Hmm…I like sets of three, no? I started writing the third part, "In the Open", first and then turned the 2 beginnings into true drabbles. Then I put them together, and I'm thinking the third part doesn't fit very well (and it goes against manga cannon, but oh well). Any suggestions are appreciated!


The Banquet
#36 Champagne, 100 words

Bubbly, like her personality. Sweet, like her voice.

Smooth, like his actions. Limited, like his presence.

Tuxedo Kamen reached a hand out to his dance partner. He couldn't believe when she accepted his offer, he really felt her touch. Sailor Moon, an uninvited guest, struggled to keep on her feet. She wondered if her hero saw through her disguise to her true identity: a captivated, love-starved woman.

The pair smiled as their bodies moved in sync to their first dance. Their shared gaze intoxicating, like a fairy-tale romance. Could this moment be real?

This champagne is getting to my head.


The Handkerchief
#55 Panic, 100 words

Damn those youma.

The sudden screams of terrified guests tore Sailor Moon out of her daze and Tuxedo Kamen's arms. Panic filled the room, panic filled her heart. The people around her, if attacked, might never have the gift of tomorrow; she might never get close to Tuxedo Kamen. The choice was obvious, and Sailor Moon ran off towards the evil.

Meanwhile, Tuxedo Kamen stood in shock. What was he to do with this staring him in the face? His fist closed around the handkerchief he rescued from the ground.

A handkerchief from the girl he rescued nightly: Tsukino Usagi.

In the Open
#14 Closet, 644 words

"I don't know how you can live with yourself!"

Mamoru cursed as the sudden outburst caused him to drop several ice cubes on his foot. "It's not my fault!" he protested, continuing to fill a handkerchief with the cold blocks. He looked over his kitchen counter to the girl lying on the leather couch in his apartment. Was it really her?

Usagi held her hand over her aching forehead. Mamoru tied the handkerchief closed and made his way to Usagi's side. He knelt down, gently moving her hand from its perch, and placed the ice pack on the lump forming on her head. "I'm surprised, Odango, that after all of our collisions, this is the first causality."

Usagi opened an eye to glare at her caretaker. Maybe she shouldn't have taken the fluke of champagne at the banquet last night; she felt terrible even before she ran into that annoyance. "Baka, at least I never have the malicious intent of hurting someone when I bump into them," she retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"Big words for a silly Odango Atama," Mamoru replied calmly. He ran his finger along her forehead, inadvertently sending chills all over Usagi's body. "Now it looks like you have three Odangos on your head."

A faint blush spread over Usagi's cheeks. She couldn't handle Mamoru's piercing steel blue gaze prying into her soul and his newfound sweet attitude. She was surprised her heart didn't give her away; she could feel it throwing itself against her rib cages. A coy smile spread over her face. "Now that means you must like me three times as much," Usagi proclaimed.

Mamoru laughed. "And you must hate physics three times as much yourself," he replied.

Usagi stuck out her tongue at the thought of the huge physics book Mamoru was reading at the time she collided with him. As usual, she fell to the ground, but on this occasion, the five hundred page book fell right after her. Usagi rubbed her head at the thought of the memory. "Baka, can I use your bathroom?" she asked.

"This isn't class, Odango," replied Mamoru. "Go ahead, it's in my bedroom."

Resisting the urge to stick out her tongue again, Usagi made her way to the surprisingly tidy bedroom of Chiba Mamoru. Once she stepped inside, the familiar and dizzying smell of Mamoru invaded her nose and her imagination. She could see him sleeping in his large bed, working at his desk, or getting dressed in the morning.

"I must have been hit hard with that book," she muttered to herself. "Now which door is the bathroom?"

Usagi reached for the nearest doorknob. A closet. She began to close the door when something shiny caught her eye. Leaning forward, Usagi realized what it was: a cane. Cane?

Why would Mamoru need a…

Usagi's thoughts came to an abrupt stop when her eyes scanned the rest of the closet. Aside from Mamoru's regular clothes, some t-shirts, coats, and that horrid green jacket, Usagi's eyes rested on a black tuxedo tucked in the far corner of the closet. She wouldn't have thought of anything of it, except that not all tuxedos come with a cape attached to it. Usagi reached out her hand, wanting to run her fingers along the soft, yet thick black fabric. She felt her heart throbbing as hard as her injured head.

"There's no way Mamoru-baka is Tuxedo Kamen," she declared to no one.

But that sinking feeling in her gut told her otherwise when her fingers pulled out a familiar pink handkerchief from the coat pocket. Or maybe it was a feeling of excitement?

"Oh no," breathed Usagi, a wave of apprehension washing over her. "He knows who I am."

"Yes, I do," answered a voice from the hallway.

Her entire body tensed up. Usagi turned slowly to face her tormentor and her savior.

"Usako," Mamoru spoke softly, a smile emerging. "I never would have guessed."

A cross look plagued Usagi's face. She hurt with that comment, and now Mamoru had the upper-hand once again. His knowledge of her secret identity was just another thing Baka could hold against her, and that smile on his face told her it was true.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she spat, slamming the closet door shut. "I'm Sailor Moon, so what? I know I'm not perfect, but I definitely don't need to be saved all the time, so what are you going to do about it!"

The sudden outburst of anger astonished Mamoru, but certainly did not phase him. "Something I should have done a long time ago," he replied calmly before closing the distance between them with a firm kiss.

If one were to ask Usagi five minutes ago whether she would enjoy a kiss from Chiba Mamoru, she would have laughed in their face. But that feeling was so five minutes ago.