Hello and welcome to my little story. The basic plotline is this: Seiya and Usagi were best friends but when Seiya moved, Usagi turned to Mamoru. Now Seiya is back and Usagi is a successful artist. Mamoru has problems and is taking them out on Usagi. Can Seiya somehow save Usagi? This is an AU, so there are no transformations. Just regular people!

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, if I did, do you think you would be reading my stories on fan fiction?

Chapter One: Moving In and Moving Home

"Usagi, telephone!"

Usagi bounded down the stairs and took the phone from her mother, who smiled and went back to the kitchen to finish packing snacks for the trip.

"Hello?" Usagi asked breathlessly, leaning against the hall wall, her shoulder brushing the family photo.

"Usagi?" Minako's excited voice came over the line. "You'll never guess what just happened."

Usagi straightened the photograph carefully. "What?"

"I can't tell you the entire thing over the phone, meet me at the arcade and I'll fill you in."

"Okay, I'll be there in a half hour."

Usagi hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen, watching her mom pack snacks into a picnic basket. "What time are you guys leaving?"

Ikuko glanced over her shoulder at her daughter. "As soon as your father gets back from the store. He had to pick up sunscreen and bug-spray. You know how Shingo is about bugs." She watched her daughter for a moment. "Are you sure you don't want any help moving your things? We could stay for the afternoon and take the next flight if you wanted us to."

Usagi shook her head and smiled. "No, I've got the car and the apartment building's manager said he would have the bell hop help me move my things up. I'll be fine."

Ikuko nodded and stuck her head in the refrigerator, looking for the grapes. "You're sure?"

Usagi nodded and leaned against the door-jam, her fingers twirling a little piece of golden hair around her forefinger. "Mom?"

"Um-hum?"

"Do you think…" Usagi hesitated, feeling a little stupid for asking. "Do you think Seiya remembers me?"

Ikuko turned around, smiling gently at her daughter's concern. She hadn't brought up her childhood friend in such a long time…Ikuko wondered if Usagi was truly ready to move out on her own. She was going to be eighteen and had already won so much attention in the art world with her paintings but…Ikuko couldn't help but worry that Usagi was going to get lost in the real world. She shook her head and worries aside, promising to not let Usagi see her concerns. "Why wouldn't he? You were best friends for so long, just because he moved doesn't mean he's going to forget about you."

"Yeah but…I don't know. It's been a long time and we weren't friends for that long or anything. He's been gone since I was seven—that's almost eleven years and he's been doing so much…I mean…"

Ikuko hugged Usagi and smoothed the hair out of her eyes. "You obviously still remember him quite well and you still talk about him, so why shouldn't it be the same for him? Usagi, just because he's done things with his life doesn't mean he will forget the people who were with him after his parent's deaths. I'm sure he thinks of you and wonders how you are doing quite often. Don't worry about it, honey. If you see him, I'm sure he will know who you are."

Usagi nodded and smiled, then pushed away from the wall. "Do you care if I meet the girls down at the arcade? Minako has some big news or something that she just can't tell me over the phone."

Ikuko smiled and waved her hand. "Go ahead, you're almost an adult anyway and you'll be living on your own. You don't have to ask my permission for things like that anymore but we'll probably be gone when you get home but I'll call you when we get to the States."

Usagi hugged her mom and ran up stairs to brush her hair and pull on a pair of black capris and a bright blue tank top. She grabbed her purse and dashed back down the stairs, and slipped on her black platform flip flops.

"Love you Mom!" She called and closed the door the front door.

The girls had already gathered in their usual booth in the arcade, and were sipping milkshakes when Usagi arrived. Rei scooted over so Usagi could sit down and handed her a partially melted strawberry milkshake. When Usagi made a face at how runny it was, Rei shrugged.

"It was thick when we all got here but you took too long."

Usagi stuck her tongue out at the girl with bright violet eyes sitting next to her then turned to the girl with bright blonde hair sitting across from her. "Mina, what was so urgent that you just couldn't tell us over the phone?"

