She did look awfully hot though. The others turned when they noticed Duo staring, and Quatre blushed, which in turn made Usagi blush.
She was wearing a pair of baby blue, baggy, draw-string silk pyjama pants that hung off her slim hips and a tight baby blue tank top that just reached her belly-button, made from the same material. Over that, she wore a white, silk robe that hung to her knees, and a pair of fuzzy baby blue slippers that had white clouds scattered across them. Her hair was left down and fell around her like a silvery-blonde curtain, at least an inch of it dragging on the floor. Her face was no longer red and puffy, since she had calmed down considerably, and now was slightly flushed, set in a somewhat half amused, half tormented expression. Obviously trying to go for the 'cute' look, she had instead managed to look incredibly tempting and innocent at the same time.
Wufei was the first to speak, drawing the boys thoughts back to the present. "Are you trying to get yourself in trouble onna?" Usagi just stared at him, confused and completely at a loss for words. "There's five boys in your dorm, and you come out looking like that? If we were anyone else, someone would have jumped you by now!" He glanced over to Duo, frowning. "Although that's still a possibility."
Usagi was absolutely shocked by Wufei's blunt words, still slightly confused. She looked down at herself and wondered what could be so provocative about her choice of clothing. After all, Heero had seen her in less and it hadn't affected him in the least. Deciding he was just joking around to make her forget her problems, she shrugged and seated herself beside Trowa, who had moved over.
There was a moment of silence as she tried to find a way to explain what had happened moments ago, although she'd rather forget. The death of her mother had traumatized her as a little girl, and she had somehow blocked all memory's of her past when she was ten. Unfortunately, she could never completely block out the tragic events of her childhood, which was why she sometimes had nightmares. In fact, the only nightmare she ever had was the exact one she had just experienced. All other times, Her Mamo-chan had held her through it, but she could no longer rely on his comfort.
"It's okay Usagi." She snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to Trowa, who was smiling gently. "You don't have to explain anything." She smiled back and enthusiastically hugged him, instantly restored to a semi cheery mood. Needless to say, he was pretty surprised and took a while to respond.
Duo grinned and winked at Trowa, who was the only one facing him. "Unless you plan on sharing, you shouldn't tease the rest of the class!" He joked. Usagi laughed and stood, crossing the room to where Duo sat on the floor by the other three. Leaning down, she hugged him tightly, punching him in the shoulder when his hands 'accidentally' slipped a bit too far down.
"If Ruka had seen that, you'd be-" She stopped mid-sentence and looked around, blinking in surprise. "Where is she anyway? And where are Rei and Relena?"
"They were gone when we arrived." Quatre replied. Usagi frowned and sat beside Duo, her legs crossed and her chin in her hands as she stared at the opposite wall, trying to think of where they could be. Haruka would never leave Usagi home alone at night unless she was doing something important.
Duo shrugged and grabbed the remote, turning on the tv. "They'll be back sooner or la-" His sentence was left unfinished as he stopped flipping through channels and stared at the tv in surprise. On the screen, there was a picture off Relena at some kind of conference, and behind her stood…
"Oh my god! Is that Rei?" Usagi grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the tv.
"…As you know, the academy is very well advanced and only has the best materials to study and top of the line equipment and supplies. Our science wing is especially well stocked, and the explosion was nothing more then a forgotten chemical mix that a student forgot about in his dorm. The sun heated the chemicals, which caused them to expand and fuse, making them combust. The student in question was an aspiring science genius, and had many chemicals around his room, which also caught fire from the first explosion and caused it to become larger…."
Usagi stood and stared at the tv, slightly shocked. "What the heck happened here today? What explosion?" Before anyone could answer Usagi had run to the door and was hopping around as she tried to put on her shoes without losing her balance.
"What are you doing?" Wufei growled, standing and moving towards her. One shoe was on and the other was in her hand while she glared right back at him.
"I'm going to see Rei and Relena!"
"Dressed like that?" Usagi looked down at her pyjamas and blushed, throwing her shoes off and running into her room. Barely minutes later, she returned, dressed in a tight black tank top and a pair of tan cargo pants. Her hair was in the usual ponytail, and she had found a pair of sandals in her room that she had thrown on. She rushed out the door, but a split second after, stepped back into the room, smiling sheepishly.
