The Truths of Love: Chapter six
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Never have, never will, so please don't sue me.
There had been something in that kiss. Usagi couldn't have explained what it was, but she knew it had been something. It was something she had never felt before when she had been with Matt.
She shook her head to clear these thoughts away; they were the last things she needed to be thinking about.
It had been two days since the kiss had occurred, and in neither of those days had the two let it happen again. In fact, they each pretended that it never had happened. This was for the better, as if they had dwelled on it, they wouldn't have been able to enjoy spending time with each other.
And yet, still Usagi found her mind drifting back to the kiss every so often. Because, indeed, there had been something there that she had never felt before.
With a sigh, she plopped down onto the bed once more, squirming around and trying to get more comfortable before Mamoru came into the room. Finally settling down, she laid her head on her pillow and looked up at the ceiling, her thoughts drifting off to her parents and brother.
Sighing, she pushed those thoughts from her mind as well and closed her eyes, yawning once before drifting off to sleep.
Mamoru walked into the bedroom, worn out from having work all day. Smiling softly at the sleeping form of Usagi, he carefully grabbed his pajama's, consisting of silk tops and bottoms of midnight blue, and locked himself in the bathroom to change.
As he did so, he thought back to the kiss. A smile grew softly on his face as he remembered the warmth of her skin, the soft touch of her lips on his, the feel of her body pressed close to his, the way her arms had wrapped around him, holding him close, as if she'd never let go...
'Get a grip, Mamoru!' his mind screamed. 'It was a once in a lifetime thing, and thinking about it is only going to make things worse for you. If you really want something done about it, talk to the girl. Find out what she thought of it.'
Mamoru rolled his eyes, despite knowing the fact that the voice in his head was right: thinking about the kiss wouldn't change anything. Shaking his head, and running his fingers through his messy dark hair, he opened the door of the bathroom and headed towards the bed, lying down on his back and looking up, not quite seeing the ceiling. His mind drifted as the weariness of the day took hold of him, and he sank into the abyss of sleep.
Usagi was awakened the next morning by the sound of the closet being opened. Slowly dragging her eyes opened, she looked up to see Mamoru looking sheepishly at her as he pulled some of his clothes from the closet and shut it again.
"I'm sorry, Usagi-chan," he whispered. "I didn't mean to wake you up. Go back to bed now. I'm going to work again today, and Ami and Rei should be over to see you at about noon."
Usagi nodded groggily and mumbled something, then turned over onto her stomach, pulled the blankets up around her, and fell back to sleep.
Mamoru chuckled softly to himself and shook his head, walking over and placing a soft kiss on her forehead before walking to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.
As he was showering, the thought came to him that he still didn't know what had happened to put Usagi in the state he had found her in. With a frown, her attempted to push that thought to the back of his mind, knowing and trusting the fact that eventually she would tell him what had happened. She had promised she would, and he knew she kept her word. And yet, it had been two weeks now since he had first found her, and she still hadn't said a word to him about what had happened.
Each day, two of the girls came to talk and be with Usagi for a few hours, which Mamoru was grateful for, because he didn't want to leave her alone, and yet there was no way he could keep missing work. Lately, on his way home from work, he'd stop by KDS Inc. to pick up the work for Usagi, which she would promptly do and have sitting on the end table by the door the next morning, and he'd bring stop at KDS to drop it off on his way to work.
He remembered the first time he'd stopped in, and seen with his own eyes what Usagi had managed to accomplish.
The moment he'd walked into the seven story building, his eyes had widened. The floor was made of marble, and not a single piece was unpolished. Sofas and chairs of a deep burgundy color were spread strategically around the lobby of the building, the cushions made of the softest and most expensive velvet anyone could find. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sparkling and casting soft glows around the entire room. An elevator was positioned at the back of the lobby, leading up to, what he knew, would be the second, third, fourth and fifth floors, belonging to the employees, the sixth floor, belonging to the Assistant manager and the corporate manager, and finally, the seventh floor, belonging to Usagi herself.
Walking to the elevator, he wasn't at all surprised to find that it too was highly comfortable. The inside walls were cushioned, and benches jutted out from the walls. These too were cushioned, and Mamoru let out a low whistle of appreciation as he sat down on one of them.
