Umino calls up his Uncle for some advice about Naru… and the other man she might be interested in... Anime canon. Post-Stars. Written for Naru and Umino's 30th Anniversaries.

Rated: T - Romance/Angst - Words: 1,255 - Naru O./Molly, Nephrite/Neflite, Umino G./Melvin, Professor Tomoe - Complete

A/N: This story is set around six years after Sailor Stars and is a spiritual sequel to an earlier story of mine 'Passés et Passages a.k.a. Growing Pains'.

Many thanks to AReptileDysfunction for beta reading this fic for me. You can check out her work under the names areptiledysfunction1107 on tumblr and A_Reptile_Dysfunction on Ao3.

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Umino's chest felt tight as the phone continued to ring. For a moment, he was sorely tempted to hang up. But then there was a click on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Hiya! It's me, Umino!"

"Umino! How's my favourite nephew"

"Oh, pretty good all things considered."

"All things considered?" The speaker asked, a note of concern in his voice.

"Yeah you see..." Umino wondered if this was the best of ideas. But when it came to her, he was never afraid to embarrass himself. "I was wondering if I could talk to you. Get some advice?"

"Well, of course, although I thought you wanted to pursue physics? My forte is ge-"

"It's not about science, Uncle!" Umino cut in.

"It isn't?" The speaker asked, confused.

"No. It's... It's about me and Naru..."

Naru smoothed out the picnic blanket and began unpacking the basket. When she finished she turned her eyes skyward, taking in the sunshine glinting through the trees.

"Can you believe it? This is the eighth year in a row the weather's been on our side. I should thank my lucky stars..." She let out a small laugh. "Then again, you'd probably know more about that than me, right?"

She began on the food, making steady progress until she came to the last few mouthfuls of the parfait. That was when she slowed down, deliberately taking longer than she needed to. The reality was, she was simply buying time; and steeling herself for what she had to say.

"I... I need to tell you something. It's... It's about us. And... And about me and Umino..."

"Look Uncle... I know I'm not exactly a catch-"

"Oh Umino..."

"It's true though. When I was younger I could convince myself that didn't matter. Or that I was actually a lot more attractive than I really was, that my smarts made up for... well... for being a nerdy weirdo."

"Listen son, from one 'nerdy weirdo' to another, there's nothing wrong with you."

"And maybe you're right Uncle. But the bigger problem is... if Naru sees it that way."

"What're you talking about? She's been dating you for years!"

"But Uncle, sometimes I think, I worry, if maybe she's just settled for me. Because I'm safe. Because she knows she can rely on me..."

"Umino is so... predictable. Alright, eccentric at times, but I've never had to really worry about what he may or may not do. He's... well..." Naru let out a soft sigh. "...He's nothing like you."

"I know I'm not the kind of guy who turned her head when she was first starting to notice people that way. So, even if I'm good enough for someone out there, I'm worried that maybe, for who she wants, I'm not good enough..."

"Umino, whenever you've spoken about Naru you've painted a picture of a bright young woman who could have her pick of men. Why would you ever think she feels you're not good enough for her?"

"Because Uncle... I think... I think there might be someone else…"

"You're so handsome. You're so wild. You're so glamorous and just... No good for me... And honestly… you never really were…"

"You think she's having an affair?"

"My heart says no. But in my head Uncle I... Every year she has these picnics in the woods. She says she's meeting a friend. But she never tells me anything more about it. She never lets me come along. And I know that once, years ago, she spent a night in those woods with this guy she was really into."

"I respect what you did for me in the past, and I'll never forget you. But, I'm sorry, this will be the last time I come here to see you."

She paused for a moment, gathering herself inside before she pressed further.

"In my head, I recognized what you were even when I was fifteen. It took a while longer for my heart to catch up though. Umino helped with that. Umino never really knew about you, but... but being with him, being loved by him... learning to love him back... I understand what we had so much better. And I'll always carry it with me, but it's just... it's nothing compared with what I have with him."

"Umino, trust me on this. I might be a 'nerdy weirdo', but I definitely know a thing or two when it comes to matters of the heart. And my advice in this instance is to start listening to it more than your head... But I think you already knew that…"

Umino's insides froze up at his Uncle's unseen, yet obvious smirk. "I... I don't know what you mean?"

"Yes you do. I went through something similar at your age. The men of our family often get a bad case of nerves and paranoia at this stage of our lives."

"How do you mean 'this stage'?"

Umino heard a chuckling down the line. "Umino, I respect you just needed someone to talk with to set your mind straight. But I think it is best you simply cut to the chase with this one. And do it."

Umino remained silent and looked within himself. He smiled. His Uncle really was a genius.

"You're right. I'll do it at the end of the week. No tomorrow. No tonight!"

"Whenever you decide to do it, just remember to let your heart lead you, not your head. Okay?"

"You got it! Thanks a lot Uncle Tomoe!"

Naru began packing up the picnic. However, before she stood up and put away the blanket she removed something from the basket. A minute later she was nonchalantly walking away, back towards the city.

She paused for a moment and looked back, a sad, yet determined look upon her face.

"Goodbye... Nephrite"

Naru turned back around and never looked back. In fact, she wasn't looking at much of anything. Anything, other than the sparkling ring on her left hand.

A/N: I guess it is kind of cheating to celebrate Umino and Naru in one fic, and the Naru and comment on Nephrite relationship while I am at it.

But to be honest, this idea seemed too irresistible as so much of their post season 1 history is defined through the lens of their relationship.

It was tricky to write this in such a way that I didn't have Naru outright hate Nephrite, but still recognize that whatever was between them wasn't really healthy and heal from it. More tricky was the idea that I didn't want to frame her relationship with umino negatively. Of course maybe I failed on those fronts and you can all (politely I hope) let me know.

Finally, the idea of Professor Tomoe being Umino's uncle came from an old headcanon I saw on a 'Sailor Moon Confessions' tumblr years ago.

Also just to let you know I am involved in a discord called 'Moonlight Legends' which is dedicated to sharing all sorts of Sailor Moon fanworks, including other fanfics. If you would like to join so you can share your own work, get help with your current projects or just connect to other fan creators shoot me a PM and I'll send you an invite. All are welcome!