Hold Me by the Heart
By: Xhibit B
Chapter Seven – Happy Valentine's Day, Usagi
.i do not own sailor moon.
Usagi grunted as she tried to work her long, blond hair up into a bun atop her head. Sometimes, she hated having so much of it and considered cutting a few feet off. But in the end, never went through with it. Blowing a breath of irritation, her arms fell to her sides as she glared at her reflection in the mirror of her vanity. Maybe she should try a different hairstyle.
"Usagi, are you almost ready to go," her mother asked as she rapped her knuckles against the door, nudging it open slightly. She smiled when she saw her daughter sitting in front of her mirror pouting. "You're going to be late to the party if you don't stop pouting and get ready. Are you having trouble with your hair?"
"I was trying to put it in a bun, but I have way too much hair," Usagi answered with a sigh. "And I don't want to wear my usual pigtails. I wear those every day and I'm meeting the "mystery guy" tonight at ten."
Ikuko smiled, picking up the brush that Usagi had discarded on the vanity table and began to run it through her long, golden blond hair. Usagi relaxed into her embrace, her own smile tugging at the edges of her lips. It'd been such a long time since her mother had done her hair and she'd forgotten what it felt like to have her gentle fingers running through the long mane.
"I'll help you with your hair honey," Ikuko hummed softly. Her head tilted to the side as she watched her daughter's face through the mirror. The moon pendant necklace hung from her neck as it had since the day she got it. And the matching earrings were clipped to her ears. "Are you excited about meeting this boy tonight? I know you originally said that you didn't want to go to Motoki's party but then you changed your mind after you got the earrings."
"I am actually," Usagi answered as her fingers threaded together. A full-blown smile crossed her features as she glanced back at her mother. "I kind of have an idea of who the secret admirer might be. And I can't wait to find out if I was right or not."
"Well," Ikuko said as she expertly maneuvered her daughter's hair into the desired style. "I hope that you have fun tonight. Dad and I will be out late, so you may make it back home before we are. Shingo already left for the evening with his girlfriend. I think he may actually pop up at the party at the arcade. Keep an eye on him if he does, will you?"
Usagi hummed, "Sure Mom. If I see him."
Ikuko smiled as she stepped away after adding the last elastic band and bobby pins to her daughter's hair to hold it in place. Her hands came to rest upon her hips, "Well, it wasn't easy, but we got your hair up. Can you move properly with all that hair sitting on top of your head?"
"It wouldn't be the first time that I've done it," Usagi assured her mother as she stood carefully. "Now dancing might be out of the question, but I can definitely walk. So, I should be fine this evening."
"Alright dear, be careful, you hear me," Ikuko said as she turned to leave the room. "If you do need to take your hair down, be mindful of the bobby pins. You don't want them tangling up in your hair and causing it to knot up."
"I will, thanks Mom," Usagi said as she disappeared down the hall.
The blond went to her closet, pulling out the dress that had been bought the night before at the mall and the dress that Rei had originally picked out. She held them up, comparing the two. Both were beautiful pieces of clothing, the one that she'd already had a bit sexier than the other. She was half tempted to wear the white and pink dress she'd already had. Instead, she went with the dress she bought the night before. It was a short, thin strapped white, red and pink bodycon dress. It was form fitting, hugging her curves snuggly and reaching just past her midthigh, showing off just enough leg to tease but not give away too much. She and Minako had finally come to a consensus on the dress after thirty minutes of Minako choosing a dress and Usagi shooting it down.
She had just put the dress on when her cellphone rang. She answered, putting it on speaker phone, "Hi Minako, what's up?"
"Are you getting ready to go," Minako asked. She could hear shuffling around in the background. "If you're ready, Kunzite and I can swing by and pick you up. That way we can head to the party together."
"Yeah, I'm almost completely ready to go," Usagi answered as she clipped her necklace around her neck.
"Good, we'll be there in fifteen minutes then," Minako said before the line disconnected.