When the elevator reached the seventh floor, the doors slid open smoothly, revealing another marble floor, leading down a hallway where several doors stood to either side. In the middle of the room was a round mahogany desk, and a petite woman sat there, her short auburn hair pulled off of her angular face, as she spoke quickly into a small headset, listened, and typed something quickly into the computer she sat in front of.
At the sound of the elevator opening, the woman looked up expectantly.
"May I help you?" The woman asked, her eyes roaming up and down Mamoru's body appraisingly.
Mamoru smiled slightly at the woman as he approached the desk.
"Maybe you can," he answered. "I'm Mamoru Chiba, a friend of Usagi Tsukino. Something happened to her about two weeks ago, and she won't be able to make it into the office anytime soon. She asked me to stop by and pick up her work from a woman named...Naru, I believe it was."
The woman's eyes had widened at what Mamoru had said about Usagi.
"Is she alright?" The woman asked in concern.
Mamoru hesitated and then nodded slightly. "She'll be fine. At any rate, I need to find this Naru woman so I can get her work and be on my way. I have to be at the hospital to work soon..." He checked his watch and noticed it was 8:15. That gave him fifteen minutes to be at the hospital.
"Oh, of course." The woman said. "I'm Naru, Usagi's secretary. She has a whole bunch of work to catch up on, but tell her to take it easy, and take her time." She added under her breath, "Though knowing Usagi, she'll work straight through the night to get it all finished and turned back in."
With a sigh she walked over to a mountain of papers that were sitting behind the desk and picked them up, bringing them back and handing them to Mamoru.
"There you go. And pleases tell her to take as long as she needs. I know everyone here is worried about her; it's not like Usagi to miss this many days of work."
Mamoru's eyes widened at the sight of the enormous amount of papers that Usagi would have to do.
Catching the look, Naru smiled.
"Don't worry, most of it she just has to read and sign, or read and reject. Though some of it is more work than that, I'm sure she knows what to do. Don't worry about her. Just make sure that she remembers to eat and sleep at some point in time."
Mamoru nodded once and turned to go.
"Mamoru," Naru called.
"Yes, Naru?" Mamoru asked as he turned to face the woman once more.
"Usagi will be very grateful for you doing this. She's called in several times to ask how everything is going, and I told her it was just fine. But the fact of the matter is a lot of things can't get done with her work. So thank you for keeping her safe."
Mamoru smiled and nodded.
"It's my pleasure," he said, and with that, he left.
That night, he'd given the work to Usagi, and received a large hug and thank you. Mamoru chuckled, remembering how happy Usagi had been to be able to start working once more and how beautiful she'd looked when she was happy. A blush crept into his cheeks at the thought, and he smacked his head with his hand.
'Don't think that,' his mind old him. 'It'll only get you into trouble.'
Mamoru conceded the point, and finished showering and dressing, and went out to the kitchen to make a small breakfast. After leaving a note for Usagi, he grabbed his jacket, walked out of the apartment, locked the door behind him, and headed for work.
It was nearing 8:30 pm, the time Mamoru would be back from work.
Usagi was in a better mood today; Rei and Ami had come over and spent many hours with her, and had left just ten minutes ago. Deciding to surprise Mamoru with dinner, she walked to the kitchen and looked through the cupboards, pulling out a few things every now and then. Once all of the ingredients were pulled out, she set about making lasagna.
'Noodles, meat, egg and cottage cheese mix, cheese, noodles, meat, cheese,' she repeated over and over in her head. Once she had finished layering the lasagna, she placed it into the oven, setting the timer for fifteen minutes. Once that was out of the way, she began to prepare some fruits and vegetables, setting carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower onto one half of a plate, and grapes, strawberries and cherries on the other half. In the middle she set a small cup of vegetable dip, completing the tray.
Taking the tray in her hand, she brought it out to the dining room table and placed it in the middle of the table. Going back to the kitchen, she took out two plates, two glasses, two forks, knives and spoons, and two napkins and place mates, and quickly set the table.
Next, she brought out apple cider, pouring it into the two cups, and then putting it away. Finally satisfied that everything was done and ready, she sat down on the couch to wait for Mamoru to get home.
Five minutes later, the door to the apartment swung open, and Mamoru stepped inside, another pile of papers in his hands. Smiling slightly, Usagi went to him and took the papers, putting them on the end table.
