A HUGE thanks to Megs, who seriously helped me rewrite this into a better story.
notes:
"daisuki datta ano uta, furui tape no naka..."= line from Tooi Kono Machi de, a song featured in the 1st CCS movie
Touch the Dawn 1/10
by Elysia
rating: PG-12.5
"Touch the dawn,
Reach for the blue skies,
Infinite across the world."
"How come you never told me how cute you were as a baby, Usa?"
"What are you talking about, Mamo-chan?"
Mamoru held up the photo album with a big grin. "You've never showed me these before. It's strange, but cute in a way, to see your girlfriend in diapers."
Usagi dove for the book, only to miss and land face down on the couch. "When did you find that?" her muffled voice squawked.
Mamoru laughed. "I was looking through your bookcase at your parents' house the other night and somehow landed on this little book." He grinned again. "This is priceless. I never knew you were so into making mud pies."
She lunged for the book again, but he held it out of her grasp. She tumbled into Mamoru's lap and he stared down at her fondly, His hand brushed through her silky blonde hair. "Where's a camera when I need one?"
Usagi slyly pulled Mamoru's head down to meet hers in a sweet kiss. He smiled lovingly at her when they pulled away, and before he knew it, Usagi snatched the album out of his hands. "I'm going to put this away so no one will ever find it again."
Mamoru latched onto Usagi's waist, preventing her from moving "Usa... show me just a couple of pictures? Please?"
She couldn't resist his pleading eyes. "All right... but only a few pages, then you have to go to bed and I have to go home. I do have to go to work in the morning."
He grinned devilishly. "Of course, but wouldn't it be more fun if you stayed the night?"
"Mamo-chan!" she smacked him playfully. "Of course I know," she said lowly, pushing him back onto the couch, "but you and I both know that would get us in trouble."
"Mmm, and I like trouble where you're concerned," he replied playfully.
Usagi blushed bright red and giggled. Sliding her arms around his neck, she purred, "Well, what's a little trouble now and then?"
Mamoru's eyes flashed with desire and he tackled her onto the couch, causing her to squeal loudly when his hands found her ticklish spots.
"Mamo-chan! Stop! No more..." she said between giggles. Mamoru's roving hands finally stopped, clasping around Usagi's stomach as they curled up together. Usagi picked up the photo album from where it had fallen on the floor and started to flip through the pages.
"This one is when I was in my first play," Usagi pointed out a picture of a little blonde girl in the line of brightly dressed children.
"You're missing your two front teeth."
She blushed. "Well, I kinda fell out of a tree the day before." she giggled.
Mamoru asked about other pictures as they flipped through the book, while Usagi related countless stories about each one. After a while, he leaned back and closed his eyes, listening to the voice of his beloved. It was warm, inviting, and made him feel safe.
"Mamo-chan, I want to see your pictures."
Her comment jolted him out of his trance. He stared at her in bewilderment, wondering why she had said such a thing. Her hand flew to her mouth and she gasped. "Oh, Mamo-chan, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to--" Choking on her words, she looked as if she were about to cry.
Mamoru quickly slipped an arm around her. "Shhh, Usa, don't worry about it. I know you didn't realize."
She shook her head, tears escaping down her cheeks. "I wasn't thinking, I should have known better." Instead of snuggling deeper into his embrace, Usagi got up from the couch and grabbed her jacket from the chair. "It's late, I ought to be getting home."
Mamoru got up and followed her. He grabbed hold of her wrist. "Usako, please don't leave. I'm not angry."
Usagi gave him a small, sad smile. "I know you're not, Mamo-chan, but it really is getting late." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He nodded but before she could go out the door, Mamoru pulled Usagi back into a warm embrace, burying his face in her sweet smelling hair. "I love you... my beloved Usako," he murmured. She returned his hug and kissed him again. With a gentle smile, she replied, "I love you too, Mamo-chan." And before he could say anything to that, she was gone.
Every time Usagi left, his apartment felt empty, like only half of it existed when he was there alone. She was his light in the darkness, and he loved her deeply for it. Even though he usually joked about it, he wanted her to stay the night, sleep by his side and never leave him alone again. But he was more honorable than that, and knew that would only happen when the time was right for both of them. But not now. They were comfortable right now and he was in no hurry to change that. Not while she was still so young.
Maybe that was his problem, Mamoru mused as he flopped back down on the couch. Usagi seemed quieter than usual lately and he couldn't figure out why. Maybe she wanted more from him than he was giving. Had it been her sudden comment about his pictures that had worried her so much?
He didn't have any childhood pictures, at least, none that he knew of. Only one photo had remained with him all these years. Grasping the only picture he had of his parents, he stared at it intently, wishing that the photo before him was more than just a faded memory. 'If only...' his mind whispered, 'if only they were still here... what would my life be like?' He set the frame back onto its rightful shelf, retreated into his bedroom and lay silently until sleep claimed him.
And as Chiba Mamoru slept, the earth beneath him heard the pleas of his heart and granted their prince's request.
