The Truths of Love: Chapter fourteen
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. Never have, never will, so please don't sue me.
It had been almost a month since Usagi had gone to the aquarium with Ami and Makoto. And now the time for the trial was drawing near; indeed, only two days were left before they had to make their appearance.
Usagi spent most of those two days pacing and worrying, wondering if they had enough evidence, if Matt was going to be let free, if something would go wrong and she and Mamoru would be arrested for lying.
That thought stopped her in her tracks. What if it had all been a dream? What if none of it had really happened, and she was accusing an innocent man of doing all these things?
She approached Mamoru hesitantly with that concern the night before the trial.
"Mamo-chan," Usagi began quietly. "I need to ask you something."
Mamoru looked up from the book he was reading, and set it aside, pulling off his reading glasses.
"What is it, Usako?" he asked.
"Mamoru... was all of it a dream? Did any of it really happen, with Matt doing what he did to me...?"
Mamoru frowned and stood up, looking down at Usagi.
"What do you mean, 'Did it really happen'? Usagi... it did happen. And I'm sorry that it did, but you can't question yourself about it. And you can't question what he did, either. We both know what happened, and so does he, whether he chooses to admit it tomorrow or not. Yes, Usagi, it did happen. And no, Usagi, it was not a dream."
Usagi looked down, nodding her head slightly.
"Of course, Mamo-chan," she said softly. "I know it happened... I just... I don't know. I keep thinking of what's going to happen tomorrow. What if we don't have enough evidence? What if he gets away? What if--"
"Usagi, that's enough," Mamoru cut in. "You can't live your life purely by what ifs. You'll drive yourself crazy. What will happen will happen. Just leave it at that, alright?"
He knew he sounded a bit too harsh, but he had to get it across to her that what had happened hadn't been her fault. He thought they'd gotten it clear awhile ago, but obviously they hadn't.
Sighing, Usagi nodded and gave him a hug and a light peck on the cheek.
"I'm going to bed," she stated. "I need to sleep before we do this tomorrow... you should too, Mamo-chan."
Mamoru nodded his assent, realizing she was right. Picking up a bookmark from the end table, he put it in his book and set the book on the table, turning off the lamp and walking to the bedroom.
He quickly pulled on his silk pajamas and fell into bed beside Usagi, closing his eyes and falling asleep.
The next morning was pure and utter chaos. This basically meant that Usagi was flipping out, again.
"Minako, what should I wear?" Usagi wailed.
Mamoru rolled his eyes slightly, grinning faintly to himself. This was the fourth time in the past twenty minutes she'd asked the same question.
Minako and Rei had arrived early that morning to help soothe Usagi's nerves before the trial. Rei had brought herbal tea that would calm her down, but refused to give it to her until they left for the courtroom, much to the disappointment of Mamoru and Minako both.
"Usagi, don't worry about it. You eat and take your shower. I'll have the clothes picked out for you by then, alright?" Minako said.
"Minako, you're a life saver," Usagi said, her face brimming with gratitude as she dashed for the kitchen to make herself a quick breakfast.
Rei rolled her eyes.
"Poor Mamoru," she said aloud. "This must be what Usagi is always like in the morning."
Mamoru grinned as he heard Rei's comment.
"Actually," he corrected, "you can't even get her to move in the morning."
Minako and Rei took one look at his face and burst out laughing.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Minako asked in between gulps of air.
Mamoru grinned and nodded.
"One hundred percent serious."
Rei scoffed and Minako started laughing again as she headed to the bedroom to pick out Usagi's clothes.
Half an hour later, Usagi had eaten and showered, and true to Minako's word, the clothes had been lain out and Usagi had gotten dressed.
She was wearing a cerulean colored suit coat over an off white silk blouse, and long cerulean blue pants that clung to her curves. The look was both elegant and sophisticated. Her silvery blonde hair hung loose down her back, taken out of its regular two bun style. A little bit of blush and blue eye shadow complimenting her eyes was the only makeup she wore, and inch high blue heels completed the outfit.
