CHAPTER 7
Usagi and Mamoru were washing the dishes from breakfast in the kitchen when an insistent knock was heard on the door. They turned toward each other, both knowing to expect four angry women when they opened the door. Finally, Mamoru nodded and dried his hands on the nearby dishcloth before walking towards the sound of the knocking. As he looked through the peephole of the door, he saw four, indeed angry, young women standing outside, each trying to speak over the other. I should have taken a pain reliever, he thought to himself sadly.
Finally, he unlocked the door and opened it, to be greeted by Usagi's best friends and senshi, each seemingly yelling at and questioning him. As he felt the onset of a headache, he held up his hand to silence the group. As the finally quieted themselves, he spoke, "She's fine. She's in the kitchen, washing dishes."
Ami and Minako raced past him, pushing him to the side as the passed. Rei and Makoto followed more slowly behind, greeting him with glares. "So now you have her doing your chores?" Makoto grated and they continued toward the kitchen.
Deciding that he should help Usagi manage the fury that was sure to take place in the kitchen, he sighed and took off after them. By the time he arrived, Ami had taken over the chore of washing the few remaining pots and pans while the other three sat with Usagi at the table. Mamoru posted himself up against the breakfast bar separating the kitchen and dining room, his arms crossed over his chest.
Usagi had her head in her hands as her elbows rested against the table. Each girl attempted to speak to the obviously-frustrated Usagi, desperate for answers. Finally, Usagi intervened, "Guys, please! One at a time! I can't understand a single word any of you is saying!"
Ami moved into the dining room, having now finished with the dishes. "They're sorry, Usagi-chan. They told me they wouldn't do this." Ami spoke as the more rational member of the group.
"Usagi-chan," Rei, not surprisingly, was the first to speak. "What in the world are you doing here? With him?"
"I'm pretty sure my mom already told you, Rei-chan. My parents are going out of town this weekend so they wanted me to stay here," she responded evenly.
"But why not with me? Why not with any of us? Makoto-chan has her own apartment! So does Minako-chan! Any of us would have been better than this asshole," she grated, sending another glare to Mamoru.
"Rei-chan, you will stop referring to Endymion as anything less than his name!" Usagi quickly took on her regal tone, desperate for a way to control her senshi. "All of you! Regardless of what has happened, he is still a prince, and he is still my protector."
While the rest had been quieted, Makoto was still unconvinced. "But Usagi-chan, he abandoned his duties. Surely you aren't suggesting that we..."
"What I am suggesting is that you do your job and I will worry about Mamoru."
"But Usagi-chan," Rei interceded, "You aren't in a state to make those kinds of decisions. Especially considering the circumstances."
At this, Mamoru became enraged and intervened. "How dare you talk to Usagi like that! Are you questioning your princess, Rei-chan?"
"Only where you are concerned, Mamoru-san," Rei challenged dangerously.
"Stop it!" Usagi interrupted the tense moment. "Are you here to check on me or question me?"
"Usagi-chan," Minako answered as the leader of the senshi, "We're here to make sure that you're alright. We don't feel comfortable with you staying with him." She placed her hand on Usagi's arm in order to comfort their princess, hoping to regain control of the situation.
"I understand. But you have to trust me. It's best for me if I stay here." Finally having answered her friends' concerns, Usagi smiled reassuringly.
"So what are you doing here anyway, Mamoru-san?" Makoto asked curiously. "Shouldn't you be at a hotel or something?"
Mamoru smirked slightly, realizing that the tense moment was over. "I never sold my apartment. I had a maid keep it in order while I was away."
The girls were shocked, to say the least, to hear that Mamoru had never fully removed himself from the city. Like Usagi, they had expected that he had left with no intent of ever returning. They wondered collectively if this meant he had intentions to stay.
"You look much better today, Usagi-chan. Not as pallid as you have lately," Ami observed. "Are you feeling better?"
