Trapped Together till Halloween
By Krysia
CHAPTER 10
Rated: PG-ish
Set: 1st season-ish
e-mail: Krysia2882@hotmail.com
Mamoru yawned and stretched, his vision suddenly filled
with blonde hair. A feeling of déjà vu overcame him
momentarily. His brow creased in thought, trying to
concentrate why this would feel familiar. He was
distracted though as a sleeping girl rolled over to face
him and snuggle closer. A gentle smile rested on her lips
adding to the serene picture. Mamoru felt his heart soften
as he studied the girl next to him. A thought occurred to
him as he noticed how comfortable she seemed to be next to
him.

'I wonder if….'

The thought was interrupted as Usagi opened sleepy blue
eyes. After blinking a few times, she realized her
position and pulled back from Mamoru as quickly and as far
as she could. A slight blush stained her cheeks.

"I'm sorry Mamoru…I meant to move before you woke up. You
were having a nightmare and I moved closer to you and you
trapped me with your arm and you fell back to sleep and I
didn't want to wake you because you seemed much more
peaceful than before…." Usagi rambled, obviously
embarrassed.

Mamoru ruthlessly squashed any tender feelings that
generated from her confession, not exactly sure why he was
upset. His eyes narrowed. "Well, you seemed awful cozy
next to me while you were sleeping. It makes me wonder how
much practice you get."

Usagi's cheeks pinkened even more. "I do sleep a lot, but
it's not like I am practicing or trying to, but…" Her voice
trailed off, her mouth gaped open and her face turned a
dull, angry red as Mamoru's implications sank in.

"How dare you! I would never…. Who do you think I am? I
can't believe you would think…. I mean…I've never even
kissed…" Usagi's eyes suddenly filled with tears. She
ended her rant by turning away, curling up in a tight ball
and sobbing quietly to herself. Mamoru watched with
remorse and relief. He couldn't understand why he felt
glad that Usagi hadn't a boyfriend. He bashed himself
mentally. For all their arguments, he really crossed the
line this time. He had never said anything so personal or
hateful before. Being alone, he valued his own privacy and
made sure not to get too personal with anyone, except maybe
Motoki.

Ashamed at what he had said, he hesitantly reached over and
placed a hand on her arm. "Usagi…"

She reacted violently. With her face flushed and wet with
tears, she glared at him momentarily before turning away.

Mamoru tried again. "I am so sorry. I don't know why I
said that. I've never even seen you with a guy and besides
that's your private life. It is none of my business."

Mamoru cringed as Usagi laughed harshly. He stared at her
back as she spoke. "That's your idea of an apology?
Thanks for reminding me that I have no guy in my life. Of
course, if there were…that would be the only reason he was
interested in me anyway. But you are right. It is NONE OF
YOUR BUSINESS!"

He drew in a deep breath. Shakily he denied her self-
accusations. "That's not true Usagi. You have a bright,
sunny disposition that makes everyone happy. Any guy would
be lucky to have you in his life. I'm sure there is a
horde of guys just waiting for you to glance their way and
give them notice."

Mamoru caught his breath as Usagi turned slightly, making
her profile visible to him. She smiled wistfully. With
the sun pouring in through the window, she looked almost
like……

"Thank you, Mamoru." She faced him fully and gave him a
big smile. She stared at him for a few moments.

Mamoru grimaced as Usagi disturbed his train of thought.
He frowned. "What?"

Usagi looked at him coyly. "I'm sure I would feel much
better if you would make me breakfast."

Mamoru tipped his head back and laughed. 'How truly
wonderful she was. How quickly she forgave him.'

"You're not laughing at me are you?" came the disgruntled
question.

Mamoru shook his head in amusement. He grabbed the blanket
tightly before reaching for her hand.

"On the count of three. One………two……three!"

He stood up and with his momentum, he also pulled Usagi up
to stand with him. This was done in a matter of moments,
before she could even comprehend what he was going to do.
Mamoru wavered slightly off-balance as Usagi crashed into
him and his free arm wrapped around her reflexively. Huge
blue eyes stared at him as he righted them both. He winked
down at the blonde sprite in his arms.

"If I'm making breakfast, you're coming with me. I'm not
putting on paper towels again if I don't have to."

She nodded slightly.

Mamoru removed his arm to make sure the sleeping bag was
secure around him. He turned and faced the kitchen. He
turned and spoke over his shoulder.

"OK. We are going to have to work together. Just think of
us moving like a train. I'm the engine and you are the
caboose."

Usagi looked up from where she too had been securing her
section of sleeping bag. She frowned slightly. "I am not
a caboose and aren't you a little old to be playing trains,
baka?"