Minako sat back and admired Usagi, nodding in satisfaction at the way she looked.
"Perfect. You look absolutely perfect," she said.
Mamoru looked up and felt his jaw drop open. She looked fabulous. Her eyes sparkled with unhidden excitement now, the nerves of earlier completely vanished.
"Let's do this," she said quietly. "Rei, if I could have that tea now, I'd be extremely grateful."
Rei nodded and handed her a cup half full of the herbal tea.
Drinking it down, Usagi grimaced with distaste.
"Couldn't it have been any sweeter, Rei? Geez," Usagi complained.
Rei rolled her eyes.
"It's an herbal concoction, smart one. It's not supposed to taste great, it's just supposed to get the job done as quickly as possible. It should kick in about five minutes from now, maybe sooner."
Usagi nodded, and then paused.
"Rei, I am grateful to you. Thank you for looking out for me and bringing this. And Minako, thank you for being there for me as well. I don't know what I would do if it weren't for you guys."Turning to Mamoru, she smiled slightly.
"And Mamoru, I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me. Words can't begin to express my gratitude to you. I only hope that one day I will be able to repay you for all you have done for me."
Usagi looked down at her watch, oblivious to the looks of love on the faces of her companions.
"We should get going," she said. "It's already 9:30, and the trial starts at 11:00 on the dot."
Mamoru nodded his head and held the door of the apartment open for the three women to walk from the room before shutting and locking the door behind him.
"Are we ready?" He asked Usagi.
"As ready as we'll ever be," she responded wryly. "Do you have the pictures?"
Mamoru nodded and patted his coat pocket, where the pictures were securely held.
"And do you have the doctor reports?" Mamoru asked.
Usagi nodded and held up the small brown leather briefcase Minako had brought for her. When Mamoru raised an eyebrow at it, she shrugged defensively.
"Minako said it would look more professional," she said haughtily.
Mamoru just grinned and shook his head.
"Whatever you say, Usako. Whatever you say."
As they walked down the stairs of the apartment, still bickering back and forth about the briefcase, Minako turned to Rei and raised an eyebrow.
"So, when are the wedding bells going to chime for those two do you think, hm?" Minako asked.
Rei smirked.
"Soon enough. He has the ring; it's only a matter of time before he pops the question."
Minako's eyes flew wide.
"He has the ring?!" she shrieked. "Rei, how do you know that?!"
Rei looked at the ground sheepishly, dragging her feet, reluctant to talk about it.
"I was in the bedroom, and there was one of his coats tossed on the floor. I went to pick it up and throw it in the hamper, and a box fell out of it. I was curious; I thought it might be more evidence for the case that they had put in the box, so... I opened it. And inside was a ring. Oh, Minako, it's beautiful!" Rei's eyes shone as she said that. "Usa-chan is going to be blown away when he asks the question. But, no more of that. We have to focus on the court case. Come on, let's go."
Minako huffed, but nodded her head, acknowledging the fact that Rei was right.
Rei and Minako jumped into Minako's little red convertible, and Mamoru and Usagi into Mamoru's own car.
The ride to the court room was silent for Usagi and Mamoru. As they pulled up, though, Mamoru turned to Usagi.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly.
Usagi nodded, swallowing.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied with a forced smile.
"Let's go, then, Usako. Let's get this over with."
Leaning over, he gave her the softest of kisses and then pulled back, opening the door of his car and walking around to the other side, opening the door for her.
Stepping out of the car, Usagi took a deep breath and looked up at Mamoru with a look that he was sure was supposed to be a grin, but came out as more of a grimace.
"Let's do it," she said.
Taking her hand, Mamoru led Usagi into the court house.
The inside of the court house was plain white marble, and as they walked, their footsteps echoed off of the walls. The building was two stories high, and the ceiling was dome shaped. Doors leading off to court rooms lined each of the hallways, and at the end of one hallway, a staircase led to the second story. Hard wooden chairs and benches, unadorned by cushions or pillows, lined the walls of the main room. In the center of the room was a desk where a woman sat, typing into her computer.
