$-$ Chapter seven-$-$ The Seven Truths
enticer: "No, Mamoru, this is between Motoki and myself, you have no part in this conversation."
Motoki took Usagi's hand then turned towards their vast audience. "We will be back, we're going to go talk this through, don't go anywhere." Then he led Usagi away, Mamoru started towards them.
"Motoki-" Mamoru began.
"No, Mamoru, this is between Motoki and myself, you have no part in this conversation." Usagi cut him off before following Motoki out.
Motoki found a small room in the church that wasn't occupied and had comfortable seating arrangements. He thought it odd to be in a room so impersonal as this with a woman he had deep feelings for, but shook out of it and found two gray chairs across from each other.
Motoki sat down and waited for Usagi to sit down across from him before he started. "You're not disappointed that I said no at the last second are you?"
Usagi shook her head. "If you hadn't I might have been the one to object to this marriage when the question would be asked."
"Good." Motoki sighed in relief. "I tried to talk to you before our wedding, but you were always occupied or busy."
"I tried to talk to you about it too, but then I chalked it up to cold feet." Usagi shrugged her shoulders. "I had wanted to talk to you before I left for New Zealand."
Motoki laughed. "If I had recognized the signs then, I could have saved us a lot of trouble, but I was thinking it was just cold feet too. We would have made a great pair you and I."
"What signs finally led you to believe that you were really making a huge mistake if you married me?" Usagi asked leaning forward, she really didn't have any hard feelings towards him.
"Reika came home the day before you left, and I was having trouble over that when you came to talk to me." Motoki sighed taking her hand in his. "But really the signs were there long before then. First you stopped calling me Toki-chan and I didn't register it because you called me that and Motoki since you were 13, so it never sounded really different. Then every time I said I loved you, you either said 'good bye', 'me too' or switched the subject."
"I guess it was a defensive action, I've been told that I draw away subtly from previous boyfriends as well when they get too close." Usagi sighed. "I didn't realize I was doing it with you too, and I really did want to marry you."
"No you didn't. I caught that slight pause before you said you'd marry me when the pastor asked, and I should have known it when you turned my marriage proposal the first time."
"You always thought that I would leave you, but I can promise you that I've never been unfaithful to you." Usagi smiled at him.
"I know, but I know how deep your feelings are for our best friend, and I always feared that he would decide to take you away from me and I hadn't felt that deeply for any woman except for Reika, but now I realize that it was a different feeling I held for you." Motoki followed Usagi as she stood up.
"What are you going to do with Reika now?" Usagi wondered.
"I'm not sure but I am going to take it easy with her, she's hurt me once already and it hurt so much, then she returns back here happy and like it hadn't happened." Motoki shrugged. "What are you going to do?"
"I think I'll go overseas again, pick up where I left off with my job for awhile and then I don't know."
"I think you should get married, your ready for it, but not with just anybody, it should be with Mamoru. You have to know that he loves you, everything he's done, he hasn't been able to turn you down your entire life." Motoki turned her back to face him as she turned away. "You did know that no matter which girlfriend he had, when he heard that you were back and single he dumped them for you, didn't you?"
"And here I thought it was fate." Usagi laughed lightly. "I don't know about getting deeper involved with Mamoru, Motoki, he never wants to stay together, he uses me as a catalyst onto other girls, I'm his rebound, and he's mine."
"You'll be making the biggest mistake of your life if you don't even let him ask you, trust me on this one." Motoki warned.
"Let's go back to the chapel." Usagi ignored the pain in her heart and left the room, Motoki followed closely.
"Hi everybody." Motoki said taking the microphone to talk. "Well we've talked it out, and we've decided not to get married after all."
The whole church was quiet so Usagi took the mike from him. "But since we dragged you all out here for a celebration, we're still opening the reception hall for you, so I hope you'll all join us to have a party anyways, the cake, food and band are all there and it'd be a waste for it all to be unused like it was meant to be." There was still no noise and then Rei came up and took the microphone from Usagi.
"That's all there is, now clear out!" She bellowed and people started moving towards the entrance complaining about how they got gypped from a real wedding. But the reception party made up for it and everybody went off into different rooms to change.
Usagi was changing into the dress she had picked out to wear as she and Motoki went to go catch their flight for their honeymoon. She was struggling with the zipper when warm hands brushed hers aside and did it for her. Usagi turned around. "Thank you Mamoru." She smiled politely.
"Wait, Usa-chan, we need to talk." Mamoru halted her by placing his hand around her bare arm, in engulfed her dainty limb easily.
She looked down at the contact before looking him in the eye. "I can't tell you how many times those very words have been said in the last week." She said on a laugh. "What do you have to talk about Mamoru?" She raised an eyebrow.
"About us." He guided her to a chair.
"There's an us?" Usagi frowned in thought. "What is there about us? Oh, you probably want to tell me that I don't have you to fall back on because your dating that red haired girl, correct me if I'm wrong, I thought I heard her name was Bridget."