Usagi shrugged, moving to apply her makeup before she grabbed her shoes from her closet and her hand bag before she made her way out of her bedroom and downstairs. Her parents were still getting ready to leave for their night out. Shingo was already gone, as her mother had told her when she came in to help her with her hair. She checked her bag, confirming that she had her cellphone, house keys and lip gloss for when she needed to reapply it as the night wore on.
She heard the horn of a vehicle honk outside before she saw the headlights. She called out that she was leaving before exiting the house, locking the door behind her. She happily climbed into the backseat of Kunzite's Mercedes, clipping on her seatbelt as the platinum blond pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the arcade.
"I knew that was a good choice," Minako said looking back at her friend. She could see the dress through the unbuttoned coat that Usagi wore. It was a bit warmer despite them being in the dead of winter and the blond hadn't bothered to button her coat before she left. "You look amazing in that dress. I'll have to borrow it from you one of these days when this one and I go out for whatever reason."
Usagi laughed, brushing a stray piece of hair that had worked its way out of her bun from her face. "It was the best choice of all the ones that you'd picked out last night. Those other dresses were definitely not my style whatsoever."
"But you still would have looked amazing in them," Minako pointed out before she turned away from the other blond. She turned up the radio that Usagi hadn't even been aware was playing when she heard a song she liked playing. "I love this song."
"We know," Kunzite murmured as he continued on to the arcade, ignoring the look Minako shot him.
…
Motoki smiled as he watched the crowd enjoying the party, guys and girls dancing to the music that played through the rented speakers. Pink, white and red heart shaped lights flashed throughout the room, illuminating the happy faces of lovers and singles alike. He glanced at the time on his watch, it was already nine fifteen. His gaze strayed to Mamoru who was watching the action from the counter at his side, nursing a strawberry soda.
"Forty-five minutes until you come face to face with Usagi and tell her how you feel in person," Motoki said grinning. "Feeling the butterflies yet?"
"I've been feeling butterflies since I sent her the first gift, to be honest," Mamoru answered as he removed the thin, white mask he was wearing from his face. "But it's calmed down a bit since she actually knows who to expect. Though I was kind of looking forward to seeing her reaction if she hadn't found out who her "secret admirer" was before it was time."
"The look on her face would have been priceless," Motoki laughed, taking his own black and gold mask off. "I can just see it now. She probably would have screamed and then fainted. You know she's been in love with you for a few years now and that would have made her go into cardiac arrest."
"That would have been hilarious," Mamoru admitted as he continued to watch the party goers dance and have fun out on the dance floor. He spotted Usagi with her friends in the crowd easily. She, Rei, Makoto, Minako and Ami were all in the middle of the dance floor dancing, large grins on their faces. He wondered, briefly, how she was able to move with all of her hair pinned to the top of her head. "She looks like she's having fun. And to think, she wasn't going to come here tonight at first."
"Do you have to wait until ten to make yourself known," Motoki asked, "I mean, she knows. She's made it known that she knows already, so why wait?"
"Because I don't think her friends know that she knows," Mamoru answered. "And the note specifically said to meet me in the centre of the arcade at ten. They're not going to let her out of their sight until then. Besides, I'm enjoying watching everyone having fun. Don't take away from my fun, Motoki."
"Mamoru, I worry about you sometimes," Motoki admitted with a light laugh before he spotted his girlfriend making her way towards him. "Well, while you sit here and watch everyone else having fun, I'm going to go dance with my girlfriend for a while. If I don't see you again before 10, let me know how it goes with Usagi when we cross paths again." He began to walk away, turning to look over his shoulder. "And remember, be nice to her. Tell her she looks beautiful or something. You know, the usual."
"Motoki, I know how to talk to someone of the opposite sex," Mamoru drawled exasperatedly.
"You could have fooled me," the blond laughed as he disappeared into the crowd.
