AN: I apologize for getting this out later than expected. I'm out of town and my hotel's wireless is flaky. I want to thank my two mystery reviewers from chapter one: Yasaboo and OoOSakuraOoo as well as everyone who reviewed chapter two: OoOSakuraOoo, Yasaboo, serenity11287, Achenar, PallasStar, and Comet Moon. And for those of you who have been missing a more anime-style Venus from my story The Princess Problem – I hope you like her plan! 1-6-07
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen could only glower helplessly at the giggling senshi. "A little help here?" Moon growled between clenched teeth. Her face was so red that Tuxedo Kamen was sure her boiling blood was going to scald her face. But even tomato-red, eyes narrowed, and chest heaving, she was tempting him like crazy. Well, of course her heaving chest attracted him, he thought hazily. It didn't matter if she was angry or crying or just glad to see him. Sailor Moon was more tempting angel than mighty warrior, at least in his eyes. He half-seriously wished Jupiter would just re-bury them so he could have a little more time alone with his innocent temptress, at least long enough to steal a tiny kiss.
He was so distracted that it didn't register with him when Sailor Venus cheerfully chirped, "Don't worry! I've got a plan." As one, the other four girls groaned.
"No, V-chan! Anyone but you." Moon groaned, her head drooping a little. Tuxedo Kamen was very grateful his mask hid the glazed look in his eyes as he stared at her in growing distraction and attraction. Not only was her head now even closer to his crotch, but the hand she had been frantically using to tug at her bun with was now resting on his thigh. He wondered if she was even aware of it.
"It's a perfectly good idea. If Tuxedo Kamen takes off his pants, then we can get Sailor Moon's hair untangled in no time." Her friends simply stared at her open-mouthed. The thought of Tuxedo Kamen without his pants made each girl's mouth run dry.
"You have to be kidding!" Sailor Moon shrieked. "You want Tuxedo Kamen to strip?!"
That got the reclining hero's attention. "Strip? Are you out of your mind?" he roared, humiliated and infuriated by the suggestion. Who did they think he was? Some Chippendale's calendar guy? He'd refused to model nude and he certainly wasn't going to strip down for these girls, not even if he had to cut off Sailor Moon's bun with the sharp end of one of his roses!
Venus exchanged a look with Artemis, whose fur seemed tinged with pink. "I think we'll have to reason with him." she murmured.
"Someone needs to reason with you, airhead!" Mars shot back, being the first to recover. Rubbing one gloved hand over her eyes, she tried to erase the image of Tuxedo Kamen in his skivvies from her mind. "Boxers or briefs?" her mind queried curiously. "Save us from these blondes!" she implored the heavens, ignoring Sailor Moon's offended huff.
Mercury spoke out then, cutting off the building argument between Moon, V and Mars. "Look, if Sailor Moon de-transforms, the jewel will disappear and then we can see how badly her hair is tangled and take care of it from there."
That sounded acceptable to Tuxedo Kamen. But he knew from the wary looks on the senshi's faces, it wasn't going to be as easy as that.
Jupiter took hold of his cloak. "I'm going to hold this over your eyes. If you try to peek, I'll knock you out, ally or not." she warned darkly. Tuxedo Kamen frowned in displeasure. He certainly didn't relish the thought of being without sight while these five crazy girls were involved with any part of his person. Well, he amended with a mental smirk, Sailor Moon could deprive him of sight anytime she wanted, but not that insane Venus! He was still livid about the suggestion that he strip. It took all his willpower not to tell her what he thought of her.
Sailor Moon wished she could see his face. She could feel the tension in his leg through her hand. Almost as soon as she'd registered that she was touching his leg, she snatched her hand away, thoroughly embarrassed. She flushed deeper when she heard his disappointed sigh. Glancing about, she realized the others hadn't realized why he had sighed and she allowed herself a small, secret smile. Jupiter pulled the cloak firmly about his face. He verbalized his annoyance with a brief growl. Sailor Moon's momentary grin faded. "I'm very sorry, Tuxedo Kamen-sama."