"Don't play that, you know I've broken up with girls before for you." He watched as she crossed her surprising long legs, a defensive action at the moment he discovered. "That's not it, she's just a date for the wedding, that's all." He waved it of. "I want to talk about where we're going to go."
"There is no we." Usagi jumped up, against any idea he may have stemmed recently.
"There is a we!" Mamoru yelled. "Everybody sees it except you, Motoki even saw it when you were still dating him!"
"Don't yell at me, nobody invited you back here." Usagi hissed.
"Nobody had to invite me back here. I'd go anywhere for you." Mamoru told her truthfully.
"Since when?" She snapped.
"Since always." He defended. "It just took me a lot of people telling me how much of an idiot I am, and a lot of thinking and I finally realized my true feelings."
"And they are?" She looked at him, then away.
"I love you." Mamoru told her, bringing himself closer to her. "And you love me." He rumbled.
"You lie, we don't love each other, we thought we did when we were teenagers, but not now." Usagi adamantly denied, not believing the words he was saying.
"Trust this." He captured her lips in his for the first time since the first time they dated. "Tell me the truth, what do you feel when I kiss you?"
"Nothing." Usagi's mouth trembled.
"Nothing? Why don't I believe you?" Mamoru rested his forehead against hers. "Look deep inside you, why is it that your not married to Motoki right now? It's not because he said he wouldn't, I heard your little answered prayer up there." Mamoru caught her.
"I felt that I wasn't prepared to get married." Usagi rejected what he wanted her to say.
"You're wrong. Think about it, that's why you finally agreed to his wish to get married, you were prepared. But you were tired of waiting around for me to see it." Mamoru groaned as she shook her head. "You have never lied, not even to yourself. Why start now Usako?"
"Usako?" She dwelled on the name. Her eyes shone brightly with held back tears, but he could see the wheels turning in her head. He gave her the time to think. "Does this mean that I'm allowed to regress back to the name I called you when I was 14?" She asked finally.
"You may only if you understand what it means." Mamoru drew her closer; there was no flirtation this time, only seriousness.
"I do Mamo-chan." She nodded, tears finally seeping out of her eyes.
"Oh Usako." He gathered her in his arms, and buried his head into her shoulder. "You know what I told you on the phone 3 days ago?" He felt her nod. "Well, I have that ring, but you only get it if you'll marry me."
"Are you asking me?" Usagi asked slyly.
"Yes." He said. "Yes a thousand times." He got down on his knees and took her hands in his. "Usako, will you do me the honor of being my wife, finally? I've refuted what should have been obvious since I was 17, but I'm asking you now. Please say you will marry me."
"I will Mamo-chan, I will marry you!" Usagi dropped down onto her knees with him and took her hands from his to place hers around his neck. "This will mean that you'll no longer be a virgin." Usagi teased.
"Neither will you. This way, we'll both be together in a way which we denied everybody else for the last 7 years. I knew there was a reason I chose against it in my relationships and they ended before it could progress that far. My reason was you, and wanting you to be my first, only and last love that is that intimate."
"You can be so sweet sometimes." Usagi cooed. "Would you mind if we used pretty much the same things as now? Like my dress, and your tuxedo, and anything else that's nonperishable?"
"No, but we won't get married in the church, we'll get married on the beach or in the mountains some place ultimately romantic." Mamoru sealed the deal in a kiss.
"Any place will be romantic as long as it's with you." Usagi whispered. Mamoru instantly covered her lips again, the two weren't seen outside for another 10 minutes.
When Usagi was finally allowed out of the room, they went to mingle with everybody else. Usagi noticed when Jadeite and Rei sneaked in several hours later, Usagi would have to ask Rei about that one, but it could wait, she was at the moment too happy to deal with anybody else.
Motoki came over when she was alone. "I see Mamoru's finally made a decent man out of himself and begged you to consider him for more than an everyday playmate." Motoki joked.
"You damn sure he did. He's finally asked me to marry him. I guess we wasted a few months." Usagi shrugged.
"No we didn't, I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything in the world." Motoki placed his elbows on the table. "I should really go now, but I want to make Reika suffer and think we got married for another few hours, it's the least I can do since she broke up with me for 8 years." Suddenly Motoki grinned and shot a look over his shoulder towards Mamoru. "I know I had rules laid down that your fiancé shouldn't break, but he hasn't told me any yet. Is it all right if I kiss you?"
"You could try, and see what Mamoru does, but if he kills you it isn't my fault." Usagi raised both eyebrows as an invitation. Motoki leaned the last few inches and planted his lips over Usagi's. "I'm not sure I made the right choice." Motoki moaned as he pulled away.
"Too late to go back and change your mind now, I'm already engaged to another man." She showed him her ring.
"I know, he was telling me about this ring years ago, and said it would be perfect for you, but he was never going to buy it." Motoki chuckled. "I guess he ate his words."
"He wasn't right for a change." Usagi joined in on the joke.
"What's so funny, trying to win my girl back Motoki?" Mamoru asked moving Usagi away from him.
"That'll be a sore spot with you until we both get married, won't it?" Motoki shook his head. "At least I had a reason to suspect you of stealing her, you were still both in love."