Minako smiled, her light blue eyes dancing with glee. "You will never believe what I just heard from my manager."

"What?"

Mina leaned in, a grin spitting her features. "Guess who is coming to live in Tokyo."

"Who?"

"The Starlights!" Minako squealed, jumping up so that she nearly spilt her vanilla milkshake. Ami reached across the table and quickly steadied the glass; her glasses perched seriously on the bridge of her nose.

"The Starlights?" She asked her aquamarine eyes curious. "Really, well, that doesn't surprise me. After all, this is where they came from originally."

Mina looked at her in surprise. "Really? Why didn't I know that?"

Ami shrugged and took a sip of her chocolate milkshake. "I don't know. I only knew because Usagi has a picture on her nightstand of Seiya with his arm around her shoulders when they were little."

Three pairs of eyes whipped to rivet on Usagi who suddenly looked uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

"You know Seiya Kou?" Mina exclaimed, her voice high-pitched.

Usagi shrugged, unexpectedly deeply interested in her milkshake. "We were friends when we were little. He moved away when I was seven. It wasn't a big deal."

"But you were friends with him? Why didn't you tell us?" This came from Makoto, who very rarely got excited about any guy. Now her dark green eyes were glowing with enthusiasm.

"It didn't seem like a big deal. And anyway, I didn't want Mamoru to get angry with me over something so stupid."

The table fell silent for a moment, each member unwilling to say something against Mamoru in front of Usagi.

Minako was first to break the silence. "Well, anyway. They've rented an apartment on the upper east side of town." She winked at Usagi, knowing full well that the apartment building that Usagi was moving into was on the upper-east side.

Rei looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that where the really expensive apartments are?"

Mina nodded. "My manager wanted me to rent an apartment up there but the prices were so ridiculous. I'm perfectly fine in the apartment I have at Green Acres."

Makoto rolled her eyes. "Green Acres is a pent house building, Mina and for most people it's still ridiculously expensive."

Mina shrugged. "The money from the record sells is great. Not to mention the merchandise profits."

Rei smiled. "Well, if any of us ever need to borrow some money, we all know where to look."

The girls laughed and the conversation shifted from the Starlights to Mina's career as a singer and actress, then to Makoto's blueprints for her restaurant on the waterfront. Soon Ami stood up and said she had to get back to her apartment and study for some medical exams and Usagi stood up too.

"I need to get home and start to pack my things up. My apartment isn't going to get furnished by itself."

"Do you need any help?" Mina asked, half hoping Usagi would say yes. She really was curious about the whole Seiya Kou/Usagi situation. How come Usagi had never brought up that she had known the famous Seiya Kou?

Usagi shook her head. "Thanks but all of my stuff is already in the moving van and the back of my car."

Mina nodded; disappointed for a moment before she realized that she would get to see Usagi's apartment after it was all furnished and made up.

"Well, I'll talk to you guys later." Usagi said and walked back toward her parents home to grab a few, last minute things before she drove over to her new apartment.

Usagi sighed and closed her parent's front door, locking it and then slipping the key into her purse. It was a relief to have everything packed but looking back at the only home she had ever known as she pulled out of the driveway in her black convertible, she felt homesickness already pulling at her stomach. She pushed it aside and drove in silence to the apartment building that was now going to be her home.

She pulled into the circular driveway, and immediately a young man rushed over and opened her door for her. "Ma'am." He said respectfully and offered her his hand as she climbed out of the car.

She smiled at him warmly, her cerulean blue eyes sparkling. "Thank you. Are you the one who is going to help me with the boxes?"

He shook his head, his brown eyes showing some regret. He would have loved to help this beautiful lady with her things. "No. I'm just going to park your car once Lee unloads it."

Usagi smiled and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, pressing it into his hand. "Well, I'm sorry I don't have anything more. I hope that will do for the moment?" Had she given him too little, or too much? She really wasn't good at acting rich, and she definitely didn't know how to tip. Twenty had seemed like a nice even ground, but what if it was too little and he got insulted?

