Author's Note: Here it is, the epilogue to The Runner-Up! All of you who asked if we would get any of the story from Mamoru's perspective… here you go! It's outside the main plot, like I promised, but please enjoy this little snippet into what our silly boy has been going through.
Epilogue: For worse or for better
He lifted his case notes just in time with the shift of his comforter and a disgruntled 'mmmr.' Reaching beneath the blankets, he stroked comforting fingers along the warm skin of her shoulders, and Usako's restless motions stilled into a little purr.
Carefully, he settled the notes back into his lap and resumed his annotations, his free hand idly playing with the soft golden tendrils of hair that spilled like sunlight across his bed.
Though his caseload never seemed to lighten, he'd figured out compromises to get all of his work done and still spend as much time as possible with Usako – with the fact that he couldn't sleep past 7am often serving as a huge point to his advantage.
Saturday mornings had quickly become one of the things Mamoru treasured the most.
Down in his genkan, her shoes were lined up neatly next to his, instead of kicked off in a haphazard frenzy as they stripped each other of their clothing. He'd taken an extra beat last night in between long, lingering kisses to hang her heart-dotted blouse in the wardrobe next to his jackets, because she'd insisted it was 'her favorite top' and she didn't want it to get wrinkled. Though it would still be a few hours before he cooked it, his fridge was stuffed full of all the ingredients necessary to replicate the full breakfast buffet that she'd loved so much at the ryokan in Hokkaido he'd stolen her away to a few weekends ago.
Touches of her presence – of her belonging – were dotted all across his home.
But, most miraculous of all, every Saturday morning he now woke with his arms around her – or as close as he could get with how she contorted her body in her sleep and twisted the sheets into knots.
More mornings than not, when he opened his eyes to find her slumbering next to him, soft and real and not a figment of his pathetically hopeful heart, he could barely believe his luck.
This was more than he'd ever dared dream of back when he was a socially awkward third-year high school student resigned to the impossibility of his crush, or even as recently as that fateful Tuesday only ten months ago – the day he'd felt his head split open in the familiar signal that Tuxedo Mask was needed, and he had fallen to his knees on the cobbled sidewalk of Azabujuban-dorii. But one thing had been different about that day, compared to every past time Tuxedo Mask had been summoned – this time when he'd looked up to get his bearings, it had been just barely in time to witness Odango Atama turning into Sailor Moon across the street from him.
That had been the final day before he'd revealed his own identity to her and joined the Senshi team for real; the day that he'd realized that protecting Sailor Moon meant protecting Tsukino Usagi, which meant it was the thing that he had been born to do.
Of course, his joining the team had also meant that the force of nature that was Aino Minako was no longer intimidated by his standoffish comportment – at least, not enough that she wasn't willing to shove him into a closet with Usagi and lock the door behind them in an effort to end their perpetual bickering, accidentally setting all of this in motion.
He'd have to remember to thank her sometime.
In the splash of midmorning sunlight that spilled through the curtains and onto the covers of the bed, Usagi stirred again, and he set his notes down next to the half-full coffee cup that rested on the shelving unit he used as a bedside table.
Cornflower blue eyes blinked muzzily up at him, and his heart fluttered in the way it always had every time she looked at him.
"Hey," he breathed as she rubbed a fist across her face.
"Too early," she mumbled, and he laughed, sliding down into the cozy nest of bedding next to her.
"Would breakfast help?" he asked, skimming his hands along the curves of her hips as she glared reproachfully.
"It wouldn't hurt," she said in that faux-prim voice he now recognized as the one she used when she didn't want to admit to something.
"Or," his hands slid back up her body, the pads of his fingers gently tracing over her belly and up to the rounded softness of her breasts.
He felt more than heard the familiar hitch in her breathing, the way her heartbeat increased at his touch. Leaning in with a smirk, he pressed his lips to her neck and drew her runaway pulse into his mouth.
Routine or not, her willing presence in his apartment – in his life – morning after morning after morning wasn't something he expected he'd ever be able to think of as anything less than an undeserved and profound blessing.
He drew a circle on the soft skin of her hipbone with his thumb and felt his own heartbeat pick up as she squirmed against him, her warm naked thighs brushing between his.
Inhaling her vanilla-and-strawberry scent, he nuzzled into her throat, dropping kisses along her collarbone, the line of her jaw, behind her ear.
