THE DRAWING

- whoah, Odango! I knew you did love me, but i didn't realize you were also obsessed with my glasses! Must say, you're

surprisingly good with this...comic thing.

Mamoru was looking over her shoulder at Usagi's notebook, his infamous reading glasses on, and she didn't even try to pull away or

cover her drawings, which she spent all this lazy summer morning calmly working over.

Motoki paused a little in his all-the-time glass cleaning and smiled a little.

They were both getting more mature. Less shouting, more flirting then fighting, but the verbal sparrings still occured.

He leaned in just slightly to see Usagi's reaction, which was surprisingly calm.

She didn't even stop kicking her legs in the air idly, like she did all morning, or look up.

She just slurped some of her lemonade and chuckled.

- That I am, Mamo-baka. Good at manga, that's how it's called. Do you have your brains melted from heat? What gibberish

are you talking about me being obsessed with you or whatever?

- But here it is! - he stuck his finger into her drawing - you drew you and me just here, I'm having some kind

of retro glasses and you have ribbons on your odangos, and we're kissing surrounded by flowers...

- In your dreams - laughed Usagi - you definitely need to replace these glasses of yours, they don't help!

That's a mask on his face, and they are not us! Can't you see they are Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon? They only look like us,

I drew him hatless because the story goes like...

And suddenly she stopped mid-sentence.

Slowly did she lift her head up.

Motoki felt like the temperature in the arcade suddenly dropped ten degrees.

All color left Usagi's face, she was gaping at Mamoru, her jaw moving up and down without actually saying anything.

He removed his glasses abruptly and stared back with an expression Motoki couldn't name.

And then, Usagi leapt off the stool and just fled, abandoning her work and pencils and treats, just stormed out of the arcade

in a blink of an eye.

A minute later Mamoru shoved her things into her bag, slung it over his shoulder and followed in a

steady pace.

Motoki sighed.

He, he was never blind.

It looked like the shouting matches were over forever.