Secret
Secret
There were times – few and far between, but there were times – when he would look up from his coffee at the arcade and catch her looking at him. Goodness knew he couldn't fault her for it, as he stared at her much the same way, though he doubted she'd ever caught him at it.
But he stared at her because he loved her. This was a fact that noone knew, for the simple reason that he had never told anyone.
Nevertheless, that love existed, and flourished, blooming within him everytime he saw her Odango'd head rush through the arcade doors, or collide with him every morning.
So what was she doing, staring at him so? He had kept her well protected from the knowledge that he, Chiba Mamoru, was madly in love with her fourteen-year-old self. If she didn't know his greatest secret, then what was she doing staring at him?
Was it possible that she loved him as he so desperately hoped – oh. She was looking at Motoki, standing behind him. His heart sputtered in his chest, both relieved and sad that she didn't know.
Three stools away, Tsukino Usagi looked back at her milkshake, blushing furiously. He had nearly caught her staring at him! Again! And if he ever caught her, he would want an explanation, which she couldn't give. She couldn't let him know she loved him; he would dismiss it as a silly schoolgirl's crush, and then tease her about it mercilessly. She didn't think her heart could handle that.
So she had shifted her attention to Motoki, who was luckily standing right behind him. Heart hammering, she prayed Mamoru hadn't guessed her most cherished secret.
"How ironic," mused Sailor Pluto, staring into her crystal ball, thousands of years later. "Both are in love with the other, but do not voice this love for fear of rejection. Little do they know the happiness to be awarded for that courage. Their secrets only serve to make them both unhappy."