AN: Happy Friday everyone! I've become lazy in the creative department. But yeah, here's the next chapter. Hope you'll enjoy reading it.

The first snowflakes started to fall. Little crystalline flakes were whipped through the air by the cold wind, so it felt even colder than it actually was. Usagi's long hair had gotten a frosty overlay, while she was waddling through the mild snowstorm to get home after another day spent at the library.

For a split second she contemplated to make a detour, because she really craved Motoki's hot chocolate with whipped cream topped with colorful mini marshmallows and rich chocolate syrup. But she didn't dare to enter the Crown before the Christmas Party. Even though she secured a date, she had no intention to run into Mamoru, who would totally interrogate her on that behalf. No, she didn't want to see him before the upcoming weekend. She'd have to get through another week without her favorite hot and uber sweet beverage.

As the day of the party drew nearer, Usagi wondered more and more, who would accompany Mamoru. She had never actually seen him with another girl. Unazuki and Reika were the only exceptions. For all she knew, Mamoru was either a total monk or a womanizer, who really knew how to keep his relations a secret. What she had observed so far, was that women did flock to him, but he always seemed to act friendly, yet uninterested. But maybe that was his strategy?

There were so many things about him, that she didn't know. And why would she? It's not like she cared, right? He could date whoever he wanted. As far as Usagi was concerned, he could go out and kiss and stumble into bed with another person every evening. But was he really like that? If it weren't for his unbelievably good looks, Mamoru was the epitome of an introverted nerd. In that respect, he resembled her friend Ami.

Her blue haired friend was hyper focused on her studies and the girls had to practically drag her away from her desk. Well of course, they always made sure, that Ami was comfortable with it. But in the end, Ami was grateful, that they managed to distract her a little and made her "live a little", as she so often named it. Mamoru on the other hand, had always been a mystery to her.

She didn't even know, if he had a type. So many beautiful women visited the crown, none the less he never actually glanced at them. Even when they sneaked up on him, he kept his eyes on the pages of his Medical Journals or books or Motoki. So Usagi was actually excited to see, who'd be his company for the evening. That thought had been stuck in her head on repeat for the past days. And come to think of it, she had often asked herself, why he spent so much time on his own, why he always showed up alone everywhere. Were his standards too high? Was he looking for the picture-perfect woman? Or maybe even man? Or both? Really, she had no idea.

On the other hand, every time she tried to picture him with another person, Usagi was confronted with a strange emotion, that always spoiled her mood. It felt a little bit like acid, that would slowly multiply itself in her veins. Not a good feeling at ALL!

Great, she huffed, now she had spent thirty minutes on thinking about that baka and his date. She bit her lip and came to a halt: What if he brought someone super glamorous, someone incomprehensibly beautiful, someone unbelievably smart? Then she angrily exhaled again and stomped her foot, earning some side-glances from the nearby pedestrians. There was no way in hell, she was going to feel insecure in advance. Especially, because, she didn't want to care about his date. PAH! She had a gorgeous date herself, that would teach him a valuable lesson about Odango Atama. And after that, he'd hopefully never call her that again.

And for that, she'd have to get a stunning outfit, that would highlight all of her assets. Thankfully, Rei and Makoto were going shopping with her tomorrow afternoon. Initially she wanted to try out another café with Hachiro, but Rei and Makoto were only free on that exact same time, so Usagi had to choose. And right now, the perfect dress way a tiny bit more important than fancy glazed donuts with dough crumbles on top. They'd sadly have to wait.

Just as she had to wait to get to see Hachiro again. Apparently they both had a tight schedule for the following days. So instead of stressing about their next meeting any further, they decided to let it slide and just see each other again at the party. Over the past days they had sent each other a big number of pictures of their food and even more memes. Sometimes their whole conversation consisted of sending each other GIFs about their day. It was hilarious and she was so often on the brink of bursting out loud at places, where she definitely shouldn't be.