Usagi nodded in response, "Much better. No more fainting."
"Well girls," Mamoru interceded, "Would you like some breakfast? We have some leftovers."
As Usagi bade goodbye to her friends, Mamoru threw himself on the couch. The sound of the closing door causing him to give a sigh of relief.
"You had to offer them food..." Usagi teased.
"Well I figured is was the best way to get on their good side," Mamoru defended himself.
"Jewelry works much better. And it's faster," Usagi retorted, harkening back to the morning's events.
Mamoru laughed, "I'll remember that next time."
Usagi walked back to the living room and stood in front of the lounging man, enjoying the quiet. "What now?"
"What do you mean?" Mamoru responded to the loaded question.
"I mean, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" Usagi clarified her question, though wondering herself what would be next for the two of them.
"Can't we just sit here, in silence, for the rest of the day?" Mamoru pleaded.
"I think you already know the answer to that." Usagi walked around the living room, stopping in front of a picture and picking it up to examine it closer, a sad smile appearing on her face.
Noting the silence, Mamoru looked up to see Usagi turned away from him. He stood and moved over to her side, seeing the picture of the two of them. The picture, he recalled, which had been taken on his birthday years ago - the first time he ever truly celebrated his birthday.
"I can't believe you never took any of these down," Usagi stated, looking at the rest of the pictures around the room without replacing the one in her hands.
Mamoru shook his head, "I wouldn't do that. They're all I have."
"But you didn't take them with you..." Usagi stopped, realizing she had no idea where he had been since his disappearance. "Where were you, anyway?"
Mamoru ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "Short answer is America. But I think I might be able to change that."
Usagi looked over at him, noticing how close he had gotten. "Really?" she asked softly. A nod was her answer as she took the sight of him in once again. It had been so long since she had been able to see him, smell him, and hear him. She had been unable to forget any of it, no matter how hard she tried, but the real thing was so much better than the memories.
"I want to make up for all of the time we lost, Usako." Usagi held her breath at the sound of the pet name. "I didn't have any of these," he gestured to the numerous pictures, "before you, and I didn't have any after you. I can't live like that, Usako. I need you." He reached for her, placing his hand on her cheek, feeling the soft skin beneath his palm. Usagi closed her eyes in response, leaning into the warmth he offered. "Please, tell me what I have to do..."
Usagi reopened her eyes at his plea, "It's been so long..."
"I know, Usako, but I swear to you, I will find a way to make it up," Usagi stopped him by placing a single, slim finger over his mouth.
"You really should learn to not interrupt, Mamo-chan. " Mamoru reflected a confused and hopeful gaze in his eyes as he waited for her to continue. Usagi removed her finger and took his hand in both of her own, smaller ones, placing a light kiss on the back of it. "It's been so long since you've held me."
With that, Mamoru wrapped his arms around her, placing his chin on top of her head. Usagi allowed herself to be enveloped by his strength, happy to be surrounded by him once again. They had a long way to go, they both realized, but this was a good start.
The doors to the arcade swung open and Motoki looked up from the counter to greet the customer, smile falling as he saw Usagi and Mamoru enter together. Confusion crossed his features as he placed a tip into his apron pocket.
"Hey guys," Motoki greeted cautiously, "I didn't expect to see the two of you here today."
Usagi and Mamoru continued forward as they sat on the metal stools at the counter in front of their friend. Usagi smiled at Motoki as he regarded her with curious eyes. "Hey Motoki-san. We were just out so we thought we would stop by."
"Oh?" Motoki turned to the dark man next to the smiling girl, searching for answers.
Mamoru met his gaze intensely, hoping to clear up his friend's confusion. "I had to check out of the hotel. Usa is staying with me while her parents are out of town this weekend."
Surprised to hear this, Motoki turned his attention back to the blonde, "How are you feeling, Usagi-chan? I talked to the girls last night and they were terrified! Have you seen them yet?"
