A/N: Do you guys ever have one of those weeks where your brother-in-law all of a sudden decides to put his house on the market and it's all hands on deck to basically flip an entire house in 10 days? No? Just me?

Well that's the reason for all of the delays. I am a saint and my family deserves the extra $100k he's gonna make on his house now. Just saying.

yese0721: Stop reading my mind! We are literally having the same ideas! That one is coming up too hahaha! I'm just grateful you're reviewing in Spanish so hopefully it will still be a mystery for everyone else not sharing our strange wavelengths. We should collab sometime!

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon and all characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.

Mamoru

"Usagi, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's okay," she interrupted, waving a hand dismissively. "Let's just move on. Where are your pajamas?"

I directed her to the dresser and helped her select her clothes before choosing some for myself. The t-shirt was big enough to cover my underwear and I was tempted to leave my legs bare, but I figured Usagi wouldn't like that. So I opted instead for slipping on a pair of boxers over the panties, knowing that the sweat pants I usually wore would be way too big for Usagi's little body. I watched in amusement as she tried to stealthily hide the blush that appeared when she saw me, some undetermined emotion moving through her at the sight of her body in my clothes. I didn't say anything though. The shower-or, to be more accurate, my complete lack of ability to behave like a normal human-had only proved to increase the awkwardness between us and I was afraid to speak at all. I decided to let her take the lead for now.

"Let me do our hair and then we can get started on calculus, I guess," she groaned.

"Our hair?" I hadn't failed to notice that little change in pronouns.

"Well, it's mine, but it's yours too, now. So that would make it ours. Don't you think?"

"That makes sense," I allowed. Did that mean my hair was ours, too? And the rest of our bodies? How far did this extend? My apartment, my bed…?

Usagi searched through the overnight bag I had packed at her house. "Crap, you didn't grab my hair ribbons."

"I didn't know I was supposed to."

"It's fine. I always keep spare hair ties on my wrist." She checked down at her left wrist, frowning in disapproval at the bare skin. "Check yours," she instructed.

"Don't you mean ours?" I teased, testing the waters.

"Whatever." She simply sounded more tired than annoyed. Maybe we hadn't plummeted too far to recover.

I checked my own delicate wrist and, sure enough, there were several thin, elastic bands around the skin there. I hadn't even noticed them before. They would have come in handy earlier, that was for sure.

"You mean these?" I asked, holding the wrist up for her to see.

"Yep." She took them from me and retrieved the brush. "Turn around," she said, this time a much more gentle request than when she had ordered me around in the shower.

I obliged and she brushed through the hair tenderly before parting it in two and weaving a skillful braid on either side of my head with surprising speed.

"No odangos?" I asked.

"You can't have it tied up like that when it's wet," she explained, no reaction to my baiting. Her voice was low and level, showing no readable emotion. It wasn't as much fun to tease her when she didn't get riled up.

"Usagi?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

She sighed. "No, not really."

I felt my breath hitch in my chest. Why did that bother me so much?

"What's wrong?" I asked, gazing into her eyes, trying to find some glimmer of Usagi behind the deep sapphire color that belonged to me.

"You mean besides the fact that I'm trapped in the wrong body?" Her words were sarcastic, but her tone held no venom or energy. "I'm still just processing all of this, I guess." She looked at her feet as she plopped down onto my bed. "How are you holding up?"

How was I holding up? I had been so concerned with Usagi's well-being this evening that I hadn't really thought about myself. I took a moment to take stock of my emotions. The talking cat thing was still rippling around in there somewhere and there were mild waves of embarrassment mixed in as well, but overall, I was surprisingly okay. Having someone else to focus on rather than my own self-pity was certainly helping.

It was probably a lot worse for her than for me, to be honest. I had seen now just how angry I could make her and how much my words have hurt her in the past. It must be absolutely terrible to be trapped in the body of your tormentor and subject to his near constant company. Not to mention the fact that she was also torn away from her family and every sense of normalcy. The least I could do was spare her any more discomfort to the best of my ability.

"I'm alright," I said. "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable here?"

She peered at me quizzically. "How about some dinner?"

My stomach rumbled at her words, despite the fact that I had gorged myself on cookies just an hour or so ago. "That sounds great. How do you feel about ordering a pizza?"

"It's like you're reading my mind," she said with a smile.

We agreed easily on one large pizza with everything on it and I placed the order for us. While we waited for our dinner to arrive, I located my calculus textbook and set up a study station on the coffee table like I always did. Textbook to the left, notebook to the right. Calculator and pencils to the right of the notebook. Reading glasses ready on top of the textbook. A glass of water and a bowl of chocolate snacks to reward myself placed above. After a thought, I retrieved a second glass of water and a bag of chips.