Walking over to the desk, Mamoru and Usagi stopped in front of it.
The woman looked up, her clear gray eyes shining with an inner intelligence.
"What can I do for you two?" She asked.
"We're here for the Tsukino versus LaClare case," Mamoru responded in a clear voice.
"Ah, yes," the woman replied, turning back to her computer. "You are in room 213. Take the stairs and it's the first room on the right. Judge Luna will be in there shortly. Mr. LaClare is already there."
"Thank you," Usagi said quietly.
Mamoru looked down at Usagi, and without saying a word gave her hand a little squeeze of reassurance.
"It'll be fine, Usako," he said softly. "Everything is going to work out. And once we're done here... well, there's something I need to ask you. But it'll wait."
Usagi tilted her head to one side and regarded him curiously for a moment.
"You could just ask me now, you know. It can't be anything too big, right?"
Mamoru just smiled.
"Later," he said. "I want your full attention, and I don't have it right now. Anyways, let's get going."
Walking down the hall, Mamoru and Usagi were just about to go up the stairs when the front door burst open and Minako and Rei burst in.
"Sorry we're late!" Minako said breathlessly, running to catch up with Usagi and Mamoru. "We got stuck behind a red light that took forever!"
"Yeah," Rei agreed. "You guys were lucky. We were right behind you, and then the light turned red... you guys sped through that yellow light like there was no tomorrow."
Mamoru grinned sheepishly.
"We had to get here," he said apologetically. "Sorry we couldn't wait."
Minako waved a hand carelessly.
"Don't worry about it," she said. "Anyways, you two go in first. We'll be in after a few minutes. Is that alright?"
Usagi nodded and, taking a last deep breath and letting go of Mamoru's hands, she walked to the door of the court room and pulled it open, her face steeled.
The room was quite small, and made of wood, which was very different from the reception room that was made of marble. Long wooden benches filled the room, facing the front where a large desk stood, most likely, Usagi thought, where the judge would sit. The witness stands were more of table placed beside each other, with a space in between where the people could walk to the front. The juror was a tall man with long silvery white hair who stood beside the judge's stand.
Walking up to the small, waist high wall that separated the watchers from the people involved in the case, Usagi found the latch and pulled the small door open, waiting for Mamoru to come in before closing it once more. Gulping, Usagi looked up, and straight into the eyes of Matt LaClare.
Biting back a scream, Usagi quickly hurried over to her stand, avoiding Matt's looks at all costs.
Looking straight at the judge's stand, Usagi stood and waited for the judge to come.
'There she is,' he thought to himself, a small smile stealing across his face. 'The not-so-angelic girl. The one I made mine.'
The smile became sad as Matt thought again of where he was.
'Why'd you bring me here, Usagi? What did I do to you but make you mortal, like everyone else on this planet? Why was that so wrong? I just wanted you to be mine forever...' Matt thought sadly and looked away.
His lips narrowed into a thin line as he looked back up.
'She deserved it!' He thought angrily. 'Strutting around like she did. Like she was better than everyone else. She deserved what she got. Yes, that's it. She deserved it.'
Matt's eyes turned cold, the slightly crazed look in them more pronounced.
'And now everyone will realize how cruel and teasing angels can be,' he thought to himself with a smirk.
Looking up at the judge's stand, Matt stood and waited quietly for the judge to enter, and the court case to begin.
The door to the court room opened, and a hush fell over the crowd. A tall thin woman with long, curly black hair and dark brown eyes walked into the room, wearing the traditional robes of a judge. She walked purposefully to the judge's stand and took her place behind it. The bailiff turned his back to her and raised his hand for silence, which was completely unnecessary as not a person in the room was speaking.
"All rise, all rise. Judge Luna Tomokazu has entered the room."
The judge... Luna... looked around the room, her eyes sparkling slightly and showing signs of high intelligence.
"You may be seated," she said in a clear voice. "Let the case of Tsukino versus LaClare commence."
And with a bang of the gavel, the case began.