Mamoru rolled his eyes, glancing down at his wrist watch. 9:22, he'd wasted seven minutes talking to Motoki about this whole secret admirer business. Thankfully no one that was close to Usagi had overheard and went to blow his cover. Even though she already knew, he was positive her friends didn't know, and he wasn't too sure how they were going to react to finding out that it was him. He hadn't exactly been the nicest person to her over the years. He blew a breath, running his fingers through his hair. He only had to wait a little over half an hour for the inevitable meeting. Hopefully things went smoothly. Especially once everyone realized what was going on. He knew that her friends and their boyfriends would be close by as soon as she went to meet him.
…
"Do you think the mystery guy is here yet," Makoto asked as she glanced around the room.
The girls had just come from the dance floor and occupied to makeshift table they'd set up for the nine of them, with an extra chair left over for Usagi's secret admirer once he revealed himself.
"I'm pretty sure he's been here for a while now," Usagi said glancing over her shoulder briefly before she allowed her cheek to rest on her knuckles. "He wouldn't miss this for the world."
"I'm positive that I saw him when we first walked in," Ami pointed out with a smile. She could see the other girls and the guys getting agitated because they hadn't told them who it was. "Don't worry guys, you'll know who it is in about twenty minutes. You can stop looking at us like that at any time now."
"I just don't understand why we can't know who it is as well since the two of you know," Nephrite said, exasperated. "Secrets don't make friends."
"But friends make secrets," Ami and Usagi responded in unison before they burst into laughter.
"Just stop trying, Neph," Makoto said laughing. "We tried this yesterday and got the exact same response. We'll see who it is in…" She glanced down at the time on her Apple Watch. "…twenty-five minutes. Then it won't be the greatest kept secret between the two of them anymore."
Usagi and Ami did nothing but laugh, sharing a look with one another.
"All I want to know is how the hell Ami figured it out," Rei said, pounding her fist against the table top. "I mean, I know she's genius level smart and all, but this is something you would expect one of us to be able to figure out before anyone instead of her. No offense, Ami."
"None taken, Rei," Ami said before taking a sip of her drink. "I figured it out when I was with Usagi and she got the earrings. It wasn't hard to piece it together given the information that I already knew thanks to Minako. Remember, I knew who it was before she did."
"Thanks to me," Minako asked, confused.
"You'll see what she means soon," Usagi assured the other blond, patting her shoulder. "It was because of you that I figured it out too. You give more information than you should a lot of the time."
"I'm even more confused now," Makoto said, her cheek resting on her knuckles. "Let's just drop it and we'll find out who the guy is soon enough. Then we can all look like idiots when we do, especially if it should have been super obvious who the guy was from the beginning."
"I agree with Mako," Zoisite said as he picked up the beer he'd been nursing. "We'll all know soon enough so let's just enjoy the night until it's time for the big reveal."
"The Doctor In Training has a point," Jadeite said before he tipped his beer back and took a long pull. He swallowed, holding back a belch before he spoke again. "Besides, we've only got to wait another twenty minutes or so before we know. I'm sure we can all afford to be patient until then. In the meantime, Rei, would you like to join me on the dance floor for a dance?" He turned to look at his girlfriend with a wide grin. "I'd hate to have to go out there alone and have to fight all those women that have been eyeballing me all night away because you're not at my side."
"You act like you're the single most desirable thing in the entire room," Rei said as she stood, pulling him along with her. "C'mon before I change my mind."
The couple walked away as Kunzite turned to Minako, "Would you care to join me on the dance floor?"
"Sure," the blond said grinning as she jumped up from her seat.
Makoto and Nephrite joined them soon after, followed by Ami and Zoisite. Usagi smiled as she watched her friends enjoy themselves on the dance floor with their significant others. Her eyes strayed from them to Mamoru who remained at the counter, drinking a soda. There was a woman speaking to him, but he looked as if he couldn't even be bothered by her. She laughed. They hadn't even made it official and already he was turning down other women. At least him being faithful wouldn't be a problem.
