TRAPPED
Chapter 16
By: Krysia
E-mail: krysia2882@hotmail.com
Rated: PG-13-ish
O.O Author's Notes!! ^^; Well...after the last chapter posted...I guess I'm grateful that I'm not writing an anti-Usa/Mamo fic. Disclaimer: Sailor Moon = not mine.
Chapter 16
The sun was well over the horizon before Mamoru stirred in his sleep. A warm comfortable feeling kept him from opening his eyes as the room filled with light. As his consciousness become more aware, it was accompanied with a feeling of déjà vu. Sometime during the night, he and Usagi moved closer to one another. His arm was still wrapped around her waist and it felt good having her pressed up against him.
'Of course it feels good,' he thought sardonically. 'She is a real girl, not a dream that you keep having.' He frowned as he realized that again he did not dream of the princess. 'I wonder if it's just coincidence or if Usagi has something to do with keeping the dreams away.' He wasn't sure if he should thank her or throttle her. Those dreams had been a constant in his life, his one comfort that he could rely on. They kept driving him forward, helping him to press on looking for answers. The princess needed him, or at least she used too. Maybe she found someone else to help her.
He removed his arm from the girl next to him to brush some of her long hair away from his face. It didn't occur to him to move away, and by withdrawing his arm, it caused the sleeping girl to grimace and turn and face him in an attempt to snuggle closer. Tentatively, he replaced his arm and watched dumbfoundedly as her frown was wiped away and a small smile graced her features as she sighed contentedly.
This was so weird. Usagi claimed to have no boyfriend yet she seemed so comfortable in his embrace, at least when she was asleep. Unbiddenly, the thought came to him that maybe she liked him. Ruthlessly he squashed any feelings that he was beginning to feel for his blonde sprite. He could not commit to a girl with his responsibilities to Sailor Moon and the Princess.
Taking advantage of the moment, his eyes roamed over her features tenderly-golden hair spilling about her shoulders, faint freckles sprinkled across her nose and dainty ears molded perfectly against her head. Mamoru sighed as he began to absently twirl a lock of Usagi's hair around his finger. He smiled fondly down at the girl cuddled up against him. He reluctantly admitted to himself that Usagi meant a great deal to him and that she was threatening his peace of mind and his sole purpose of finding the Moon Princess.
Usagi opened her sleepy blue eyes to see what appeared to be Mamoru's chest. After blinking a few times trying to dispel the haze of sleep, she tipped her head back to look at the dark-haired man lying next to her. She gasped and tried to move away but found herself held in place by a strong arm about her waist.
"Mamoru-san?" Her voice was hesitant and she continued to subtly pull away from her nemesis.
"Yes, Usagi-chan?" Mamoru teased. He watched with fascination as Usagi's cheeks pinked.
"Um...I think it's time for breakfast." Usagi continued to struggle against the arm that held her effortlessly in place.
Mamoru knew he was playing with fire by teasing her so but he just couldn't resist. He leaned over and purred in her ear. "Breakfast in bed would be nice."
With a quick yelp, Usagi was immediately up and standing a few feet away, her face was infused with color. "I think sitting at the table would be best. After all, eating in bed may cause you to choke and die. We wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?"
Usagi stood grasping tightly to her blanket, now glaring at Mamoru-baka. 'How dare he flirt with her! He was her enemy. He had no right to cause her face to flush and her heart to race. There is no way he would ever be interested in her, so he shouldn't play with her like that.'
She turned her back on him and marched over to the kitchen area. She opened the refrigerator to peruse the contents inside and forced herself to ignore her handsome roommate.
Mamoru watched with amusement the myriad of emotions that flashed across her face. Right before she became angry and stormed off to the kitchen, something was there briefly. He frowned. It had come and gone so quickly that if he didn't know her so well, he wouldn't have caught it. He started when he realized that he did know her quite well. He might now know specific details such as her favorite color-though he'd bet it was pink. But...he did know her. Usagi was an open book when it came to emotions and maybe that's why it caught his attention, because she had tried to hide it.
He stood up slowly and approached the kitchen. By now, Usagi had several ingredients on the counter and was staring at them in frustration. He stopped behind her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He became annoyed as he felt her tense at his touch. He shrugged off the momentary irritation this caused.
"Usagi-chan, how about you set the table while I cook breakfast?"
Usagi whirled to face him, blinking back angry tears. "Why? Don't you think I can make a simple meal? Stupid Usagi probably doesn't know how to break an egg. Clumsy Usagi would get the shells in the pan..."