"Mamoru," she said, "dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Go sit down at the table, and don't worry about anything."
"Usagi," Mamoru said, his eyes clouded with confusion, "why did you...?"
Usagi hesitated and then shrugged her shoulders slightly.
"I wanted to do something nice for you. You've done so much for me, and this is the least that I can do for you."
The timer went off at that moment, and she went to the kitchen, pulling on oven mitts and opening the oven, pulling out the lasagna and bringing it into the dining room, setting it on hot pads in the middle of the table, next to the fruit and vegetable tray.
"I hope you like lasagna," Usagi said with a light smile as she took the lid off of the dish, revealing lasagna cooked to perfection.
Mamoru's eyes were alight with pleasure.
"Lasagna is my favorite food!" he said with a laugh. "Thank you very much, Usagi."
Usagi smiled and nodded, and proceeded to take a few pieces of fruit from the tray, placing them on her plate and eating.
The two ate in silence, each enjoying the other's company, smiling at each other when they caught the others eye.
After dinner, the two spent some time talking about their pasts with each other. Usagi talked about each of her friends, how they'd been together since middle school, and despite each of them being twenty one now, they were still as close to each other as could be.
Mamoru talked about his friends Motoki and Riku, talking more about Riku than Motoki, as Usagi knew Motoki rather well.
It turned out that Riku was a doctor who worked with Mamoru at the hospital.
"I met him a year ago," Mamoru concluded, "and he's been one of my best friends ever since."
Usagi was silent for a moment, and then she looked up at Mamoru, before standing and beginning to pace back and forth.
"Mamoru," she began, "I think you should know what happened. With... him, I mean."
"Usagi, you don't have to--"
Usagi cut him off.
"I know I don't have to, but I want to. And you deserve to know what happened. You've wanted to know since you took me in, and I think it's time I told you."
Usagi took a deep breath, and for the third and final time, relayed the story, from her meeting of Matt, to the first date, to the start of the abuse, to the final abuse and rape, and then to when she ran away. As she talked, her voice was oddly detached. She didn't seem at all like herself, and for the first time as she told it, she didn't cry.
Mamoru listened to the whole thing without saying a word, without even moving or showing emotion. The only indication he gave of just how angry he was was when his hand clenched into a fist when she told, in explicit detail, how Matt had raped her.
Finally finished with the story, she looked up at him, her face devoid of emotion.
"Now you know," she said quietly. "You know all of it now. That my family is dead, and what happened with Matt. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, but I just couldn't."
She stood and turned to go to the bedroom when a pair of strong arms caught and held her around the waist, pulling her to his body.
Usagi looked up into Mamoru's eyes, her body recoiling from the look of fierce anger in his eyes.
He noticed the change in her body, and instantly the look of anger in his eyes changed to one of concern and a fierce possessiveness of this girl that he held.
"Usagi," he whispered softly into her ear, "I will never hurt you. I'm sorry for what Matt did, and I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you from him. But I promise you this. I am here for you, now and whenever you need me to be. Alright?"
Usagi nodded slightly, and leaned into the comfort of his embrace, wrapping her arms slowly around him, and allowing him to hold her close.
They stayed like that for awhile, neither willing to be the first to let go.
Finally, Usagi unwrapped her arms from around him and took a step back, a light smile on her face.
"Again, Mamoru, I want to thank you. You've been so patient with me for these past two weeks, and I want to let you know, it means a lot to me. That you haven't forced me to tell you, and that you haven't gotten angry when I refused to tell you. It really..." she paused as she tried to think of how to put it into words that wouldn't sound stupid, but gave up. "It really means a lot to me," she concluded.
Mamoru nodded, and stepped closer to Usagi, putting his hands softly on her shoulders once more.
"Usagi..." His eyes stared into hers, dark, ocean blue to a clearer, cerulean blue.
"Yes, Mamoru?" Usagi responded quietly, her heart pounding faster in her chest.
"I..." Mamoru paused and after a moment, pulled his hands away, using extreme will power to do so. But now wasn't the time to tell her how he was feeling. She didn't need that, not now, not so soon after what had happened between her and Matt.
Matt... Mamoru's face changed suddenly, into a mask of cold outrage. That son of a bitch had hurt his Usagi. And he was going to pay for it.
