The Truths of Love: Chapter eleven
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Never have, never will, so please don't sue me.
Mamoru was awakened the next morning by the sound of the door closing and a cart rattling to the side of the bed.
Opening his eyes and rubbing them blearily, he glanced at the sounds, watching as a nurse came to Usagi's side and took the arm with the I.V. in it, pulling the needle out and changing it. Mamoru cringed at the sight of the needle, his fear of needles surfacing.
Quickly looking away, he waited until the nurse had finished changing the I.V. bag before looking back. His eyes lit up as Usagi sat up.
"Mm. It's morning," she said gleefully. "That means I get breakfast, doesn't it?"
The nurse looked taken aback, but Mamoru laughed.
"There's my Usako. The one who thinks of food twenty four hours a day, seven days a week," he teased.
Usagi wrinkled her nose.
"Shut up, Mamoru. I do not think of food all the time."
Mamoru just laughed.
The nurse took a tray from the cart, placing it in front of Usagi and pulling the cover off. The look in Usagi's eyes as the food was revealed was comical.
A small portion of over cooked eggs and tiny, smoking sausages, burned toast and a small bowl of soggy oatmeal were on the tray. The only thing that looked remotely edible was the orange juice, which was in a small plastic container.
Usagi's face fell, and she turned pleading eyes on the nurse.
"Oh, come on!" She said. "This isn't breakfast, it's... plastic!"
The nurse frowned slightly at the outburst.
"Ms. Tsukino, it's what every patient at the hospital gets. I'm sorry it's not to your approval, but it's all we serve."
Usagi turned a pretty shade of pink at the disapproval in the nurse's voice, and to make up for her rudeness took a big bite of the eggs, wincing mentally but forcing a smile.
"Mm, these are good!" She said with forced cheerfulness, swallowing the bite in her mouth.
The nurse smiled grimly and turned around, taking her cart and leaving the room.
As soon as she was gone, Usagi's face turned a weird shade of green, and pulling the I.V. pole with her, made a mad dash for the bathroom. From the inside, sounds of retching could be heard, and when Usagi came back out, her face was a bit pale.
"Ugh," she said, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Those really were made of plastic."
Mamoru took one look at Usagi's face and burst out laughing.
"Usagi, you are a riot," he managed to choke out. "Come on, I'll take you down to the cafeteria. At least the food down there is somewhat decent."
Usagi smiled gratefully at Mamoru and stood up, dragging the I.V. pole with her as she headed for the door.
"Well?" she demanded, turning back to face Mamoru. "Are you coming or not? I'm hungry; I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday."
Mamoru smirked and stood up, stretching out quickly, listening to the satisfying crack of his back.
Usagi winced.
"Mamoru, that's disgusting."
Mamoru turned a smirk on Usagi.
"What did you expect I'd get for sleeping in that plastic chair all night?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.
Usagi's eyes widened in shock.
"You spent the night in that chair?" She asked incredulously. "Why didn't you go home? You could have slept in your own bed, and been much more comfortable."
Mamoru cocked an eyebrow.
"And leave you here by yourself? I think not. Besides," he added as he walked over to her, "I didn't want to go home. I wanted to be here, with you."
Usagi turned her face away, but not before he could see the tinge of pink in her cheeks.
"Mamoru," she murmured quietly, "Thank you."
Mamoru nodded slightly and smiled.
"Ah, the girls and Motoki are coming to visit at noon today. I thought I'd let you know in advance."
Usagi's face fell slightly.
"At noon?! How long do I have to be here for?!"
Mamoru laughed and put an arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the room and down the hallway.
"The doctors said that if you don't show any signs of relapsing into the coma, you're free to go tomorrow. But aren't you happy that your friends are coming?"
Usagi looked down for a moment, a frown marring her brows, but at the prospect of her friends coming, her face brightened.
"Alright, fine. I'll make the best out of this. And besides, Minako will know exactly what needs to be brought for me."
Mamoru laughed, remembering his conversation the night before.
"I believe you're right about that," he responded wryly. "You can expect to have an entire wardrobe brought in by her. Oh, and Makoto's bringing cookies."
At that Usagi squealed in delight.
"Oh, this'll be great! And they always said that being in the hospital would be boring. Not when you have friends like I do!"
Mamoru laughed, and together the two of them made their way to the cafeteria.
"Minna-san!" Usagi cried as Rei, Makoto and Ami, followed by Motoki, walked into the room.
