The Truths of Love: Chapter thirteen

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Never have, never will, so please don't sue me.

Usagi yawned as she got home from the mall that day, exhausted but happy.

"Mamo-chan," she called as she walked into the apartment, tucking the key he gave her back into her purse. "Mamo-chan, I'm home."

Mamoru looked up from his desk in the study and smiled, standing up and stretching a bit, before walking out of the study to greet her.

"Did you have a good day, love?" he asked her as he pulled her into an embrace.

Usagi giggled and nodded slightly as she was held in his arms.

"Minako and Rei took me to the mall today, and then we went and saw a movie...But I can't remember the name of it. It was bad, though." She laughed. "But we had a good time making fun of it."

"I see," Mamoru said with a smile, pulling back and looking down at her face.

"Sorry we were out so late," Usagi apologized. "Minako had this whole list planned out, and wouldn't let us come home until we were done with everything on the list. And there was a lot on it."

She grimaced and ran a hand through her hair, looking down at it, and for the first time, Mamoru noticed it was a few inches shorter. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he looked back at her face.

"You let them talk you into getting your hair cut?" he asked incredulously.

Usagi blushed and quickly pushed her hair behind her back once more.

"It was just a few inches," she muttered. "Minako told me to get it cut because of all the split ends. And trust me, Mamoru, there were lots of split ends, because of those few days that I didn't take care of my hair and all... so..." She sighed. "It looks terrible, doesn't it? I knew they took off too much."

Mamoru shook his head quickly.

"No, no, not at all! It looks fine. It looks wonderful. I was just surprised that you got it cut was all."

Usagi hesitated, and then nodded slightly.

"If you say so, Mamoru," she said softly, looking down.

"I do say so," Mamoru replied. "I would never lie to you, Usako. Never. You know that, don't you?"

Usagi nodded once.

"I know, Mamoru. I'm sorry." She sighed softly and pulled away from him, walking to the bedroom and closing the door behind her. Then she went to the bathroom and took a quick shower, not bothering to wash her hair, as she had earlier that day.

Once she was done, she got out and changed into a silk nightgown, going back to the bedroom and laying down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

She was dreaming again, that same familiar dream.

She was running down a hallway, but each corner she turned, she ran into Matt LaClare, who was standing there laughing softly, hideously into her face. She couldn't escape him, no matter how hard she tried.

Tears ran down her face as she kept running into him, over and over again, and finally, she turned a corner and ran straight into his arms.

"I've caught you, little bunny," he hissed into her ear. "And this time, you won't escape from me..."

Usagi screamed...

...And sat bolt upright in the bed, her breathing harsh and panicked, her head turning right and left quickly, looking around, trying to remember where she was.

The bed sheets were tangled around her legs from her thrashing and turning, and beads of sweat ran down her face.

Noticing Mamoru wasn't in the bed, she looked over at the clock, which read 10:20 pm.

With a sigh, she untangled the bed sheets and stood up, getting out of the bed and walking out of the room, down the hall and to Mamoru's study.

Mamoru looked up as he heard the sound of footsteps behind him, and his eyes widened at the sight of Usagi's face.

Tear stains spotted her cheeks, and little beads of sweat ran down the lines. Tears still leaked slowly from the corners of her eyes, and immediately he stood, dropping what he was doing and rushing over to her, gathering her in his arms.

"Usako, love, what happened?" he asked gently.

"It... it was that dream again," she whispered softly."I couldn't get away from him... he just... just kept coming."

Mamoru held her in his arms, whispering softly, rocking her back and forth.

After awhile, she finally looked up, her eyes shining softly with unshed tears.

"Mamoru...make the memories go away... make everything better..." she pleaded."I can't live like this anymore... the dreams... they keep coming back. More so now then they have for weeks."

She looked down, and tears fell from her eyes to the floor.

"Make them stop, Mamo-chan," she whispered.

Mamoru's heart melted at the sound of her voice. Never before had she been so child like, so innocent. Not even when she had been raped had she acted like this. It was heart wrenching to watch as the girl he loved wept in his arms, begging him to take the fears and memories away from her.

Finally her weeping subsided, and she collapsed against him, her tears wetting his shirt.

Picking her up, Mamoru carried her slowly back to the bedroom, laying her on the bed, where she promptly fell asleep once more.

Sighing and knowing that he'd get no more work done tonight, he changed into his pajama's and lay down beside her, pulling her into his arms, holding her as she slept.

'Matt,' he growled to himself, 'you will pay for what you have put her through. So help me, you will pay.'

Closing his eyes slowly, and with Usagi still held tightly against him, he fell asleep.

Usagi awoke the next morning to the feel of an arm around her, and her back pressed up against something.

Her whole body tensed until she remembered that it wasn't Matt, would never me Matt again, and turning over, she smiled as she looked at Mamoru's sleeping face.

'He looks so innocent' she mused to herself as she watched him sleep. 'Like a child, untouched by fears or doubts.'

Reaching out one hand, she softly touched his cheek, caressing it softly, smiling at the feel of his skin beneath her hand.

Pulling her hand back, she sat up and carefully moved his arm off of her before standing up and stretching. Walking to the closet, she pulled out some clothes and then walked to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Stepping into the shower, she proceeded to wash her hair, and once she was done, turned the shower off. Grabbing a fluffy white towel, she dried her body off, and then stepped out of the shower, the towel wrapped around her body.

Walking to the counter, she picked up the hair dryer and began drying her hair. After twenty five minutes of drying and fixing her hair, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror.

Walking out of the bathroom, she walked over to the bed and leaned over Mamoru, letting her hair gently brush his nose.

Mamoru sneezed and opened his eyes.

"Usagi," he murmured with a smile. "What are you doing up so early?" Usagi laughed softly and bent down, brushing her lips over his softly.

"Well, sleepy,