Mamoru's hand had dropped to his side unnoticed as the blonde girl ranted. Again, he raised his hand to place on her shoulder in comfort. He felt his own anger bubble up inside him again as she flinched away.
"I only am trying to make a peace offering," he bit out. Mamoru glared down at the girl. He was trying to be nice and she twisted his words, reading into them in a way that he didn't mean.
"Why are you angry with me? Usagi swiped furiously at the few tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"I don't know," Mamoru ground out though clenched teeth. "Maybe because you are manipulating my words. You should not talk about yourself that way."
"Why not? You do all the time. Smart boy from Azabu Tech must know what he is talking about."
Mamoru paled slightly. "I never meant like it like that." He pulled out a nearby chair and dropped into it. Her ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He looked earnestly at the girl who was watching him warily. "I never thought you would take me seriously."
Usagi stared at the man before him. His words were obviously sincere and he looked remorseful. She tried to hold on to her anger but found that it had dissipated. She spoke softly to the man before her as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "It's okay Mamoru-san. You are forgiven."
Before Usagi could turn and work on breakfast preparations, Mamoru was standing before her gripping her shoulders causing her to look up at him. "No. It's not okay. Just because I have personal issues doesn't make it right to take them out on you."
Usagi's blue eyes widened in surprise. 'Mamoru was admitting to not being perfect. This was one for the history books.' Her heart softened as she noticed the self-recrimination and anger that played across his face. Obviously Mamoru revealed more than he intended. Her mood lightened at the realization that he truly didn't despise her, but instead took out his frustrations on her. She put a hand on her hip while the other held her covering in place. She glared at her tormentor.
"You know Mamoru-baka, it's better to use your friends to talk your problems through, not to use as your verbal punching bag."
Mamoru stopped his mental bashing of himself to focus on what his blonde roommate was saying. The girl was obviously annoyed, but her tone was laced with affection.
Usagi reached up and shoved him lightly in the shoulder. "Why don't you make yourself useful and set the table." She smiled to relay to Mamoru that she was not still angry with him.
Mamoru shook his dark head ruefully. She had certainly thrown him for a loop this morning. Probably later he would hate himself for his words, but at the moment everything was right in the world. Usa was not mad at him and it seemed that they had reached some sort of understanding.
"Instead, how 'bout you make yourself useful and I cook us something edible." He gave her a wink and edged her away from the counter.
Usagi mock huffed and spun away to set the table. Thank goodness she didn't have to try to remember what Mako-chan had taught her. A few minutes with those deep blue eyes staring at her caused her to forget every lesson and cooking tip that she ever mastered, few that there were.
The two worked in comfortable silence and it wasn't long before breakfast was consumed and the remnants of their meal disposed of. Unfortunately for them, these tasks didn't take too long and they found themselves looking about the apartment for something that could help fill their day. You could only talk so much and the apartment was so sparse that cleaning only took a few minutes. This left several hours to fill.
Usagi walked over to the TV and picked up the communicator. She studied it carefully. Yup, definitely Ami's handiwork. Mamoru walked over and removed it gently from her hand after giving her a questioning look. He too studied the craftsmanship.
"This is pretty amazing. I wonder where Motoki and the girls found something so high-tech. It must have cost a fortune." Mamoru continued to look at the object in his hand and missed the slight panic that flashed across Usagi's face.
"I'm sure Ami found it at a good deal. She's pretty smart. Or she might have had one of her tech friends from junku to create it." Usagi fought to keep her voice calm, though it did waver slightly.
"Hmmm..." Mamoru looked at the girl standing next to him. It occurred to him that Usagi was lying. With her standing so close, he could feel her tense up slightly and there was no mistaking the tremor in her voice. "You had wanted to call the girls last night. Do you still want to try?"
Usagi glanced at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's too late. They should be in class by now." She had barely finished her words before she went pale. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her free hand and moaned. "I don't even want to know what they have planned to explain my absence from school, let alone from home." Then she brightened slightly. "At least I don't have to study."
Mamoru shook his head slightly, amazed at how quickly her emotions changed. He groaned when he though of all the schoolwork he'd have to make up. He looked again at the communicator in his hand before glancing up at the clock.
"I have an idea."
Usagi raised her eyebrows at Mamoru. "An idea?"
Mamoru looked positively boyish as he grinned at his co-conspirator. "Yes. We can call them later and fuss about all the school that we are missing." Noticing Usagi's grimace he corrected himself, "Ok, I will fuss about all the school that I am missing and I'll insist that they bring our books by so that we can stay current in our classes. Then..." Mamoru paused dramatically, "...when then bring our stuff, we can catch them and force them to let us go free."
