Till Someone Comes Along Chapter 21. Don't own SM or SLY. Please R&R. Rewritten.
I was still in a daze as I walked to lunch with Minako and Makoto. It wasn't until Minako hit me hard on the shoulder that I actually stepped back into reality. "Huh?" I asked.
Makoto sighed. "Told you. She's been out since this morning."
"Would this be a happy out, or an angry out?" Minako asked.
I didn't respond. All I could think about was Mamoru holding my shoulders, his face a few mere inches from mine, his blue eyes, full of so many emotions, and hi-
"USAGI!" the two called out to me. I looked up to see that I was so involved with my thoughts of Mamoru, that I had walked at least five stores past the restaurant.
Makoto shook her head. "Usagi's really lost it."
"I don't understand this," Minako said, scratching her head. "You act as if..." She looked at Makoto and they said in unison, "You're in love!"
"Get real!" I cried. Okay, I was in love, but they didn't have to rub it in.
"So, who's the lucky guy?" Makoto asked.
"Rebounded from Mamoru?" Minako asked with a smirk.
"No," I sighed. "Mamoru and I are-"
The two didn't let me continue. They had their own chorus of "Aww!" and left me blushing redder than a tomato.
"Come on, quit it!" I cried.
"So, you two made up?" Makoto asked.
"Looks like Dr. Mason must have found her loophole, huh?" Minako asked.
"Mamoru and I are having a quiet dinner in our apartment, and it will be just a quiet, romantic...all right! I'm in love with him!" I screamed.
Minako and Makoto applauded as I sat there, blushing as everyone in the deli turned to stare.
I made a vow right then and there never to tell these two anything in my romantic life again.
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I stood in his doorway, waiting for him after work. "So, what are we-"
He wasn't there.
"Damn it!" I cried. It was probably his subtle way of letting me know that he had one-upped me, and that this whole thing was a ruse. I felt cheated. "Fuck him!" I screamed, kicking his door.
"Mamoru went home," Mitsuke told me as she passed by.
"What?" I asked, confused. Went home? Without me!
"Yeah, something about a relative flying in," she said, pulling on her coat. "I'm not really sure what."
I was fuming. He had a RELATIVE coming in, and he didn't tell me! I was going to march home and give him a piece of my mind!
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A BIG piece of my mind! How could he just do that to me! I bet he planted that photographer, too. I bet this was all a scam to stop me from writing more articles. I grabbed my key from my purse, and began to unlock the door, when it swung open to reveal a walking bouquet of red roses.
If there's anything more scary than a walking bouquet greeting you at the door, then show me. I was shocked.
"Sorry," it apologized. The bouquet moved to reveal Mamoru standing behind it. "I wanted to surprise you."
I began giggling. "You're never romantic," I said.
"I know. I wanted to change that. Just to show you that not all men are crap."
I blushed. "Shut up."
He took my hand and pulled me to the table, setting the roses on the couch. "Sit, my lady," he said.
I rolled my eyes. I know I wanted romance, but this was completely unlike Mamoru. One of the reasons I liked him was because he wasn't mushy.
"Shall I serve you dinner?" he asked, bowing.
"Mamoru," I said, standing up and placing a hand on his chest. "Look, I know you're trying to impress me, but I don't want this."
He raised an eyebrow. "You don't want this," he repeated.
"Right. I want you - the way you usually are," I pleaded.
"The way I usually am, huh?" he asked, moving closer to me, making me take a step back.
"Yes," I said. "W-what are you doing?" I stuttered.
"I'm not doing anything," he said, making me back up into the wall. He placed his hand on the wall and stared deep into my eyes. "I'm just being me."
I laughed. "If this is going where I think it is-"
"Then you already know," he said, and took my lips in his. It was kiss, pure and tender, and every bit as exciting as everyone had said it was. He then lifted me up in his arms, and looked at me. "Of course, if you'd like Prince Charming-"
"He's the real cow," I said, taking his face in my hands. He walked into the bedroom, and...well, I don't want to get into details. Then I would sound just like him. But that's a sign of love, right?
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The newspaper showed the results of my actions the next morning. I made the front page with: 'I HATE MEN COWGIRL FALLS IN LOVE'.
Mamoru put his arms around my waist and kissed me on the cheek. "So, more publicity."
"It's over." I said. "The era of the cow is over."
"That's good to hear." he said.
"Yeah," I said. It was. I looked at him, and began to giggle. He had just crawled out of bed, wearing absolutely nothing. It's a good thing the paper delivery hadn't seen him.
He smiled. "I'm glad a girl could change."
"Oh, I changed? What about you, Mr. One Night Stand?" I said. He turned me around, and kissed me. I dropped the newspaper and put my arms around his neck.
It was wonderful to be in love.
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My rep was gone. It was actually wonderful to be in love - once you've found the right person. Still, people want to hear my sarcastic advice on the show. Weird.
Makoto took over completely for Motoki. She's doing a much better job than that sorry ass. She's also become a really good friend, and a great person to work with. And also on the plus side: she doesn't fuck any temps. She's seeing Shinozaki down in PR, and it looks really serious. Makoto and I gab about it, until the boys have to come pull us apart.