The next day Usagi and Rei were having a lunch dinner although Rei would have preferred to be with her husband but thought maybe her best friend might need her support during this confusing time.
"Will you be my maiden of honor Rei for the wedding with Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked her best friend.
"Of course I will hun, except the term will have to be returned back to what it previously was. Maid of honor because last night Jadeite showed me that he already got a marriage license and we used your pastor in the church with whoever was still there and got married on the spot. It wasn't planned out or anything."
"Your married?" Usagi felt faint. "That's wonderful!" She screamed and together Rei and Usagi jumped up and down in happiness, and when a cough broke them up they split discretely and smoothed down their clothes like the previous episode hadn't happened. Usagi cleared her throat. "I'm so happy for you Rei."
"You know, I always knew that you and Mamoru were destined for each other, I just don't see why you hadn't seen it until now, what an utter lack of waste of years when you could have been married." Rei grumbled. "And it would have been one less fight between the two of you."
"That's just the thing, we wouldn't have made it if we were younger, we both needed to grow up, but still have the support along the way." Usagi shrugged. "It wasn't a waste to me, I got to meet a lot of interesting people along the way and my trust in him has never been any stronger."
"That's good, whatever floats your boat. I hope you don't mind, but I used your dress. Last night, it was a little tight, and a little short, but it still worked well."
"It's good that you used it. I was wondering why you came to the reception so late, now I know. Though… a wedding doesn't take 5 hours. A half hour to dress, say an hour for the service, 15 minutes to undress… Stay undress for 3 hours longer, then dress again for 15 minutes, at least enough to look presentable?" Usagi wiggled her eyebrows. Rei hit her for that one. "No, seriously, I'm glad somebody got a use out of all our hard work. I'm even more happy that it was you, you deserved it."
"And you deserve just as much. I'm glad you made my wedding special! There's nothing better then getting back what I once lost. You stole my boyfriend; I stole your church wedding. Frankly, I think I got the better end of the deal." Rei couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"Look at you, you're just radiating!" Usagi announced.
"It's because, oh, you'll find out as soon as you and that baka get married. There's just something about being tied legally to the man you love, and knowing he's yours." Rei sighed. "Well I better return to my husband. HUSBAND! Can you believe it, husband!" Rei giggled to herself.
"Hey, if you think you're getting off that easy, think again. We're going to have this huge party for you, just as soon as I can get a hold of the girls." Usagi declared.
"Oh USAGI!" Rei burst out in tears and Usagi looked at her startled.
"I don't have to if you feel that strongly against it." She tried to grasp for a solution.
"No, no, that's a great idea. You are just so good to me!" Rei cried and went to hug Usagi.
Usagi patted Rei on the shoulder awkwardly. "There, there Rei, what are best friends for if they don't support each other? You taught me through that whole supporting my decision even though you knew I was making a grave mistake, although sometimes it would have been better to speak up your doubts." Usagi teased.
"I apologized for that already!" Rei said tearfully.
"I know, but can't I give you a bad time?" But Usagi's look was full of compassion and Rei nodded empathetically.
"You know what?" Usagi paused then looked directly at Rei. "How about this, I have to talk to Motoki first, but if he agrees, what do you say to me cashing in my flight tickets and giving Motoki half the money back, and the other half I will swing the air miles into a week vacation instead to any place in the world you want?" Usagi asked.
"I can't let you do that." Rei denied somberly. "That was your honeymoon tickets, and I can't let you throw a party on top of that."
Usagi brushed off her protest. "The party is a best friend thing, the tickets will be my wedding present for you."
"But we already used your church, your dress, you flowers, Jadeite's tux you bought-rented." Rei started. "Your cake."
Usagi shrugged. "Those things weren't meant for you, and as I told you, I'm glad somebody used them. This is my gift to you. Besides, that dress has a receipt 'if you don't get married, you get all your money back.'" Usagi reiterated it.
"You're turning the dress in?" Rei furrowed her brows. "But why? It looks gorgeous on you, your kids will love it when their older, and it'll be an heirloom."
"My kids better not be as short as I am, especially not with their father's genes in them. As for the dress itself, I chose it for this wedding, with Motoki. I was undecided between the two, and when I chose the dress it was like guaranteeing that wedding. Mamoru's already told me we'll be going some place not in a church and that dress will be impractical."
"I guess. But I- never mind, if it was short on me, then it'll be short on any daughter I might have." Rei shrugged. "But can I at least get professional wedding pictures in it before you do? I got some snap shot ones, but, well, you know?"
"Yeah, I do." Usagi smiled. "Go for it. The church is still looking like it did yesterday, nothing's been touched since."
Rei shrieked. "Oh thank you Usagi! Your so much better a friend then I am!" Rei hugged her once more before running down the temple steps, pulling out her cell phone on the way, most likely calling Jadeite and the photographers.
Usagi shook her head at her usually very sane friend, but then her thoughts were taken away from strangeness to drift into the clouds about the man she finally admitted she loved. It was good to love.