Thinking back on the photograph of Ramen, that Hachiro had eaten at lunch, Usagi's stomach growled. Since she or Minako didn't spent much time at home these days, Usagi was sure, that not only their fridge but also all cabinets were pretty empty. She sighed. Too hungry to do some necessary grocery shopping and way too hungry, to do the chopping, cutting and cooking. So she rounded the corner en route to a nearby conbini.

Usagi knew all conbinis in Azabu-Juban by heart. As she figured out, where exactly she was on her way home, she knew exactly, which turns she had to take. Knowing the places of these stores, even though she was so disoriented most of the times, was her hidden talent. The sliding glass doors to the little store opened with a little "swooosh" and she was immediately hit by a wave of heating air.

The contrast to the previous cold air and her current state of hunger made her feel a little dizzy and she swayed a bit on her feet and raised her hand against her head. She only needed a second to accommodate to her new surroundings. To onlookers it must have looked like she was about to faint. That was probably the reason, why she felt steading hands around her waist to keep her up.

"I got you." The deep voice resonated through her upper body, as he guided her to a nearby stool. Oh, oh. She knew that voice. Could it be? Or was her starved brain playing tricks on her. As Usagi sat down, the hands that had her upper arms in a steading grip, let go and she finally came face to face with the owner of those warm and supporting hands. Nope, no tricks were involved.

The person, she initially wanted to avoid for the next days stood right next to her. And this time said owner's usual neutral countenance had been exchanged with a worried expression. She swallowed visibly. Of course, she'd always had to run into him, when she least expected it.

"Are you okay?" He looked at her closely now. The worried lines on his face became a little deeper. She must've looked like a dear in headlights: Eyes wide and frozen body movements. Why did he have to stare at her like, she something was clearly wrong with wrong with her? Oh, right. Because she still hadn't said something. Time to gather your wits again, Usagi scolded herself mentally.

"I'm fine, thank you." She took a look around. Nobody else had noticed the scene at the door. Good.

"Are you sure?" She peered at him again. Her answer was apparently not that convincing. Usagi could still make out some faint worried lines on his face. A sudden urge to smooth these temporary wrinkles with a light caress by her fingers occupied her mind. As if to stop herself from doing that, she clasped her fingers tighter together.

"Yes." He straightened up a bit. To her surprise he didn't put on his usual indifferent mask, now he looked rather interested. "Good. For a second, I thought you might faint." He shrugged his shoulders and with that motion the plastic bag, he held in his right hand made a rustling sound, she hadn't recognized before. At that she made a face.

She was not some weak girl in need to be saved. Like in those old movies, where the girls were always fainting and heroically caught by their savior and they instantly fell in love and all that bla bla bla. And Mamoru was the last person, who should think of her as that.

"No, I just felt dizzy. It's very warm in here. In comparison to outside…" As if to emphasize her statement, she absently buttoned up her coat and let it fall open. Usagi thought for a second, that she saw his eyes flicker to her thighs, but his eyes were on her face again in an instant. By the looks of it, he was about to leave the store, but he stayed firm in front of her with no intention to go.

"So… uhm. Thank you for…uhm…making sure, I'm fine…", Usagi peaked through her eyelashes again. She was ready to hop of the stool again, because her stomach angrily growled again demanding food. But Mamoru placed his bag on the table and signaled with his hand – showing off his obnoxiously elegant fingers – to remain in place.

"I'll get you something to drink first." Usagi simply nodded. Probably a good idea.

"I'll be right back." And with that she watched his retreating form head back into the store. Well, no wonder, Mamoru was considered a great doctor. Ami had told her several stories about his residency at the hospital. How he tended to examine his patients carefully and observed them closely. Usagi remembered one time, when Motoki had a very persistent flu, Mamoru had made sure, that he took his medicine, lectured him on the importance of taking it slow while the body was battling a virus and from what she heard from Unazuki, he came by every day to check up on him with prepared food, that he especially made to relax Motoki's rioting digestive system.