Looking around, Usagi frowned.
"Where's Minako?"
Rei smirked.
"She's unpacking your bags from the car. She said she was alright, and that we should come up and see you. But," and here Rei stopped and smirked again. "With the amount of stuff she packed, it'll take her at least three trips to bring it all up."
Usagi laughed and nodded.
"Come here," she said, "Give me a hug, you guys. And Makoto, bring those cookies over here! I'm starving!"
Laughing, Makoto set the cookies down on Usagi's lap, and each of the people in the room proceeded to hug her, carefully so as not to disturb the I.V.
A commotion at the door turned all heads to see Minako, panting and carrying two suitcases, three duffle bags, and a small carry on bag with her.
"Here, Usagi! Your clothes are in the two suit cases, and there are books, magazines, and miscellaneous other things to do in the duffle bags. And your make up is in here," she added, gesturing to the carry on bag.
Usagi stared, dumbfounded by all the stuff.
"Minako," she began, "I'm only going to be here until tomorrow. Did you really have to bring my entire closet?"
Minako scoffed.
"Come on, Usagi!" She said with a grin. "What happens when you meet a really hot doctor?" Minako's eyes sparkled at the prospect.
Usagi's eyes lit up, and casting a quick glance in Mamoru's direction, laughed when she saw the scowl marring his perfect features.
"Don't give me that look, Mamoru. I can at least look, can't I?"
Mamoru grunted, and the rest of the people in the room laughed along with Usagi.
"So, when did that happen?" Makoto asked with a grin.
"And more importantly, why didn't you tell us when it did?" Motoki asked Mamoru.
Usagi turned a faint shade of red, and Mamoru coughed.
"Ah, it happened the day that we went to lunch with you guys... but something marred it, and made it so that we didn't really want to talk about it," Mamoru explained briefly.
Usagi looked down, remembering how Matt had come along during her and Mamoru's walk, ruining the entire day. Until she and Mamoru had gotten home, and he'd told her he loved her, at any rate.
Looking up, she met the worried eyes of her friends, and forced a smile.
"Don't worry, everything's all right. Anyway, I guess it just slipped our minds with all that's happened recently."
Usagi smiled and lightly threaded her fingers through Mamoru's.
"I'm sorry we didn't tell you," Usagi apologized.
Rei smirked.
"Well it's about time, you two," she said, her tone teasing.
Usagi and Mamoru blinked, looking at each other.
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Usagi demanded, her eyes flashing challengingly.
Makoto grinned.
"You two were the only ones who weren't aware of how you always looked at each other. I mean, really. It was only a matter of time before you got together."
Usagi crossed her arms and shook her head.
"That is so untrue. Geez, Makoto, you know nothing."
Usagi stuck her tongue out, and her eyes widened when her tongue was grabbed by a laughing Minako.
"I told you never to stick your tongue out, didn't I?"
"Lemmeh go!" Usagi mumbled, wriggling frantically to get away.
Grinning, Minako let go of her tongue, walking over to the sink and washing her hands.
"Ew," she complained. "Usagi germs."
"Well," Usagi said sweetly, "If you hadn't grabbed my tongue, you wouldn't have gotten my 'germs'."
"Well, if you hadn't stuck your tongue out in the first place, I wouldn't have had to grab it," Minako responded reasonably.
"Well, if YOU hadn't..." Usagi trailed off, frowning in thought.
Makoto, Ami, Rei, Motoki and Mamoru burst into laughter, watching the display between the two blondes.
"Bah, I give up. But you shouldn't have grabbed my tongue." Usagi said finally, crossing her arms and pouting lightly.
"And you shouldn't have stuck it out. You set yourself up," Minako replied.
Usagi glared at her, and Mamoru grimaced.
'If looks could kill,' he thought wryly, 'Minako would be in Hell twice over by now.'
A smirk crossed his face, and Usagi, noticing it, turned a hurt look on him.
"You find this funny, don't you, Mamoru?" She asked. "You find it funny to see me being tortured, don't you?"
Mamoru's face grew grim at her words, remembering the threat Matt had made over the phone.
"Never say that, Usagi," he said fiercely. "Never say that. I would never want to see you hurt in any way."
Usagi blinked at the seriousness in Mamoru's tone, and the look of intensity in his ocean blue eyes.
"Relax, Mamoru," she said lightly. "I was only joking. I know you don't want to see me hurt."