Usagi chewed on her lower lip as she considered his words. "I don't really have to study, do I? Or say that I want to study?"
Mamoru dropped onto the futon next to Usagi. "You better not say anything, or maybe complain that I'm going to tutor you or something. That will make it more believable."
A smile crept on Usagi's face. "And...if we make sure the girls are there, Ami will insist that they give us our books. It's probably killing her that I'm missing school today." Her blue eyes twinkled merrily at the handsome man next to her. "This might work."
"Of course it will work. How dare you doubt the genius of Chiba Mamoru!"
"Ok genius. If you are so smart, why did they lock us in an apartment with nothing to do? Don't they realize that the odds of one of us getting bored and killing the other increases dramatically as time passes? It's not like we're going to kiss and make up or anything."
Mamoru stared down at the petite blonde. Her blue eyes were filled with good humor and without guile. He could feel his ears redden and he shifted his gaze to stare towards the window. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Apparently they thought this would end our fighting...one way or another. Maybe they thought we would get tired of hurling insults at one another and instead become friends."
Glancing around the room, something caught the blonde girl's attention and she rose somewhat gracefully from the futon. Usagi drifted over to the far wall where there was a small basket filled with scented oils. While holding on to her blanket with one hand, she grabbed one of the bottles and read the label.
"Rose petal scented oil?" She turned slightly and asked over her shoulder, "What is this stuff for?"
Mamoru was grateful that his back was to her. "In case we wanted to give each other foot massages, maybe?"
Usagi snorted and returned the bottle to its former resting-place. "Yea, right. Like that would ever happen. There is no way you are touching my feet." She wandered back over to the futon and dropped down in a heap.
"It's going to be forever before the girls get out of school and head to the arcade. Let's discuss how our strategy for getting them to believe that we want our books and how we are going to subdue them once they get here."
Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief. He was so grateful in the topic change that he didn't notice the professional way Usagi had suggested they create a plan. He settled down comfortably next to her and began to run through various scenarios of what could and should happen.
Usagi listened intently, occasionally commenting how a particular girl would react. The two planned the afternoon away, not noticing the passing time.
Chapter 16
By: Krysia
E-mail: krysia2882@hotmail.com
Rated: PG-13-ish
O.O Author's Notes!! ^^; Well...after the last chapter posted...I guess I'm grateful that I'm not writing an anti-Usa/Mamo fic. Disclaimer: Sailor Moon = not mine.
Chapter 16
The sun was well over the horizon before Mamoru stirred in his sleep. A warm comfortable feeling kept him from opening his eyes as the room filled with light. As his consciousness become more aware, it was accompanied with a feeling of déjà vu. Sometime during the night, he and Usagi moved closer to one another. His arm was still wrapped around her waist and it felt good having her pressed up against him.
'Of course it feels good,' he thought sardonically. 'She is a real girl, not a dream that you keep having.' He frowned as he realized that again he did not dream of the princess. 'I wonder if it's just coincidence or if Usagi has something to do with keeping the dreams away.' He wasn't sure if he should thank her or throttle her. Those dreams had been a constant in his life, his one comfort that he could rely on. They kept driving him forward, helping him to press on looking for answers. The princess needed him, or at least she used too. Maybe she found someone else to help her.
He removed his arm from the girl next to him to brush some of her long hair away from his face. It didn't occur to him to move away, and by withdrawing his arm, it caused the sleeping girl to grimace and turn and face him in an attempt to snuggle closer. Tentatively, he replaced his arm and watched dumbfoundedly as her frown was wiped away and a small smile graced her features as she sighed contentedly.
This was so weird. Usagi claimed to have no boyfriend yet she seemed so comfortable in his embrace, at least when she was asleep. Unbiddenly, the thought came to him that maybe she liked him. Ruthlessly he squashed any feelings that he was beginning to feel for his blonde sprite. He could not commit to a girl with his responsibilities to Sailor Moon and the Princess.
Taking advantage of the moment, his eyes roamed over her features tenderly-golden hair spilling about her shoulders, faint freckles sprinkled across her nose and dainty ears molded perfectly against her head. Mamoru sighed as he began to absently twirl a lock of Usagi's hair around his finger. He smiled fondly down at the girl cuddled up against him. He reluctantly admitted to himself that Usagi meant a great deal to him and that she was threatening his peace of mind and his sole purpose of finding the Moon Princess.