Ugh, he could be so sweet and tenderly caring. Usagi sighed and dropped her head in her right hand, staring outside through the store window. It was still snowing outside and it had become darker as the snowflakes glistened in the streetlights. In the reflection she could make out Mamoru, who waited in the queue to pay and caught him looking into her direction. This was going to be so awkward. She looked over at his bag.

Through the milky plastic she could make out a surprisingly unusual amount of chocolate bars. Why would Mamoru need so much chocolate? Was that even for him? Oh…Probably really useful to have a stash at home, if certain visitors came over, right?

She didn't get to ponder any further on that matter, because Mamoru placed a bottle of water in front of her.

"Here. Drink slowly."

"Oh, thanks." She unscrewed the cap and took several sips. The liquid hurt as it reached her empty stomach and she winced a bit. In the window reflection, she saw him looking intently at her. He was probably in full doctor mode now, watching over her. Great, exactly what she needed right now.

"I'm really fine. It was nothing." She tried to reassure him. "You don't have to wait here with me. You've probably … something to do."

Of course, he'd do the opposite just to unnerve her and took a seat on the stool next to her. And then shoved three wrapped onigiri over the surface of the table to her. In a semi-shock she turned her head to directly glare at him wide-eyed.

"Well, even if that was the case, that could wait." As she was again not reacting, he continued and pointed at the riceballs. "Please eat. Your blood sugar is probably very low and I heard your stomach."

"Ugh. You are annoying." She playfully rolled her eyes at him and gratefully grabbed one onigiri, unwrapped it and bit into it. He snickered at her antics.

"I see, you're really getting better." He watched her eat the first onigiri in record speed.

"Uh-uh." With a cram-full mouth it was difficult to give a clever retort. Probably a good idea, because she was very grateful for him being there and giving her food. She grabbed the second onigiri and as she pulled at the plastic wrapping, she peaked at him again.

"Can I ask you something?" He openly gazed at her. A very rare sight.

"Sure." "How were you able to get to me so fast?" He faintly blushed at her question, but still held her gaze.

"Well, I…just paid for my stuff and was about to head, then I saw you enter the store… and uhm…Well, it just looked as if you were about to fall."

She snorted at that and earned her a bewildered look. "I always fall. Remember? You even asked me once if I'd ever made it through a day without tripping over my own feet."

Self-satisfied she took another bite from her onigiri. This time it was filled with salmon and mayonnaise. Her favorite onigiri stuffing.

She was slowly diving back into familiar territory again. However Mamoru didn't want to take the hint.

"This looked different." He answered with a semi-stern voice. Was that his professional doctor's voice?

"Ugh, don't be such a drama king." This time she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I am not." After he voiced those words and turned his head, looking through the window and they're eyes met in the reflection. "I just don't want to see you get hurt." Usagi had never heard him so… solicitous?

Her fingers fiddled with the plastic wrapping in her hands. Their interaction was deviating further from their usual banter and that was really concerning to Usagi.

"So was I right?" Usagi whipped her head around towards him.

"Hm?"

"About the low blood sugar?"

"Oh, errr.. Yeah. Actually, I came here to grab something to eat. Mission accomplished, I would say."

With that she grabbed the third onigiri and swiveled it in front of him, before she began opening it.

"Ah! I get it now…" he purred. Now he was also slipping back onto common ground.

"What do you get?"

"I mean, I should've known it right from the start." He winked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Yes, he was a mystery, but she never thought, that he'd talk in riddles.

"Your acting."

"My acting? Are you having a stroke or something?"

"The act you pull off to get free food." He pursed his lips. If her mouth could drop open any wider, it would surely fall to the floor. It took several moments until Usagi could gather her wits again.

Mamoru raised his hand to cover his mouth and made a stifling sound.

"WHAT?!" Her sudden outburst made him laugh out loud. A wholehearted, vibrating and uncontrolled laughter, she had never heard from him before and it was just wonderful.

"I don't pull off an act!" She couldn't help it. His laughter was contagious, and she chimed in.