Usagi nodded in response, "I'm fine, Motoki-onii-san. I saw the girls this morning. They stopped the apartment and had breakfast."
"And how did that go?" Motoki asked, leaning forward on the counter.
Mamoru shrugged, "As well as could be expected, I suppose."
As a silence settled in, Motoki watched as Mamoru leaned in to Usagi, placing a hand on her shoulder and whispering in her ear. Motoki's eyes widened in shock and Usagi blushed becomingly, smiling and nodding in response to whatever Mamoru said.
"Can I get a coffee and a milkshake for Usako?" Mamoru asked.
Motoki's eyes widened and he nodded, moving to fill their order. "Sure, man, no problem."
Not long after they received their drinks, the sound of the bell ringing signaled the entrance of four chattering girls. Seeing the two familiar figures at the counter, they each stopped talking, moving toward the counter. As they reached the pair, they were surprised to find them speaking softly, Usagi sipping happily on a strawberry milkshake.
"Usagi-chan?" Ami greeted quietly, grabbing the attention of the two.
Usagi smiled at the appearance of her best friends, "Hey guys! What's up?"
The group was shocked to see her happy expression, as well as the half-empty glass. Rei was pleasantly surprised, if not a bit confused, by the sight of Usagi drinking her favorite concoction. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Usagi with a milkshake.
"Um, Usagi-chan," Minako finally ended the silence, "We were gonna go shopping. Do you wanna come with us?"
Usagi turned to the man next to her, looking for a response. When she saw him smile and nod, she smiled in response, turning back to her friends. "Let's go!" With that, she hopped off of the stool, only stopping to place a chaste kiss on Mamoru's cheek before running out of the arcade with her friends. Mamoru watched, smiling, as she ran off, happy to see her laughing again. When he turned back, he was taken aback by Motoki's presence behind the counter.
"Geeze, Motoki-san! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Still, Motoki remained unfazed, intent on getting answers. "What is going on?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Mamoru, confused by his friend's unusually harsh demeanor.
"Usagi-chan is staying with you? You're in your apartment?"
Mamoru sighed, peering down into his now-empty mug. "I'm just want to make sure she's safe. It was her mother's idea anyway."
"How can you be so blase about this?" Motoki demanded, "You've been gone for three years! You appear out of nowhere and now Usagi-chan is staying with you in your apartment? How the hell did you get your apartment back anyway?"
"I never sold it," he shrugged, "I could never let it go."
Motoki sighed, running his hands through his hair, "I don't know what's going on and I have no idea what you're thinking! But," Motoki paused, "I haven't seen Usagi-chan this happy in a very long time."
A silence set over the pair, as they both contemplated the implications of Motoki's observation. Mamoru knew, even from the short time he had been here, that there was a distinct difference in Usagi's attitude.
"I'm not sure what you did, or if you even did anything at all, but I don't want to see Usagi-chan go back to the way she was." Motoki picked up the glass Usagi left behind. "She hasn't ordered in milkshake in forever. And you got her to drink one like nothing ever changed."
"I love her, Motoki-san," Mamoru said seriously.
"I know that. We all know that. But, Mamoru-san, if you leave again, it will break her," he stated warningly. "If that happens, I could never forgive you."
"I understand."
"Are you sure you do?" Motoki asked, meeting his friend's eyes.
"I have to go. I need to make some phone calls." Motoki nodded in response, knowing he would learn more when Mamoru was ready.
As Motoki watched his friend leave the arcade, he prayed that Mamoru would be able to save Usagi.
END CHAPTER 7
AN: Okay, so it took me longer to get this chapter updated than I had hoped. But here it is! And there is one more ready and waiting! Again, I'm in a new state, far away from everything I've ever known, so any reviews would be more appreciated than usual. I hope you liked this chapter and I hope y'all are liking the direction this is going. There will be more twists to come, and many more questions to be answered! The next chapter will be a biggie! Please review!
Loves!