Title: You Don't Have to Live Something to Understand

Author/Artist: Jenbunny

Medium: Fanfic

Theme: Support

Genre: General

Version: Anime/Manga

Rating: G

(Disclaimer - I obviously don't own Sailor Moon or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for awhile.)

It was only a few days after his first visit to the orphanage that Mamoru found the time to talk with Usagi. Wordlessly and somewhat nervously Mamoru showed her all the toys he had been collecting through out the year. They weren't expensive toys, but there was a large assortment of them. Stuffed animals, little cars, dolls, books, blocks, little action figures ... just whatever happened to have caught Mamoru's eye every time he visited a store.

Usagi stared at the toys silently for a moment, running a gentle hand over the ear of a stuffed rabbit in wonder, before turning to look up at Mamoru, confusion evident in her blue eyes. "Mamo-chan?"

Mamoru forced himself to relax. There wasn't anything to be nervous about. Usagi would either understand or she wouldn't. He was still under the belief that she would understand, but even if she didn't it wasn't going to be the end of the world.

He smiled warmly at her before taking her hand and kneeling next to his treasure trove of toys, bringing her down with him. "These are for the children at the orphanage Usako. They rarely have anything special. I know how they feel. Left out and alone. The holidays were always especially hard and so I try every year to brighten their Christmas at least a little. I collect these toys through out the year and then on Christmas morning I visit the orphanage and pass them out. I haven't ever told anyone, not even Motoki, about this. I never felt like anyone would understand. They couldn't understand why it was so important unless they had grown up there in the orphanage, felt the same things I felt."

Usagi continued to look at the toys, reaching out occasionally to shift through the toys. She paid special attention to the stuffed toys, but then she had always loved those herself. She stayed silent as she listened to Mamoru speak. Her heart saddened as she realized how lonely he had been growing up. She really hated the thought of her Mamo-chan in any kind of pain and she wished that she could somehow give him a happy childhood, like the one she had growing up. Usagi knew she couldn't do that, unless of course she somehow convinced Setsuna to let her go back in time and change things. Something she knew very well would never happen. Besides, if she were to change the past then perhaps Mamoru wouldn't be here with her right now. That would never do. What she could do though was love him now and that was something that she never intended to stop doing. She couldn't change the past, but she could share his memories with him. She could be there to support him from now on.

"Mamo-chan, that's a really silly thought you know. People don't have to have lived the same experiences to understand something that's important to you. They might not have the same feelings as you, but if it was something important to you then a good friend would have understood that. I'd be willing to bet if you had shared this with Motoki he would have understood. At the very least he would have realized that it was something important to you and that's all that would have counted."

Usagi leaning over and wrapping her arms around Mamoru. "The same as me. It doesn't matter if I didn't share the same experiences that you did Mamo-chan. If it's important to you, then it's important to me, no matter what it is ..."

She pulled away a moment to reach over and pick up the stuffed bunny again, hugging it briefly before grinning up at Mamoru. "Can I come with you Mamo-chan? Please?"

Mamoru felt his heart lighten once again. Even though he had suspected that she would understand and want to share it with him, it felt good to actually hear it. "Of course you can. I had hoped that you would want to anyway ..."