Mamoru nodded and looked away, the intensity draining from his face, leaving him looking drawn and slightly old.
Motoki looked at Mamoru, worried.
"Mamoru, are you alright?" He asked. "You look tired."
Mamoru laughed slightly, the sound tight to all ears.
"I guess I am. It's what I get for sleeping in that damned plastic chair." He winced a bit at the memory. "Ah, look. If it's alright with you guys, I'm gonna go home and rest for a few hours. Can you guys stay with her for awhile?"
"Sure, Mamoru," Minako said. "You look like you could use the rest. Go home; we'll keep Usagi out of trouble."
Usagi pretended to look affronted.
"More like, I'll be keeping them out of trouble," she muttered under her breath, earning her a swat from Rei and Makoto.
Turning to Mamoru, her face softened.
"Get some rest, love," she said gently. "I'll still be here when you decide to come back. And these guys won't leave me for a second, will you?" She looked at the five of them, her face meaningful.
A chorus of No's, and We'll be with her the whole time filled Mamoru's ears, and with a light smile he stood up, heading for the door of the room.
Walking down the hall of the hospital and giving curt hello's to the nurses and doctors he passed, he quickly left the hospital, hailed a taxi, and went back to his apartment. Upon arriving, he threw his door open, went to his bedroom, and collapsed on his bed, not bothering to take his shoes off. Closing his eyes, he fell into a dead sleep.
"You guys, was it just me, or was Mamoru acting oddly before he left?" Usagi asked, her brow furrowed in thought.
Motoki blanched at the question, knowing what had been going through his mind. Mamoru had told him about the phone call he'd received from Matt, threatening to torture Usagi, and so it was only a normal reaction for him to act as he had.
But obviously, and rightly, Mamoru hadn't told Usagi about it, and Motoki wasn't about to, either. So, rubbing the back of his head, he quickly said, "Well, wouldn't you be acting weird too if you had spent the night in an uncomfortable hospital chair? I mean, really, you can't expect the guy to be exactly perky and cheerful after spending a night in that."
Motoki pointed to the chair Mamoru had been sitting in, and had slept in the night before.
Frowning again, Usagi murmured, "But of all the chairs in here, why that one? He could have used the recliner. Sure, it's a little uncomfortable, but it's bigger, and at least it's cushioned."
Minako rolled her eyes.
"Duh, Usagi. He wanted to be as close to you as possible, without actually laying on the bed with you. The recliner wouldn't get as close as the smaller chair, so of course he chose the small one."
Usagi blinked once, her cheeks turning pink.
"Do you really think that's what happened?" she asked shyly.
Rei snorted indelicately.
"Of course it is, Odango Atama. Geez, you're so daft."
Usagi puffed up.
"Rei, how many times have I asked you not to call me that?" Usagi demanded.
Rei grinned.
"And how many times have I ignored your request?" She shot back.
Usagi sniffed once.
"Geez, Rei, you're so mean to me!" she cried.
Rei laughed.
"And you love it, you can't deny that."
Usagi crossed her arms, refusing to talk to Rei.
"Oh, come on, Usagi. You know I'm only joking."
"Hmph. Alright, Rei, I forgive you. Again."
"What do you mean by 'again'?" Rei asked indignantly, and for the next few hours, Usagi and Rei bantered back and forth, with Ami, Minako, Makoto and Motoki just laughing and shaking their heads as they watched.
Five hours later, Mamoru reappeared in the hospital, his clothes changed and his air freshly washed. He looked much better than he had when he left, and he seemed to be much more cheerful as well.
"Thanks for staying with her, you guys," he said softly, careful not to wake Usagi who had apparently fallen asleep just a little bit ago.
"You can go now, if you want. I'm staying with her for the rest of the night. She'll be going home tomorrow, and I'm going to be here to get her out as soon as possible."
The girls and Motoki nodded and stood, each of them stretching slightly as they headed towards the door of the hospital room.
"We'll drop by your place tomorrow, alright, Mamoru?" Ami said softly. "To check in and see how she's doing."
Mamoru nodded his assent, and the five people left the room, each casting one last fond look at the sleeping girl.
Mamoru smiled softly, and walking over to the bags Minako had brought, opened one of the duffle bags, pulling out a couple of magazines. Walking over to the recliner, he sat down and leaned back, propping his feet up and preparing to settle in for a long night.