Usagi opened her sleepy blue eyes to see what appeared to be Mamoru's chest. After blinking a few times trying to dispel the haze of sleep, she tipped her head back to look at the dark-haired man lying next to her. She gasped and tried to move away but found herself held in place by a strong arm about her waist.
"Mamoru-san?" Her voice was hesitant and she continued to subtly pull away from her nemesis.
"Yes, Usagi-chan?" Mamoru teased. He watched with fascination as Usagi's cheeks pinked.
"Um...I think it's time for breakfast." Usagi continued to struggle against the arm that held her effortlessly in place.
Mamoru knew he was playing with fire by teasing her so but he just couldn't resist. He leaned over and purred in her ear. "Breakfast in bed would be nice."
With a quick yelp, Usagi was immediately up and standing a few feet away, her face was infused with color. "I think sitting at the table would be best. After all, eating in bed may cause you to choke and die. We wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?"
Usagi stood grasping tightly to her blanket, now glaring at Mamoru-baka. 'How dare he flirt with her! He was her enemy. He had no right to cause her face to flush and her heart to race. There is no way he would ever be interested in her, so he shouldn't play with her like that.'
She turned her back on him and marched over to the kitchen area. She opened the refrigerator to peruse the contents inside and forced herself to ignore her handsome roommate.
Mamoru watched with amusement the myriad of emotions that flashed across her face. Right before she became angry and stormed off to the kitchen, something was there briefly. He frowned. It had come and gone so quickly that if he didn't know her so well, he wouldn't have caught it. He started when he realized that he did know her quite well. He might now know specific details such as her favorite color-though he'd bet it was pink. But...he did know her. Usagi was an open book when it came to emotions and maybe that's why it caught his attention, because she had tried to hide it.
He stood up slowly and approached the kitchen. By now, Usagi had several ingredients on the counter and was staring at them in frustration. He stopped behind her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. He became annoyed as he felt her tense at his touch. He shrugged off the momentary irritation this caused.
"Usagi-chan, how about you set the table while I cook breakfast?"
Usagi whirled to face him, blinking back angry tears. "Why? Don't you think I can make a simple meal? Stupid Usagi probably doesn't know how to break an egg. Clumsy Usagi would get the shells in the pan..."
Mamoru's hand had dropped to his side unnoticed as the blonde girl ranted. Again, he raised his hand to place on her shoulder in comfort. He felt his own anger bubble up inside him again as she flinched away.
"I only am trying to make a peace offering," he bit out. Mamoru glared down at the girl. He was trying to be nice and she twisted his words, reading into them in a way that he didn't mean.
"Why are you angry with me? Usagi swiped furiously at the few tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"I don't know," Mamoru ground out though clenched teeth. "Maybe because you are manipulating my words. You should not talk about yourself that way."
"Why not? You do all the time. Smart boy from Azabu Tech must know what he is talking about."
Mamoru paled slightly. "I never meant like it like that." He pulled out a nearby chair and dropped into it. Her ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He looked earnestly at the girl who was watching him warily. "I never thought you would take me seriously."
Usagi stared at the man before him. His words were obviously sincere and he looked remorseful. She tried to hold on to her anger but found that it had dissipated. She spoke softly to the man before her as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "It's okay Mamoru-san. You are forgiven."
Before Usagi could turn and work on breakfast preparations, Mamoru was standing before her gripping her shoulders causing her to look up at him. "No. It's not okay. Just because I have personal issues doesn't make it right to take them out on you."
Usagi's blue eyes widened in surprise. 'Mamoru was admitting to not being perfect. This was one for the history books.' Her heart softened as she noticed the self-recrimination and anger that played across his face. Obviously Mamoru revealed more than he intended. Her mood lightened at the realization that he truly didn't despise her, but instead took out his frustrations on her. She put a hand on her hip while the other held her covering in place. She glared at her tormentor.
"You know Mamoru-baka, it's better to use your friends to talk your problems through, not to use as your verbal punching bag."
Mamoru stopped his mental bashing of himself to focus on what his blonde roommate was saying. The girl was obviously annoyed, but her tone was laced with affection.
Usagi reached up and shoved him lightly in the shoulder. "Why don't you make yourself useful and set the table." She smiled to relay to Mamoru that she was not still angry with him.
Mamoru shook his dark head ruefully. She had certainly thrown him for a loop this morning. Probably later he would hate himself for his words, but at the moment everything was right in the world. Usa was not mad at him and it seemed that they had reached some sort of understanding.