Her fingernails bit into the muscles of his shoulders and it was his turn to gasp as she flipped him onto his back, climbing astride his lap.
"Breakfast after," she breathed into the shell of his ear, grinding against him in that way she knew made him instantly hard.
"After," he agreed, his hands squeezing her waist and pulling her tight to him, feeling her heart beating in his own chest.
After, he would cook and they would eat breakfast. After, they would go to the Hikawa shrine for the usual weekend Senshi meeting where they would discuss the ongoing search for the moon princess and any new information about the Dark Kingdom before going out to lunch with the girls. After, he'd have to resume studying his patient cases and she'd have to prepare for the coming workweek, review her own cases and rehearse her arguments to expand care for her clients in preparation for her presentation for the board of directors next Friday. She even had plans that afternoon to take the train out to Ikejiri and watch a hot air balloon launch with one of her hikikomori clients from the front stoop of their apartment building.
But right now, she was his, body and soul. For reasons he might never fully understand, she'd chosen him – against all odds, all logic, all common sense. The woman of his dreams somehow wanted him back, as more than a shameful secret or a simple convenience. She wanted him as her partner, her boyfriend – and though he hadn't asked her yet, he hoped she might even want him to be her husband someday. No matter what, he would happily spend the rest of his life making sure she never regretted that choice.
He knew he would never regret his.
Fin.
AN: WOW, I have so many people to thank as we draw this story to a close! I feel so blessed!
Big thanks and all the heart eyes to the fabulous Beej88 who made me amazing fanart (!) for chapter 3. You can find the permalink on my Ao3 or a copy of her art reblogged on my Tumblr – please go marvel at it and give her some love!
Thank you thank you thank you to SailorGuardian314, moonchildoh8, and FloraOne, who helped craft my personal soundtrack for this fic. A link to a YouTube playlist for that is available on my Ao3.
Thank you so, so much to all you wonderful, supportive people who left me such kind reviews, comments, and DMs. You kept me excited and helped me push through some not-insignificant writer's block along the way.
In no particular order, thank you to:
Nicolette, TinaCentury, BrownSugarHeartAttack, AlEvans26, Antigone2, A_Reptile_Dysfunction, chibausagi, Chipnfry, UranusWind, moonchildoh8, MasterRay5, SerenaIndigoBlue, kyralih, Shardaen, Dopt, Mintaka14, DeadpanPrincess, sherry, TNue, Vexedified, QueenRisa, InterGalactic_SpaceLion, amberg93, ReisPinkOverallsoo, jaondm, LemonDropSweetie, jro_jro_jro, RiverLethe9, Billyjbradshaw, ricecooker, from brooklyn, nopenname22, OneMoreThen, Auxcouleur, MellikeMellow, jetsetetc, honeycomb86, manika, shelynite, Pâmela Sá, AzzIzz88, sweetkaos26, Casil23, Midnight_Rosei17, Jet, StarAmongStones, TropicalRemix, Marakrentz, frenchfan78, WorldInMyEyes01111, Adharablack85-2, phillynz, mikanxnatsume1228, Beej88, ShadowQueenGalactica, lunatheblackcat, Captain-KiIIy, SailorGuardian314, AshOnslaught, soireeposh, MoonP, TheNightOwl, Ast2020, moonwrite, Lara1786, 87WW, AroggantIgnorant045, Lyra Terra, FloraOne, Vegasnickle, Perfect Beauty, Princesakarlita411, Kaito Scarlett, AsHjA, Thatycarter, SiSiLmE, yese0721, catracha77, yourodangoatama, tryntee13, Redmonkey3, smiley45, Sailoradhd, TiffCutshall, Tati, Jwalla1986, lfleurdelys2, RogueAlly, , Saiaino23, SaphireShimmer, suzumy, hime-futatsu, lyss010387, sami1010220, Serene-Moon-Princess, Serendipity Kat, LokiGirl1221, and mikanxnatsume1228.
And, of course and always, enormous thanks to the inimitable FloraOne, my cheerleader, my beta, my brainstorming buddy, and (most importantly) my friend. Even if I could do this without you, why would I want to?
Finally, thanks to everyone who is reading, no matter how long it's been since I posted and whether or not you commented (but please do comment if you feel up to it! Much of my writing motivation is powered by lovely comments). I'm happy you're here, and I hope this story meant a little something to you somewhere along the way. I would love to hear what you thought, and I hope you enjoyed 3
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See you next time!
Love,
Daikon