Her small voice swept away all his annoyance. In fact, the gentle despair in her voice made him find some amusement in the situation when a moment before he couldn't find any. "It's not your fault, Sailor Moon." he comforted.
"Okay, Sailor Moon. De-transform." Mercury urged.
Like a cold wind rushing over him, he could feel the magic that wrapped about her slipping away. If Jupiter hadn't also decided to pin his hands above his head, he might have been tempted to reach out and touch his mystery companion. He wondered what her hair looked like when she was detransformed. Was she only blond as Sailor Moon? Would her hair be automatically freed because it wouldn't be up in the same buns? Or would her hair be really short? He wondered if her hair was like Reika's, wavy and dark brown. Or maybe it was long and dark black like Rei's. Maybe it was really short and blond, or red and shoulder-length. It was pure agony to his curious nature to be this close to Sailor Moon's true identity and not be able to glean even a hint.
Usagi's hair was still tangled in his zipper. Sailor Mars quickly and deftly found the elastic band holding her hair up. Venus had located scissors and silently Mars snipped the elastic. The bun slid loose and Usagi jerked her head sharply, relieved when her hair slid smoothly free of the metal without moving his zipper at all. She grinned triumphantly. Mercury whispered in her ear and Usagi nodded, then ran down the hall. She kept going until she had reached the far end of the school. She took her other bun down because she couldn't be seen in public with only one bun, then ran home, her school bag forgotten among the mess in the detention room.
Jupiter slowly released Tuxedo Kamen. "Sorry." she apologized brusquely.
"It's alright." he muttered, feeling embarrassed and awkward. "I just hope that never happens again." He nodded to the senshi, then leapt from the window, his cape sailing behind him as he floated to the ground below. He ran into the woods, where he detransformed. As embarrassed and physically strained as he felt, he forced himself to walk home as if nothing had happened. "I don't believe it!" he groaned to himself when he finally closed his apartment door behind him. "I think I know exactly how Odango Atama must have felt the other day." He groaned as a vision of the coke-soaked blonde came to mind. Why was she so attractive to him? She was 14, for kami's sake!
Back in the classroom, the senshi laughed off their remaining giggles. As they turned to leave, Mercury noticed Usagi's bag squashed under the remains of the student desks. "Better return this to her or we can forget about her getting her homework done." she sighed.
/\/\/\/\
Blessedly, the four managed to avoid each other for the next few days. Usagi stayed away from the arcade and didn't run into Mamoru at all on her daily dashes to school. Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon didn't have a single battle, either. It was as if the Dark Kingdom had decided to take a rest break.
That didn't mean, however, that Usagi was getting any more sleep. In fact, she was getting less. Her dreams were driving her crazy, what with Endymion and Tuxedo Kamen and now Mamoru! What that baka was doing in her dreams, she didn't know and she didn't like it! She'd had the most confusing dream just that morning, waking her up early on her one day to sleep in. In her dream, she had tripped and warm arms had caught her. Wondering why she couldn't even walk safely in her dreams, she had looked up. To her shock, she found herself in Mamoru's arms. She hadn't crashed into him; he'd caught her. He wasn't glaring down at her, he was softly smiling. He steadied her, moving closer. His arms slipped easily about her waist as if they had belonged there. And much to Usagi's confusion, her dream self was smiling back, leaning into him. In fact, it looked like her dream self wanted Mamoru to kiss her!
Usagi had jerked herself awake, panting slightly. Her heart rate was definitely up, but she told herself it was because she had just had a nightmare. It had to be a nightmare, right? Why on earth would she want to kiss him? Especially when she had Tuxedo Kamen to dream about.
Usagi didn't even try to push away her thoughts of Tuxedo Kamen as she walked toward the park. It didn't faze her that Luna was following her. She was caught up in remembering how it felt to be trapped with him. It seemed to her that they could have stayed trapped in there forever, if not for her stupid hair being caught in his zipper. She was certain he had touched her ear that way on purpose. It had been such an intimate touch, so personal, so very overwhelming. She sighed softly, her cheeks pink and her eyes starry. She didn't notice the indulgent looks she was getting from elderly ladies or the jealous looks from various guys. Her path was erratic as she wove her way through the Saturday crowds.
