100 Themes: Little Moments
#39: Cologne
Lillie Bell

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

"Ne, Usagi-chan, wasn't that a strange assignment sensei gave us?" Naru faced her blonde counterpart and noticed her drooping posture.

"I've tried all day to find a scent that I could even deem important," Usagi whined, scuffing her shoes along the sidewalk. "Really, what sensei tells you to name the most important scent in your life and then describe why?" She sighed before straightening her shoulders at the elevator. As they waited, she turned to her friend. "What did you say?"

"Well, I always enjoyed lilies. Mama always seems to have small arrangements of them at the store. She says they add elegance to anything." Naru chuckled, "I suppose I always wanted to believe they could make me mature and elegant too."

Usagi smiled and nodded as the two stepped into the elevator. They watched as the lighted numbers ticked off the floors as they climbed. "I wish I had a nice memory for flowers. My favorite has always been roses." Naru snorted and gave Usagi a knowing look to which she blushed. "But I thought roses would be too cliché. And I certainly couldn't say the reason they were important was because my husband is Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she added quietly finishing off with a wink.

The redhead nodded as Usagi fumbled with the keys to her apartment. "Anyway, enough with what we're supposed to do for art class--"

"Usagi-chan?" Naru peered hesitantly around the still form of her friend and peered into a neat apartment. She turned back to the blonde and saw a bit of dawning on her face. A red eyebrow raised, Naru stepped back and took a breath, about to yell loud enough to distract the absorbed Usagi. That was, of course, until her inhale caused her to smell a very strong, though underlying, scent that permeated the dwelling. Her eyes grew large as she realized the source of her friend's hesitation. A little smile appeared and Naru crept to close the door when suddenly another presence was there.

"Oi, Naru-chan," Mamoru greeted surprised to find the girl at this door. He shuffled in before realizing there wasn't enough room for the three of them to stand in the small foyer. Naru shut the door as it was easiest for her and he moved to touch the shoulder of a silent Usagi. As he passed Naru, she caught a whiff of the same scent that swept throughout the apartment. The smile on her face grew large.

Mamoru reached out to touch Usagi's elbow. "Odango, don't stand in the middle of the steps," he said jokingly, feeling a need to tease her affectionately. He didn't expect her to turn and jump on him, wrapping her petite arms around his shoulders. He chuckled enjoying the attention no less. Only Naru saw when the blonde buried her face in his neck and breathed in the scent of his cologne.

Protected, warm, comforted, euphoric, nostalgic, relieved, important, invincible—loved.