He shrugged and faced himself towards the kitchen. They
moved slowly across the floor. Mamoru swore he heard a
slight "chugga chugga", but when he glanced back at Usagi,
she only wore an expression of extreme concentration.

Once they reached the kitchenette, Usagi started to head
over to a chair to sit down, but Mamoru halted her
movements.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to sit down out of your way while you make
breakfast."

With a look of exasperation, Mamoru shook his head.
"Usagi, this kitchen may be small, but not that small. You
are going to have to stand next to me while I cook."

The blonde flushed as she realized he was right. "I'm not
sure that is a good idea. I don't have to cook anything,
do I?"

"Don't worry, Odango. I'm not going to put our breakfast
at risk. You can watch and maybe hand me things."

For the next hour, they positioned themselves as a human
chain...passing things to the table, then to the stove,
then back again to the table to eat. They sat with their
chairs close together while they enjoyed the freshly cooked
meal.

"This is very good Mamoru." Usagi kept her eyes lowered to
her plate. While they were sitting, Mamoru let the blanket
pool around his waist, showing off his broad, muscular
chest. She was slightly envious that he was able to use a
knife and fork simultaneously, while she still needed one
hand to keep herself covered.

"You're welcome." He raised an eyebrow as he noticed she
was slowly consuming her food. After a few moments, he
recognized her predicament. "Here, let me help." He
reached over and cut her food into small pieces.

"I'm not a child" she groused.

"No, but at the speed you are eating, your food will be
cold. I'm sure it would be a brand new experience for you,
but one that I can easily prevent."

Usagi continued to eat in silence, sulking about the
unfairness of it all. Once their meal was completed, Usagi
carefully stood up and motioned towards the sink.

"Since you cooked, it's only fair that I do dishes."

Mamoru noted her seriousness and refrained from making
comments about her klutziness and kitchen skills. He
silently handed her his plate, before standing up next to
her.

"I said I would do them."

"You can. But it might be easier if I stood next to you.
Maybe I can even dry or something. After all, it's hard to
do dishes one-handed."

Mamoru watched as Usagi seemed to have a silent battle with
herself before she acquiesced. She turned and filled the
sink with hot soapy water, before she began washing the
dishes. Mamoru picked up a nearby towel and quietly began
to dry. He set the finished tableware on the counter next
to him. He dared not disturb Usagi because she seemed to
be in deep thought. He saw her survey the knife that she
held in her hands.

'Gee…I wonder what she's thinking about doing with that?'

"Mamoru?"

"Um…yes?"

"Do you think we could cut the sleeping bag in half with
this knife?"

Usagi was still contemplating the knife in her hand.
Mamoru gently reached over and took it from her. He
carefully ran his thumb over the serrated edge.

"I doubt it. Though, if we find a seam we could try."

After a few moments of searching the folds, he found the
seam at the center of the bag. Mamoru reached over and set
the knife on the table. "Let's sit down while we do this,
it may take a while."

While holding the sleeping bag around his waist with one
hand, and the seam with the other, he tried to steer Usagi
to the kitchen chairs. He pulled slightly on the bag to
encourage cooperation.

He grinned slightly as he heard the slight 'yelp' behind
him and felt the reduced tension in the sleeping bag
indicating that Usagi had gotten the hint and followed him.
The instant he realized that Usagi failed to remain in
'train formation' in order to keep up with him, it was too
late. He felt her crash into his backside. Instinctively,
he let go of the sleeping bag to throw his hands forward to
catch himself.

Mamoru found himself facedown on the kitchen floor; Usagi
plastered on top of him again. The sleeping bag seemed to
be a little lower than he would have preferred.
Fortunately for Mamoru, with her on top of him, Usagi was
oblivious to that fact.

After a few moments of silence, he felt Usagi shift her
weight and what seemed to be her elbow dig into his back.
"You know what baka? I think I prefer you being the
mattress when we collide."

Mamoru banged his forehead a few times on the floor before
he turned his head to view the blonde 'disaster-waiting-to-
happen.' He took note of her, chin resting in her hand,
elbow impaling his shoulder muscles, blonde hair messily
spayed about and twinkling blue eyes. To her credit, she
was desperately trying to look serious.

"Get off of me." he growled. "And close your eyes too."

"Why? Um, nevermind." She slid off to the side, landing
with a thump on her shoulder. Blonde hair draped across
her face and completely hidden from sight.

Mamoru quickly readjusted his covering. Once he was
kneeling, he looked over to Usagi who hadn't moved the last
few moments. He gently reached over and brushed the hair
from her face. Her eyes were scrunched tightly closed and
her cheeks were slightly pink. He shook his head slightly
and smiled. 'Adorable.' he thought.

"You can open your eyes now."