"Umm…I don't know where the conference building is."
Wufei rolled his eyes while the others just laughed, except Heero, who did nothing, and Trowa, who just smiled. "We'll take my car." Quatre said, putting on his shoes and leading Usagi out of the room, followed by the others.
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Haruka glared at the man across from her, promising death if he didn't get away from her. Soon. She had noticed him staring at her from the time the conference had begun, and when he had approached and started hitting on her, she had just about ripped off his head. He moved away quickly when her eyes began to narrow even more, which made her smirk in triumph. Yep, she still had it.
Turning back to the food, she picked up a cracker and some cheese and nibbled on it mindlessly, her thoughts focused on a certain charismatic blonde. The conference was just about over, with only ten minutes left for questions, and Relena had executed her tiny white lie perfectly without a single contradiction. Whether she liked it or not, she made an excellent politician.
The sound of applause brought her back to reality, making her realize she had zoned out for quite a while and that Relena was now finished. The two walked off stage calmly, but as soon as Rei was out of sight, she let out a deep sigh and stretched her arms and legs.
"I thought I was going to get stuck in that darn pose! God, I don't think I've ever been that still for so long." Relena smiled at her, knowing what it had been like for her the first time. "I'm stiff as a board!" Rei pouted, massaging one arm. A man who had been eavesdropping quickly stepped up to her, grinning down at her hungrily.
"I'd be more then happy to give you a private massage." He was obviously trying to be seductive.
Rei glared up at him. "Ecchi! You disgusting, pig-headed, slobbering oaf! What in the hell makes you think I would ever want anything from you in private?! What are you, forty-five? You're old enough to be my father you pedophile! What the hell is wrong with you?!" She backhanded him, sending him reeling back in shock. "Get out of my face before I call security." The man just blinked, his jaw hanging open. When she raised her hand again, this time in a fist, he ran right out the door, knocking a few people down in his rush to escape.
Haruka noticed that it had been the same man that had tried to pick her up. Shaking her head, she sighed and walked over to the two girls near the stage. "Well, are you ready to go see if the others returned?" Rei nodded, hoping Usagi would be back.
Just as they were about to leave, the door opened and a girl ran into the room, looking around frantically before her eyes rested on the trio. Immediately, she headed towards them, throwing her arms around the first one she reached, which was Haruka. Haruka stared down in shock at Usagi, wondering briefly how she had known they were there.
The five pilots entered only moments after, moving to the girls. Relena smiled at Heero and took a step forward, as if to run into his arms, but one look at the now shaking Usagi stopped her. Worriedly, she went to the girl and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. "What happened?"
Haruka looked stricken, hugging the distraught girl tightly to her. "All I asked was what happened to her today, and she burst out crying."
Quatre looked at the staring people around them and frowned. "We should continue this in private." He said quietly, giving Haruka a meaningful look. Haruka nodded and swept a hand under Usagi's knees, the other placed behind her back, and lifted the sobbing girl.
The group headed outside and Haruka took Usagi with her Relena and Rei, while the others drove with Quatre again.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Koneko, tell me what's wrong." The group had decided to go to Relena's, since it was larger then their own dorms and there was quite a few of them. Usagi was sitting in Haruka's lap, hugging her tightly as she sobbed brokenly, and Rei and Relena were on either side of them.
The guys were all seated across from them, except for Duo, who was sitting on the floor since there was no more room on the couch. Haruka pulled Usagi slightly away from her so she could look at her face. "Koneko, what happened today?"
Usagi looked into Haruka's eyes, silent for the first time in almost an hour. She could see the worry in her face, and knew she should reassure her that she was fine, but she wasn't. The others may have assumed she was crying because she was still upset over running into Mamoru, but that wasn't the reason at all. She was crying because she was ashamed.