Minako and I have started listening to each other, but I told her right off the bat that there are to be no more articles. EVER. She and Seiya had lunch the other day, but she said there are no details. I think she's starting to clam up a bit.
Natsumi and Shingo confirmed it - one of his sperm actually pulled through. She's two months pregnant, and can have a child.
And Inu-chan is what holds me and Mamoru together. But we're not fabulously happy. Yeah, there are some moments where we snap and revert to our old ways (well, not ALL of them), but we're adjusting. The important thing is that we are happy with each other. And I love him. I love him...hmm, sounds good to say.
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Seven months later
I sighed as I sat down on Mamoru's lap. "I still don't know where to put them," I said.
"Christ, Usagi, throw them out," he said. "You don't need your old notebooks anymore."
"You never know!" I protested. "After all, they are important pieces of history."
"Great. Save them for an auction," he said, sighing. "Oh, by the way, your sister called. She's sobbing hysterically again. Thinks you and I broke up."
I sighed. "Hormones."
"There's no way I can let you go." he said, hugging me. "You might write another article."
"Ha, ha." I said sarcastically. I sighed. "I wonder when the baby's due?"
"Any day now." he said. "Natsumi will be fine."
The phone rang. I sprinted to pick it up. "Hello?"
"Usagi! It's time!" Shingo cried. "We're going!"
"Right. We'll meet you there." I said. I hung up, and squealed. "It's coming!"
Mamoru groaned. "Do I have to go?"
"Yes!" I cried. "Come on, let's go!"
"I'm not comfortable around babies and birthing," he said with a grimace.
I smirked. "Says the man who's seen almost every single woman in the city naked."
"It's not the same," he protested, running out after me.
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We arrived at the hospital and waited outside the room for over three hours. Mamoru put his ear up to the door and grimaced. "God, she sounds as if she's dying."
"Well, you'll never have to experience that," I said. "Come on, sit down."
"You never want to go through that, do you?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I-I don't know," I said. "I'd want to be heavily sedated."
"Baby Tsukino...thinking of calling her Hoofer?" he asked,
"No cow names," I said with a glare.
"Sorry. No cow names." He glanced at the floor. "Tsukino. That's not a common name, is it?"
"No, I guess not," I said, yawning. I put my head in his lap and curled up on my chair. "Neither is Chiba."
"But doesn't Usagi Chiba sound better than Usagi Tsukino?"
"So would Usagi Depp," I said, yawning. Suddenly, I felt wide awake. "Wait, did you just say Usagi CHIBA?" I said, sitting up.
"Yeah, well, if you'd rather be Usagi Depp..." he said, sounding put out.
"Ignore that," I said, waiving my hand. "You said Usagi CHIBA. What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know," he said, reaching into his pocket. "If you'd like to be Usagi Chiba, would you want to be it for real?"
I stared in disbelief as he pulled out a ring, and put it on my shaking finger. "W-what the-"
"This is to prevent you from writing an article ever again," he said. "Is this romantic enough for you?"
"Skip the romance," I said, pulling his face close to mine for a kiss. "You're romantic the way you are." Our lips met in a blissful kiss, and his hands caressed the angles of my face softly. I was going to be Usagi Chiba - Happy Usagi Chiba.
It was only when a baby started screaming when we broke apart. "The baby!" I exclaimed. We stood at the door and waited to be let in. When we walked inside, we saw the baby being wrapped in a soft pink blanket. "It's a girl," I whispered. Mamoru held my shoulders gently, unable to say anything.
"Here's your beautiful baby girl." the nurse said. Natsumi held her in her arms, and began to sob.
"What's her name?" Mamoru asked.
"Well, we were thinking Motoki for a boy-" Shingo started.
I thanked God it was a girl.
"-and Rika for a girl."
"Rika's pretty." I said. "Rika's perfect."
Mamoru and I stood there, watching the family - mother, father and baby - and I sighed. Natsumi held Rika in her arms, and began to cry with happiness. Shingo held her as Rika stared up at them, probably exhausted from all of the screaming.
Mamoru and I exited the room soon after, giving them the chance to be alone. Outside, he grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "That could be us one day," he said.
I hoped so. With the proposal of Mamoru I guess you could say I'd had enough beef, and was mooving on up!
Okay, no more corny cow jokes.
In the beginning, I said everything completely wrong. I always thought Mamoru was a stubborn, chauvinistic male whore, and he turned out to be my soulmate. Men were not the way they seemed to be. I mean, yes, they are hard to understand, but a little tweak here and there, and everything's fine.
All in all, I don't want to be remembered as 'Usagi Tsukino, hateful, spiteful man hater', I want to be remembered as 'Usagi Tsukino."
"Usagi Tsukino, girl in love."
I like the sound of that.
The End.
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I hope everyone likes the new ending. Mamoru's not a hopeless romantic because I wanted to stay true to his character. Anyway, please review!
EternalSenshi
P.S. I am working on a sequel.