"Instead, how 'bout you make yourself useful and I cook us something edible." He gave her a wink and edged her away from the counter.
Usagi mock huffed and spun away to set the table. Thank goodness she didn't have to try to remember what Mako-chan had taught her. A few minutes with those deep blue eyes staring at her caused her to forget every lesson and cooking tip that she ever mastered, few that there were.
The two worked in comfortable silence and it wasn't long before breakfast was consumed and the remnants of their meal disposed of. Unfortunately for them, these tasks didn't take too long and they found themselves looking about the apartment for something that could help fill their day. You could only talk so much and the apartment was so sparse that cleaning only took a few minutes. This left several hours to fill.
Usagi walked over to the TV and picked up the communicator. She studied it carefully. Yup, definitely Ami's handiwork. Mamoru walked over and removed it gently from her hand after giving her a questioning look. He too studied the craftsmanship.
"This is pretty amazing. I wonder where Motoki and the girls found something so high-tech. It must have cost a fortune." Mamoru continued to look at the object in his hand and missed the slight panic that flashed across Usagi's face.
"I'm sure Ami found it at a good deal. She's pretty smart. Or she might have had one of her tech friends from junku to create it." Usagi fought to keep her voice calm, though it did waver slightly.
"Hmmm..." Mamoru looked at the girl standing next to him. It occurred to him that Usagi was lying. With her standing so close, he could feel her tense up slightly and there was no mistaking the tremor in her voice. "You had wanted to call the girls last night. Do you still want to try?"
Usagi glanced at the clock mounted on the wall. "It's too late. They should be in class by now." She had barely finished her words before she went pale. She closed her eyes and buried her face in her free hand and moaned. "I don't even want to know what they have planned to explain my absence from school, let alone from home." Then she brightened slightly. "At least I don't have to study."
Mamoru shook his head slightly, amazed at how quickly her emotions changed. He groaned when he though of all the schoolwork he'd have to make up. He looked again at the communicator in his hand before glancing up at the clock.
"I have an idea."
Usagi raised her eyebrows at Mamoru. "An idea?"
Mamoru looked positively boyish as he grinned at his co-conspirator. "Yes. We can call them later and fuss about all the school that we are missing." Noticing Usagi's grimace he corrected himself, "Ok, I will fuss about all the school that I am missing and I'll insist that they bring our books by so that we can stay current in our classes. Then..." Mamoru paused dramatically, "...when then bring our stuff, we can catch them and force them to let us go free."
Usagi chewed on her lower lip as she considered his words. "I don't really have to study, do I? Or say that I want to study?"
Mamoru dropped onto the futon next to Usagi. "You better not say anything, or maybe complain that I'm going to tutor you or something. That will make it more believable."
A smile crept on Usagi's face. "And...if we make sure the girls are there, Ami will insist that they give us our books. It's probably killing her that I'm missing school today." Her blue eyes twinkled merrily at the handsome man next to her. "This might work."
"Of course it will work. How dare you doubt the genius of Chiba Mamoru!"
"Ok genius. If you are so smart, why did they lock us in an apartment with nothing to do? Don't they realize that the odds of one of us getting bored and killing the other increases dramatically as time passes? It's not like we're going to kiss and make up or anything."
Mamoru stared down at the petite blonde. Her blue eyes were filled with good humor and without guile. He could feel his ears redden and he shifted his gaze to stare towards the window. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Apparently they thought this would end our fighting...one way or another. Maybe they thought we would get tired of hurling insults at one another and instead become friends."
Glancing around the room, something caught the blonde girl's attention and she rose somewhat gracefully from the futon. Usagi drifted over to the far wall where there was a small basket filled with scented oils. While holding on to her blanket with one hand, she grabbed one of the bottles and read the label.
"Rose petal scented oil?" She turned slightly and asked over her shoulder, "What is this stuff for?"
Mamoru was grateful that his back was to her. "In case we wanted to give each other foot massages, maybe?"
Usagi snorted and returned the bottle to its former resting-place. "Yea, right. Like that would ever happen. There is no way you are touching my feet." She wandered back over to the futon and dropped down in a heap.
"It's going to be forever before the girls get out of school and head to the arcade. Let's discuss how our strategy for getting them to believe that we want our books and how we are going to subdue them once they get here."
Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief. He was so grateful in the topic change that he didn't notice the professional way Usagi had suggested they create a plan. He settled down comfortably next to her and began to run through various scenarios of what could and should happen.
Usagi listened intently, occasionally commenting how a particular girl would react. The two planned the afternoon away, not noticing the passing time.