Luna dogged her every step, fully aware of how some of the men on the street were looking at her charge. They made her fur stand on end as they passed them, the way their eyes followed her so hungrily. If she could have, she would have scratched out every single jerk's eyes. She wasn't alone in her annoyance, either. Watching the clueless blond dreamily wander towards the park was Mamoru. He reclined against a wall, nursing a coffee in a paper cup. She seemed kind of out of it, he mused. He decided to go after her, check up on her. After that eyeful he'd gotten in the arcade, he had realized that he had probably been the only one blind to her assets. He didn't like the idea of anyone thinking she was an easy target. Tossing his paper cup in the nearest bin, he stalked after her.
Once in the park, he watched her from a few benches away. She had settled down on the grass, leaning against a tree. He could tell, even from that distance, that she was exhausted. It wasn't long before the young girl was asleep. He moved closer, trying to appear nonchalant, yet at the same time, protective. Luna, curled up at her mistress's feet, looked up at him. He stared back at the cat, feeling like he was being assessed. When she curled back up and closed those unwinking eyes of hers, he oddly felt like she had given him her approval.
He studied Usagi as she slept, her head lolled back a bit against the tree. He was amused to note that she whimpered in her sleep. Her lashes made dusky shadows on her cheeks. Her lips were parted just the tiniest bit and he found himself battling a strange urge to go over there and kiss her awake, like he was some prince in a stupid fairy tale.
When Usagi shivered lightly in her sleep, he moved over to sit beside her. Slipping off his windbreaker, he placed it about her. Internally, he cynically wondered if he was turning into said fairy tale prince. Why on earth was he wasting his Saturday babysitting a sleeping Usagi who hadn't had the good sense to sleep at home? And why on earth was he admiring her pale skin and perfect face? He stared down at her in annoyance and yet no small amount of attraction, which was fairly disturbing to him. He had just about decided to wake her up and make her go home when she suddenly pitched forward a bit, snuggling instinctively into his chest.
He froze. Odango Atama was nuzzling into his chest like she belonged in his arms. In fact, more astoundingly, he didn't want her to stop. He wanted her to stay curled against him forever. Awkwardly, he closed his arms about her, wondering how long she would sleep and wondering if he really wanted her to ever wake up.
"Mmm, Tuxedo Kamen-sama." she murmured, inhaling contentedly.
Mamoru jumped. "What?" he asked, forgetting she was asleep. "Oh, brother." He groaned. "You even talk in your sleep, Odango Atama?" He rolled his eyes and attempted to calm his pounding heart. She was just dreaming about . . . well, about him. It was pure coincidence she was asleep in his arms and dreaming about his alter ego. It wasn't like she knew, or anything.
Usagi wasn't done talking, though. "Don't worry kids, I'll save you!" she slurred out in what probably was supposed to be a heroic voice. Mamoru tried very hard not to laugh. Her voice changed. "When we get married," she said softly, "will you wear your mask, Tuxedo Kamen-sama?" Mamoru closed his eyes and bit his lower lip. The image of getting married to Usagi was bad enough, but to think that he would marry anyone without revealing his secret identity? Who did she think he was, Superman? He wanted to laugh so badly. "If you tell me who you are, I'll tell you who I am." she coaxed.
Mamoru was having fun now. Deliberately using that seductive tone he liked to use with Sailor Moon, he murmured in her ear. "Oh, and just who are you?"
"Sailor Moon, silly." Usagi sleepily mumbled back.
Mamoru stared down at the sleeping blond in his arms. Odango? Sailor Moon? He stared at her critically. The blond hair, the buns, the long legs, the clumsiness, the crying! No, no, no, no, he ranted mentally. He was finally coming to terms with his attraction towards Usagi, but to add this on top of it? She was his dream girl, Sailor Moon? Sailor Moon was only 14? He sat there, stunned for minutes or hours, he didn't know. He didn't register anything until Usagi suddenly jerked herself out of his arms.
"What the. . .? Huh, Mamoru-baka?"
"Good morning," he drawled, eyes and tone unreadable, "Sailor Moon."