"Alright," I called to Usagi who was still lying on the bed in the next room. "Let's get to it."

A muffled groan echoed from the bedroom as Usagi forced herself up from the bed.

"Your stupid body made me get up at six am today. I'm too tired to study." She trudged into the room, dragging her feet dramatically.

"No, you're not," I argued. "That body is perfectly fine. This is just your own laziness showing."

"This is just your own laziness showing," she mimicked in a high, nasally, immature voice.

"Fine. No snacks for you." I snatched the chips and chocolates from the table and strode toward the kitchen, playing the disciplinarian.

It worked.

"No! No, no, no," she protested, pulling on my arm and tugging me back toward the couch. "I'll be good, I swear." She blinked her eyes at me several times, batting her eyelashes with an air of innocence.

This teenage girl's body reacted to the display and a young man's smoldering eyes and my knees trembled slightly. I took the opportunity to sit.

"There are rules," I stated. "You get one chocolate for each section we review successfully."

She nodded. "And the chips?"

"Oh, those are for your insatiable appetite," I quipped, grabbing a handful and shoving them in my mouth, crunching loudly.

"Now you know my pain!" she wailed, grinning good-naturedly.

She sat next to me and I handed her the glasses before flipping open the book.

"The exam is on chapter five, integrals," I explained as I thumbed through the pages. "Specifically antiderivatives, summation versus integration, and indefinite integrals and substitutions." I found the page I was searching for and smoothed over the well-worn pages before looking expectantly at Usagi.

She was staring blankly back at me behind the lenses of my glasses. "Uh-huh. Right."

"Are you familiar with limits?"

"As in, 'this is the limit of my brain power?'"

"No."

"What kind of limits?"

"Limits of sums or limits of differences?"

"No."

"I think we have a lot of work to do," I surmised, moving habitually to remove my glasses but finding nothing and merely waving my hand in front of my eyes like an idiot.

Just then the doorbell rang.

"Oh, thank god," Usagi whispered as she sprang from her seat. She tossed the glasses back on the table before answering the door.

The boy on the other side of the door was tall with neatly trimmed dark hair, green eyes, and a faint shadow across his chin. He was clad in the blue and red striped polo uniform and holding our cardboard pizza box. She accepted the pizza and turned to me.

"We have to pay for this."

Of course that was on me. I sighed and pushed up from my seat on the couch, retrieving my wallet from the table in the genkan. I paid the boy and included a generous tip, as usual. He stared at the cash in his hand, then at me, then at Usagi, back to me. His eyes followed this pattern for a moment before flashing me a wide grin and angling himself in such a way that he shouldered out Usagi, directing all of his attention to me.

"Hey, thanks for the tip," he said, his eyes passing over my body (in the giant t-shirt and boxers) and back up before he continued. "But you forgot to give me something."

I didn't like this guy. Something about him felt...slimy. That was the words that came to mind. "What's that?"

A lewd smile curled over his lips. "Your number."

"What?" Was this guy hitting on me? Like this?

"She's with me," Usagi interrupted suddenly, stepping forward to place herself ever so slightly between me and the delivery boy.

He continued to smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I figured. But with a girl like that," he leaned around Usagi to look back at me, "you gotta give it a shot." He winked.

"Here's a tip for you," she enunciated. "Don't hit on someone's girlfriend right in front of him." And then she snatched five dollars back from his hand and slammed the door in his stunned face.

What the hell was that?

With the pizza in one hand and the cash in the other, she stormed to the kitchen and tossed both on the counter. She flipped open the lid of the pizza box and grabbed a slice, tearing off a massive bite.

"So you're my boyfriend now?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh shut up," she snapped, grabbing another slice and tossing it in my direction.

I fumbled to catch it and, by some miracle, I succeeded to capture the slice before the scalding cheese had a chance to collide with my face.

"I hate guys like that," she mumbled around full cheeks. I was glad to see the energy return to her and I couldn't help myself from coaxing it along.

"Poor guy," I teased. "Just taking a chance on a beautiful girl."

She gave me a pointed glare. "He shouldn't have asked for my number in front of you. It's cocky and rude." She took another bite.

"Actually," I corrected, taking a bite as well. "I believe it was my number he was asking for." I chewed as I smiled mischievously at her.

"Then why didn't you give it to him?" She challenged. "Not your type?"

"I prefer blondes." I took another bite of pizza to hide the grin spreading stupidly across my face. Her mouth fell open slightly, cheeks a soft petal pink, and I could see the chewed remains of her pizza inside. "It's not polite to chew with your mouth open, Odango."

"You are the worst," she muttered, grabbing a second slice and heading for the couch.

"Yeah, but you like it," I murmured under my breath as she passed, noticing how her shoulders stiffened at my words.