******
"...daisuki datta ano uta, furui tape no naka..." the clock radio suddenly started to blare. Mamoru instinctively reached a hand out from under his pillow. He blindly felt around on the nightstand until he found the snooze button. "Just another nine minutes," he mumbled groggily.
A small crash and the clinking of dishes in the kitchen finally woke him up. With a small grin, Mamoru climbed out of bed and stretched, thinking of some way to thank his darling Usa for coming over early to make him breakfast. He knew that last night was just a misunderstanding and now she was trying to make up for it. How he loved her. She would even come over on a Monday morning—when it normally took her forever to get out of bed—and make him breakfast.
That made him stop. Usagi was not the best cook in the world, a fact she had even admitted to many times. So why in the world did it smell so good?
As he stepped out of his bedroom and stood in the hallway, he could hear someone moving around in the kitchen. Taking a few more steps, Mamoru heard someone singing along to the radio, but it didn't sound like Usagi. Finally he rounded the corner and to his surprise found a dark haired woman hovering over the stove.
Mamoru sneezed and the woman turned around, startled. Her face softened when she saw him. "You're finally awake, Mamoru. I was beginning to think that you'd never see the light of day. I made you a little something to eat before you go to work, all you live on is coffee and it isn't good for you."
With wide eyes, Mamoru stared at her, unable to make his mouth work. At first he thought he wasn't fully awake yet, so his mind must be playing tricks on him. Yes, yes, that was it. He just needed to wake up. He rubbed his eyes, thinking that all would be normal when he opened them again.
It wasn't.
The dark-haired woman still stood there, smiling brightly at him. "Go sit down and I'll bring this over to you," she said sweetly. At that moment Mamoru regained the ability to speak. Unfortunately, his first words that Monday morning got him in trouble. "Who the hell are you?"
The woman's eyes widened in shock. "I don't know where you've picked up such language, Chiba Mamoru, but you will not speak to your mother that way!"
Mamoru slumped to the floor in a dead faint.
******
The first thing Mamoru saw when he awoke was the stark white ceiling. Relief washed over him like a wave. 'It was only a dream,' he told himself. He had never had a dream that vivid before, and he hoped to heaven that he would never have one like that again.
Reality suddenly hit him and he jumped up. It was Monday morning, and he only had a short time to get ready for work. Running to the closet, Mamoru quickly pulled out a dress shirt, slacks and tie and threw them on in record time.
As he sprinted into the kitchen to make himself a quick cup of coffee, he skidded to a stop. "Please don't tell me it's turned into a nightmare," he groaned.
The dark haired woman stood at the sink, finishing up the last of the dishes. She turned to greet Mamoru as he entered the kitchen. "Are you feeling better? You were out for about an hour."
"An hour!" he exclaimed. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He didn't have time to argue with this woman, whoever she was.
She shook her head. "You look like you needed the rest. But you certainly had me worried. I almost called your father."
Mamoru dropped his mug and it fell to the counter with a large clunk. "My father? This has got to be some sick joke. Who are you and what do you want with me?" The woman placed a hand on Mamoru's head, worry creasing tiny lines across her face. "You're acting a little strangely, Mamoru. Are you sure you didn't hit your head earlier? Maybe you shouldn't go into work today."
Mamoru flung himself away from her, keeping his distance from the strange woman. "I don't know what kind of scam you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work. If you leave now, I won't call the police and we can forget this ever happened."
She suddenly laughed. "Oh, you can be quite the actor sometimes, Mamoru. Now eat before it gets any colder."
"I'm not doing anything until you tell me who you are!"
The lady tilted her head slightly. "All right, if you want it that way, I am Chiba Nagisa, wife to Chiba Hokori and mother to you, Chiba Mamoru."
"That's IMPOSSIBLE!" Mamoru cried out desperately. "I have no parents! They died when I was 6 years old!" He trembled as he spoke.
"I'm going to call your father and tell him you're not coming into work today. You're not well," Nagisa replied slowly as she led Mamoru over to a chair. "I don't work for my father," he mumbled incoherently. "I work for Azabu Tech."
"Oh, Mamoru," she said somberly. "You must have hit your head and I just didn't see it happen. Don't move, I'll notify your father and then I'll stay here to take care of you."
Mamoru nodded numbly, his energy spent from his sudden explosion. He watched as Nagisa picked up the phone and dialed a few numbers. "Hai, please tell Chiba-san that Mamoru will not be coming into the office today. Hai. If Chiba-san has any questions he can call Mamoru's apartment. Hai, that's correct. Thank you."
Mamoru got up to leave. "I have to get to work."
"You're not going anywhere, Mamoru, until you get some more rest. Why don't you get out of those nice clothes before they wrinkle and I'll make you some hot tea."
"But--"
"No exceptions! Now go!"
Mamoru sighed and retreated to his bedroom to change, not noticing the other frames that now surrounded the framed picture of his parents.