Hi everyone ~ I hope you're all doing well (or as well as can be, given the circumstances). I know I left a fic pretty much high & dry last year but would you believe American law school is really hard and doesn't leave much free time for anything but stress? But as of today (May 15), I am officially done with my degree and to celebrate I wanted to contribute something to a fandom that gave me a lot stress relief during a hellish time in my life.

This is going to be a somewhat short multi-chapter fic based on a manga I found a while back. If any of you want to take a guess in the reviews, I may or may not reveal which manga it is. It's AU with Mamoru and Usagi at the same school and just *the teensiest bit* of personality tweaks. I hope you enjoy! Leave a comment if you'd like, I would love to get some feedback!

"You're Tsukino Usagi-chan, right? It's nice to meet you."

Deep blue eyes warmly addressed her, seemingly ignoring the loud whispers and heart-eyes being made in his direction. Usagi tried to gulp but her mouth was suddenly very dry because of the tall upperclassman currently standing in front of her. They were quite the spectacle in front of the doorway as her classmates were beginning to disperse for lunch.

I should probably say something, right? But, What… are… words…

It didn't seem to matter, because Chiba Mamoru – she only learned his first name later on - continued on and the next two sentences out of his mouth completely threw her (and everyone in their vicinity off guard).

"I like you. Please go out with me."

"NANI?!"

*the day before*

Ahhhhhhhh! "KAWAII!"

Tsukino Usagi and Aino Minako managed to squeal at the same time. The two first year high school girls had an incredibly long day (and were obviously drained) so they decided to kill some of their allowance at the trendy Aoyama Flower Market café. Midterm exams were upon them, and both of them looked to sugar to soothe the pain.

Their beautiful server just presented them with an even more beautiful Flower Parfait. It almost looked too good to eat. Almost. Both girls took a couple selfies of themselves with their pretty desserts, the edible flowers artfully arranged on top of Chantilly cream. As they dug their spoon into their desserts (only slightly mourning the hit their wallets were taking), they heard a loud crash.

Minako, ever the gossip, turned her neck so fast to the source of the noise that Usagi was sure it was going to hurt later. Usagi merely peeked her head to the side of Minako to take a glimpse. It looked as if a girl, who looked kind of familiar because she was wearing their school uniform, had just thrown a glass of water into a boy's face while her chair had toppled over.

"Oh. My. God. Usagi-chan, do you know who that is?!"

Usagi shook her head. While the first-year girl was friendly to everyone she came into contact with at school, she had just a handful of close friends and was pretty content with that. Minako looked starry-eyed, ready to share the hot gossip.

"That's Chiba-kun, Usagi-chan! He's the honor student in the third year class – he's ranked number one and I heard he gets confessed to at least once a week. It looks like it was another rejection that ended poorly... yikes."

Usagi frowned while blatantly looking at the pair, trying to remember if she had seen him around before. While trying to focus on his face, she could hear a little bit more of their conversation, although it seemed like Chiba-kun was trying to keep his voice composed.

"I'm sorry Saori, I thought we were friends."

The girl named Saori picked the toppled chair from off the ground, shiny brown hair whipping behind her and skin tinged red either in embarrassment or fury. Usagi assumed a bit of both.

"You will never be able to find love, Chiba-kun. You're too cold to ever see it."

Usagi gasped, before Minako immediately slapped her hand over Usagi's mouth. Saori was clearly upset but Usagi could tell that those harsh words had an effect on the boy, as his shoulders slumped and water continued to drip off his face. Saori ran off, and Chiba-kun took a second before grabbing some napkins to dry off the table.

"That's so cruel…" Usagi whispered. Minako sagely nodded along.

"Broken hearts can bring out the worst in people Usagi-chan… luckily you've never have had your heart broken! Speaking of which, I got a new boyfriend!" Usagi sweatdropped but giggled nonetheless, appreciative of the opportunity to distract herself from the boy still sitting a couple tables away from them and the urge she had to comfort him.

An hour or so later, Usagi decided to walk home even though it was lightly drizzling outside. There was something so beautiful about being outdoors in Tokyo in November, and it also gave her an excuse to use the new clear umbrella she got from Flying Tiger. As she cut through Arisugawa-no-miya Park, she did a double-take as she saw a familiar figure sitting on one of the park benches.

It was Chiba-kun, with his hands in his lap and his face directed towards the wet clouds. From this angle, Usagi was able to get a better look at him. She understood why Minako said he got confessed to regularly. Even while sitting, she could tell he was quite tall and lean. His dark black hair was a bit shaggy but it framed his face well, which she bet would also be handsome if not carrying such a somber expression.

Usagi had no idea what propelled her to do so, but she quite suddenly found herself standing over him, her clear umbrella covering them both. His dazed eyes blinked, and soon Usagi's own blue eyes were locked with his widening ones.

"Umm… please take my umbrella. You're going to get a cold, and I don't want you to get sick."

Not giving him the chance to respond, Usagi lowered her umbrella and laid it on the park bench next to him and continued walking on home. The light drizzle could be refreshing when it wanted to be.

If only she had a clue of what the gesture would lead to...