"Honestly, I'd prefer to be learning calculus than having this conversation." She plopped onto the couch and replaced the glasses on her nose, then held the textbook up to cover whatever expression was playing across her features.

I joined her on the couch, feeling just a little bit like I had won another round in a continuous game of chess.

Usagi

"So can you meet us tomorrow?"

"Probably, but what do I do with him?" I whispered into the phone I had found inside Mamoru's bedside table. Of course, Fancy Rich Boy would have a cell phone.

"He could come, too. Maybe he has some ideas."

"I don't trust myself not to let something about the Sailor Senshi slip out." I threw a glance at the bedroom door to make sure it was still closed.

"Maybe he can go back to your house? Your body should probably make an appearance there."

I considered that. Which would be more suspicious: me not showing up at home or showing up and acting completely strange?

"Maybe. I will need more clothes," I mused.

"He picked out your clothes?" she repeated, surprised.

"I couldn't very well have my parents see a guy rummaging around in their daughter's underwear drawer, could I?" I knew I was on edge. And I needed to sleep and Rei was keeping me awake.

"I guess that makes sense. Okay, so have him go to your house after school tomorrow while you have a meeting with us."

"Alright," I agreed. "Where?"

"We're going to Ami's. She wants to run some tests with her high tech computers or something."

"Ugh." Images of wires and needles flashed in my mind. "As if the calculus test isn't bad enough."

"Oh my god, you have to take his test, too?"

I groaned. "What else am I supposed to do, Rei?" I snapped a little too loudly. I was getting tired of explaining my complicated situation. It was easier talking with Mamoru about this stuff since he understood what I was going through. The girls, on the other hand, apparently had a harder time grasping the concept of switching bodies.

More quietly, I apologized, "Sorry, it's just been a really frustrating day."

"Yeah, I bet," she sympathized. "What have you guys been doing?"

I blanched, grateful that Rei wasn't here to see my shameful expression as I remembered the events of the shower earlier that evening.

"Not much," I croaked, my voice breaking again. Dang it. "He made me study for the calculus test."

"Oh, god. How did it go?"

"Surprisingly, not too bad," I relayed. "His brain seems to remember the material, even if I don't. It was actually kind of fun."

"You don't think he would start to forget it, do you? Like, the longer you're in his body, the more your brain-or spirit or whatever-would take over?"

I hadn't considered that. It was a frightening thought, to be sure. Left in this body for too long, I would definitely ruin Mamoru's life until it was beyond repair. And what would happen to my life with Mamoru in charge? Honestly, he would probably make quite a few changes for the better. So much better, in fact, that if and when we ever switched back, I would just become an even greater disappointment to everyone than I already was. I stifled a groan into the pillow I was clutching to my body.

"Is that what Ami thinks?"

"She has a few theories, but she said she wants to run those tests to be sure."

"Okay." I laid myself flat on the bed, relaxing the tense muscles in my back and stretching my long legs across the length of the covers. "I should get to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, Rei."

"You're not going to bed with him, are you?" How could she seriously still be jealous at a time like this?

"Of course not. He gave me the bed and he's on the couch. But it is weird."

"What is his room like?" she asked, her infatuation radiating clear through to my end of the phone, miles away.

"Boring," I answered. "Lots of blacks and blues. Lots of grey. He doesn't even have any pictures anywhere."

"What about his parents? What do they think you're doing there?"

"I haven't seen them. I think he lives alone," I confided.

"Huh," was all she said.

"Alright, I'm going to bed now."

"Okay. Night."

"Night."

I flipped the cell phone closed and tossed it back in its drawer before falling back onto the bed with a huff. How did this happen? The last twenty-four hours were playing over and over again on a constant loop in my mind. The moments that were sticking out, however, were not the ones I would expect. It was laughing on his living room floor, sharing chocolate in his kitchen, brushing our hair, gazing at each other with hungry eyes across a steamy shower. This whole experience had enlightened me to a different side of Mamoru I had never seen before. A quiet, lonely side that was kind and gentle. He was thoughtful and introspective and, even though he loved to tease me, he was actually very considerate of my feelings and honorable to a fault.

I imagined him lying on the couch just on the other side of the door, even lonelier now that he had been forced out of his own bed. I felt guilty. When the incident in the shower occurred, I had reacted so venomously. It wasn't his fault. Truthfully, it was probably my fault for having such a clumsy body. But I had blamed him and pushed him away, just when we were starting to bond. I didn't think Mamoru was very close to many people in his life. And I had actually found that I was beginning to enjoy our time together and I was genuinely interested in learning more about his life.

This wasn't right. I couldn't sleep in his bed an exile him to the couch like some kind of leper. He should be in his own bed.