"Come on…Have you ever paid for anything at the Crown?"

"Well…yes! I did…sometimes." Their laughter slowly ebbed off, but the twinkle in Mamoru's midnight blue eyes remained.

"As far as I witnessed, Motoki just hands you fries and milkshakes for free. For years. I've never seen you pay for it."

"First of all, I'm occasionally helping Motoki out. Aaaaaand we are friends. Wait…how do you know, I apparently never pay for it? Did you stalk me, or what?"

With that she swatted him lightly on this right shoulder.

"I just want to make sure, that my best friend won't go bankrupt, because you and your friends bat your eyelashes at him and get to eat for free." At that he held up his hands in defense.

"Well most of the times, we don't. I guess you're not such a good stalker after all." A smug smile spread across her face.

"Hm… I don't think I can believe you. I think I need to gather more proof." Mamoru winked again at her. Was he being flirty with her? She furrowed her brow at him, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Then I'll prove it to you. I am more than capable to purchase meals for myself. And for others." And with that she hopped from the chair, rummaged through her backpack, retrieved her purse and without another glance at Mamoru, she disappeared into the store. Oh, she would sooo show him he was completely on the wrong foot. Totally! So she took a basket and filled it up with all kinds of strawberry shortcake, basque cheesecake, gyoza, taiyaki and several cups of jagariko in different flavours. Usagi added some lemon matcha ice-tea with a fancy package to her basket and went straight to the counter.

She'd never been so fast at picking out food. Mamoru was watching her as she went back to their chairs.

"What are you doing?"

"Like I said, I'll prove you wrong." She arranged the food on the table in front of them like a little silly buffet.

"This is just the start by the way." Then she proceeded to open the plastic containers and set plastic cutlery in front of him on a napkin, without waiting for his reaction, but she could feel he was studying her.

When she was satisfied with her arrangement, she took a seat on the chair again and dug her fork into one gyoza. Mamoru's hands were firmly resting on his thighs with no intention to move.

"Don't tell me you're allergic to any of these things."

"No…I am not."

"Then why aren't you eating?"

With an exasperated sigh he finally grabbed the fork and carefully poked at the strawberry, before he took his first bite. Usagi watched him stiffly chew. It was hilarious. He was such a slow eater, especially in comparison to Usagi, who devoured her share of the gyoza and can of jagariko in just a few minutes. When she snatched the box containing the cheesecake, Mamoru had just finished his slice.

"Did you like it?" She expectantly eyed him.

"Yeah, it was surprisingly good." He offered. Then she shoved the box with the remaining gyoza in his direction.

"Surprisingly?"

"I usually don't eat cake from a plastic box."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me at all." She giggled.

"Why?" He curiously inched closer to her and suddenly she was at loss for words.

"Oh come on, Mamoru. You –" But she didn't get to finish her sentence, because a beeping sound erupted from his coat pocket and Mamoru reclined again. He fished the beeper from the pocket and looked at the code shown on his display and his content expression changed and became stressed.

With an apologetic glint in his eyes, he said: "I have to go. There's an emergency at the hospital."

"Oh…" Did she just sound disappointed?

Mamoru buttoned up his coat and shouldered his bag and grabbed his shopping bag in a hasty manner.

"Uhm, thank you for the… cake. I guess, I'll see you at the party then."

"Right, the party." She mumbled. Right, the party!

"Have a nice evening."

"You, too!" He nodded and turned around. And with that she was alone again. The half-eaten cake looked sad and Usagi decided to just pack up her stuff and get home. Finish all of it in the comfort of her apartment, while watching something mindless on the TV. Minako wouldn't probably be home, so she had the living room and the control over the TV all by herself.

AN: I drafted this chapter out, but it ended completely different :D I want the character to say something, but they say something entirely different, lol.
Initially the Usagi & Mamoru interaction was not supposed to happen. And I am still unsure, if I like how it came to be.
One chapter to go until the Party.

So anyway, have a great weekend. And if you liked it, please let me know :)