Usagi watched the play of emotions on Mamoru's face, and shivered slightly at the look of pure ice on his face.
"Mamoru," she whispered softly, "Please, don't do anything. He'll know I'm here, then, and he'll come get me when you are at work. Please, just leave it alone. We'll do something about him later, but not now. Please, just leave it alone."
The sound of pleading in Usagi's voice melted his heart, and reluctantly, he nodded and turned to face her.
"Alright, Usagi. But he will pay for what he did to you. In one way or another, he will pay for hurting you like he did," Mamoru ground out.
Usagi nodded slightly.
"I agree, Mamoru. But not now. If he finds out where I am..."
The look of stark terror that flooded into her eyes at the thought of Matt finding her had Mamoru's arms wrapped around her once more, holding her close to him, running his hands softly up and down her back and murmuring soothing words into her hair.
"He won't find you, Usagi. I won't let him find you or take you back. I promise."
Usagi nodded, desperate to believe what he was telling her, knowing deep inside that what he said was the truth, that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her ever again.
Laying her head on his chest, she let a few tears drip down her face, not making a move to brush them away. For these few minutes, at least, she could, and she would, allow herself to be weak. For this one space in time, she'd allow Mamoru to see just how much his words had affected her.
After awhile, she pulled back, and wiped her face with the sleeve of her shirt.
"All of a sudden, I'm tired," she said with a wry smile. "I think I'll call it a night, alright?"
Mamoru nodded his head.
"Of course. I completely understand. Come on, let's get to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and we'll see what comes."
Usagi nodded and, dragging her feet, headed to the bedroom, where, too exhausted to change, she fell down fully clothed on the bed and fell fast asleep.
Mamoru stayed up for awhile after Usagi went to bed, thinking about all he'd been told.
What could have possibly driven Matt to harm Usagi? It didn't make any sense. The Matt that Mamoru had known wouldn't harm a fly, much less a human being. And yet, he had. Usagi would never lie about such a thing, or even joke about it. And even if he had been inclined to believe she had lied about it, the bruises on her arms and legs, and the way she had behaved those first few days proved that she hadn't been lying.
This brought him back to thinking of reasons why Matt had done it. Sure, some people snapped at one point or another due to pressure, but Matt wasn't under any pressure. He'd gotten a part time job at Usagi's company, and didn't have a whole lot of work to do, which ruled out the breaking under stress theory.
This left only two options. Either Matt had psychological problems, or he was a cold blooded criminal.
Mamoru didn't want to think of Matt as either one of them. How could Matt, the Matt that Mamoru had known and grown to think of as a brother, do anything that cruel? It didn't seem even remotely possible, and yet Usagi had proof. The bruises on her body were fading now, yes, but there were so many of them that it would take a very long time for them to go away completely. Mamoru shook his head. He didn't want to think about this right now, or ever again.
Standing and stretching, he looked down at his watch, and when he realized it was 1:30 am, he grimaced.
'Man, I've been sitting here for over three hours,' he thought to himself, stretching and walking to the bedroom.
Quickly stripping off his clothes, he pulled on his silk pajamas and climbed into the bed, laying beside Usagi and quickly falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Mamoru woke to find Usagi nestled in his arms.
Smiling, he bent down and gave her a small kiss on the head, not wanting to move. Then he remembered: today was Friday, which meant he had only a half a day of work, and then the entire weekend off to be with this girl.
Turning on the water in the bathroom, he let it run, waiting until the steam fogged up the mirror slightly, and then stepping in, letting the hot water wash over his body. Once he had washed his hair, he turned the shower off and grabbed a fluffy white towel, drying himself off and stepping out of the shower, pulling on his clothes, a black pair of pants and a dark green turtleneck.
Running a brush through his thick black hair, and putting a bit of gel in it, he was ready to go. Popping two waffles into the toaster, he waited impatiently for them to get done.
After what seemed like forever, the toaster clicked and the waffles were done. Tugging them out, Mamoru quickly spread some butter on them, and put a little bit of syrup on them. Writing a fast note to Usagi, telling her good morning and that he'd be home early, he grabbed his car keys from the counter, ran out of the apartment, locking the door behind him, down the steps and to his car, heading off for another day of work.