I crept out of bed and tiptoed to the door, coaxing it open and peeking out at the couch. Mamoru was curled up on his side beneath the spare quilt he had found in the linen closet. What had seemed strange and unnerving a few hours before was now becoming endearing. There was something about seeing the normally statuesque man confined to my tiny body that rendered him utterly adorable. I watched his chest rise and fall with the deep breaths of sleep and an errant thought ran through my mind: how much I wished I could see him asleep in his own body. I hated to wake him, but I wanted so badly to make reparations for earlier that I bit my lip and willed myself to sit on the couch beside his slumbering form.

"Mamoru, wake up," I whispered gently, a hand on his shoulder shaking him slightly.

"Usagi?" he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes and pushed himself to a seated position. "What happened? What's wrong?" As his sleepiness receded, it was replaced by urgency.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," I reassured him. He fell back onto the couch.

"Geez, don't scare me like that!" he reprimanded, raking a hand over his face in frustration.

"Sorry," I murmured sheepishly.

"Well? What is it?"

"Oh. Well. I just feel really bad about how things went earlier, and I don't feel right sleeping in your bed, so… I came to switch places." If only it were that easy.

"What?" he asked, still half asleep.

"I'm telling you to go sleep in your own bed. You deserve it."

He sat back up. "No, Usa. You stay in the bed." I warmed slightly at his use of the nickname my friends had given me. Maybe he was starting to think of me that way. As a friend. "You're my guest here and you should have the comfortable arrangements."

"If you think about it," I persisted, "you're actually in the guest's body. So you should have the better bed. Either way, it should go to you."

"If you want to talk about bodies, you are currently in the bigger one. And so, therefore, you should have the bigger bed," he challenged.

"I'm trying to apologize to you, idiot."

"Oh." He frowned. "For what?"

"For being a total jerk to you when you were just trying to be nice to me," I confessed.

He shook his head, golden braids bouncing on his shoulders. "You have nothing to apologize for. And I'm perfectly content here on the couch."

"Fine, do what you want. But I'm staying here." I leaned back against the couch, forming an awkward bridge over his legs.

"You're impossible," he muttered, pushing against my back with his puny legs, trying in vain to get me up from the couch. After a minute of stubborn struggling, he gave up. "How about this," he appealed, sitting up again. "We can share the bed."

I snorted. "Because that worked out so well with the shower."

"Well I'm not going to have you sleeping out here when there's a perfectly good bed in the next room. And you're apparently not going to let me sleep at all if I'm out here. So unless you're planning to take your clothes off again, I think we can be adults and share the bed without any hanky panky."

I couldn't help but laugh at his choice of words. "Hanky panky?" I repeated.

"Give me a break, okay? Your brain doesn't work so good when it's tired."

I nodded. "That's true."

"So?" he pressed. "Truce? Deal? Whatever?"

"Fine," I groaned, getting up from the couch and pulling him with me.

As we walked into Mamoru's bedroom, a familiar anxiety-and another sensation I was beginning to recognize-snuck up on me, quickening my heart rate and my breathing.

Oh god, not again.

The behemoth was rearing its ugly head-literally-once more and I did my best to keep the front of my pants out of sight. I lied on one side of the bed with my back to him, mirroring his own position on the other side. Why did this keep happening to me? It was most definitely the strangest part of this whole ordeal. And more than anything else, it annoyed me to no end that it was undeniable evidence of my attraction to Mamoru. And obviously it was more than just a superficial attraction to his irresistible good looks, because I wasn't even looking at him when this happened. I was looking at me. But knowing he was inside that body on the bed next to me was doing unspeakable things to both my mind and body.

Rei and burning flesh burning flesh burning flesh

"Hey, Mamo?" I tested, giving him a nickname of my own.

He was silent for a moment and I wondered if he heard me. I was contemplating whether or not to try again when he spoke.

"Yeah?" His voice was barely a murmur in the darkness.

"Where are your parents?"

Silence followed again and I regretted asking.

"They died when I was six."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry." I turned onto my back, dying to see his face but wanting to give him his privacy.

"It's okay. I don't remember them at all, so it's not so bad." His voice was small, but even. I stole a glance at him. He was still facing away from me.

"Do you get lonely living by yourself?" I didn't know why I was asking him such intimate questions, but I couldn't stop myself.

"Sometimes." I guess if he minded my questions, he didn't have to answer. "To be honest, it's nice having you here."

Suddenly my arms were around him, hugging his tiny frame from behind. I didn't even think. It was like this body just responded to his words and was compelled to comfort him. He made no move to push me away. We stayed like that, neither of us speaking, spooning like a normal couple and not a couple of frenemies trapped in the wrong bodies. Our bodies fit together in an easy and familiar way and I wondered which of us was actually being comforted. And it was weird, but it was kinda nice being the big spoon. Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep with Mamoru safe in my arms.