Seeing Mamoru so soon had completely caught her off guard. Sure she was afraid of him, and she had thought she would never want to be near him again. But then why had there been butterflies fluttering around her stomach? Why had her skin tingled when he touched her? She was completely and utterly confused, but she still knew she shouldn't be feeling those things, especially from him. So why had she? Was she no better then the women she looked down upon? The ones who would let a man run their life and still stay with them, even if they were abusive and violent? No, she was smarter then that. Wasn't she?
Haruka would be so disappointed in her if she knew. She had put her life at risk to get Usagi away from him, and now all Usagi could think of was how he had given her butterflies? Tears welled up in her eyes again and the shame came over her in waves. Apologizing quietly, she excused herself and ran into what she assumed was Relena's bedroom.
Rei stood swiftly, ready to go after her friend, but Haruka grabbed her wrist and held her back, shaking her head. Sitting back down, Rei turned an angry gaze to the guys. "Just what exactly happened today?"
"We followed Mamoru to a base and we were caught. Before The others came, we were in his office and he and Usagi were talking." Heero shrugged, absolutely no emotion in his voice. Rei narrowed her eyes at him, angry that he didn't even care about what her friend had been through. Before she could say anything, Heero excused himself and left, disappearing around the corner that led to the bathroom and two bedrooms.
Relena wanted to follow, but she was curious about how they had gotten out if they were captured, so she stayed to listen well Quatre filled them in on everything.
Once he had finished and Haruka had stopped uttering death threats, the girls told the pilots what had happened at the school in their absence.
(In Relena's Room)
Usagi brushed away her tears, letting out a shaky breath. She was too tired to cry anymore. Too tired to do anything.
The door opened and someone stepped in the room, but she didn't bother looking. It was either Haruka or Rei, and she was definitely not in the mood to answer their questions. Even if she was, she would end up lying to them. They wouldn't understand the truth.
Her gaze was on the window, but the person who had entered stepped in her way blocking her view. Swallowing, she looked up into Heero's eyes and stood, her hands nervously twisting the edge of her tank top. "What do you want?" Her voice was small and fragile even in her ears, but she couldn't help it.
"You shouldn't be so ashamed. You loved the guy for years, so it makes sense you would still have some feelings for him." Usagi just stared at him in surprise.
"How did you…"
"Simple observation."
Usagi frowned at him, not seeing why he always needed to sound so cold. The frown disappeared after a moment, and was replaced with a relieved smile. He understood. Somehow, things seemed better when she knew someone else could tell what she was going through and understand.
Not fully realizing what she was doing, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, too caught up in the moment to care. Hesitantly, he hugged her back.
As soon as his arms were around her, Usagi's heartbeat sped up and she stiffened. She had forgotten how good he smelled and how warm he felt. Only moments later, she completely relaxed, relying on him to hold her up.
Heero stared down at her, remembering the moment outside the school when she had done almost the exact same thing. Why did she seem to feel so at ease around him, knowing that he was a Gundam pilot? One of the deadliest in fact. He supposed it didn't really matter, since he could never hurt her anyway.
Pulling away slightly, Usagi looked up at him, her head slightly tipped to the side. She had planned on saying something, but as soon as their eyes met, she had forgotten what it was. Blushing, she desperately tried to think of something -anything- to say, but all that came out was a nervous laugh.
Heero slowly lowered his head, watching as her eyes began to close. A knock at the door caused Usagi to jump away from him, shaking her head furiously to clear her fogged mind.
"Usagi, are you alright?" The voice was Relena's, but the first person to enter the room was Rei. Both girls walked in, not noticing Heero in the shadows across from them. Rei rushed to her friend and hugged her, throwing Usagi slightly off balance.
"I heard what happened today Usa! I'm so sorry you had to go through that, you've been under so much stress lately." Releasing her, the three girls sat on Relena's bed and they began talking, mostly about what had happened at the academy.
Usagi was the only one to notice as Heero silently left, briefly feeling a pang of longing before her attention was brought back to an excited Relena.
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A.N: This chapter is definitely longer then the last one, and I hope you liked it. I'm grounded again, but my mom can't watch the computer 24:7, (especially since its in my bedroom) so I'm not going to let that interfere with me posting chapters! Although, I'll have to update at night. Oh well. Please, please, please review! Please!!