"Touch the dawn,
Reach for the sugar-white clouds,
Try to taste them."

Touch the Dawn 3/10
by Elysia [ely_chan@yahoo.com]
rating: PG

Hokori looked up as the door to his office opened and Mamoru stepped in, obviously unfamiliar with his surroundings. He quickly glanced at the framed awards and degrees Hokori had hanging on his wall among pictures of family and friends. The faces in the pictures pulled at dim memories in Mamoru's mind, but it was nothing more than that. The older man smiled slightly. "Mamoru, I'm glad you're here. After last night, I wasn't sure if you would ever be coming into work again."

Mamoru attempted a smile. "You're going to have to tell me what I'm supposed to do around here, Hokori-san, because I really don't know what I'm doing."

Hokori frowned at his son's formality. It was odd for his son to act in such a manner. Even if Mamoru had surprised both he and Nagisa by blowing up events that happened over 17 years ago that he had not known of before, Hokori couldn't understand why such minor details were of such importance to his son. And why did he insist upon pretending like he didn't know his own parents? Could he not see how much it hurt his mother? "Mamoru, when are you going to give up this childish ruse and get down to business? You know how much I depend on your to get things done around here. I've never seen you like this before."

"If I knew what was going on, I would. Nagisa-san might have known about the scar, but that doesn't mean I'm going to believe all of this overnight. So don't talk to me about being childish. You have no idea what I've been through!"

"Perhaps I don't," Hokori replied, shaking his head, "but I don't want this to affect your work. You have a very important job, Mamoru, and you are very important to this company. We have a reputation to maintain."

"I understand, sir," Mamoru replied stiffly. "Just tell me where I need to go and I'll make the best of the situation."

Hokori sighed. "I don't exactly have the time to take you on a guided tour of the office. There's too much to be done today. Your office is 3 doors down the hall. You'll be sharing it with Tsukino-san because you're both working on the same project at the moment. She may be only an intern, but she works faster and better than some of my best employees. She'll get you up to speed on anything you missed yesterday and she can also answer most of your questions. Think you can handle that?"

Mamoru stared woodenly at the man sitting behind the desk who was so similar and yet so different to him. "Yes, sir," he replied and left the office, shaking his head slightly. That man was certainly different from the one he had seen last night. Unconsciously his hand drifted up to his head, gently fingering the faint scar hidden in his hairline. Scar or no scar, he still couldn't believe that either of these people were really his parents.

Entering his office, Mamoru stared about the room, filled with two desks and an ample amount of other furniture. Tall windows framed one wall of the office. This didn't seem so bad after all.

"Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to let me through so I can get some work done? I've been swamped since you didn't come in yesterday. It's much easier with two people, you know."

Mamoru froze. He knew that voice all too well. It was the voice of the angel who could restore him to his former life. Slowly he turned around. "Usako... I've been trying to find you for two days! You don't know how glad I am to see you."

Her eyebrows shot up and she glanced quizzically at him through her thin frames. "I don't recall being so familiar with you, Mamoru-san. Just because you're the son of the CEO doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. Maybe once we've worked together a little longer, we can be on more friendlier terms. At the moment, I am just your co-worker, and I would appreciate it if you would treat me as such."

He reeled back in shock. How could she act like she didn't even know him? Was she really hurt over the events of the other night? She wasn't one to play such a mean joke on him. "Usagi... look at me and tell me you remember me... you're the only one I can count on now."

She sighed. "Mamoru-san, I need your help getting these files completed. I need to feel like I'm accomplishing something around here."

"Usagi, I need your help with more than just these stupid files!" he pleaded desperately. She turned around and stared at him, her gaze softening slightly.

For a split second, a foreign memory flashed within her mind, but she gave it no thought. "Mamoru-san... perhaps you shouldn't have come in today. I'll take care of the papers instead," she said, walking over to her desk.

Mamoru caught Usagi by the arm. "Please. Usagi, you have to believe me. Something strange is happening to me. I--"

Usagi pulled her arm away from his grasp. "You shouldn't be touching me like that. We're not lovers, just co-workers. Personal feelings really shouldn't get mixed into business. You said so yourself when we were put on these projects last month. 'Our history with each other doesn't matter when work is on the line.' Would you like me to go on?"

"How is everything going in here?" a voice from behind Mamoru said. He whirled around to find Hokori standing in the doorway, looking at both he and Usagi. Mamoru cringed, hoping that he hadn't witnessed the previous events.

Before Mamoru could open his mouth, Usagi beat him to it. "Everything's under control, sir. Mamoru-san and I were just arguing over which file we should go through first."

Hokori chuckled and nodded. "I can always count on you to keep my son in line, Tsukino-san. Keep up the good work."

Usagi smiled. "Yes, sir." Hokori left the room and immediately Mamoru walked over to her desk. "You just bailed me out. How come?" She shrugged, not looking up from her work. "I didn't think you needed to be chewed out by your father when you're still so delusional."

"Usa--" he started to protest, but quickly caught himself before she glared at him again. "Thank you... Usagi-san," Mamoru finally said, feeling so formal and foreign in her presence.

******

Only a few days had passed, but to Mamoru, it seemed like months. Day after day, he worked in the same room with the woman he loved, only she refused to acknowledge it and he couldn't exactly force her to believe it.

So he resorted to gazing at Usagi, but he was also careful to make sure she didn't catch him at it. And so far, Mamoru had been pretty successful at his Usa-watching. As long as she didn't notice, he was safe. Unless...

"Mamoru-san?" Usagi stared at him.

Oops.

"Is something bothering you? Or is there something wrong with my appearance? I'm not stupid, Mamoru-san. I know you've been staring at me."

Mamoru hesitated, then shook his head. "It's nothing."

Usagi raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Like I'm going to believe that. You've been staring so hard I thought you were trying to look through me."

"When did you become so formal?" he blurted out, springing up from his desk. "You're not the same. We've been together for over five years, yet... it's like you don't even know me, Usa. Where did you go?" Before she could make a retort about him using her first name so intimately, Mamoru interrupted her. "I miss the old Usa... I want her back."

"Two years."

"Excuse me?"

Usagi also stood up from her desk. "We've only known each other for two years, not including the years when you used to tease me unmercifully while I was still in high school. When I came to work for your father, you promised me that you wouldn't treat me like you used to, and I believed you. I don't know what's happened to you, but I don't feel comfortable with you talking to me like that. What would your father say if he knew that you were bending the rules of his company? I would think you'd remember him saying over and over during the last few monthly meetings that employees were to refrain from relationships in or outside the office."

He had to keep from dropping his jaw. In his mind, the teasing had brought them to the relationship that Mamoru remembered so well. Where had things changed?

He had to try once more. "What would it take for you to believe me?"

"Believe what?"

"That you and I belong together, not just as a professional working team, but as so much more." He reached out to pull her body closer to him, hoping to break through her stone walls.

And it was at that moment that Usagi slapped him.