…
At 9:58 he saw Usagi leave the table she'd been sitting at and wander towards the middle of the dance floor. At 9:59 he stood from his seat at the counter and began to maneuver through the crowd towards her, completely ignoring the woman who had been having a one-sided conversation with him for the last twenty minutes as she called after him. At exactly 10 pm, they stood face to face in the middle of the dance floor. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked in the mid-thigh length bodycon dress she wore. Her hair that had previously been in a bun had been taken down, and cascaded down her back.
"You know, that was pretty smooth leading me on to asking the jewelry store who bought the jewelry," Usagi said with a smile. "You knew that they wouldn't be able to give me that information even if they wanted to, didn't you."
"I did," Mamoru answered. "How'd you figure out that it was me?"
"I'm smarter than everyone gives me credit for," Usagi answered. "Minako told me about the advice that she gave you. And from there I figured it out. I conveniently get the necklace, which is beautiful by the way, thank you, the same day that she gives you advice on how to woo a girl by playing the role of a secret admirer. Then I get another gift and a request to meet you in the middle of the arcade. It all adds up, and honestly, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Even Ami knew before I did. And, it took you long enough to say something."
"Well, I guess I underestimated you," Mamoru said with a smile. "You weren't surprised at all to find out that it was me? I was kinda hoping that I'd get some kind of reaction out of you when I revealed myself, but you figured me out."
"I was surprised, actually," Usagi answered. "By the way, who put you up to this? I know you wouldn't have done this on your own."
"Motoki was the one that told me about how you felt, then it all spiraled from there," Mamoru answered truthfully. He shrugged, "There was a whole other plan that I was going to go with at first, but the more that I thought about it, the more that plan didn't work. Then I spoke with Minako."
"How'd you know about that poem by Joseph May," Usagi asked curiously.
"I noticed you'd written it down on a piece of paper and kept it in your binder," Mamoru answered nonchalantly. "I'm not as unobservant as I seemed when it comes to you."
"You definitely did your homework on me then," Usagi laughed as her hands came to rest upon her hips. "So, how are we going to do this? This whole, relationship thing."
"Well, if you will have me," Mamoru answered as he placed a hand on the small of her back, "I'd like to do this right by taking you out on a proper date. Maybe this weekend?"
Usagi smiled as she allowed her arms to circle around his waist being that he was over a head taller than she was and she couldn't reach his shoulders despite the heels she wore, "I'd like that."
From the left side of the room, Reika and Motoki watched the two with smiles on their faces. Motoki would have to remember to make Mamoru thank him for suggesting that he pursue Usagi in the first place then thank Minako for giving him the idea on how to win her over. On the right side, the group of eight watched in astonishment as Usagi and Mamoru danced together.
"It was Mamoru the whole time?!" Minako practically shouted, eyes wide.
"How the hell did we not see that one coming," Makoto laughed, her arms wrapped around Nephrite's shoulders. "Ami and Usa gave us a clue who they were talking about when Usagi mentioned that Minako had helped her figure it out. I definitely feel like an idiot now."
"Tell me about it," Rei laughed, her arms resting on Jadeite's shoulders. "Who knew Mamoru had money to blow like that on her though. That jewelry he got her is not cheap."
"Sure isn't," Minako said, smiling as she watched her best friend embrace the taller man. "He really does love her, I guess, if he's willing to spend that kind of money." She glanced up at Kunzite. "Kunzite… can I…"
"Don't even think about it, my love," Kunzite said to which Minako pouted.
"Well, I for one am glad that he finally said something to her," Zoisite laughed changing the subject back to Usagi and Mamoru again. "She'd been in love with the guy for as long as I can remember."
"You can say that again," Jadeite laughed. "They do make a great looking couple. Not better than Rei and me, though. We're the hottest couple in Juban."
"Shut up Jadeite," Kunzite said shaking his head.
Jadeite pouted. Everyone laughed.