Aaaand happy Thursday guys! Only 5 more to go! This feels like a countdown.

This one was originally written as a gift for MamaladyKT

(I'll be honest it's been a whirlwind posting these daily-ish and I'm not sure I'll attempt anything similar EVER AGAIN lol but I'm happy there were people who enjoyed these, and I'm proud I managed all of these!) Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy it, and if you let me know (like, also in general!) that ALWAYS makes me super happy!

A Kiss In Anger

It was one time too many. One time too cruel.

She couldn't take his gentle touch around her midriff today, the worried, panicked eyes as he'd snatched her up and cradled her too softly and too caring. His shining, tortured eyes as he set her down, his lingering hands.

She couldn't take it today.

It all flared up on her skin in white-hot anger, in visceral, gutting fury that crawled up her throat and burned her tongue and made the tears boil in her eyes.

She took it all out on Rubeus. For the first time since they'd been up against him and the Ayakashi Sisters, there was something akin to fear in his eyes, or maybe respect.

The girls looked at her warily after he'd fled with Calaveras, and their droid was long dust.

It all sat in her chest and came out her trembling hands and in furious tears, and she was so angry.

Mako-chan and Rei both called after her in concerned voices as she bolted, jumped up the nearest banister, into the trees and back into the maze of grey buildings. Out.

She didn't notice the loose shingle, cursed, shrieked, slipped and skidded right off the roof.

Because Usagi was a crybaby and a klutz no matter if she was Sailor Moon, and Mamoru didn't want her like that. Had maybe never wanted her at all.

She wasn't perfect, she was no princess, she was no warrior. She was just Usagi.

Even when she braced herself for impact, arms tight across her face, she never ended up falling.

Tuxedo Mask settled her down on her feet in the alley below and looked at her with stern, judging eyes and stared her down.

She stared right back, jaw pressed so tight it hurt, cursing the tears, cursing the shake of her whole body, cursing him.

"What's wrong, Usagi," he growled, all tenseness, all accusation. It made it all worse. As if he didn't know. As if it wasn't his fault.

It wasn't fair.

It's exactly what she ended up shouting at him, though it might have been an angry snarl or even a whisper, she wasn't entirely sure what her voice was doing. She'd switched to auto-pilot.

"It's not fair!" she cried.

His sigh was so deep it lifted his shoulders even when it didn't move the frowny glare from his eyes even a tad, and he ripped his mask off to glare at her harder, or whatever.

"What isn't fair, Usagi?" he hissed back. As if he was angry too. Angry at it all and the world and that he had to be around her still and it hurt.

She took a step towards him, even when he remained rooted to the spot. He didn't move when she lifted her balled fist and left it hovering above his heart.

"That you're still gentle. That you're still the boy I love," she whispered angrily. "That you keep hurting me."

His look sobered instantly, but he didn't move. Not at all. Even less.

"That you broke up with me," she spat at his chest, her voice little more than a snarl, "and I can't do anything about it."

Her fist finally connected with his chest. She wanted to punch. She wanted to so badly. But it was little more than a soft thud, and her fist loosened to stroke above his hammering, angry heart.

Her voice was broken snarling and angry hiccups, the tears were so wrong they made her feel ashamed but they kept spilling. "That you don't love me anymore and I just have to live with it?!" she screeched, and lifted her hand and this time it was at least a weak, pathetic slap, but a slap anyway.

When she looked up at him, his eyes were full of tears too, and full of shame, and full of regret.

But of course, he didn't say anything to make it better, and he didn't take it back.

"It's not fair, that you can just decide this and I have no choice about it!" she screeched.

"Usako…"

The soft word made her retreat her hand as if burned, and she looked up at him in betrayal.

"It's not fair!" she whispered, and he nodded with swimming eyes and a quivering chin as if he agreed.

And when she reached up and knocked the stupid hat off his head he didn't even flinch. And when she reached out again and pulled him down to her by the back of his neck he came pliantly, and when she kissed him, angry and spiteful and biting his lip too hard and attacking his lips too furiously, he kissed her back - too soft and too gentle and full of regret.

He was crying harder than she was. It was his fault, after all.

Obvious Setting Tag: R