The young man grinned. "No, this is just fine. Thank you. Now, if you check with the desk clerk, he'll tell you your room number and Lee will be along shortly with your things."

Usagi smiled back at him, relief flooding through her stomach. Apparently she had picked the perfect amount of money.

The doors of the building whooshed open smoothly, a gust of cool air breathing on Usagi's face. The lobby of the apartment building was sophisticated and inundated with rich colors and expensive paintings and vases. The desk clerk was straight ahead of her, reading a magazine. He put it down when he saw her enter and a welcoming smile washed over his old, weathered features.

Usagi judged the man to be in his sixties, with a head of iron gray hair and a leathery face from being in the sun too much. But his eyes were a light, sparkling gray, filled with mirth and welcome and Usagi couldn't help the grin that crept across her face as she greeted him.

"Good day, miss. You must be Tsukino Usagi. I am Hind Hirohito. It is my pleasure to meet you and welcome you to my apartment building. We've been expecting you. Your furniture has been put in your room and we have several men who are waiting upstairs to help you arrange your furniture. If you will follow me…"

He led her to an elevator and stepped inside when the elevator boy opened the doors.

"The top floor, Toki. Thank you."

The boy pushed the button and the elevator breezed upward silently. A chime sounded and the elevator doors slid open to reveal an entry way, with a single door at the end of the small hall.

"Ah, this would be it." The old man opened the mahogany door, and allowed Usagi to step inside first.

Usagi's eyes widened at the beauty of her new home.

Directly ahead of her was a hall way, the walls were paneled with the same wood as the door.

"Allow me to give you the grand tour." The clerk stepped in front of her, and walked through a pair of swinging doors to the left. "This is your kitchen. There is a small table here for you, the apartment has come with the necessary installments—a refrigerator, microwave, oven, sink, there is a coffee maker in the pantry. The counter tops and floor, if you were wondering, is just plain, white tile, and we have recently painted the walls a light, moss green. If you will follow me…"

He led Usagi out another pair of swinging doors into a large living room, which was empty at the moment, save for the furniture in the center of the room. "This, quite obviously is the living room, the fire place works. There is a spacious balcony that goes from the living room to the bedroom. It's got a lovely view. Anyway, we have just installed new carpet; I do hope you like the color. The interior decorator called it toffee. It's rather plush and that's why we decided to go with it. Your furniture matches the carpeting and the wall coloring too."

Usagi nodded. "The carpet color and the paint on the wall go together wonderfully."

The old man nodded, pleased. "Onto the next room…" He led her down a hall and through an open door into what looked to be a large bedroom with soft green colored walls and the same lush carpeting. "This is the master bedroom. The master bath is through that door, it has a Jacuzzi, a shower, a toilet, a sink and counter space. The master closet is in their too, through the other door."

He led her into the next room across from the master bedroom. "Here is the extra bedroom; it has its own private bath." The next room, next door to the master bedroom was completely empty. "This room is just an extra room. Many of our other tenants have made this into a music room, or because of the lighting, and the floor to ceiling windows, somewhat of a greenhouse. You can access the balcony from this room."

Usagi's eyes had lit up; this was going to be the room where she would paint. The elegant wall length windows were perfect for the lighting, and the room was so cozy and beautiful at the same time. The walls were white, except for the ceiling which was painted a lovely sky blue.

Usagi turned and smiled at the old clerk, her eyes shining with anticipation. "This is the loveliest apartment I have ever seen."

The old man smiled back. "Wonderful. I'll have the boys start to help move around the furniture."

Well, that was rather long. Hehe, I'm kind of excited to write the next chapter. I actually know where this story is going, instead of winging it like I normally do. For those of you who have started to read my Finally Found You story, I apologize but for some reason my computer isn't letting me upload any chapters onto that story. I will try to upload chapter five as soon as possible but I would rather try to work on this story. Anyway, thank you for reading and please review. It's so nice to know someone has read this and liked it.

~BeautifulDreamer